New Photography of two projects

We've been lucky enough to have access to some professional photography of two of our house projects.

It is amazing how much nicer a home appears when shot by a competent photographer. Maybe some day we'll be able to have more customers homes shot this way, but for now here is a sampling of two houses.

First the NJ RS House was shot by the builder, Girsh Development, by his photographer Ari Kleit:

Right now you will find a dozen shots from this set only on our RS House project page at Houzz.

The Vermont Plat House is also the beneficiary of some nice photography by Caleb Kenna:

More great shots of the Vermont Plat House can be seen on the project page at Houzz.

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0751 RS House - now direct from us

When we first started offering the RS House as a house plan it was not here on our own catalog. Why? In many ways the house is inconsistent with our other house designs. Its a very specific design solution created for an individual client. It was not designed to be a product as are the rest of our designs.

At the outset I just felt that this made the house too different from the other designs and I decided to offer it through other house plan vendors instead. After a couple of years of this we've reconsidered. The truth is we think we can do a better job marketing this house than any other vendor. And I think we have more followers interested in this kind of house than any other vendor. So we are making a place for it here in our catalog. You can now find its own catalog page.

The house is still very different from the other offerings, and because it originated as a custom commission we've made a special collection for designs like this. We are calling it LamiDesign+, jumping on the + bandwagon with Googles' new social media site. The meaning is that the genesis of these designs is something more than our other Collections. They represent the outcome of an intensive design process with one of our individual clients. As such these house designs will be a product of that collaborative process. So these are not just LamiDesign houses, they are LamiDesign+.

Another stark difference from the rest of our plan offerings is the pricing. Because the development cost of these house plans has been paid for we can offer them at a much reduced pricing. Any house design you will see available here will be offered with the full consent and cooperation of my client for whom the original house was designed. In each case I will be entering a pay-back arrangement with these clients, so that sales of the plan will off-set their investment in design services, with the ultimate goal being a complete reimbursement. I think this is a completely unique proposition in the world of house plans, and for that matter in architectural practice. Its intended as incentive for people to invest in design, to build better designed houses, and to encourage the results of that investment to be used to further spread good design. I think its a tremendous win-win, and the latest innovation we are bringing to the house plan industry.

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0751 RS House - Photography of the finished house.

We long ago promised fresh pictures of this house when spring came and the trees leafed out. Well the trees did their part, and we did return to take more photos towards the end of June.

I was joined by my friend, photographer Glenn Hudson. Glenn is an amazing nature photographer and portrait shooter, but he was keen to shoot the house. Unlike most staged architectural photographs you'll find his shots of the house have a natural feeling - not a propped and dressed magazine shot. We like this. Houses are for real life, not for magazine shots. So enjoy these, and enjoy more of Glenn's photography on his flickr site.

The sky was overcast that day, but it actually made for an even north light on all sides of the house. Good for seeing what the house looks like, if not for a dramatic shot of the sky. After the link below you'll find more photos from our visit in June 2011.

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0751 RS House - some late winter photos

The owner passed along a few photos shot through the trees on the side of the lot.

Still winter, hinting at spring. I'll visit and take some photos once there is green in the trees.

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0751 RS House - settled in for the holidays

I received some current photos of the completed house from the Owner today. Its very gratifying to see an xmas wreath on the dining room wall, and the house participating in the life of the owner's this way.

This is what modern is about for us. Its not some minimal and stark photo in a magazine, its not unhappy hipsters ruminating about the pedigree of their design accessories. Its living a life like anybody lives in a modern home that is true to your values and represents who you are. And this time of year that means holiday decorations, sharing your home with your friends, and finding comfort and rejuvenation at home, something beyond the need for shelter and refuge. That by all means happens in a modern home as much as any other, don't let anybody suggest it is not so.

So for all you lucky enough to have your modern home, and all those still wishing for one, keep that hope alive for each other and have a good holiday. More new photos of the RS House are posted to the Flickr set.

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0751 RS House - painted!

The NJ RS House has been painted, and it is a rich and creamy milk chocolatey brown! We just want to run up to it and take a big bite out of the corner!

