Tag Archive: Custom Luxury Homes

  1. The Origins of a Modern Architect: Getting to Know Phil Kean (Podcast)

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    Phil Kean is a nationally-awarded modern architect with an office in Winter Park, Florida, and breathtaking modern residential projects across the globe.

    The Phil Kean Design Group (PKDG) team has been recognized with prestigious awards in the world of architecture and construction including:

    …and so much more!

    We’re happy to dig into how our lead architect and owner got his start, and a bit of insight into the exclusive, signature PKDG process:

    Jon:

    Today we’re interviewing Phil Kean. Phil Kean Design Group is a nationally-awarded design/build architecture firm voted “Best of Orlando” #1 Home Builder by Orlando magazine readers, voted Best Home Builder “Best of Winter Park” three years in a row by the Winter Park, Florida Chamber of Commerce, “Best Of Houzz” Design Award by Houzz.com, and winning the platinum and gold awards from the National Association of Home Builders’ “Best in American Living Awards”. Today we’re going to be talking to Phil to get his insight into the exclusive signature Phil Kean Design Group process.

    I wanted to start with basically, how you got started in the business, and how did you begin the business in Winter Park?  Amy tells me that you started it literally on your kitchen table in Winter Park. So if we could start from the beginning, that would be amazing.

    Phil:

    My dad was a builder, so I grew up around it, so it was always like a passion. When I started the business, it was really one house at a time and I would design it and then I would build it. And it was just me and I worked at my kitchen table. It was really pre-CAD…I wasn’t even doing CAD in the beginning stages. I started CAD…I mean I bought a book and downloaded the computer-aided drafting for dummies…I bought a book over at one of the bookstores and taught myself CAD. And then, my first year I did essentially one spec house and then the next year I did two spec houses. And then the next year I did three houses and I hired my first person. Then each year I hired another person, and I outgrew my kitchen with the second person. We moved into a small office in Winter Park. It was really very small, and then we outgrew that space and grew to a bigger space. And, all these years later here we are <laugh>. Wow.

    Yeah it’s really interesting, when we did our first modern home…, I designed it almost 20 years ago and it’s on Via Tuscany, and it got a lot of  recognition. A lot of people really loved that house. I designed it for myself. At the time everybody was doing the Spanish Mediterraneans, and I remember a realtor friend of mine who told me I was crazy to do a modern house, that they never sell…they’re hard to sell, I’ll lose my shirt. It really did change my career. So you kind of have to trust your gut, I guess. The universe kind of took care of me and I made some good decisions and people really liked my modern aesthetic. It was warm…it used a lot of natural materials. It was more of a mid-century kind of modern than it was like the Miami Vice modern. And it’s just grown from there. It got picked up by one of the big design magazines. It was featured in Florida Architecture, which was to me at the time a giant magazine. It came out twice a year and it was really…, they’re no longer around, but it was really an honor to be picked up in that magazine. And then Florida Design also featured it.  And even today, people still pull up that house and say, “I really like this house. I want a version of this for my lot, or for me.” And so,  almost 20 years later people are still appreciating that first house I did. Which is kind of cool, here in Winter Park <laugh>.

    Jon:

    It’s amazing. I think one of the things that we were talking about before is the design, sort of risks that you took. And I think that you still continue to take in terms of the boundaries and the design aesthetic that you are chasing, and that’s so beautiful. Really I wonder, is it something that when you were designing that first sort of modern look, I mean, did you feel sort of ostracized at all by the, I don’t know, by the architecture review board potentially, or different people who were in the neighborhood watching as it was going up? Were people sort of skeptical until they saw it come to life? Or I guess what was that process like going through that?

    Phil:

    Well, most people didn’t like it until it was finished. And then when it was finished, I opened it up for a Parade of Homes to the neighborhood and people came through and walked it and discovered how unusual the house was. I was inspired by different mid-century architects, so I sort of took some liberties, and kind of like thought about if they were alive, what, how would they approach this lot? And so I kind of approached it that way. There was a big fish tank in the middle and the house sort of pin wheeled around the fish tank. And, then there were these little, little moments where the house pin wheeled. So, then I brought that little pinwheel idea out to the pool. So the pool sort of pin wheeled around the spa and sort of played with the positive and negative spaces and how they reacted to each other. I think it really turned out well. So from that, people started to…, a couple architects lived in the neighborhood and they really appreciated it, they liked that it was outside of the box, and probably that it wasn’t Spanish Mediterranean. People that were in the industry, like I don’t know, I mean, I did get some criticism…like there were people that ran like the HOA’s, and they really didn’t understand me.

    I tried to get on the historic board of Winter Park, and I kind of got voted out. Later down the road I got voted in, but there was a whole debate on whether somebody that was doing modern could understand history and it was sort of like, “don’t you understand that you have to understand history to appreciate modern?”. So, it was really interesting because it’s all about proportions and scale, and modern is a lot less forgiving than a traditional home. I mean, that’s why I think Spanish was so popular because you could throw an arch and red tile roof on it and it became Spanish, there wasn’t a lot of thought about it.  So even today, if you do a brick home with a shingle roof, it’s traditional, well what does that mean…traditional?  But when you’re doing modern and you get the scale wrong, it’s really an ugly building <laugh>. And there are a lot of ugly moderns out there right now because people just don’t understand. It’s not a flat roof that makes a house modern. We do a lot of modern houses that have pitched roofs, you know?

    Jon:

    I’ve seen them. I mean, that’s one of the things in your portfolio that strikes me as sort of unique from, I guess the crowd that wants to sort of aspire to the design that you do. You’re a hundred percent spot on, that you get these sort of flat roofs, just a lot of glass everywhere, a lot of concrete, but there’s not this cohesiveness. I think you’ve built this amazing sort of aesthetic where you’ve got this, exactly like you said, you’ve got this very warm and modern. When I look at your homes, the thing that comes to my mind is “that looks warm, it looks inviting”.  I think that to me personally, and look, by no means am I a connoisseur of high level design, but I guess for me as a layman, when I look from the outside in to a lot of “modern design homes” today, they are about one step away from a sort of a factory <laugh>, it’s a factory with a sofa in it kind of, it’s so industrial that they they’ve lost that human touch, they’ve lost the the warmth aspect of it…and I think you’ve done an amazing job at that. And I think the roofs, and the way that you’ve designed that as well where you do have the pitch and you’ve got the angles letting in the light, it’s absolutely amazing.

    Phil:

    Thank you. Thank you. Well, we/I do believe in a lot of that indoor/outdoor kind of connection with glass, and I like to use materials that can go inside and outside and be cohesive with that. That’s just something I’ve always appreciated. I think it’s important. Light creates a good balance and well-being for people and I try to capture as much light as I can. But indoor/outdoor is really a key design feature for me.

    Amy wanted me to mention somewhere along the way that we were the best designer/architect in Winter Park for the last three years. I don’t know if that’s important or not, but I would say that’s nice in the sense that my neighbors appreciate what we do. And whether they  hire us to build, they appreciate what we do and or design. A lot of times I’ll have people say, “One day I’ll have a Phil Kean house,” which is such a compliment, such a nice thing for people to say.

    You know I look at every house as “What’s the best that this house can be?”, and I call it my award-winning concept. I want every house that ever comes out of here, out of our studio, to be award-winning, whether it’s an expensive home or a tiny little home, there needs to be something that makes this worth winning an award. We won an award several years back, it was the Best in American Living Award put on by the National Association of Home Builders, and there were these big, big homes in the competition, and ours was like a 4,800 square foot home, and we won the Grand Award. One of the judges came up to me and told me that it was about the quality of the spaces and what I did with it that made us win over these obviously much more expensive homes and much bigger homes that were in the competition. And the comment was, “It was just so livable,” all the people could just see being there. So I thought that was one of my highlights. Another thing that was really something that I’m proud of too, is that the AIA, the American Institute of Architects, awarded us the “Builder of the Year”. Now that almost always goes to commercial. You know it’s commercial based…, it’s the big ivory towers and the engineering marvels that win those. The people that build those structures and design those structures are the ones that always win these awards. So, it’s very interesting that we won as a residential architect. I feel like that was a big honor, something I’m very proud of.

    Jon:

    As well you should be, I mean, that’s phenomenal. You’re a hundred percent right. I mean, those awards always tend to go to these very interestingly shaped, or abstract, or very difficult to solve construction type problems <laugh>, you know commercial spaces. And, I think that says so much, I mean, I believe there’s over, what is it, 20,000 architects coast to coast right now plus, at least the last time I checked AIA that’s what it was. It was a huge number, there’s so much talent in that pool. And so first of all, just apart from the interview, I wanna congratulate you for that. I mean, that is absolutely inspiring to hear that.

