Contemporary House Design

Not all new homes are designed and built from scratch. One thing that sets this home apart from others is that it was designed and built on top of an existing foundation of a house that had burned down. While tragic, this fire gave an opportunity for a new, more modern, house to rise from its ashes. There are many things that make this house contemporary. The roof is flat and even wraps around the exterior to create an interesting space. It isn’t perfectly orthogonal and it has abnormally shaped overhangs. Even the siding breaks away from tradition, trading the usual clapboard for a modern panel system.

 

One of the latest and greatest tools in the field of architecture is the 3D rendering. Renderings are able to provide an accurate representation of how your project will appear once finished. They give you a snapshot of the future and allow you to test different things such as finish materials in order to see how certain components will look with different styles. Windows and doors can be easily changed, and you can even model complex pieces such as the roof in order to create unique looks. By using rendering technology designers are able to provide multiple options for a design. This allows them to see what parts are working, which ones are not, and which ones should be modernized. For example, notice that the windows in this project are far from the traditional double hung windows seen on residences everywhere. A simple change such as that gives this house a more contemporary feel.

An aspect of architecture that is always evolving is the materials. This project focused on creating a modern energy efficient home through the use of energy efficient materials. Modern materials applied to the exterior can help create even more energy efficient spaces, while materials applied to the interior in a unique way can give the inside of the space a contemporary feel while also adding to the efficiency. The combination of materials, the placement of windows, the wrapping of the roof around the edges of the house; These are all done in a way that creates an interesting, unique, and dynamic façade as well as a very efficient building envelope. The form of a house is not required to be simple. So why design that way? This roof is both functional and artistic. This project brings a whole new aesthetic to the neighborhood by changing the concept of what a roof needs to be. The contemporary home doesn’t have to just be contemporary on the outside. For example, the combination of different floor finishes in this project create a very unique space on the inside. The white walls are a solid neutral that allows almost everything to act as an accent, in the typical contemporary aesthetic.

When it comes to renovating an existing house, style is always important. Do you keep with the original style of the home or do you change it entirely? Do you keep some parts the same? In this project we kept the bathroom layouts the same, while aiming to change everything else to a more contemporary design. The focus of this project was to make a home stand out in a conventional neighborhood where almost every house is a single story suburban home –to break away from uniformity. The shape of the roof on this project is unlike anything existing in that area.

What makes a contemporary kitchen? Is it as simple as having an open floor plan? What about hanging decorative art on the wall? Can contemporary furniture make a contemporary space? Is having interesting materials enough? The answer to all these questions is that it takes many components to make a truly contemporary space. This kitchen for example, combines glossy, matte, and even some metallic materials to define its own aesthetic. The bold contrast of black and white coupled with the pristine straight edges of this kitchen separate the contemporary from the traditional.

 

Full Home Renovation Danvers, MA