RISSAY_ARCHITECTURE | CONSTRUCTION

Do You Enjoy Entertaining?

How many of you enjoy having guests over and entertaining?  With the holidays quickly approaching, I’m sure even more of you are preparing for such an occasion in your home.  More often than not, your guests will end up congregating into the kitchen at one point or another.  It’s inevitable.  Why not have an open, inviting kitchen, not only to maximize efficiency in cooking, but to maximize interaction with your guests.  Our client on Delancey Street came to us looking for just that.

As soon as you walked into the home, you had two options: enter into a narrow, 17 foot long hallway straight ahead, or navigate through a narrow 2 foot opening on the right between the hallway and breakfast bar to enter the kitchen.  Regardless of choice, the entry was a highly congested area that needed resolved.  The long hallway was awkward and seldom used.  It also visually made the kitchen much narrower.

The wall separating the hall and kitchen will be removed, widening the kitchen by three and a half feet, but more importantly, it will visually open up the entire first floor.  The perpendicular breakfast bar, which only sat two and greatly restricted circulation will also be eliminated.  Where the wall used to be, we will have an expansive peninsula able to seat 4 people, with 8 feet of additional base cabinets.  We will also have additional seating for two by the window.    Not only will we have seating for 6 in the kitchen now, but a great flow between the kitchen, dining, and living room allowing all guests to interact at once. 

Even with a full house, it will be a highly functional kitchen with room to navigate.  It will feature GE Monogram appliances, as well as wonderful Greenfield Cabinets with soft close drawers and pull out trays.  Classic soapstone counters will be installed, as well as a charming Herbeau farmhouse sink.  For now you can view the renderings we did for the client below, but be sure to check back as we complete construction on this project before the new year!

Wine Cellar- Photo Album

Please check out the Wine Cellar's Photo Album!  In it you will find all of the drawings, renderings, and completed photos of the Wine Cellar!

Open Floor Plan Dilemma

While open floor plans are very popular (and rightfully so), they often leave a homeowner asking one question: How do I create different spaces within, that have a true purpose and function.  This client, a young couple in their 20’s, that reside in a lovely home in Society Hill had that exact question.  The space itself had the potential, and they had already choosen wonderful furniture for the space as well.  The inherit problem being there was no differentiation between the spaces.  They wished to have the first room upon entry to be the casual TV room, while the room beyond would function as the formal sitting room for entertaining by the warm fire.  The two rooms flowed together seamlessly with no variation in texture, design, or aesthetics.

The simplest, but possibly the largest impact on the space was the new cased opening.  It physically denotes the change from the casual to the formal space, while still visually connecting the two rooms.  Within the formal sitting room, we really wished to appeal to the homeowners’ transitional style.  Custom wainscot panels were installed throughout the room creating an air of elegance.  Above the wainscotting you will find a luxorious grass cloth wall covering.  As for the fireplace, it received a new, custom mantle, as well as a Calcutta Gold Marble surround and Black Absolute hearth.  To your left as you enter the space, you will notice their new one-of-a-kind drybar that we designed and built 100% in house.  It features LED lights inside, which provide plenty of light, while never heating the drinks within.  The center panel drops down to form a countertop on which you can serve your drinks.  It also features a soft close mechanism to ensure that there is no slamming of the doors and rattling of the contents within. 

The sitting room has also been integrated with a Sonos system and in-wall speakers.  Sonos is a multi-room audio system that allows you to "play the same song in every room with perfect synchronicity or simultaneously play different songs in different rooms."  Sonos can play your entire music library, as well as internet radio stations & other music services, such as Rhapsody and Pandora.  It is easily controlled with a Sonos controller, iPhone, iPad or computer.  Finally the upgrading of the lighting greatly enhanced the space.  We also updated the trim kits on the existing recessed lights, as well as adding additional fixtures.  The new chandelier and wall sconces provide the eloquent finishing touch.  This room no longer lacks a separate identity from its counterpart  and is a formal sitting room that anyone would be proud to have guests visit. 

 

Ask us how Rissay can help personalize your home to match not only your needs, but your lifestyle!

