“I cannot help believing that there are fundamentalsunderlying great living spaces that are rooted in thefew hundred thousand years humans and our nearestancestors spent living enmeshed in nature,” Mann said.

“Not wanting to cut off the waterside of the house fromthe roadside, we chose to allow views and foot trafficstraight through the building by creating a sort of holethrough the primary floor. On entry by car or foot, theview out to the bay is always front and center, so youdon’t feel like you are on the back side of the building at any point.”

“It’s only afterlistening that we can apply our experience and skills,resulting in a project that exceeds their needs and desires.”

“The house is a play on a traditional New Englandcolonial in a modern vocabulary,”

“Our work is inspired by place, culture, and history. We are dedicated to solving architectural problems innovatively with environmentally sustainable solutions that are expressive of structure and program.”

“We pride ourselves on being careful listeners who strivefor a thorough understanding of how our clients will livein the home that we are designingtrivefor a thorough understanding of how our clients will livein the home that we are designing.”

“For design inspiration, I love to shop architectural salvage yards, antique shops, auctions both — online and at auction houses. I love to find that one gem, be it a light fixture, a piece of marble, even unusual art and then the journey begins. I design the entire space around that object for impact and inspiration.”

“Despite these challenges, the landscape and house siting do a good job of creating a beautiful place that feels integrated and full of nature,”

“Because of the extensive bold art collection provided by Axiom Fine Art, I wanted a soft, rich textural palette to provide warmth with rich well-placed color, but one that would not compete with the art.”

“This project was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,”

“I actually think that I have a strong process because it involves the clients in most every major detail—and I see my clients as part of the design team.”

“The fact of the matter is, if you’re designing something to be highly valued by the initial owners as well as subsequent generations, it takes time. It’s one thing to design the basic structure of a home, but it’s another to tune it so that it really resonates.”

“We’re always here to serve the client’s vision, and they have hopefully chosen to work with us because our voice speaks to them, and they can see something in the work that they admire. Every project is a different collaboration, built from the client’s personality and our team’s vision of how to bring that to life in our point-of-view.”

“I created a “glam meets funk” living room ambiance for a family looking for a casual, comfortable space that would both engage with the outdoor Loggia and be able to easily host large gatherings.”

“There are some people who want their home to look like a luxury hotel or a swanky nightclub, which is great, but that’s not where my passion lies. I want to work with clients who see their home as an extension of their personality and interests. That is what enables me to create something truly unique and special.”

“I don’t use the material of the moment, or pay attention to what’s ‘in’ now, and I try to avoid cliches,” said Vance, whose firm has designed nearly 100 homes since its 1991 founding. “But enhancing natural light has always been integral to every project.”

“Dream projects come from clients that are open to new ideas and do not come to us with a set design in their mind. Our design creativity very much depends on how open our clients are and how free we are in our design process.”

The biggest challenge was to make the house disappear within the landscape,” he said. “We strategically moved the house further away from the edge of the lake and chose a natural dark exterior material, allowing the mass to recede between the trees and become almost invisible.”

“Expanses of glass provide views into the wooded landscape toward the distant river and animate the house with light,” Gurney said. “A combination of intersecting spaces ensures light penetration at all times of day and all times of the year.”

“My job is to listen carefully and then create the house that my clients will be happy with,” Goff said. “It isn’t always what they think they want, but I try to read between the lines and expand their imagination to explore the possibilities and achieve a better house.”