7 Cool Moves: Hottest Details From 2019 Pro Builder Design Awards
Whether it’s a striking curved staircase or subtle LED lighting in the ceiling beams of a master bedroom, eye-catching design details like these can elevate a home from average to exciting
By Michele Lerner
October 29, 2019
Michael K. Walker & Associates designed this dynamic, sculptural stair for a custom home in Sarasota, Fla. (Photo: Design Spur)
Chosen from Professional Builder’s 2019 Design Award winners, including custom and production homes, these seven cool design moves deserve a closer look, and can serve as inspiration for builders and designers who wish to create wow factors for their own projects.
In the design of this custom home, Christopher Brandon, president of Brandon Architects, considered it critical that the view behind the home be experienced upon entry. Layering landscape and building mass at the entry courtyard, he says, heightened the arrival sequence while addressing concerns for privacy in intimate areas of the home.
“The design of this courtyard epitomizes ‘form follows function.’”
Inside the front door, visitors are met with a glass-sided, open-riser staircase barely visible from the courtyard but brought to life with “Climbers,” a whimsical wall treatment by artist Claudia Rodriguez. The floating, cast-in-place concrete wall was a major engineering feat, Brandon says, because it will need to withstand 100-year seismic and wind loads without buckling the single-pane glass that surrounds it.
Using steel and wood, San Antonio architect Craig McMahon was able to design a very light construction system that minimizes the corner columns and allows for as much glass as possible. The bedroom cantilevers about 6 feet over the sloping grade, which quickly drops down another 20 feet, affording a panoramic view from the hilltop setting.
“The concept for the all-glass master bedroom focused on the idea of camping, about feeling like you are fully immersed in the view and seeing all of the property,” McMahon says.
“This Prado design has been the inspiration for other projects.”
—Ryan White, senior associate/designer, Dahlin Group Architecture | Planning
This clever, decorative cantilevered awning over an outdoor TV casts elegant shadows that shift throughout the day, helping to break up an otherwise blank wall, says designer Glen Sharrar, managing principal of landscape firm BrightView Design Group. The awning’s design also hides its support structure, which would have taken up valuable patio space, by concealing a supporting post, secured by a footing, in the backdrop wall. That detail was expensive, Sharrar says, but the concept can be replicated in other outdoor spaces.
“The mirrored glass panel is a dramatic focal point that reflects and changes with the color of the sky and adjacent lake, depending on the season and time of day.”
—Justin Racinowski, principal, Racinowski Design Studio
This living room fireplace—intended as one of the home’s major design features—is constructed of board-formed concrete instead of more traditional brick or stone. The cantilevered concrete hearth and steel mantel provide horizontal elements that counteract the design’s verticality, says Justin Racinowski, principal of Racinowski Design Studio. The fireplace also incorporates an oversize wood-burning firebox, firewood storage, a TV, and an art feature: a 10-foot-tall mirrored glass panel with a metallic patina.
“This home does a fantastic job of marrying the interior and exterior design with aged wood and stone accents inside and out.”
—Seth Hart, senior designer, DTJ Design
The master bedroom ceiling drew the attention of several judges as a standout feature for this single-level home built for empty nesters. Interior designer Carrie Brewer, principal of Legacy DCS, created rustic texture by adding aged wood to the sloped, coffered ceiling, while a lighted cove illuminates the headboard wall. The ceiling slope was inspired by the vaults common in local farmhouse architecture, she says.
This sculptural staircase in a custom home designed by Sarasota builder Michael K. Walker, on one of Florida’s barrier islands, is strategically located near several entry points of the building’s 145-foot-long floor plan and connects primary living and circulation areas.
“Each wood tread and riser had to be field-templated, since each of the three flights is slightly different.”
—Michael K. Walker, president, Michael K. Walker & Associates
The stair is constructed of formed, cast-in-place concrete done in one monolithic pour per flight from floor to floor. Its metal framing was then covered on each side with multiple layers of flexible drywall, finished with quick-setting drywall compound for the base coats and multiple layers of regular drywall compound to create a smooth surface for the sweeping curves.
7. Through Porch
Project: Coastal Farmhouse in Berry Farms, Franklin, Tenn.
A narrow corner lot didn’t allow much space for outdoor living, so Astikon Architecture + Construction incorporated a covered “through” porch into the home’s floor plan, which fully opens to an uncovered outdoor kitchen (below) within a tight side yard.
“The narrow lot made it challenging to create as much outdoor living space as possible.”
—Michael Katsaitis, former partner, Astikon Architecture + Construction
A 12-foot-wide sliding glass door links the porch to the dining room, while a retractable screen awning protects the open end of the porch from pests. A courtyard connects the outdoor kitchen to the front porch for a seamless flow when entertaining.
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