    Phil:

    Well, this was for Florida and the Caribbean AIA, this was for where we are, it wasn’t a national award. Although the winners of the locals get put in with the national awards. But, it’s still an honor.

    Jon:

    Oh, absolutely. It’s huge.

    Phil:

    All the work going on in Florida, and Bahamas, and the Southeast, it’s pretty exciting. That was a big honor for me.

    Jon:

    I wanna ask you, along those topics, if you don’t mind me asking, I think what we’ve been so impressed with, as I’m sure many others have been as well, is the proportion that you have in your design. It flows and it’s so easy to just stare at and look at. You kind of can get lost in it. Is there a sort of a process you can share, or sort of the approach that you take to the amazing proportion that you use in your design?

    Phil:

    Well, they call it the golden rectangle. I think it was Vitruvius that did it, where he sort of took that proportion. I probably have his book floating around here. He wrote a book on proportion and that was one of the books I had to study in college. There is a ratio between height to width that’s comfortable, that feels good. And the key is that’s probably where you wanna sort of be hanging out. Now, if you wanna play with those, that’s where the drama starts to happen. So you might push the envelope a little bit from that golden rectangle proportion. But, I’d say a lot of people want these really tall ceilings, and they’re fine, and I like tall ceilings, but I don’t like them everywhere. I like to think about what that room’s purpose is, and what’s the right height for that room. Somebody that has a huge art collection is going to need a different kind of height than where you watch TV. Those are just different scaled spaces, and you don’t want to feel uncomfortable. I remember watching one of those HGTV programs, and there was this bathroom that was so tall. I was thinking, I would not feel comfortable in that bathroom! <laugh>, felt like you were in a silo! I think there’s a scale to every space and it really does revolve around the human being and what their purpose of that room is.

    Jon:

    Yeah, I think that’s amazing that you bring that up, because that’s sort of where I was kind of headed. That you’ve got some of these rooms, and I think even if we look towards the way that your indoor/outdoor connects, it’s so flawless versus having a very low ceiling, just sort of, Boom…you pop in and your outside, the way you have that indoor/outdoor flow towards your proportion. But honestly, again, even taking a look at several of your homes to prepare for the interview today, and I was very impressed with exactly what you said, that it’s very easy to see yourself living in that space. It doesn’t feel, you know sometimes if you’re out traveling, you go to these hotels and some of these hotels, the way that they’re designed, they try to sort of overdo everything and you feel like you’re getting lost in the, like you said, you go in the bathroom and you feel like it’s a silo, or you go into the bedroom and it’s way too low. And, so there is that, as you said, that golden ratio.

    What has been one of the larger challenges that you’ve had to overcome in a construction project from a design standpoint, or the implementation phase of building?

    Phil:

    The challenges of construction…, I think the biggest challenge is education. I’ve designed a lot of homes over the years for builders, for their personal homes, and I generally will tell them that my designs will be one of the hardest designs to build. So I spend a lot of time educating the team on how things are supposed to look and how things are supposed to go together. After all these years, my electrician puts up a string and makes sure all the lights are straight. And that the air conditioning vent is falling where it’s supposed to. It’s those sight lines. You should never notice anything in a house that stands out unless it’s intentional. You don’t want, “Why is that light switch too low? Or why is that…”, you don’t want it to stand out, you know? So there’s a comfort zone that people have. And, when you respect that comfort zone, it disappears. So those are important things.

    But probably the biggest challenge is educating people, especially on the first time they build one of our houses, or we get a new project manager, educating them on how all of it goes together. Fortunately, I have such a great team of people that have been with me for so long. You know you’re always gonna keep learning your whole life, but I have this great collection of people that help each other. It’s a team effort, and we don’t have a lot of problems anymore. We try to be better every time we build a house. We work hard to do that.

    But, I would say in Florida, you have different issues than if you’re building in, say Maine. You have to know what the weather’s gonna be like and what the climate’s like. Designing is certainly site specific.

    A lot of designers and architects are “facade”. They draw a pretty exterior and then force a house behind it. I do a good floor plan and then put the face on the floor plan because how you live in that space and how rooms flow to each other and what the views out the windows are, are really important to me. So, I think that’s been one of the successes of our architecture, that people just love their homes. Over the years I’ve been the second or third architect for homeowners that worked with somebody before me. I even had one guy, I was the seventh architect he had hired.

    Jon:

    Wow!

    Phil:

    So, not that we’re so great, but we/I think the key is listening. Listen, listen, listen, <laugh>. People tell you what they want. I tell this to all my team members. I say, if you’re listening, a client will tell you exactly what they need in the first 15 minutes. If you could just sit there and soak in what they’re telling you, those are all gonna be the most important things in the design. So listen, listen closely because they’ll tell you everything you need to know, which is interesting.

    Jon:

    The exterior is almost a product of the interior in a way, versus I think if we look at the average sort of spec home that’s out there. The best materials are placed on the front facing, the side and the back nobody really takes too much care into that. There’s not a lot of love given into that, but I think the beauty of your projects and your portfolio is that you can literally look at them from a 360 angle, from the outdoor perspective, from the exterior and you get great angles. It’s very photogenic, no matter where you’re looking at it from. What does your general thought process look like when you’re looking at a home floor plan and you’re looking at the flow of that? How do you prepare to make something that actually flows and that’s comfortable for the owner?

    Phil:

    Fortunately I’ve been lucky enough to have beautiful views or some really amazing opportunities and often times those are at the rear of the lot. So part of the challenge is always what’s that journey like to get you to the back of the house? What do you, what’s your experience? So, sometimes it’s the outside space. It’s like, how do you create this sort of progression through a house to get you to where the Wow moment is? Or like, if you’re on an ocean and you have like a skinny lot, but the view is at the back of the lot, or something like that. So how do you progress through a house? And it becomes a little bit more like an onion unpeeling, and you start to get this house.

    And so every site is different and every project is different. Maybe that’s why I just love this so much, because it’s like a puzzle. Every project is like a new puzzle, like a new game. And how do I do it better than the last one I ever did? You know? So that’s sort of a cool approach, but gosh, I usually my gut, my first gut instinct is where I kind of get to. And I think that’s where the site will tell you what you need. The client’s checklist will tell you what you need. They’ll tell you. You have everything you need to win the game in the beginning. So it’s just you gotta, you just have to listen.

    That’s the biggest thing <laugh>. You have to have an open mind, you have to open your eyes. I’ve designed homes with outside spaces next to multi-story buildings, and it was all about privacy. How do you be outside in your yard and not have a five story, six story building looking down into your backyard. So, all of those things start to play into the design. So it’s not strictly a series of rooms connected to rooms. You might have a room connected. You might have a room in a particular location because it’s blocking a five story building from looking into your garden, into your private sanctuary. So all of those things become really interesting issue.  I did a house in 2012, it was for the New American Home for the International Builders Show. It had an apartment building next to it and it had an alley behind it. And it obviously had a street in front. So the challenge was, how do I get some privacy? So I created this house that had a “C” shape. It was sort of like the courtyard was in the middle of the house. I used the back of the house to block the five story building from looking into the pool area of the house, and I did some large overhangs and things to really create privacy. And you could be in that house and you would feel like you were anywhere in the world, and you had no clue that there was an apartment building next to you. I mean, it was a nice apartment building, but it was right there, less than 50 feet from the rear of the property. I always felt like that’s what’s important, thinking about all of the pluses and minuses and how do you do all of that? So, it’s been fun.

    Jon:

    The thing that makes what you do uncopyable is what you’re talking about right now. It’s that passion, that the puzzle solving understanding of all of these intricate nuances that make everything come together for that beautiful outcome. And I guess, when you look back over the last few years and you look at these amazing projects that you have in your portfolio, which ones would you say stand out to you as maybe the ones that you’re the most proud of? The one that, for you, is really the legacy project for you so far?

    Phil:

    Well, I think my first modern, which we call “NeMo” for New Modern, sort of changed my career. I think that was in 2006. That was a big game changer. I would say my first New American Home for the International Builders Show from the National Association of Home Builders in 2012 was another game changer. Those two are probably the biggest game changers as far as my career is concerned. Although I have some projects in the works right now that are some of the best we’ve ever done. We’ve got some amazing things on the boards. We’re doing a house in Pennsylvania that we call the Bridge House and it’s in New Hope, Pennsylvania on the river there. I forgot the name of the river, it’s a famous river. Anyway, we call it the Bridge House and all the living is upstairs and it’s just an amazing house. It’s all glass and modern and has a swimming pool, and it’s really cool. It’s on the boards, I mean, we’re still working on it. And then I’m doing a big project over in Tampa that’s pretty amazing. It’s not finished yet, but that’ll be unbelievable for the portfolio. It’s just a beautiful, beautiful home. I’m just proud that I got to do what I got to do. I mean, literally, I changed careers after 9/11 and, I mean, I’d gone to school to be an architect. My dad was a builder, so it wasn’t like outside of my comfort zone, but I had been in the creative industry and I had retail stores and 9/11 kind of said, if I’m ever gonna do this, change and do my passion, I need to do it now.

