Designing a custom home is as much about artistry and the technical know-how of architecture as it is about insights into people’s personalities and what will make them be content and feel happy in the home you’ve design for them. Kurt recently shared his design philosophy about how good design can promote wellness for the occupants of a home. The article appears in the Santa Monica Spotlight magazine in the July issue. Kurt Krueger, Principal Architect and Owner of Kurt Krueger Architects, is an Expert Contributor for the local magazine.
To practice wellness is the deliberate pursuit of activities and a lifestyles that leads to a state of positive, holistic health. While topics such as clean eating tend to dominate the conversation on wellness, wellness is much more broad and includes how the built environment affects your daily life. Wellness is multidimensional. Our physical wellness, emotional, spiritual, and social health are all influenced by the homes and buildings we occupy—both directly and indirectly.
The design of the front yard courtyard entertaining area with onyx firepit was featured in a recent article on Houzz, “See How 20 Patios Celebrate the Fire Pit.” The article details unique and creative ideas to incorporate a firepit into your outdoor setting. Using inset LED lighting behind the exterior grade onyx stone, the firepit has a soft glow when used at night. During the day, it serves as a stunning focal point on this outdoor patio. Our design took top billing in the list of ’20 Patios Celebrate the Fire Pit.’
Let’s face it, garage doors serve a utilitarian function. But for many architects and homeowners, the garage door is one of the least glamorous aspects of a home—-and for good reason. Most garage doors are simply ugly and uninspired.
One of the advantages of being an Architect-Led Design-Build firm is our in-house ability to customize solutions for clients to best fit their circumstances and needs. We don’t have to settle for the standard approach and we can elevate the design, even with what is on the surface, a simple element like lighting. Whenever possible, we like to get away from standard lighting, whether natural or artificial, and make the space less predictable yet oriented to the client. Here are some recent examples of different scenarios for how to approach lighting inside and outside your home.
Kurt Krueger’s work on the Westgate Residence in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles was featured in Architects News recently. The story detailed how Krueger turned a Fixer Upper meant initially as a second home for an older couple, and turned it into their forever home. Using techniques like seamless floors, a zero entry shower, and open concept for enhanced visibility and mobility, Kurt focused on a design that allowed the owners to age in place while enjoying their children and grandchildren which is why they’d moved to Brentwood.
Back to tour another of Kurt Krueger’s renovations, this Westgate Residence in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles is featured in the series “Behind the Gates.” The show takes you behind the scenes of iconic homes across the country. The show’s host and Kurt discuss how he created a luxury home within a small footprint and was able to make the home feel more spacious without adding any square footage or increasing the building envelope.
Architects Creating Homes’ has awarded Krueger Architects four awards for design excellence. The ArCH Design Excellence in Residential Design is an international competition and the winners are announced annually. ArCH is an American-based organization of licensed architects from around the world who focus on residential architecture, professional excellence, achievement, client value, and service. The design excellence awards are voted on by fellow Architects and presented annually to Architects and Designers.
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