The movers are schedule for next week and we can both happily, and sadly, call this one done. We will have more pictures, however. I think in the spring when the trees leaf out again I'll try to get another round of photos on a day with a nice blue sky.

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0751 RS House - no longer a construction site

The project has officially turned the corner, with the sodding of the lawns it no longer appears like a construction site. Many loose ends to tie up and details to finish or correct, but the movers have been scheduled and its nearly time for the house to start its life.

What a difference to see the house with a blue sky! The siding still has not been painted, so there will be at least one more great transformation outside before the big transformation that comes inside when the owners occupy.

Remember the RS House is offered in a two story version as a house plan through our catalog. Note, plans for this house design are offered at a much lower price than the rest of our collection.

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0751 RS House - shower time

All the fittings and fixtures are in the Master Bathroom now, but for the glass panels flanking the shower.

The shower has a ceiling mounted "rainfall" head, and hand spray in an adjustable mount, and a couple of wall mounted body sprays.

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0751 RS House - more interior work

The dark wood flooring we showed in the early renderings is down and looks great.

Also this is shot at night, so the light in the photo is all coming from the house lighting. Given that I don't think the dark flooring make the room dark. In fact I think during the day it will look even brighter.

We actually had the flooring running the other way in the 3d model, but its incorrect. The flooring typically runs across the joists as it was installed. A few more new photos are posted over at the Flickr set.

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0751 RS House - final stretch

Landscaping is going down, and light fixtures are going up. The RS House is in the final stretch, maybe two weeks out from being complete.

The landscaping work began this week, oddly enough before the exterior painting was done. The weather simply did not cooperate, and while the landscaping if not the landscapers can tolerate the rain, the painting simply could not happen.

Inside this cool pair of atomic light fixtures went in over the dining room table location. I love these and the strong period modern vibe they give out. To me they land in both that 1950s atomic age, and still have a bit of that 60s pop vibe going too. Its a great match for the house and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the owners choices as they move in.

Remember the RS House can be yours! Plans for the two story version of this house design are available through our catalog page. Note, plans for this house design are a bargain. We offer house designs like this one which are not part of our other collectcions at a much lower price. Check it out.

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0751 RS House - new photos

I visited the house on Friday and took a bunch of new photos. There is much finish work to complete yet this was my first time walking through the nearly complete house. Now that the interior is well along, and the exterior and site also nearing the end of the work the house is revealing its qualities. Its always pleasant to see and experience the spaces that you have been so long in planning.

There were so many things that struck me upon visiting the house that I'm not sure where to start. The first thing I encountered upon arriving was the new earth form resulting from the backfill over the septic system. Although the final grade has not yet been established around the house, the rough grading is done and the house finally sits on the ground in a way that makes sense, straddling the ridge resulting from the fill required at the septic system. This was one odd characteristic of the site - the septic system occupies the highest point on the site because it was the most favorable location for its function. This is what ultimately drove us to convert the house from a two story configuration to a 1 story with the lower level day-lit on either end of the house. It is essentially two stories, but now we were building only two instead of 3 stories.

The cladding of the house is complete although the painting of the siding areas is not done. But the house has largely the look and feel it will when complete. What reads very strongly now is the reflection of the layering of space inside the house as it exerts itself on the facades. Early in the design process the owner was very interested in houses that had a dynamic and varied exterior envelope. Overlapping volumes, and compositions that appeared to be a compilation of related parts. That notion guided the sensibility of the design from early on and now as its nearly done that is showing through. At the front each individual space within becomes an element of the facade. As you move around the house to the back the house envelops and creates an outside room at the rear deck.

Inside the volume of the house returns the gesture. Essentially in what is a wide open floor plan the envelope of the house defines distinct places, the kitchen with a high ceiling lit by high windows, the dining area with a lower ceiling and pushing out of the front wall, the living space removed from the front wall by circulation and an intimate reading space. See more in the photo browser below.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

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0751 RS House - deck and countertops

Inside the house the countertops have been installed in the kitchen and the master bathroom. Outside the deck builder is making haste with the deck framing.

Just a few more weeks for the major areas of work, some details to clean up, and the project will be done. Then its time to start living in it! A few more photos of the countertops were added to the Flickr set.