    So I think I was 39 at the time. And I just sort of said, “I gotta do it.” And I don’t have any regrets. It’s just been a wonderful journey. I appreciate every project I get to do. I appreciate every client that trusts me. I mean, it’s just, it’s really been a remarkable journey and I feel very fortunate that I have this amazing team of people that could work anywhere and they wanna work here with the rest of us. So, I mean, I think it’s really pretty amazing. I don’t know where, why I started that topic. I don’t think that’s what you asked me. I do go on tangents <laugh>.

    Jon:

    Well, I love it though, Phil. I love it. I love it, Phil. This is good. It’s good stuff.

    –

    Ready to start your journey and build your dream home? Contact us today to work with the Phil Kean Design Group team!

  2. Exquisitely Detailed “Virginia Elegance” Transitional Home Design Wins Platinum Award

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    Located in Winter Park, Florida, “Virginia Elegance” is a stunning example of transitional home design, blending traditional style with contemporary elements. Its unique features and luxurious finishes made it a standout winner at the International Home Builders’ Show, February 2023!

    The Las Vegas awards show focuses on architectural design/build excellence, and is hosted by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). This year, Phil Kean Design Group  was honored with the 2022 Platinum – Best in American Living Award:

    Photo by Uneek Image

    “The outdoor space of this home offers stunning views, with multiple areas around the rear of the home to enjoy them. The variation of options creates a well-balanced exterior and lots of useful options for its residents to relax.”

    Judges, Best in American Living, National Association of Home Builders

    Photo by Uneek Image

    This outdoor room is designed to be a functional space that is perfect for entertaining guests, cooking and relaxing while enjoying picturesque lake views.

    The awarded room features a custom hood, niches for hanging plants, wood ceiling, and a stylish louvered patio cover. This summer kitchen is truly a  work of art. The outdoor living area also includes a pool bath, TV viewable from the pool, and even an infinity-edge pool with spa.

    The interiors of “Virginia Elegance” are equally impressive, boasting a nod to European luxury and a coastal vibe.

    luxury kitchen design 2023 st petersburg florida

    Photo by Uneek Image

    The elegant kitchen, designed for entertaining, includes a French dual fuel range, Calcutta marble backsplash, and custom hood. Two islands offer ample storage, while the coastal gray alder wood cabinetry is warmed with a black glaze.

    luxury wine room with glass cabinets in st petersburg florida

    Photo by Uneek Image

    The wine room, positioned in the center of the home, showcases a beautiful display cabinet, column wine cooler, and state-of-the-art wine dispensing machine.

    Photo by Uneek Image

    The Owners Suite, designed with privacy and luxury in mind, features a large sitting area with a beautiful lake view, custom built-ins, automated black-out drapery, ceiling detail, and two statement chandeliers.

    luxury bathroom design in st petersburg florida

    Photo by Uneek Image

    The Owners Bath is floor-to-ceiling Calcutta marble, complete with a freestanding tub and automated shades.

    luxury spiral staircase in transitional home design st petersburg florida

    Photo by Uneek Image

    The custom spiral staircase in the foyer is a true work of art, created to be visible from the street through oversized front windows. With a contemporary pattern on the railing and a traditional Calcutta and black marble floor detail, the staircase makes a grand statement from each level.

    In its 39th year, the Best in American Living Awards recognizes outstanding achievement by builders and design professionals in all sectors of the residential housing industry. Phil Kean Design Group’s Virginia Elegance transitional home design is a worthy winner, demonstrating excellence in design, innovation and execution. Virginia Elegance was awarded the judges’ honorary “WOW!” Award, its Summer Kitchen took the “Room of the Year” Award, and the project received the following awards in their respective categories:

    • Platinum Award: Outdoor Living
    • Gold Award: One-of-a-Kind Custom Home over 8,000 sq. ft.
    • Gold Award: Owner’s Suite, Custom
    • Silver Award: Kitchen

    This exquisite home embodies timeless sophistication, providing an exceptional living experience for those who appreciate the finer things in life.

    Ready to build your dream home? Contact us to schedule an appointment today!

  3. A Huge Architecture Win! Remembering The New American Home 2012 (Podcast)

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    In this conversation with Phil Kean, we learn how early admiration and recognition of the architecture of The 2012 New American Home led to local and national acclaim for Phil and his firm in the modern architecture space. A continued commitment to green practices, beautiful sight lines, and a sense of daring to take bold approaches to home design are a few themes you’ll hear covered in this podcast.

    Let’s face it, getting a start in the world of modern architecture is no small feat. As is the case for many decorated home designers, builders, architects, and visionaries, this was also true for the award-winning Phil Kean Design Group.

    You can listen to the recorded interview via this YouTube link or read the transcript below.

    Jon:

    Today we’re interviewing Phil Kean. Phil Kean Design Group is a nationally awarded design and build architecture firm named “Best of Orlando” #1 Home Builder by Orlando Magazine, voted Best Home Builder – “Best of Winter Park” three years in a row by Winter Park, Florida Chamber of Commerce, “Best of Houzz”- Design Award by Houzz.com, and winning the Platinum and Gold awards from the National Association of Home Builders’ Best in American Living Awards. Today we’re going to be talking with Phil to get a behind the scenes talk through of the award-winning New American Home 2012.

    Phil Kean with Phil Kean Designs is with us today, and he’s going to be sharing a bit about a project that I think is absolutely remarkable and you’ll be able to get a link here to see the project this interview is on. I would say, peruse it…I mean these are just amazing images of a beautiful project. But before we get into that, Phil, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

    Phil:

    Thanks for including me this morning.

    Jon:

    We’re excited, this particular project titled The New American Home in 2012, it is really beautiful. From an aesthetic standpoint, from a look and feel standpoint, from a design…the aesthetic is just gorgeous. It has also won the “Best of Show” award in 2012, which I believe is the Golden Aurora Award, congratulations on that. That is definitely bit of high praise. At this point, Phil, you tend to get awards for so many of your designs, I don’t know if it surprises you anymore! Anyway, that’s a gorgeous design. Before we get started in terms of the actual project itself, I’d love to hear a bit of the backstory on this project and maybe a bit about the layout in terms of the neighborhood potentially, and maybe even design challenges that may have been presented to the site itself. I mean, were there any details there that are worth going over?

    Phil:

    Sure. There are always these little odd lots, and this was a lot that had sort of been overlooked because there was a five-story condominium next door that really shared an alley with the lot, so all of the windows that faced the lot could see right into the house. So the challenge really was how do I create some privacy from the five-story building? And that was challenge number one. Another challenge was Winter Park, which is where the house is built, has a lot of very interesting code restrictions. You have to be certain distance from side setbacks. You’d have to step your house in if it gets over a certain height. And so there was a lot of design pieces to this house that made it more and more challenging. And then another challenge was there was pervious issues where you couldn’t cover the lot with more than a certain percentage of the lot. So those are just what we started with. It was second house from a corner. It was a nice size lot, and so I purchased it,  <laugh>…with all of that, I fell in love with it! <laugh>

    Jon:

    Well, you love a challenge, I can tell!  <laugh>

    Phil:

    Well, one of the nice things about the lot that I didn’t include was that it was really walking distance to shops and restaurants, and yet it was on a cul-de-sac so it had no through traffic. At the end of the cul-de-sac was the lake…it had a little park at the end. So, it was a really lovely street. That was the pluses of the lot. So you kind of took the good with the bad and how do we hide the bad and, you know, celebrate the good. So that was the lot, that’s why I bought it.

    Jon:

    It’s a gorgeous place. And I think what really stands out to me is that the feel of the home really does bring that hallmark, that signature design that you have with that very open design with the flow of the floor plan. One of the images that catches my eye is where your pool is effectively inches away from your living area, your living room area, right? So you really have that indoor/outdoor connection.

    Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

    Phil:

    One of the design elements that we decided to utilize was you walked into the Lanai, so you didn’t walk into the front door, you walk into an open Lanai that could be screened in or not screened in. You had the motorized screens. So your outside space really sort of was part of the entry sequence, which was a nice detail. There weren’t any views to look out to, so the courtyard which was where the pool was became sort of the focal point of the garden. Most of the rooms either looked out onto the street or into the courtyard. I think it really allowed a lot of light. Also a lot of the windows all opened, they were sliders, so they all opened out to that outside space. So the house essentially could go from small-size entertaining area to the entire garden entertaining area, which it did, I mean on many occasions, there might have been a hundred or 200 people in that house at a time.

