2008 Best in American Living Awards

The 2008 Best in American Living Award judges singled out these custom homes for their creative interpretation of authentic architectural styles; unique details and use of materials; and success in overcoming design and site challenges. We profile the winners and finalists in the custom-home categories below. To view all of the 2008 winners, click here.

Best in American Living Award Winner

BEST ONE-OF-A-KIND CUSTOM HOME UP TO 4,000 SQUARE FEET 
Seaside Sanctuary

Project Name: Sea Strand/LeCates Poolhouse
Location: Ocean City, Md.
Designer/Architect: Becker Morgan Group, Salisbury, Md.
Builder: L.A. Sawyer Co., Ocean City, Md.
Interior Designer: Interiors By Carol, Ocean Pines, Md.
Developer: L.A. Sawyer Co., Ocean City, Md.

The main residence on this site is in a small seaside gated community that lies directly on an access canal of a commercial fishing harbor. Its focal point is an octagonal entry tower designed in the style of Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouses — cottage-like structures so named because they stand on piles that are screwed into the sandy ocean floor.

This guest house/poolhouse mimics the main house's entry tower, with details such as Caribbean-style porch railings, louvered island shutters, custom bracket work and a nautical blue roof. In essence, it's East Coast shingle style architecture with a whimsical twist.

The main house, poolhouse, courtyard and lanai are positioned in a U-shaped footprint to form an outdoor oasis. The poolhouse provides spectacular bay and island views yet maintains privacy from the street.

The grand lanai room was designed as a multipurpose space, with a glass wall that can be closed during inclement weather. Imported Italian travertine tile, beadboard walls and dramatic yet soothing colors and textures add to the luxurious ambience.

Photography by Richard Leo Johnson, Atlantic Archives

BEST IN SOUTH ATLANTIC REGION, BEST ONE-OF-A-KIND CUSTOM HOME 4,001 TO 6,500 SQUARE FEET & HOME OF THE YEAR
Language of the Lowcountry

Project Name: Palmetto Bluff Retreat
Location: Bluffton, S.C.
Designer/Architect: Wayne Windham Architect, Johns Island, S.C.
Builder: J.T. Turner Construction, Savannah, Ga.

Tara it's not, but that was intentional. The owners of this South Carolina home wanted it to have strong indoor-outdoor relationships and an architectural style that would blend with their minimalistic furnishings. In the Palmetto Bluff community, home exteriors must be designed with what architect Wayne Windham calls "a relaxed Southern vernacular architecture." Lowcountry style fit the bill. With their spacious verandas, open floor plans and abundant windows, Lowcountry houses are appropriate for a region with low-lying, watery tracts, coastal breezes and mild weather.

Windham minimized the home's impact on the site by breaking it up into three smaller buildings: main house, garage and guest house. The garage is connected to the main house by a covered walkway, while the guest house is a freestanding structure surrounded by pine trees. The three buildings are arranged around a private courtyard. Large, bracketed overhangs protect the house from rain and reduce summertime heat gain in the glass-enclosed great room, which faces west.

The great room is the home's focal point, with its dark stained wood ceiling trusses, white walls and stone fireplace. Forming its own wing, the room is flooded with natural light and has a screened porch at one end.

Photography by Erik Paulsrud Photography/ Michael Deleon Photo

BEST IN MOUNTAIN REGION 
Overcoming Limitations

Project Name: Chanin Residence
Location: Boulder, Colo.
Designer/Architect: Knudson Gloss Architects, Boulder, Colo.
Builder: Chanin Development, Boulder, Colo.
Interior Designer: 3-By, Denver
Developer: Chanin Development, Boulder, Colo.

Height limitation issues and a severe slope on the south side of a hilly site imposed design constraints on this 6,500-square-foot home in Boulder, Colo. The floor plate needed to be very compact yet accommodate the needs of a young couple with twins on the way.

The solution was to design the house on three levels, including a walk-out lower level. The main level includes the garage, entry, kitchen, dining room, great room and a deck for entertaining. The lower level has a home theater, bar area, game area, exercise/spa space and guest suite; there's a splash pool and hot tub outside. The master bedroom, children's bedrooms and home office are on the third floor.

The clients' taste in art and furniture dictated the home's contemporary style. To take advantage of views, which are primarily to the south, and fill the home with natural light without compromising privacy, the architects used high bands of glass at the ceiling level of the main and upper floors and floor-to-ceiling glass on the south side. The flat roof, which complies with Boulder's height regulations, appears to float on the bands of glass.

