With home designs that exude a warm and livable contemporary aesthetic, Mark Kaufman, principal, GTM Architects, www.gtmarchitects.com, created a custom home with a very modern look, as well as one that allowed for aging in place for these Bethesda, Maryland homeowners. “They also wanted to feel like they didn’t need to travel to a vacation home,” he says, because every amenity is built right into the property. “They wanted it to feel like a resort with a pool, spa, outdoor shower, screened porch, and outdoor kitchen.”
One of the challenges of the site was the slope from front to back. “This created a natural situation for a large walkout basement, but we also wanted to locate the pool and spa deck off the first floor,” says Kaufman. The slope allowed the design team to build up part of the yard to locate the main outdoor entertainment area off the first floor while also adding secondary gathering spaces off the walkout basement.
Taking advantage of the wooded terrain, Kaufman focused on the indoor-outdoor site lines. “For everyday living, they wanted to have a beautiful open plan for their kitchen, breakfast room, and family room with both visual and physical connections to the outside,” Kaufman says. The owners also wanted formal dining and living rooms near one another for getting together with family and friends. Located on each side of the foyer, the formal spaces include large windows flooding the rooms with natural sunlight. The dining room has a floating tray ceiling with rift white oak panels that complement the wood floor, while the living room has a woodburning fireplace with white Macaubas quartzite surround and dark granite hearth.
Designed to take in the views of the property, the rear family room is a double height space with two-story glass walls. “The main architectural piece of the room is the custom-designed sapele mahogany built-in that houses a record player, books, games, and a hidden bar behind custom grain-matched doors,” Kaufman says. A unique L-shaped band with open shelves and a DaVinci linear fireplace, plus a fully pocketing door that opens to the screen porch are among the many exceptional amenities in the family room, which connects to the breakfast room and kitchen.
The open white kitchen, which includes a marble backsplash and counter, adjoins the custom-built banquette that houses a hidden tv that lifts with a push of a button. “The banquette is built with sapele mahogany, the same species of wood as the exterior siding,” the architect adds, creating another visual connection from the inside to the outside.
The second-floor primary bedroom has one of the best views of the backyard pool and deck from a private solid-wall balcony, while the primary bathroom features a double window and skylight for a treehouse effect.
“We used a very special palette of materials throughout the exterior and interior of the home,” says Kaufman, including walnut, sapele, and white oak. “This creates a warm and cohesive feeling and living experience.” Smart and efficient layouts combined with thoughtfully designed built-ins and strategic locations of windows enhanced the home’s general livability and functionality. Kaufman adds, “The owners love the flow of this modern-day contemporary home and the separation of their private rooms from their public rooms without sacrificing beauty or open plan living.”