    Jon:

    Wow, and that does seem to be one of the things that I think more and more we are starting to see that people want. There’s that traditional sort of home that you’ve got your four walls and limited natural light, you know, limited air flow. It is seeming more and more that people are wanting that connection with nature. Especially now post pandemic, where we have a lot of us working remotely now, and it’s sort of that home office where we’re working from the home. It makes such a difference to have that connection to nature. And as you said, even if you’re in a city environment, so you’re in the Winter Park area, but you’re not boxed in by that city feel. Like you said, it’s a balancing act, you’ve got a five-story building here, how do we design this to where you still have that nature, that natural environment around to really create that holistic feel? That’s something I think you do very, very well across your entire portfolio is blending that. What is your process like in terms of that balance? I can imagine that there’s gonna be a lot of thought that goes into how open do we actually make this, making sure that we are balancing for weather, etc., and all the different variables that can play into that.

    Phil:

    So I sort of took dimensions and I sort of looked at where the building behind me was, you know, that shared the alley with this house. And I took a normal height that would be for eyesight and then I puffed up the actual house just tall enough that it would hide the five-story building from anywhere in the garden. And I did that in sort of 3d modeling and sketching. And with overhangs, that element, you never really see that five-story building while you’re outside in your own garden. So that was really sort of nice. You could be sitting in the pool and you wouldn’t have people looking at you or any of that stuff.  I’m a little bit more modest in that it feels weird if someone’s watching you swim or something, I don’t know. But anyway, I intentionally used the architecture and the structure of the house to shield that view into the garden from the building next door.

     

    Phil Kean, Architect and Builder

    Jon:

    Yeah, that’s the challenge it seems, is that you’re really having to get the best of both worlds. You know, that’s something I’ve admired about your work that you’re so well at integrating that in. One of the details, while we’re talking about the outside space, that I really love is the deck and the cooking area… the outdoor kitchen that you have. It’s the placement of that, and the layout of that, I think again speaking to the balance from a visual perspective, where your outdoor kitchen is actually far enough back but still in close enough reach to help with entertainment, whether you’re firing up the barbecue or whatnot, you’ve got that proximity. From a visibility standpoint you’ve also been able to make that blend and almost camouflage it into the whole design.

     

    Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

    Phil:

    Yeah, it felt like you were entertaining while you were grilling or something the way it was positioned there. Many events that was used as a bar kind of, there was a bartender behind it and they were serving drinks or wine or whatever behind that. It was spacious enough so there could be several people and hidden way enough that they could have coolers and all kinds of things there. That was really versatile and served multiple purposes. If it was just me grilling or somebody just grilling, that was one thing, but if you were having a party you could use it for putting snacks, drinks, and things like that on it.

    Photo by James F. Wilson courtesy BUILDER magazine

    Jon:

    Exactly, and there’s that blending again, just as if it’s hand-in-glove, nothing feels out of place. I think that’s a huge point around your designs that I’ve always admired is that everything feels like it’s part of the larger whole, there’s that continuity across the design. I think there’s a lot of fragmentation that we see a lot of times, and I’m sure that you come across this a lot, when you’re looking at architecture where you see a sort of a fragmentation, either it’s between the indoor or outdoor or maybe some elements or accents that are in sort of a huge clash in terms of the look and feel and the fit.

    Phil:

    You have to think about how you’re gonna go for an indoor/outdoor feel or have it really feel like the outside is coming in or the inside coming out, I think it’s a combination of materials and scale. In this particular house we used the same material inside as we did on the covered lanai, and I think that was successful. We also finished and painted the inside ceiling tones the same colors and same finish. Another thing we did is we took our sliding glass windows and doors from the floor to the ceiling, so when they were open or slid away, that sort of blurred inside and outside. I think that by bringing the same materials out to the grill area, it all blended really well together. Almost like an extension, you know…an extension of the inside maybe out or the outside maybe coming in. It was one of my favorite details.

    Photo by James F. Wilson courtesy BUILDER magazine

    Jon:

    Well, I can see why. As I’m looking at this right now, I can really imagine what it would be like to be in a large group there…you have the space. That’s another piece here, you have the space and the ability to be intimate and also have room to breathe. Just so many delicate balances…. As I was looking at this in preparation for today, it’s really just one of those points that over and over again you’re watching that line there being attended to very, very well.

    Phil:

    I was gonna say, also the water table off the pool was really sort of a nice detail. I would find that during parties, four people would be sitting at that table having a drink or having some wine. What it did is it also allowed a little bit of background noise, I always liked to use that as a buffer. I was one house in from the corner street, so it kind of muffled any kind of noises you might hear as well. So it served two purposes: it was sort of a cool aesthetic detail, a lot of people thought kind of a “Wow” factor, and it was entertaining at the same time, moving water is always something cool to look at.

    Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

    Jon:

    It’s such a great feature. I think because like you said, that white noise really makes people feel comfortable, especially if you’re someone who’s new to the environment or it’s your first time being there. It creates that freedom to sort of take a little bit of pressure off. But it’s also a beautiful thing even if you’re out there on an evening alone to just sit there, to relax, and to think, and to have that sort of meditative space as well. I think that that’s what is really exciting to me when looking at how this all came together. These are ideas that don’t populate without actually thinking through what the inhabitants are gonna be using the space for, and what could it actually do in its fullest potential?

    Phil:

    Yeah. It was interesting because it was a progression of how to use that space. It wasn’t like “Oh!” – the first thing I thought of. It was sort of something that as the pieces and elements came together, this morphed into this lovely little garden of tables, and water table, and the grilling area. The outside space was certainly really thought through, but still became almost like a little journey like, “Oh, well we have this space, what would be fun here”? And that’s sort of how that happened.

    Jon:

    Can I ask you about the balconies? Because I am fascinated with the balcony structure that you have because the views are impeccable. As you said, you’re balancing privacy, but also maximizing visibility from within the residence. What does the process look like when you sit down and really identify where and how to implement the balconies ?

    Phil:

    In this particular house, I had these geometries that came off: there were three rooms on the second floor – one was a bedroom, one was an exercise room, or could have been another bedroom, and another was a TV lounge kind of space up there. So I had the ability to have doors and balconies off those three rooms, and each of them had sort of a different feel. There was the one that faced essentially the street in the corner that felt like more of a social balcony. It was off the TV lounge. And then the other one was off the bedroom, which overlooked the pool, and it was much more protected and much more private. The views off of that and into that were much more protected. And then the other balcony faced toward the lake, and it was off the gym, and we called it the yoga balcony. So you could go out there and take in fresh air and maybe stretch or whatever. It was a little more protected from the major road. It was certainly more visible than the bedroom balcony. They had sort of a sense of order and priority.

    Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

    Jon:

    And I think it also maximizes your experience in the home because you have the variety. Like you said, you’ve got an exercise room, and you’ve got your place to go outside to stretch, and yoga, and have some alone time if needed. So you’ve got that spectrum of opportunity to go where you want to go to do what you want to do. While we’re talking about the navigation within the home, it strikes me how open the home is while also having such a clean, beautiful structure as well. What is the inspiration for you when you look at flow within a home?

    Phil:

    Well, I usually start with a floor plan and then I go to the elevations. The idea with this flow was that first room you would go into would be your most formal room, but you would pass and look into some private rooms as you’re passing through the lanai. So the first room you came to was the gallery, and there were no windows on the one side because it faced the alley and the other side faced the courtyard. So that was the first one. In that room there was a bar, so it was really set up for entertaining. There was a powder room there, and the bar, and a very minimal hallway to take you to the powder room.

     

     

    Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

    Then as you go the other direction, the lower ceiling height is what created the dining room. The dining room was kind of an L-shape flow, so you went from the gallery and in this particular case you took a left into the dining space. And the dining space, by use of cabinetry and countertops, then took another L-shape off the dining room into the kitchen. The cabinetry became the buffet in the dining room, and then as it turned the corner it became the counter of the kitchen.

    Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

    It was really tailored so that cabinetry went down a hallway where it was paneled on both sides of the hallway. I called it the appliance corridor, so I put all of the big appliances, the ovens, the microwave, the coffee maker, things like that down one side of the corridor. The other side of the corridor had the refrigerator, pantry, and access to the garage and a small laundry room. And then I used that cabinetry again to wrap around and it brought you into sort of a, I call it the “coffee lounge”. You could watch TV there, it had four chairs and opened up to the garden. Off that room there were stairs to the second floor, and  there was an office and a bedroom off a small hallway, and a powder room on that side as well.

