Thursday, June 30, 2011

Fetching & Functional Built-Ins: Part Two

On to part two of our feature on fetching and functional built-ins that make your house a working home. Today, we will focus on built-ins designed by Visbeen Associates for transitional spaces and home management/study areas. These really can be some of the most fuctional built-ins.

First things first - transitional spaces. These include hallways, stair cases and entryways; all the spaces that are easily forgotten as serving any other function than to get from point A to point B. They can become cluttered instantly without proper planning.

Blaine's upper level transitional area outside of the office is transformed into a library by adding built-in bookcases - very "My Fair Lady" with the ladder!

Don't you just want to curl up with your favorite book in Traverse's hallway nook?

The built-ins between Sunsweet Hill's living room and staircase create a great storage and display bookcase out of an otherwise unused wall.

Here is one of our favorite transitional space built-ins from the Blaine. An otherwise dull stair landing is transformed into the perfect game space with this built-in booth.

The rear entry of our beachfront design, the Arcadia, offers a classy way to store shoes, coats and beach towels with its quaint built-ins.

Inverness' front entry has this built-in bench and storage space for all the items you don't want guests to see when they first walk in the door!

Home management/study built-ins are an effective way of creating a neat and tidy space to be productive. When we design desk built-ins with a client, we ask questions of how they work and sometimes more importantly, WHERE they work, so that the built-in creates the best possible solution for their workflow.

This home management built-in from the Ingleside is just off of the back hallway so that the homeowner can manage the laundry and kitchen activities at the same time.

Give them a desk, a chair, a window and some chalkboard paint and the kids are bound to get their homework done, right?

This lovely built-in offers an organized nook with a great view for efficient home management.

Bright and cherry, this study room keeps the kids' homework stations organized and separated - no more excuses that your brother ate your homework!

Pemberley's home management center can be kept open to the hallway for ease in and out or can be closed off with the pocket door for privacy and noise management.

The library at Avonlea showcases fantastic woodworking and craftsmanship of the built-in bookcases and desk (nice work Jeff Segard, Builder!). Between the cupboard, drawer and shelf space, this homeowner is not lacking in storage!

This study room offers ample space to work and play with the built-in desks and entertainment center.

But we are not done yet! Part three of our built-in series will be up on our blog next week, so stay tuned!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Fetching & Functional Built-Ins: Part One

When designing and building a new home, one thing to consider is the inclusion of built-ins. They are architectural elements that can offer functionality, space savings and add that special something to the overall look and flow of the home. For this first feature, we are including examples of Visbeen Associates' designed built-ins for the main living spaces - kitchen/eating areas, living rooms and bedrooms.

The warmth of Ingleside's retro kitchen was achieved with built-in serving buffets and a cozy window booth.

Sunset View's curved, built-in booth is open to the kitchen and seats up to eight with shelves above for storage or display, creating a cozy space to enjoy dinner with the family.

This kitchen built-in from our Pinehurst design offers a comfortable place to enjoy a meal along with attractive storage for wine bottles and an overhead television so its meal-goers never miss a moment.

Inverness' kitchen includes a built-in for dish storage as well as a wine rack, making setting a place to eat at either the large kitchen island or the open formal dining room a breeze.

This charming built-in booth provides an intimate place to eat. The unique ceiling treatment above embodies the cottage style of this design, the Lakepointe.

Keeping formal dinnerware, serving pieces and decorations organized is easy with this built-in china cabinet in Avonlea's formal dining room.

The built-ins flanking Stafford's hearth room fireplace create functional storage space as well as a place for stylish display.

What better way to keep logs for Kearney Hill's wood burning fireplace than built-in storage in the side of the fireplace itself.

One of our signature types of built-ins - bunks! They create a charming place to rest your head while keeping the floor space of the room open for other uses.

This built-in bed takes the guest bedroom from sleeping two to sleeping three without crowding the room.