( Photo 1: Before,  Photo 2 & 3: After )

Who doesn’t enjoy a fine bottle of wine?

Who doesn’t enjoy a fine bottle of wine?  Our one client definitely enjoys having a fine bottle of wine or better yet 1,395 bottles.  Ok, ok, he may not have that many bottles quite yet, but now that we have completed his new wine cellar (which can accommodate 1,395 bottles) I am sure his collection will eventually reach that number.  We didn’t want to merely store his wine collection, but to have it all on display. 

We designed a clean, sleek room with niches in the walls to truly emphasize the wine and not the space itself.  Transparency was an important design concept in this wine cellar.  Insulated glass double doors with narrow stiles provide entry into the room, while allowing you to see the entire collection at once.  One entire wall, 11 + feet, is floor to ceiling insulated glass that really allows you to see how vast the entire collection is.  Behind the glass are several free standing wine racks, with openings between every third rack, referencing the niches on the opposing wall.  Peering through the glass wall, freestanding racks, and the strategic openings provide a very nice layered appearance, while maximizing the space.

Once again we wanted to put the emphasis on the wine itself, so we decided to utilize Vintage View’s Platinum Series wine racks.  They are very minimal, streamlined metal racks that allow you to maximize your space, while storing the bottles on their side with the label facing you.  No more need to pull out every bottle in search of the one you want as you typically would with a bulky, rustic looking, wood rack design.  LED lights are mounted above all the racks to futher emphasize the ever important wine below.  The LEDs also do not produce heat, like most lights would, which could damage the wine.

Behind the walls is spray foam insulation which will keep the room at a constant temperature, as well as act as a vapor barrier.  The room also has its very own ducted cooling unit and humidifier.  Typically these units are within the wine cellar themselves, which can be loud and quite frankly an eyesore.  We strategically placed our cooling and humidifying unit in an adjoining storage closet with the air ducted into the wine cellar.  The humidifier used can fill the room with up to 80% humidity to ensure the corks never dry out, spoiling your wine (most units can only go as high as 60%, when its recommended wine is stored at 55 to 75%).

This is truly a wine cellar that a wine connoisseur could feel safe storing and displaying his collection in.  It is not just aesthetically beautiful, but also well constructed and highly efficient.   Please enjoy a few photos of the completed project below.  Additional photos, as well as renderings and progress photos will be added to the photo album on the right hand side in the upcoming days.

 

 

Home Office

There is no project too large or too small for Rissay.  Yes, we do a lot of whole home renovations, but we also take great pride in our smaller projects, such as single room remodels, custom built-ins, etc.  We take our same design and construction expertise that we use for a whole home renovation and put it into every project we do, no matter what the size or scope of work.  We also assist in selecting furnishings and improving the layout of a space through basic changes.  Our scope of services can vary greatly for a project and are truly tailored towards each individual client.

In the images below you will find an initial design guide and a few renderings for a home office.  The client predominantly works from home and wanted his office to have a more relaxed, inviting feel to it.  To give the space a more open feel, while preserving privacy for phone conversations, we propose exchanging the existing solid doors to doors with full glass panels.  The view into the office from the main living space feels welcoming with the pop of color from the Sour Apple leather chair and the warmth of the Zebra wood panels behind.  The improved layout and new furnishings not only encourage productivity, but truly fit into the overall design aesthetics of the home.  No more need to keep the home office tucked away and hidden from visitors.

 

 

 

 

   

Renderings Help to Visualize Your Project

As great as drawings are to portray information, it is sometimes hard to visualize the final built project.  In addition to your typical design drawings, we can also create a 3D model of your future project.  Eliminate the hassle of trying to imagine what your project will look and see it for yourself before construction even gets started.  The level of detail in the 3D model can vary to fit any budget.