    Jeffrey A. Davis Photography

    You’re sort of going from more formal to less formal, and then you’re going up to the second floor which has the three rooms. So it was really layered for “how exposed are you gonna be during a party?”. So the master in this particular case, or the primary as the more politically correct term, the primary bedroom was on the second floor away from entertaining and noise, but the house had an elevator so that if somebody were, if it were necessary, they could use the elevator to access the primary bedroom and bath. So it had a layer, and it was ordered as formal to less formal.

    Jon:

    Yeah, and the thing that strikes me about that is there IS a seamless flow. When I take a look at every different angle, you never feel like “it fits”; even though, as you said, you’ve got formal and informal, and sort of private and public sort of facing rooms…you’re still feeling that integration.

    Phil:

    Yeah. The spaces visually blend into the next room, but by using compression and materials and things, it created a sense of place. It wasn’t like one big room, but it flowed like one big room, if you understand that concept. There was definitely a gallery that had taller ceilings, I had designed that gallery to be the room that blocked the view from the five story apartment building. During the process of building it, I felt like the scale was a little tall so I brought the ceiling down. It was a great space, one of my favorite spaces. I actually designed a space recently using that same proportion of that room. It was such a great room.

    Jon:

    I can see why.

    The point that I want to move into next is something that I have a personal passion for and a lot of interest in which is the materials that are used across the residence in the flooring. It is so different in many ways in different parts of the house. I think it really draws in the depth of the room in some areas, and in some areas it really creates that clean, crisp feel, for example in the bathrooms where you have that beautiful marble. Can you tell me a little bit about the process that you went through in terms of materials and maybe even in terms of sourcing if that’s relevant as well.

    Phil:

    That house was a show house for the National Association of Home Builders. So it was sponsors, you know, there were people that wanted to showcase their product. I had the final say over all of that, but some I had to use was  Daltile as Daltile was one of the material suppliers. It was a combination of “what can I get in time”. I built this house in eight months, that was a real tight timeframe, so my first choice oftentimes was not available. Actually the flooring that I put on there was a second choice, but it was pretty awesome that I laid that flooring. It was a linear cut limestone. I laid it in a way like you would lay a random pattern for wood flooring, so a lot of people think it’s wood because it kind of looks a little like wood, but it was warm. It had a real warm tone to it. Because it was limestone, I could take it outside. So I used it both inside and outside on the first floor. That was really important for me to have that connection to the two. Then on the second floor, we used product from another vendor, so we did a Walnut on that level. In selecting products, because of the not knowing, I went with a light and dark. So I would pick either one of the lightest products available or one of the darkest products available from the vendors that I needed to work with. I could always say “no”, but part of that was to showcase the best of some of the best vendors in the country. So that was kind of exciting, because like the stone on the walls, they didn’t have the product I wanted, so this manufacturer…I designed it and they developed a new product that they are still selling today out of that house. So that was a cool experience in that regard to have a vendor, and you get to design it. I got to design light fixtures and I got to design…, so all of that was really a one of a kind type of experience, but it was really very fun. Very, very fun.

    Jon:

    Well, now that you mentioned lighting, I have to ask about that because the lighting is remarkable… the fixtures and the different elements that you’ve brought in. I think you were able to highlight, in some cases, the height of the ceilings and other cases it really brings in the warmth of the room. So with the lighting, is that something that you took inspiration from maybe a different project or from maybe something that you wanted to try or experiment with on this? What was there a backstory on the lighting? Because it is fascinatingly beautiful.

    Phil:

    When I was in college I took some courses in lighting and lighting design. I knew that lighting was going to be really important, so we used lighting both as a direct light source and as a sort of a design ambience type light source. That was really fun. This was designed over 10 years ago and LEDs were not quite as accessible, so a lot of the products just weren’t available in LED. So the manufacturers and we worked together to create products that used a more energy efficient light source. That was really fun. We did some modifications in the field to get the right values. Part of the design process was “how does the light work in this house?”. I think it’s successful.

    Jon:

    Absolutely. I would say one of the areas that I love the most is in the kitchen area… it’s beautiful the way the light creates that warmth, it’s very inviting. When I look at these shots of these images, the thing that pulls me in is how easy this would be to just see yourself there. It’s one of those things where you see it, and it looks inviting, it pulls you in, it really does pull you in. And I believe that your choice of lighting and how you did that, especially ahead of the curve, in that sense, sort of ahead of the time so to speak in terms of LED usage, on that I take my hat off to you. I want to ask you as well about the sustainability on this. I think that sustainable design is something that you’ve been able to not only become proficient at, but there’s a degree of industry level respect that you have in this space when it comes to understanding and implementing sustainable design in these types of homes. Could you share a bit of maybe either the macro or maybe even down to the micro in terms of how your sustainable design impacted the end product on this residence?

    Phil:

    One of the cool things about this house in particular is that it was the greenest house built in 2012 in the country. It had the highest energy-efficiency and was recognized for its green factor. Some of the things that we put into the house that made it green was that we used all low-flow fixtures, toilet and showers, all low-flow. So water usage was really carefully managed in this house. We used LED on all of our lighting. We used all Energy Star appliances. We had solar on our roof. We also did insulated concrete forms. They’re called ICF and they are forms that are like an insulated block and it’s almost like a Lego kind of assembly. They are filled with steel and concrete and then you put your material on top of that to finish it off. So on the inside you would have your drywall and on the outside, in this particular case, we had stone and stucco. Those were some of the green elements. In addition to that, we did a Florida-friendly lawn design where all the plants in the entire yard are all Florida native. So the advantage to that was that it helps to feed the animals native to Florida and uses much less water because they don’t get sprinkled in nature, so they get just enough water. We used some artificial turf to get that sort of lawn look, but overall it was a very cool project. We used a product for the deck around the pool that was made from recycled salt and rice husk, you know, like the residue of when they make rice. That was kind of cool. So that was some of the things that made it energy-efficient and the greenest house in the state of Florida and the country in that year, which is an honor.

    Jon:

    That’s a very remarkable honor. I’ll tell you that is! If you think about the amount of homes and residences that are built, especially in the last 10 years, I mean, this is something that is actively being pursued by architects. And to be able to reach that, you know, that’s…

    Phil:

    Well what was interesting is the following year I went out to the west coast which has been known to be so much more green-forward. And I went out just to look at homes on the west coast during almost like a green build blitz, kind of, it was sort interesting because there were things I thought they could have done so much better. And, I was just a novice at it at the time. So I was really fortunate to have an amazing green certifier and consultant help me on this project. In the process I learned a lot too on the things that really work well and things that don’t work well. Another thing I did on this house was I put screens on the outside of all my windows so that the sun never hit the glass, so it kept the house much cooler. Then my roof was white, so in Florida that’s pretty cool because that’s what you need here is to reflect that light. As we’re talking more and more things come back, how it just ended up being this amazingly green house, <laugh> or energy-efficient house.

    Jon:

    Very much so. Thank you for going into that detail because I think one of the parts that I enjoy the most out of these conversations is the new lens with which we can see this project. I also believe if someone’s listening to this and they say, you know, I have this as a goal, I want a sustainable residence and I want the design to be beautiful. And to achieve all these goals as well, you know, to tick off all the right boxes. I think it’s exciting for them as well, to be able to listen in on this and say, look, it is possible to have your cake and eat it too. I think that’s where this type of conversation is very, very intriguing. I think both you and I, but also for the person listening in on this, who has the interest to move forward and spark a conversation with the firm. Just one last question for you, Phil, unless you had anything else to add onto that?

    Phil:

    No, I could talk about green all day long. Maybe that’s another topic. <laugh>

    Jon:

    Definitely, I would love to cover that on a subsequent conversation for sure. I’ve got a load of questions around that I think would be worth diving into an understanding. I think I’ll just touch on one quick point before I move onto the last question: you would expect with a home that is the greenest home to not have as much technology built into it as what you have here. It’s extraordinarily well lit, the amount of appliances, and screens that are visible everywhere. And I can see sound, audio, you know, installed as well. I mean, there’s so many pieces to this puzzle that it is a bit of a shocker to a lay person like myself to imagine this as the number one green home, because of the fact that I think as lay people, when we see, or when we think of green, we think, okay, great, but that comes at a cost. And I think what you’ve demonstrated so well here is that you’re able to achieve that without the sacrifice.