Best in American Living Award Finalist

BEST ONE-OF-A-KIND CUSTOM HOME 6,501 SQUARE FEET AND OVER
Full of Surprises

Project Name: Promontory Residence
Location: Las Vegas
Designer/Architect: Bridgwater Consulting Group, Los Angeles
Builder: Raftery Construction, Las Vegas
Interior Designer: Karen Butera Inc., Corona Del Mar, Calif.

Look no further than the Promontory Residence for a definition of "trophy house." Designed for a family that loves casual entertaining, this 15,000-square-foot home is a unique interpretation of contemporary architecture. Distinguished by a copper-clad, hyberbolic-paraboloid roof, its rectangular shapes are balanced with curved walls and a sweeping roof. Sight lines extend through window walls and pocketed sliding doors to sheltered outdoor living areas and an infinity pool. Volume ceilings are kept in scale through the repetition of horizontal design elements.

Among the many outstanding features are the front entry, with its copper and flagstone walls, and the formal dining room, which has a decorative wine-wall. The rich finishes include custom African mahogany veneer cabinetry.

BEST IN CENTRAL REGION
Tuscan Style in Nebraska

Project Name: Fahey Residence
Location: Omaha, Neb.
Designer/Architect: McNeil Co. Builders, Omaha, Neb.
Builder: McNeil Co. Builders, Omaha, Neb.
Interior Designer: Beth Putnam Interiors, Omaha, Neb.
Developer: Horgan Development Co., Omaha, Neb.
Land Planner: Mulhall's, Omaha, Neb.

Once you step inside this Tuscan villa, you'll forget you're in Omaha. The experience starts in the dramatic entry foyer, where 16-foot stone walls culminate in a groin-vault ceiling and visitors are offered a view of the reflecting pool and outdoor living room around which the home is designed. This outdoor space is accessed by French doors from the foyer, master bedroom and great room. Several furnished courtyard areas surround the pool, including one with a fireplace.

A custom blend of stone is used throughout the interior along with distressed hardwood floors. The theme of rustic elegance is carried through to the master bath, where the room's centerpiece, a hammered-copper tub, sits beneath a 12-foot arched ceiling.

BEST ONE-OF-A-KIND CUSTOM HOME UP TO 4,000 SQUARE FEET
Small Wonder

Project Name: The Vineyard Quarters
Location: Great Falls, Va.
Designer/Architect: GTM Architects, Bethesda, Md.
Builder: Block Builders, Bethesda, Md.

Built next to the main house and sporting similar details, this 1,750-square-foot guest house serves double duty as a space for entertaining. Reclaimed vintage hardwood flooring, traditional door hardware and detailed molding evoke the feel of a lodge or cabin. The focal point of the main level is a large stone fireplace whose chimney soars into a vaulted ceiling with exposed rustic timbers.

The main level consists of a great room — spacious enough for a dining table and a large seating area by the fireplace — as well as a full kitchen, powder room and utility room. Upstairs is a bedroom, full bathroom and an open loft with a view of the great room below. A covered front porch runs the full width of the house.

BEST IN MOUNTAIN REGION AND BEST ONE-OF-A-KIND CUSTOM HOME 6,501 SQUARE FEET AND OVER
Mountain Retreat

Project Name: Beartrap Residence
Location: Big Sky, Mont.
Designer/Architect: Locati Architects, Bozeman, Mont.
Builder: Teton Heritage Builders, Bozeman, Mont.
Interior Designer: Harker Design, Big Sky, Mont.
Developer: Yellowstone Club, Big Sky, Mont.
Land Planner: Yellowstone Club, Big Sky, Mont.

This vacation home in Montana's Yellowstone Club community is a rambling, three-story expression of rustic elegance. Natural materials blur the lines between indoors and outdoors, while vast expanses of windows provide spectacular views of Lone Peak. Custom alder moldings and millwork and reclaimed wood enhance the relaxed, lodge-like ambience.

The 9,200-square-foot residence is perfectly suited for relaxation and entertaining; it has a ski room, recreation room, media room and billiard room. Guest suites on all three levels and bunks on the lower level easily accommodate visitors.

BEST ONE-OF-A-KIND CUSTOM HOME 6,501 SQUARE FEET AND OVER
See-Through Sculpture

Project Name: The Glass House at Bellevue
Location: Boulder, Colo.
Designer/Architect: Architectural Manoeuvres, Boulder, Colo.
Builder: High Plains Construction Management, Niwot, Colo.
Interior Designer: Amirob Architectural Interior Designers, Denver

Innovative design, smart building practices and a harmonious relationship with the land characterize this home in the Rocky Mountain foothills. Frameless Low-E structural glass walls soar over two stories, echoing the tall rock formations of the Boulder Flatirons. Due to an existing solar shadow ordinance, the architect designed a unique sculptural massing complemented by low, sloping roofs.

