2017 DHDA: Details

2017 Design Awards

Judges | Details | Exteriors | Interiors | Commercial Design
Homes | Rising Star | Reader’s Choice

Millwork

Photo By JAMES HAEFNER

1st – DesRosiers Architects

This unique multi-use Birmingham cabana’s millwork consists of four arched trusses — including a large arch over the cooking area — and large custom crown moldings with LED indirect lights. The arched matching windows, seen in the background, were restructured to become a sliding glass window/door that disappears into the wall.

Stair and Railing

Photo by Mike KLINE

1st – Heller & Associates Design + Build, with Marilynn Silberman from Studio Loft

The design challenge in this project was to create a stair and railing that feels clean and modern, while fitting a traditional Shingle-style home. The continuous use of spindles with no newel posts posed an engineering challenge; the solution was to fabricate an extensive, hidden fastening system. The result is a fluid, consecutive, thin-spindle radius that curves through multiple radius points in a wave-like manner. Soft LED and indirect lighting cascading from the ceiling and curved walls are the final elements that draw one into the space.

Decorative Glass & Mirror

Photo by MIKE KLINE

1st – Heller & Associates Design + Build, with Perspectives Cabinetry

In this renovation, the challenge was to create a full-length range hood to coordinate with the white, Italian, high-gloss lacquer cabinetry. After careful consideration of design intent, upkeep, and the overall size of the range, a glass front was selected. By using glass, it was possible to make one continuous hood, from wall to wall, without the use of any joints. The glossiness of the hood is a nice complement to the equally glossy cabinets; coupled with white walls, it creates a soft picture frame for the tiled mural backsplash.

Flooring

Photo by Beth singer

1st – Custom Homes by Derocher, with Schaerer Architextural Interiors

Throughout this home, knotty hickory was used because it can stand up to the abuse of living on a lake in the country. To further enhance its forgiving properties, each board was painstakingly hand-scraped and then, to add excitement and visual interest, a variety of board widths were used. In this photo, the wood floor carefully follows and echoes the design layout of the natural stone flooring. Using four varieties of stone, a compass rose is centered at the converging point of the anteroom’s four passageways.

Judge’s Insights

“I love the contrast between the dark and light floors on the Derocher/Schaerer project (above).”

— Judge Karen Davis

Interior Use of Stone

Photo by Eric Perry

1st – Jacob & Company, with Ciot Detroit

These book-matched marble slabs are the perfect focal point for a timeless bathroom. The dark stone creates a sophisticated backdrop for the unique brass showerhead. By book-matching the walls to the shower floor, the beauty of this natural stone is dramatically showcased.

Interior Use of Tile

Photo by MIKE KLINE

1st – Heller & Associates Design + Build

The challenge in this home, completed in 2014, was to design his-and-hers heated towel bars, reachable from inside the shower. The solution was to create symmetrically tiled recessed spaces flanking the shower door. Richly hued and textured Escarpement marble tile frames the entry to the shower; the tiles are miter-cut on all outside edges to avoid outside grout joints and give a sense of marble blocks rather than tile. Miter-cut application is applied throughout, from the wall-towall floating bench to the symmetrically inset tiled towel warmer niches.

Interior/Exterior Lighting

Photo by GEORGE DZAHRISTOS

1st – AguaFina Gardens International

This garden is truly best enjoyed at night. Taking advantage of the reflective nature of the pool, lighting the large columns of the Corten steel fountain creates a splendid vision. A combination of underwater and surface lights highlight the water flowing from three different spillways, resulting in glimmering shadows. Beyond the fountain, the details and textures of a hand-stacked stone wall are dramatic, while underwater lighting in the formal pool in the front garden gives the illusion that the steps are floating. Up-lighting the courtyard trees helps define the landscape.

Judge’s Insights

“The AguaFina Gardens project is very moody. I love it!”

— Judge Meg Lonergan

Fireplace

Photo by JAMES HAEFNER

1st – Cranbrook Custom Homes

In a great room featuring a spectacular wood-paneled ceiling with rough, reclaimed wood beams, the limestone fireplace is a touch of refinement that perfectly balances the ceiling’s rustic details. The fireplace mantel is made of real limestone; as such, it has the rich, unique texture and look of true limestone that can’t be replicated by manufactured materials. The limestone, combined with the steel surround, has a distinct beauty in itself — the clean lines and simple design are constructed with the perfect amount of detail and rich beauty, without being overwhelming.

Custom Cabinet Installation

Photo by MARTIN VECCHIO

1st – Dayna Flory Interiors, with EuroCraft Interiors

This custom cabinet installation utilizes every nook and cranny of this butler’s pantry. There was an empty, narrow space within the wall of this new construction, which resulted in a unique and challenging situation where the cabinet met the drywall on all sides. Adjacent to this wall, the cabinetry consists of lower cabinets only. This was done intentionally, to keep the space feeling open and to create a serving area. The gunmetal cabinet color adds drama to the space and highlights the horn-and-brass cabinet pulls.

Custom Furniture

Photo by ADAM BLASCAK

1st – Danielle Moses for Spaces Interior Design, with Distinctive Custom Furniture

Constructed of plain sliced walnut veneer exteriors in a matte finish, this contemporary wall unit was designed to display the client’s accessories from around the world. To highlight these pieces, LED lighted display niches were added and a custom hidden valance on the upper cabinet, concealing LED tape lights, was created. The unit pops against the metallic grass cloth wallpaper, making it a functional piece of art.

Repurposed Furniture

Photo by PHOTOGAL ENTERPRISES

1st – Bambrough Interiors, with GETA Design

This project featured a series of repurposed items that were given a new beginning. One rolling door is built of reclaimed fence boards that were found in a demolition pile. All the boards were hand-sanded, stained, and then assembled into a rolling door. The other rolling door is an old 1920s six-light door; the glass was replaced with frosted plexiglass, and the entire door was stripped and refinished. A handle was outfitted from an old plumbing project. Materials once headed to a dumpster have been turned into conversation pieces.