    Phil:

    Right, there’s no sacrifice to be sustainable. Today there’s virtually no cost difference. You don’t have to think twice about having low VOC or no VOC products in your home. I mean, 10 years ago, you had to sort of carefully look for everything, but today you don’t, it’s the standard. That’s really important for people to know that being green does not mean just energy-efficient. It means being healthy. The things you put in your house is also part of what makes a house really green. In this house I collected rainwater to use in the garden and for extra watering I would need. So all of those little things, you don’t really think about that, and those don’t really cost anything. Here in Florida, every once in a while, we’ll have a drought where we can’t water our lawns. So that made it really great to be thoughtful about water usage and collecting water and people do it. But it’s really easy. People can have bladders and collect as much water as they want, especially for secondary uses. It’s really great.

    Jon:

    I think that’s the point, right? It is. Not only is it an advantage to the ecology and to the environment, as you said very well. I think this is something that as we become more and more health conscious as a nation, I think that is one of the pieces of the puzzle that we begin to sort of understand. I think one of the obvious major issues obviously was the whole asbestos, you know, back then wasn’t being implemented in construction wasn’t really ever addressed until it was too late. And I think that is where we’re understanding our world today is that the sustainability and greenness, so to speak of your residence, we may not even know the full scope of benefits until 20 years, 30, more years down the line.

    Phil:

    Yeah. I do think it very easy today to thoughtfully place things in your home and use materials that are better for the environment and better for you in the long run. I think that’s what this house in 2012 really explored. And I think it was one of my favorite homes I’ve ever worked on.

    Jon:

    Phil, as always thank you so much for the time today, what an amazing conversation. I want to thank you for giving us this sort of a virtual behind the scenes on the process and the beauty that we have here. I mean, this is great, great, conversation. So thank you very much.

    Phil:

    Well, thank you. I hope it inspired somebody to do something a little different,  <laugh>.

    Jon:

    Absolutely. Thank you, Phil.

    We hope you’ve enjoyed this interview. To learn more about how you can work with Phil Kean Design Group, visit PhilKeanDesigns.com.

  4. The 2021 New American Home

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    From Phil Kean Design Group, The Latest in Modern Luxury Design

    The New American Home has always served as an example of the latest design, technology and building products.

    One of the things that makes the 2021 home so unique is that it not only incorporates these elements, but it has adapted them based on how the world has changed this past year as a result of COVID-19.

    The approach to this design and build focused on re-thinking what one expects inside a residence; finding ways to use space differently was important in designing The 2021 New American Home. Now more than ever, people are spending more time in their homes and it is important we have spaces that suit our needs.

    Over the past year, we have grown into a more health-conscious society and health is one of the main highlights of the New American Home.

    A new trend came to light as we see the transformation of bedrooms into fitness areas and incorporating bidets into bathrooms, a nod to our European counterparts. The most exciting new “Healthy Home” product used in TNAH21 is the Panasonic Cosmos Smart Fresh Air System. Through carefully placed sensors, the Cosmos system constantly monitors the indoor air quality within the home and automatically activates the system to bring fresh air in and pull harmful air out when levels go below normal. The harmful sources that the system regularly monitors are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), fine particulate matter, carbon dioxide and humidity.

    The ingenuity displayed in this smart home is truly something to be admired. Every feature imaginable has been incorporated into this home, from smartphone apps to control your energy consumption, to a StruXure motorized louvered roof system to control the amount of sunlight entering your outdoor living space. The variety of capabilities offered by these features will undoubtedly make spending time in one’s home a more fulfilling experience for any homeowner.

    This gorgeous residence that is a feast for the eyes with layers of architecture, touches of modern industrial design, and hidden gems throughout that allow you to see something new at every glance. With three levels and a staircase lighting the way, you can easily glide to each space gracefully.

    Two considerations usually overlooked in designing a residence is artwork, and pets – the fabric of your home. On the ground level, The New American Home greets you with a gallery-inspired entrance showcasing beautiful and captivating artwork that you will find yourself spending more time in, reveling in the aesthetic. Also on the first level is a room dedicated for man’s best friend with an electronic doggie door that opens to a dog run.

    The second level is dedicated to the master suite. The focus behind the design of this level was to create a space where the homeowners can privately unwind after a long day and relax in a calming environment that offers warm wood textures and a more muted palette. This level includes the master bedroom, spa-like bath, luxury walk-in closet for two, laundry room, exercise room, sauna, a TV lounge, and balcony.

    You can find the main living space on the third level. With 14’ ceilings, south and west facing terraces, you are living among the treetops enjoying the incredible views overlooking the city and experiencing amazing sunsets. You find yourself gazing out from your summer kitchen, while entertaining your guests within this cozy open treehouse feel.

    Discover the luxury of our modern, state-of-the-art living spaces designed with timeless perfection. Read about our design process and the elements we use to create unique one-of-a-kind homes by browsing through our blog articles that cover everything from architecture and design to the construction of and products used in The New American Home 2021.

    Ready to kick off the design process for your luxury residence? Start here.

  5. “Unlock” Your Luxury Residence With These 4 Design Tips

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    Brilliant luxury residences have mastered the ability to influence, enhance, and adapt the style and function of a space. Luxury residences focus on the elegant, personalized, and convenient touches that embody the highest pedigree of design – a home where character counts. Here are the four golden keys to “unlock” your luxury residence.

     

    Energy and Flow

     

    Implementing practical elements within the luxury residence for the homeowner’s lifestyle while creating a natural, convenient flow of the space marks the epitome of modern design success. The elegance of even the most aesthetic luxury residence is lost when it’s not usable.

    Making the most of the exterior and interior views is an important part of the luxury home design experience. Open floor plans and access to natural light with full-scale walls of windows and oversized sliding glass doors allow sunlight to flow freely throughout the home, while providing first-class views. Modern luxury homes can also accommodate the desire for a connection with the outdoors by incorporating outdoor kitchens and plenty of welcoming alcoves. Interior spaces that flow one into another without the interruption of walls or hallways extend this dramatic feeling of spaciousness.

    luxury residence living room

    Photo by Uneek Image

    One way to check the flow of your luxury residence is to imagine the energy in the space as water. If water were to flow into your home would it stop or stagnate? Ideally, the energy flow would be smooth and harmonious in all areas.

     

    Create Triumph

     

    Ceilings – they can be detailed, fascinating, luxurious and open the room. An expertly designed ceiling creates a sense of order and triumph of the space – giving an original and innovative look and feel. Various options with lighting and texture will stand out.

    Coffered and wood beam ceilings reflect sustainability and naturalness perfectly, while back-lit drop ceilings create space definition and magic. Create luxury interior ceilings to elevate the design of the rooms in your luxury home.

     

    Deluxe Flooring

    Combining variations of ceiling design with floor detailing continues the harmony of the space.

    If you are looking for industrial sophistication with the added benefit of convenience – the most prevalent flooring solution for your luxury home is polished concrete. Polished concrete floors offer a wide variety of finishes that create a pristine, cohesive look; ideal for a clean, sleek, industrial complement to your luxury space.

    Create a show-stopper with large format marble tile available in natural stone, porcelain or polished ceramic. The light-reflective sheen of the polished finishes will make the space look and feel larger. Both large format tile and polished concrete flooring are excellent choices for modern and luxury homes.

     

    Enter High Class

     

    The front door creates the first impression in a well-designed luxury residence.

    Exquisitely designed and well-made front doors improve functionality and movement into the home while providing the first glimpse of the homeowner’s personality. Inside the home, enrich the entry into every room with style and class by using quality doors. Consider oversized, pivoting, pocketing, barn or hidden doors based on the look you desire and functionality needed for each room.

    exquisite front door

    Photo by Uneek Image

    If you enjoyed our article about how to “unlock” your luxury residence, we encourage you to browse our portfolio of modern architecture, state-of-the-art living spaces, timeless design, and other unique design details. Additionally, peruse our archive of architecture blog articles that focus on our luxury design as well as the processes we use to create these luxury homes.

  6. 3D Renderings in Architecture: How We Craft Luxury Home Visualizations

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    3D Renderings in Architecture: How We Craft Luxury Home Visualizations

    Creating 3D renderings in architectural projects, like the one below, allow our clients to take a realistic step into the luxury home of their dreams.

    It is an essential part of the Phil Kean Design Group’s architectural design process.

    In our previous blog, we provided our readers with insight into how these renderings offer our clients a stunning, tailor-made 3D view of their luxury home design before breaking ground.

    Now we are taking a closer look at this behind-the-scenes process, explaining how we take the home design we created for our client, and use cutting-edge technology and our in-house rendering expertise to create a detailed 3D rendering of both the outside and inside of the home.