Boulders on the site were incorporated as water features, increasing humidity in the arid environment and creating a seamless transition between the house and nature. Stone paths connect each living area to the outdoors. An unobtrusive elevator links all three levels of the home.

BEST ONE-OF-A-KIND CUSTOM HOME 4,001 TO 6,500 SQUARE FEET
Cape Cod Blend

Project Name: Custom Home on Cape Cod
Location: Osterville, Mass.
Designer/Architect: A.E. Ferragamo, AIA, Registered Architect, Mashpee, Mass.
Builder: Northern Heritage Builders, Hyannis, Mass.
Interior Designer: SLC Interiors, South Hamilton, Mass.
Land Planner: Mary LeBlanc Landscape Designs, Cotuit, Mass.

The newest addition to a neighborhood of existing homes that are situated directly on Nantucket Sound, this residence's exterior mixes elements of traditional and contemporary Cape Cod coastal homes. But at the same time, it expresses the owners' unique identity. Careful planning makes the most of panoramic views, breezes, sunlight and other benefits of oceanfront living while ensuring privacy from neighboring properties.

The open floor plan provides views of all the principal living areas and imbues them with a relaxed ambience. Interior spaces connect with the outdoors via a covered porch that wraps around the front and side of the house and an expansive rear deck.

BEST IN SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
Spanish Heritage

Project Name: Glade Road Project
Location: Colleyville, Texas
Designer/Architect: Team 3 Estate Homes d/b/a Team 3 Homes, Southlake, Texas
Builder: Team 3 Estate Homes d/b/a Team 3 Homes, Southlake, Texas
Interior Designer: Beverly Williamson Interior Design, Elgin, Texas

Displaying elements of Vintage Spanish Eclectic design, this home fulfills the clients' wish for a linear central axis floor plan; large living and gathering areas; and a master suite that is private but easily accessible through the central axis. Abundant glass draws the lush exterior surroundings into the home, while covered outdoor areas maximize livability. Stone walls, ornamental iron fencing and barrel columns protect the entrance to the park-like property.

A high level of craftsmanship is evident in the rolled Sheetrock interior detailing around the doors and windows and unique ceiling treatments such as cove lighted ovals and domes.

BEST IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION & BEST ONE-OF-A-KIND CUSTOM HOME UP TO 4,000 SQUARE FEET
On the Rocks

Project Name: High Above the Water
Location: Anacortes, Wash.
Designer/Architect: Gelotte Hommas Architecture, Bellevue, Wash.
Builder: Strandberg Construction, Anacortes, Wash.
Interior Designer: Hilary Young Design Associates, Bellevue, Wash.

An active, work-at-home professional couple wanted their residence, located on one of Washington State's San Juan Islands, to be filled with natural light and views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The builder utilized timberframe construction — a method used in several of the clients' favorite destination resorts — to maximize windows in the home, which is perched 60 feet above the water on a rocky outcropping. When inclement weather prohibits use of the decks, the clients can enjoy views from a sitting nook in the living room.

Exposed timbers in the great room wrap the living room, kitchen and dining room in warm, natural colors.

BEST IN SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
Living Large on a Small Lot

Project Name: Winston Place
Location: Houston
Designer/Architect: Castellanos Design, Houston
Builder: HWD Homes, Houston
Interior Designer: Ivy Hall, Houston
Developer: HWD Homes, Houston
Land Planner: HWD Homes, Houston

Winston Place, a gated enclave in central Houston, demonstrates how to correctly design large homes for small infill lots. The home shown here, which is 5,560 square feet on 21/2 levels, rests on only 3,000 square feet of land yet makes the most of views and limited outdoor space while infusing the interior with natural light.

Four sets of double mahogany glass doors and a front entry portico face the walled courtyard, which provides a formal garden entry as well as a place for entertaining. The home's interior is elegant without being overly formal.

BEST IN SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
Tree’s the Charm

Project Name: The Big Kids' Tree House
Location: Kiawah Island, S.C.
Designer/Architect: Christopher Rose Architects, Johns Island, S.C.
Builder: Buffington Homes, Johns Island, S.C.
Developer: Kiawah Development Partners, Charleston, S.C.
Land Planner: Design Works, Charleston, S.C.

The biggest challenge in creating this vacation home was a live oak tree, 24 inches in diameter, whose canopy covered 40 percent of the lot's buildable area. Since the tree could not be moved, the house was designed around it and other trees on the property. The mass of the home was broken up by incorporating all second-story rooms within the roof structure, including a bunkroom and workout room above the garage. A separate parking area allows the main structure to sit lower on the site, above the flood plain.

A wraparound porch, circular screen porch and various outdoor living areas provide a variety of indoor/outdoor experiences, including a 270-degree view.