Kearny Hill's bunks are in the transitional space between the hallway and guest bedroom, allowing for privacy for bunk and bedroom occupants.

Any kid would have a hard time resisting bedtime with this fantastic built-in bed complete with flanking bookshelves to organize stuffed animals and nighttime reading materials.

Stay tuned for part two of our fetching and functional built-in feature - coming this Thursday!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Harbor Shores Model Grand Opening

The model home we designed in the Fairways at Harbor Shores is having it's Grand Opening this weekend! The home will be open for public tours from 11:00a-3:00p Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 24-26. Tomorrow, the grand opening will include live music, food and drinks. You will also have the chance to enter to win two passes to the 2012 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid! These ground passes allow event access every day of the tournament at Harbor Shores May 22-27, 2012. Here are a few photos of the home - come and check it out in person this weekend!

Address: 515 Golden Bear Ct.
St. Joseph, MI 49085


This home was designed by Visbeen Associates, Inc, built by Falcon Homes with interiors by Gallery Interiors.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Duneside

Did you miss seeing the Duneside in this years spring parade of homes? Well have no fear, here is your very own pictorial tour of this lakefront abode.


This home was designed by Visbeen Associates, Inc., built by DeHaan Homes with interior cabinetry by Spaces Unlimited.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Architectural Tutorial: Tudor Style

The Tudor Style is a post-Victorian Revival Style that, along with five other styles (Norman, Chateauesque, Colonial Revival, Mission, and the Classic Revival Styles), revives form and methods of the past. This style was previously known as Elizabethan (1890-1910) because it was inspired by English cottages built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603). When it emerged in America it was actually a Medieval Revival Style based on the English Elizabethan and Jacobean Styles adapted to the Queen Anne house. It became known as the new English Tudor Style as it evolved and began to master imitating the English historical style more accurately.

The most common exterior characteristic of the Tudor house is half-timbering. In this type of construction, the timber framework of the building is left exposed and the spaces between the timbers are filled or "nogged" with brickwork and often covered with white stucco. Other features of this style include:
  • Cross-gabled, medium to steeply pitched roofs, sometimes with clipped gables
  • Dormers and overhangs are common
  • Arrangements of tall, narrow windows in bands
  • Small window panes either double-hung or casement
  • Oversized fireplaces; chimneys with decorative brickwork and chimney pots
  • Asymmetrical plan
Here are a few examples of Visbeen Associates' Tudor style homes...

Traditional Tudor styling blends with modern comfort and convenience in this design, the Kingston. From the dramatic barrel-vaulted living room to the light-filled octagonal sun room, this well-appointed design includes a spectacular master suite, a gourmet kitchen with large pantry, even a charming potting shed.

The elegant four-bedroom, five-bath Chesterfield boasts the best of Tudor design as well as a floor plan tailored to modern living.

Inspired by the great Tudor estates, this dramatic home called the Livingston features fine details throughout.


Here are a few notable examples of Tudor Style residences...

Castle Lodge in Ludlow, England was pictured in the 1965 film Moll Flanders

Old Mill Farm is the former residence of Mel Gibson in Greenwich, CT. Built in 1926, designed by architect Charles Lewis Bowman, this lovely tudor estate was sold by Gibson in 2010 for over $20 million.

The home in next two photos is where the wedding scene in the movie "The Godfather" was filmed. This Staten Island tudor is available for sale and can be yours if you make them an offer they can't refuse (as long as its around $2.9 million).

Sources:
Walker, Lester. America Homes: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Domestic Architecture. New York: The Overlook Press, 1981.
http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/styles/tudor-revival.htm
http://www.antiquehome.org/Architectural-Style/tudor.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Lodge,_Ludlow
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/826664
http://hookedonhouses.net/2009/06/30/mel-gibsons-tudor-style-mansion-in-greenwich/
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/12/02/staten_islands_godfather_house_hits_the_market_for_29m.php