    The First 3D Rendering Steps

    Once our architect and client are happy with the schematic design they’ve developed consisting of elevations and floor plans, the architect provides the project’s CAD file to our in-house rendering expert. With this information, our renderer creates an initial 3D model of the exterior of the home with our high-tech software.

    The architect can use this model to further discuss the details of the home.  They can open this model, rotate it and show the client their design from every angle, every perspective to ensure they’re not just satisfied with the concept, but feel exhilarated to see their residence come to fruition.

    Crafting the 3D Rendering

    Once the client signs off on the conceptual design, our design team gives our renderer everything they need to begin accurately developing the home 3D rendering—site photos, Google Earth data, exterior materials, etc.  They add intricate details to the concept model, such as textures, colors, exterior lighting, hardscape, and even topographic landscape.

    Finally, our interior design team develops the interiors of the 3D rendered model, creating luxury spaces with flooring materials, paint colors, ceiling details, plumbing fixtures, cabinetry, countertops and more. They lay out furniture placement and other décor throughout the home’s interiors and outdoor living areas.  Every detail is modeled to represent the house exactly as it will be built.

    When the design has been fully detailed, our render imports the model into our cutting-edge rendering program, Lumion, which is software that specializes in adding realism to the images and allows our architects to give our clients comprehensive views of their luxury home.

    This unique program gives us the freedom to create an authentic experience for our clients—we can adjust sunlight to mimic the position of the sun at any given time of day, add realistic lighting that emits from sconces and pendants, and even create night views that provide our clients an in-depth look at the dramatic landscape lighting that’s possible.

    Our Final Steps for Creating Luxury Home 3D Renderings

    As our design team begins to finalize the details of our client’s home, our rendering expert spends time finely tuning each environment in the 3D rendering by adding realistic effects to make the experience look and feel even more lifelike.

    For example, the renderer adds in reflective surfaces or translucent materials to create a sense of depth and texture. Water movement is added to water features and pools. Lighting and shadows are adjusted to reflect the time of day and weather used in the rendering (the rendering can include snow, fall foliage, sunsets, etc.).

    When all the nuances have been incorporated, the render creates a 3D “fly around”.

    Using this fly around technique, they create a video that will circle the house so our clients can see every angle of the design through a realistic experience that makes them feel like they’re truly standing in front of their home.

    Then it gets even better!

    The renderer can use Lumion to create a “fly thru” of the floor plan as well.  The fly thru video gives our clients the experience of walking through their luxury home, as if they’re stepping into their home for the first time.

    With this process, we’re able to grant our clients a realistic experience that allows them to get an authentic first look at what their luxury dream home will soon be.

    If you enjoyed diving into our 3D rendering process, we encourage you to browse through our portfolio of modern architecture, state-of-the-art living spaces, timeless kitchens, and our other unique design details. Further, explore our archive of blog articles that focus on luxury design and modern luxury residences.

     

  7. 3D Architectural Renderings for Modern Homes—Sophistication Every Step Of The Way

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    Delivering 3D architectural renderings–architectural visualizations of the client’s dream home–are an oft overlooked aspect of the home design-build process.

    In this post, we are going to describe how these 3D renderings assist in personalizing the home building process for our customers.

    In fact, these renderings have been key to our history of success at bringing multi-million dollar homes to life.

    Let’s dig in!

    A Look At How Phil Kean Design Group’s 3D Architectural Models Offer A Superior Design Experience

    At Phil Kean Design Group, we take the utmost pride in designing and building distinctive, luxury residences that are visually stunning and tailor-made to fit each client’s unique needs and desires.

    Our attention to detail is evident beyond just our finished products–we strive to provide white glove 3D architectural rendering services intertwined throughout out entire design/build process.

    Starting with the very first concept meeting, we gather the information needed to intricately develop your custom home design. After the development of your design, we create a state-of-the-art 3D model walkthrough of the final design, a feature we proudly integrate into our clients’ full-service contracts.

    Our 3D rendering offers more than just a glimpse of what your home might look like.  It brings your project to life and creates the virtual experience of walking through your new home for the first time without ever taking a step inside.

    Modern Architecture by Phil Kean Design Group from Phil Kean Design Group on Vimeo.

    Benefits of a 3D Architectural Renderings Process

    In the luxury residential architecture space, our 3D architectural rendering services provide a thrilling experience for our clients. Once clients see a model of their dream home—a one-of-a-kind 3D experience rather than your typical 2D rendering—they are delivered a breathtaking moment of wonder.  It’s the first moment a client is able to see the intricate details we’ve infused into their home.

    Their home design truly comes to life—before the construction process begins.

    3d architectural rendering of home backyard - phil kean design group

    In addition to this being a memorable experience, we believe there are even more benefits of seeing your custom designed home for the first time.

    The Full 3D Rendering Experience—Getting To Know Your Final Home Design

    Your 3D architecture visualization allows you to see everything from the exteriors to the interiors, flooring details to the ceiling, lighting options and features. Each of these are showcased in detail in your 3D architectural model to help preview the experience and details you will enjoy under the current home design specifications.

    3d architectural visualization of home patio - phil kean design group

    Because we bring a beautiful 3D rendering to life for our clients, they get to see their selections clearly laid out, rather than on a blueprint, 2D render or on a sketch. This is a part of what makes our clients feel confident and reassured about their modern home design–they know that their requirements, priorities and goals will be met by the final phase of construction because they have already seen it.

    In-House Customizations & Changes Are Just A Request Away

    Our 3D modeling process allows you to become comfortable with your unique design before ground is ever broken on your project.

    3d rendering of home interior - phil kean design group

    To help ensure that we are are flexible and responsive to any feedback a client might have during the design/build process, we pride ourselves in having an in-house 3D rendering artist at Phil Kean Design Group that allows us to make tweaks in real-time. We then re-render these design changes for final approval in a timely manner.  Rather than outsourcing to a rendering company, we consider it a necessity to be able to make tweaks in-house without having to wait on long or onerous outsourcing turnaround times.

    Our 3D Architectural Models Belong To You—You Can Share Them As You Please

    Part of the excitement of creating a luxury home is being able to share your love for the design process with your friends and family.

    Because our 3D modeling is part of our client experience, the architectural rendering we create belong to you! You’re welcome to share it with your friends and family, planning boards, homeowner associations, and even on your favorite social media platforms (don’t forget to tag us using @philkeandesigngroup! 🙂 ).

    If you have enjoyed reading about the benefits of the 3D architectural rendering services we offer to our architectural clients, we anticipate that you’ll enjoy our upcoming article describing how exactly we go about our detailed process of creating these models that delight and thrill our clients. Stay tuned for our next installment digging deeper into 3D architectural models within the luxury home space.

    You may also browse through our portfolio of modern architecture, state-of-the-art living spaces, timeless kitchens, and other unique design details, as well as our archive of blog articles focusing on luxury design and modern luxury residences.

  8. How We Accentuate Modern Luxury Residences

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    Modern luxury residences rely on aesthetic and seamless functionality.

    Oftentimes, crafting the perfect luxury residence has less to do with the big picture and grandeur, and actually has more to do with the smaller, more intricate details that piece the modern home together.

    In other words, the smallest touches make the biggest differences.

    While notable additions like integrated outdoor/indoor spaces, fitness centers, and bright, functional kitchens surely have their place in modern luxury residences, the attention to detail distinguishes a well thought-out modern home that works.

    Here are the top four places we accentuate our modern luxury residences:

    1. Foyers & Entranceways

    2. Custom Doors

    3. Glass Walls & Floor-to-Ceiling Windows

    4. Multi-Textured Exteriors

    luxury staircase

    Photo Credit: Uneek Image

    Foyers & Entranceways

     

    Firstly, a well-designed foyer commands attention–it sets the tone for a home’s design.

    This vital detail of a home acts as the elegant transition from the outside of a home to the inside of it. Foyers that are intentionally designed with modern aesthetic and functionality in mind may feature elements such as high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, sculptural staircases that draw the eye upward, extraordinary finishes, and state-of-the-art lighting that provide an elegant finish that grants grace to the rest of your home.

    Custom Doors

     

    Next, our modern luxury residences incorporate custom doors. This seemingly small detail can enhance a home’s aesthetic immediately by acting as luxury focal point before you step inside of your home.

    Modern double-front doors with specific uses of glass and unique doors made from uniquely sourced or handcrafted materials can create a clean and efficient statement that offers an impressive, luxury aesthetic. Front doors with custom designs act as more than just entranceways. They also act as a key integral element of the home’s complete design.