In the home pictured below, there is only one bathroom in the entire house.  The clients wish to add a powder room on the first floor for guests to use.  Their main concern was how much space of the existing dining room would it take and ultimately, what will it look like.  In the renderings below you can get an idea of the space.  The new powder room will be in the back corner.  It will have a transom above it, so the dining room can borrow light from the powder room window.  In the opposing corner will be a new coat closet.  New built in book cases are being added as well.  Between the bookcases, we are proposing a Reclaimed Redwood Iconic panel.  It would play nicely off the modern Danish furniture found throughout the house.  Their dining table and chairs were added to give scale to the room.

Summer is here and so is the peak renovation season.  So why wait?  No more excuses that you can't imagine what the final space will look like.  Contact us to help make your dream home become a reality.

Furniture by Rissay

I apologize for it being a while since our last post.  We have been extremely busy with projects and our focus, as always, has been on keeping our projects going smoothly for our clients.  Today I decided to post a few pictures of a custom ottoman and mirror Scott has created for the owner of the Trinity.

I hope these pictures, as well as all of the other pictures on this blog and our website, show the full range of what Rissay can do for you and your home.  We try to analyze and design every detail to our clients' satisfaction, whether it is a full home renovation, kitchen, built-in, or a small furniture piece.  Rissay pushes to exceed our clients' expectations.  We strive to have every minute detail figured out before beginning a project to keep the entire project on budget and schedule.  We don't cut corners and strive for the utmost craftsmanship regardless of the size of the project, as you can see in today's photos.

Trinity- Completed Album

The Trinity- Completed Album is now up, and can be found on the right-hand side of the page.  There are some before & after photographs included in the album, but feel free to check out the Trinity- Existing Album to see how far the home has truly come.

Have a project of your own and wish to discuss it, feel free to call us at 215-713-0750 or e-mail us at [email protected]

Trinity Transformation Completed

The Trinity project that we spoke about in several previous posts is finally complete and has been photographed.  The only things remaining from the original home are the masonry walls, wood joists, and stairs.    The house had a very well built structure, but all of the interiors had been neglected for decades and needed a major overhaul, in both style and functionality.  Infrastructure wise, it received all new plumbing, electrical, lighting, doors, roof, drywall, windows, and insulation. 

The windows are all Low E II Argon filled to try to minimize heat loss/gain through the windows. The spray foam insulation could realize energy savings up to 60% greater than if traditional insulation was used.  The windows, entry door, and insulation all qualified for the federal tax credit.  It is important to check what qualifies when buying these materials.  As for the windows, by paying an extra $300 total to get the more energy efficient windows, the homeowner will get over a $1,000 credit on his taxes.

The home also received all new custom milled wood flooring, marble tile, counters, and fireplace surround, plumbing and lighting fixtures, furniture, tile, appliances, custom millwork, etc.  Scott and Jim built a custom entertainment center for first floor (1^st picture below), which also incorporates a coat closet, which the 1^st floor previously lacked. Since most full beds would not be able to get up the spiral stairs or 3^rd floor window, we asked Springhouse Woodshop to create a custom wood bed and nightstand for us.  The two pieces were expertly crafted, and most importantly the bed completely disassembled to get up stairs. 

As you can imagine, the small space and stairs was an issue throughout the project, but alas it is complete and the homeowner is enjoying his new home very much.  Below you can find a picture of the 1st floor custom entertainment center, as well as some before and after photos.  Check back soon for the “Trinity Completed” photo album to see the whole project!

Artist Loft Design

Although we are a design / build firm, we also take on work that is either just design services or just construction.  We are currently pricing several jobs for just the construction of built-ins designed by others.  Our design services can range greatly from quick sketches with design direction, to space planning, schematic drawings, cost estimating, 3D modeling, renderings, and finally to full construction documents.  You can enlist us for one or more of these services or for the full range of services.

For the project below, we were approached by a repeat client who is a painter.  Since it is for her art studio and loft, she wanted to keep it to a modest budget, but with high functionality and quality design in mind.  Since it is just her studio, with no rush, and a handy husband with weekends free, she just enlisted us for a quick design direction and simple renderings to show the vision for the space.  Below you can find a few of the simple images, but please keep in mind we also do much more intensive renderings as well.  Just can't picture how 2D drawings transfer to your actual space? 3D models are a great way to help you envision your future project.