Room Guide: Fireplace

With temperatures dropping as fast as the snow, I think we can all agree that winter has officially arrived in West Michigan. Love it or hate it, why not find yourself a cozy spot next to a roaring fire with a cup of hot chocolate to keep the chill of winter at bay. Your fireplace can be an accent feature to a room or can easily become the focal point. Check out some of the traditional, the modern and the ultra cool fireplaces that have been designed by Visbeen Architects.

The dark wood mantle of this fireplace creates a focal point for this lighter toned room

 Seeing double? This see through, two-way, fireplace has been placed in the middle of the living room in order to create two separate spaces while maintaining an open floor plan 

  A modern, low profile, fireplace gives way to the artistic to create their own unique space that warms the room

A more traditional fireplace with warmer tones that helps you feel right at home

Look again…Although you may not see it, this fireplace has 4 sides, some of which include storage for wood or blankets

This wide, modern, fireplace is the centerpiece that brings extra warmth to the vaulted ceiling room

A dramatically dark mantle of this fireplace along with dark accent pieces brings warmth into this large, multipurpose, living space

A two-way, see though, fireplace has been placed in the center of the room to be enjoyed from both sides in this costal home

For those warmer nights that you want to spend outdoors, why not spend them around an outdoor fireplace?

Do you know where this 4-sided, outdoor, fireplace is located?

2013 Design Home

It has been an exciting month for all of us here at Visbeen Architects. We have had two of our home designs featured in two different publications!  Emmett, located in South Haven, MI, was featured in the Michigan Blue Magazine and the Heartsworth, which resides in Ada, MI, is recognized in Grand Rapids Magazine as the 2013 Design Home. 

The Heartsworth is a one of a kind home built by Infiniti Custom Homes with interiors artfully designed by Lauren Greiner, interior designer, with Klingman's Design Studio. 

From start to finish this home has been all about the details. From the decision of how it would be placed on the property in order to accentuate the natural attributes of the nature preserve, to the X-style design incorporated in the interior and exterior details of the home. Enjoy seeing the interior and exterior details of this spectacular home. 

Thank you to all of those that helped this beautiful home to become a reality.

Michigan Blue: Winter Edition

The Winter edition of Michigan Blue Magazine has been released and is featuring one of our designs, Emmett. This lakefront home, located in South Haven, MI, is the final chapter of the Great Lake Story guide to finding a lakeside residence. 
This spectacular home was built buy Mike Schaap Builders and the interiors were designed by the talented team at Benchmark Design Studio led by Jodi Medina. 

This home was crafted to enhance the outdoor living spaces and to offer extraordinary, waterfront, sunset views. Read more about this charming lakefront home at Pier View Cottages and all it has to offer.

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Introducing Holly Stuut

Introducing the newest member at Visbeen Associates, Holly Stuut.

I will be taking over the blog and would like to take some time to introduce myself with a short bio. 

My name is Holly Stuut and I am the Office Manager at Visbeen Associates. I am 22 years-old and a recent graduate from Grand Valley State University. I moved to Grand Rapids from Southwest Michigan where I grew up. 

My duties at Visbeen range from social media management to office organization and client hospitality.  

Outside of work, I enjoy running, biking and spending time at the lake. My hobbies include cooking, reading, spending time with my family and keeping up with some of my favorite sports. 

Kitchens to be Thankful for

It is the time of year where we all sit down to a great fall feast and talk about the things we are most thankful for. Will you be home today? Grandma’s? Maybe it is your first time celebrating the holiday somewhere new, but wherever you are, be thankful. I am thankful for the family and friends that I will be blessed to spend time with in this holiday season. What are you most thankful for? 

Whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, fall harvest, or your family just wants an excuse to eat a ton of food and watch football all day, it is likely that we will all be spending a significant amount of time in our beloved kitchens. No matter what your reasons, plans, or traditions, celebrate the season and enjoy the wonderful dishes prepared for you or by you in your kitchen. 

The kitchen below offers a warm, neutral, color scheme and wood accents which set the scene for holiday traditions. With an extended island that offers seating for three there is ample counter space to place the dishes that have been loving prepared for a gathering of any size.

From our kitchens to yours, we wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.

This week the Philadelphia Convention Center is hosting Greenbuild 2013 featuring the innovative products and services used in the building industry today. Being a premier conference for greener building and sustainability, Greenbuild attracts professionals from all aspects of the building industry.

Environmental and social leaders are scheduled to speak along with Keynote Remarks from Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Featured in one of the Greenbuild exhibits is our favorite architect, Wayne Visbeen. He has been hard at work doing real time drawing demos for sustainable building concepts.

2013 Parade of Homes Award Recognition 

The Home Builders Association of Greater Grand Rapids (HBAGGR) and Cosmopolitan Home Magazine offered each entry in the Fall Parade the opportunity to win awards for Best Kitchen, Best Floor Plan, Best Curb Appeal and Best Interior Elements for their price range.  Judged by a panel of experts in the industry, the Awards of Excellence are sought after by the Parade of Homes participants and are a great way to receive recognition for their expertise in design and craftsmanship. We are proud to announce our successful designs!

Harvey

$750,000 - $1,000,000 category

• Category Winner 

Built by Falcon Homes, Architecture & Interior Architecture by Visbeen Architects, Interiors by Gallery Interiors. 

Sheridan

$1 million + category

• Best Kitchen
• Best Floor Plan

Built by Mike Schaap Builders, Architecture & Interior Architecture by Visbeen Architects, Interiors by Benchmark Wood Studio

Congratulations to the teams that helped turn these designs into award-winning masterpieces!