     

    Glass Walls & Floor-to-Ceiling Windows

     

    Additionally, floor-to-ceiling windows and glass walls offer a modern, clean aesthetic that integrates functionality by providing your luxury home with ample natural lighting. Floor-to-ceiling windows, especially when integrated throughout specific key areas of the home, can virtually eliminate the border between your indoor living space and nature outside. Wall-style windows create a spacious, open living area warmed with sunlight.

    modern residential architecture

    Photo Credit: Uneek Image

    Multi-Textured Exteriors

     

    Lastly, the exterior textures of modern luxury residences aren’t always considered as the focal points of a luxury home.

    However, understanding small details like the thoughtful layering of modern textures transform a home from the appearance of something standard into a something luxury or modern. From white-washed brick and rich wood to multi-colored stone and neutral paint, a well-designed, intentional home exterior featuring richly-contrasting textures can dramatically improve the luxurious look and feel of a home.

    modern residential designs

    Photo Credit: Uneek Image

     

    If you’ve enjoyed this article, we anticipate you’ll enjoy reading through our archive of interior design and luxury home articles available here. Additionally, please enjoy exploring our ever-growing residential portfolio here, which is filled with our inspiring interiors and examples of our unique, modern luxury residential design.

  9. Modern Residential Architects’ Top Design Trends 2020

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    Modern Residential Architects’ Top Design Trends of 2020

    phil kean architecture

    Photo Credit: Uneek Image

    A luxury home in 2020 offers more than lavish finishes and large floor plans.

    Modern residential architects emphasize blending form and function by designing products that merge convenience, proper lighting, & unique touches to elevate the home.

    modern indoor outdoor space in home

    Photo Credit: Uneek Image

    In fact, a truly modern, luxury home in 2020 focuses on a timeless layout with features that offer modern technology as well as high-end finishes and amenities by implementing a few, key design details.

    Blending Indoor & Outdoor Space

    One of the top trends in luxury design is blurring the line between indoor and outdoor space. This can be achieved in several unique ways.

    Deploying floor-to-ceiling windows enhances the offering of natural light. Another option is to use walls of glass that pocket to literally open the interior space to the outdoors. In either case, mimicking the look of lavish indoor spaces in outdoor spaces by integrating similar furnishings and flooring help to blur the line between the inside and outside.

    florida modern custom home

    Photo Credit: Uneek Image

    Featuring State-of-the-Art Technology

    Modern residential architects focus on creating a functional home that balances aesthetics and logistics.

    By designing and integrating current technology features, a luxury home can be smoothly transformed into a modern smart home. With elements such as smart thermostats, motion sensor lighting, cloud-based security systems, and network-connected appliances and equipment that integrate with your smart phones and watch, your modern home can be a lavish, aesthetically pleasing home that incorporates convenience and accommodation for your every impulse.

     

    modern luxury kitchen

    Photo Credit: Uneek Image

    Lavish Kitchens

    Adding unique features to your kitchen design such as floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, beautifully-layered textures, seamlessly integrated appliances can transform your space into a luxury, modern kitchen focusing on convenience as well as warmth and allure will make your residence feel like home.

    Dressing Rooms and Walk-In Wardrobes

    A modern closet is about more than having more space. A modern residential architects in 2020 will feature design elements that transform your closet into a luxury dressing room. With floor-to-ceiling mirrors, balanced lighting, and built-in shelving units that showcase your collection of shoes, purses and clothing, a simple closet morphs into a decadent dressing room.

    If you enjoyed reading about the most relevant trends that modern residential architects are using in 2020, we anticipate that our archive of blog articles focusing on luxury design and modern residences will appeal to you. Please view our portfolio of modern architecture as well to get a glimpse of our custom homes featuring indoor/outdoor living, state-of-the-art kitchen design, and our many unique design details.

  10. 4 Luxury Home Design Trends You Will See In 2020

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    The new year is just around the corner and close behind it are 2020’s newest home design trends that will take luxury homes by storm. Here are four of our favorite up-and-coming home design trends that you will see in 2020:

    1. Prioritizing Personalization
    2. State-of-the-Art Home Fitness Centers
    3. Thoughtful Outdoor Spaces
    4. Unbelievable Kitchens

    Prioritizing Personalization

     

    dream living room 2020

    Photo Source: Uneek Image

    One of the hardest parts about designing a modern residence is standing out from the crowd of typical luxury home designs.

    However, with so many cues devolving from fresh to standard in the luxury space, once unique elements have become commonplace and some have lost their luster.

    In 2020, we’ll see them get back being designed as one-of-a-kind, truly bespoke residences.

    Personalization is key – your home design should satisfy your needs, desires and the functions you will need in your home. Your version of luxury, function and décor should vary from others’ – we all have our own style, tastes, and lifestyle goals in and from our homes.

    However, one thing is certain–including the most current amenities and technology will increase your home’s comfort and enhance its livability.

    Working with a world class designer ensures your home’s amenities, layout, furniture, and flow will reflect your personal style and work in harmony with your daily routine, entertainment and lifestyle needs.

    State-of-the-Art Home Fitness Centers

     

    fabulous-home-gyms

    Photo Source: Roger Davies

    Health and wellness are always in style–Americans are exercising more than ever. In 2020, that won’t change at all.

    However, in 2020, home gyms will increasingly and conveniently be moving inside your home! There are many reasons for this trend, and taking advantage of this opportunity to build your dream home gym is just a stone’s throw away. Incorporating fitness facilities into your luxury design can take many forms, further pushing the personalized aspect of custom residences. The options you choose will ultimately depends on your fitness preferences and what you enjoy.

    A home fitness center with the latest machines and innovations elevates your home design by integrating custom sound features and by giving you a tremendous view into nature or the ocean from a full wall of windows. If you enjoy breathing fresh air while you workout, giving our gym indoor/outdoor versatility can make it even more functional and unique.

    From mini yoga and pilates studios to swim spas and plunge pools–these are many of the fantastic additions to health-conscious residence. Including an onsite spa complete with showers, a sauna, a massage room, a hot tub, and any other type of recovery equipment can complete your luxury fitness experience and keep you achieving your daily health goals.

    Thoughtful Outdoor Spaces

     

    outdoor spaces for home 2020

    Photo Source: Uneek Image

    High-end homes differentiate themselves in many. Those with thoughtfully-designed outdoor spaces stand out amongst the crowd.

    Thoughtfully designed outdoor spaces function as an extension of your home as an additional living area, which allows you and your guests to enjoy the outdoors in comfort.

    The top home amenities to your outdoor space in 2020 will include spacious lanais, built-in retractable screens, misters, fully-loaded outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, TV’s specialty lighting, and custom furniture.

    Of course, customized pools with spas and tanning shelves make our luxury home design wish list too.

    Lavish pools with features such as waterfalls and infinity edges will speckle the most dazzling homes you’ll see heading into 2020. The leisurely life is moving outdoors and those residences that have this al fresco flair will rank high in luxury home design.

    Unbelievable Kitchens

     

    kitchen island design ideas 2020

    Photo Source: Uneek Image

    phil kean kitchens 2020

    photo © Stephen Allen, All Rights Reserved.

    Gourmet kitchens will never go out of style, but the design and functionality of them do change.

    Luxury kitchens in 2020 could contain warming drawers, wine cabinets, smart cooking appliances and hidden walk-in pantries. They can be designed to provide all the tools necessary to prepare and present gourmet meals as well as serve as part of the home’s living and entertainment areas.

    As guests tend to gravitate toward the kitchen, creating spaces for collaboration or conversation over meal preparation will be a trend continuing in the coming year.

    This means we’ll see more counter space than ever, open layouts that facilitate flow and unobstructed sightlines, and expertly-placed lighting.

    There’s no doubt that you want to have your finger on the pulse of the latest home design trends when designing your custom home. Phil Kean Design Group prioritizes setting the latest home trends and collaborating with you to create a dream home that will satisfy your distinctive requirements and unique lifestyle! If you’re building or renovating a luxury home and would like to speak with Phil Kean Design Group, please fill in the form below and we will be in touch.

     

    Sources:

    “Americans Are Exercising More, but the Obesity Rate Is Growing.” Atlas, Quartz, 15 Mar. 2018, www.theatlas.com/charts/SJlAdbOFG.

    Eugenio, Sheila. “4 Reasons Fitness Is Moving From the Gym to the Home.” Entrepreneur, 23 Mar. 2017, www.entrepreneur.com/article/290579.

    “Luxury Home Outdoor Amenities: Elegant Homes by Real Living Real Estate: Real Living Real Estate.” Elegant Homes International, www.realliving.com/eleganthomes/pages/luxury-home-outdoor-amenities-398691.

    Vale, Ali. “Five Innovative Home Amenities Trending with Home Buyers.” REAL Trends, 24 July 2019, www.realtrends.com/blog/five-home-amenities-that-are-trending-with-buyers/.