Plans for the two story version of this house design are available through our catalog page:

0751 RS House. Remember, plans for this house design are a bargain. We offer house designs like this one which are not part of our other collectcions at a much lower price. Check it out.

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0751 RS House - tile tile tile

Tile has really his the back stretch now, as both main bathrooms appear to be rapidly finishing. The Owner is sending us photos daily as he is really watching the finishes carefully.

You will find a few more shots after the link below.

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0751 RS House - filled

The septic system has been placed, and the earth backfilled. The earth around the house is now finally almost at final grade.

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0751 RS House - more progress

This kitchen cabinets are moving along, and out in the front yard the dirt is on the move to make room for the septic field.

For more current photos, follow the link below.

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0751 RS House - septic, and kitchen

Now that the house is closer to finishing the visual progress on site is less total than when it was being framed up and sided. But there is one more big change yet to happen, and its begun this past week.

Inside the house the kitchen cabinets are getting installed, and other finishes such as tile for the bathrooms are happening at the same time. Outside is much the same as before while this interior finish work goes on. Yet the big change about to happen is the install of the septic system. Usually not a big design feature, in this case the septic system resides under several feet of fill directly in front of the house. The impact that this has on the design has to do with the way the house sits on the land. If you look back to the sketches of the house its always been shown sitting straddling a ridge of land the met the front of the house. That ridge of land is the fill to be placed over the septic system, and without that fill its left the house looking like a fish out of water. This will soon be rectified as the septic is installed now, and the fill will follow shortly.

More photos of the current state of the work follows the link below.

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0751 RS House - drywall

And in a flash, the wall board is hung and trimmed. The rough in of electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, the insulation, and inspection all happened very rapidly as the builder has hit his stride with this familiar work.

Ducts and pipes have found their place with only a few small conflicts handily resolved with the builder and owner. The shape of the rooms, and the elements of the space are all more apparent now that there are uniform surfaces. More photos of the interior in a photo browser after the continue link below.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

The green color is the mold resistant drywall used on the lower level because it is partially below grade. Next will be the spackling of the joints and corners. Plans for the two story version of this house design are available through our catalog page.

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0751 RS House - stucco areas begun

The stucco scratch coat has gone up, and the finish coats are sure to follow soon. I just realize I don't know what color is coming. Its nice to have a little surprise in store.

The areas under the low roof on the front here will actually receive veneer stone, and not stucco.

Here is the entry court - you can see the expansion joints which will make score lines in the stucco surface. Note the windows here are properly protected from the wet stucco work.

Remember plans of the 2 story version of this house are available from our catalog.

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0751 RS House - siding panels complete

No matter how familiar I am with a house design, I'm still pleasantly surprised to see it take form in reality during construction. As the siding has approached completion the house is offering up fresh perceptions of its stature and proportions. An experience that will continue as the interior is completed as well.

The siding panels look to be complete now. The areas without siding at the entry wing and at the living room will receive stucco. I'm not sure what the schedule for that work is yet, but its outside the critical path for completing other work. It may happen soon, or later.

A few more photos have been uploaded to the flickr set as well.

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0751 RS House - NJ version vs the two story plan version

There has been some curiosity about the differences between the two story house plan version of this design, and the one story, with daylight lower level. Here is a comparison of the floor plans.

The main living level is much the same - NJ on top, Two story below:

You'll note that the NJ version has a library area along the living room where this is a second floor space in the other version. The entry vestibule is also removed from the NJ version and it relies on the vestibule at the side of the house where the majority of comings and goings will take place.

Then for the two story version we go upstairs, and the NJ version downstairs.

Upstairs there is a walkway that surrounds a two story living room. The home office is to the top above the kitchen. In the NJ version you go downstairs to a hall that connects the bedroom to the home office below the kitchen. The two story space is replaced by a basement storage room. The bedrooms in both schemes are much the same, but the home office in the NJ version connects directly to the side entry by a short stair. In the two story version there is a door to roof deck above the entry, and a spiral stair down to the main deck.

Plans for the two story version of this house design are available through our catalog page.

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