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Design Ideas
Six Homes that Spotlight Design is in the Details
To go from a bold plan to a beautiful (and usable) reality requires nearly endless options and flexibility. These six projects, all featuring Marvin Ultimate, are perfect examples of realizing a unique vision.
The home’s capacity to reflect a homeowner’s personality and support their lifestyle is testament to the architect’s visionary ability to transform structural shelters into tailored dwellings specifically designed to create spaces that inspire.
Achieving the boldest of architectural visions requires custom solutions. That’s where Marvin Ultimate comes in. Not only does this line of handcrafted premium windows and doors hold the highest degree of design flexibility, but it also boasts outstanding thermal performance and endurance in any climate.
Explore these one-of-a-kind spaces for a few stunning examples of how Marvin Ultimate can help realize a unique vision.
A Globetrotter's Desert Dream Home
It was a fortuitous moment for accomplished interior designer-model-painter-set designer-avid traveler, Jules Moore. She had fallen head-over-heels for Santa Fe, New Mexico’s local art scene and rich indigenous history that informed the Pueblo-style architecture dotting the area’s semiarid landscape. Her sights were set on a home, unkempt from nearly a decade of neglect, with a beautiful view atop a canyon’s ridge.
Moore tapped into the legendary talent of someone well-versed in the Pueblo-style home that she had in mind: Frank Trujillo, president and second-generation owner of Tierra de Zia Contracting, LLC.
Marvin was the only team that presented me with different options that were going to work for this home. I wanted the picture windows, but I needed the classic element to match the colonial wood. They customized everything to exactly what I wanted.”
Jules Moore
Homeowner
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To step inside Moore’s beautifully reimagined home today is to experience an artfully curated snapshot of her life. Contemporary design influences comingle with decades of her overland adventures, which included living in mud huts in Southeast Asia and staying on boats in India.
Floating Among the Trees
For Navy veteran Rick Whitworth, his retirement came with a drastic change of scenery from the heart of Texas to the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest. But Whitworth wanted to start from scratch, “I'm a little bit picky,” he said with a grin, “And have definite ideas about architecture.”
Whitworth needed a team, and his realtor knew just where to turn—former boatbuilder Peter Bates, and his company, Good Homes Construction. Bates pointed Whitworth toward the Dallas-based Shipley Architects, who had expertise in contemporary home design, and it was the Texan connection that would spark an architectural vision.
Extremely limited in their options to situate the house throughout the five-acre site’s boggy wetlands, the plot was covered in bramble, a six-foot wall of tangled overgrowth, and a perilous 60-foot cliff that reached down to the water’s edge.
The build team found clarity in the constraint, capturing the essence of the outdoors, and defining the home with two structures as well as a “dog trot” in between to open the home to more sunlight. Beautifully accented by floor-to-ceiling Marvin Ultimate windows and Douglas Fir trim, the contemporary dwelling blended into the surrounding foliage.
The Marvin Ultimate line was great because they are so customizable, and you can talk to the factory, and you can talk to the reps, and they'll work with you to say, ‘What are you trying to accomplish? How can we do this? Is that window too big? Will this work this way?’ That was a real appeal of the Ultimate line is how customizable it is.”
Dan Shipley
Architect
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Find out how the stunning site-responsive design took shape by reading the whole story.
Translating Sentiment into a Blueprint
For a young family imagining a new home in Minnesota, inspiration hit close to home. He grew up in Sweden. She in Minnesota, a state known for its Scandinavian heritage. So, to them, the notion of “Swedish-inspired” ran deeper than a set aesthetic.
It was through trial and error that the project team found the home taking on a subtle transitional style, implementing an unpredictably approachable blend of textures and hues. Softening the staircase with a floor-to-ceiling window backdrop and swapping the black window exteriors for Cadet Gray in the Marvin Ultimate collection, the home achieved a unique tension of modern and traditional aesthetics.
In addition to builder Bill Costello, CCO of Streeter Custom Builder, Charlie Simmons, founding principal of Charlie & Co. Design Ltd., and interior designer Linda Engler, founder of Engler Studio Interior Design, as well as the family themselves, their trust in one another was unwavering.
There’s views for days and I think that that connection to the out-of-doors, even if we’re not out in it … to have the light come in, it gives us that connection that I think really feeds our soul and makes us feel whole.”
Linda Engler
Interior Designer
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From how the home was situated on the property, the landscaping that harkens back to Sweden, to the use of expansive glass to easily soak up the surroundings—the team never lost sight of the client’s desire to bring the outdoors in.
Photos courtesy of Spacecrafting.
Helping an Artist Find Her Light
For artist Debby Alphin, having enough space for her large family was as important to her as building an artist’s sanctuary. The Sullivan’s Island home, designed by Atlanta architect Amanda Orr and built by 79 West Builders Group, is equal parts play space and coastal retreat, that incorporates breathtaking views at every turn.
Angela Means, co-owner of Means Carney Interiors, helped style the home, relying on the Marvin Ultimate casement push-out design—an alternative to the traditional crank apparatus—to add an old-world charm to the space.
Marvin casement windows allow more glass, more light to come in, and really give great architectural proportions.”
Amanda Orr
Architect
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The enchanting effect continues throughout the home, including the living room, where mirrored Marvin Ultimate Swinging French Doors—custom crafted to echo the house’s storied aesthetic—bookend a lush view from two expansive windows. Overlooking the pool is a screened porch where Orr introduced a Marvin Bi-fold door, effectively expanding the room and adding a seamless transition from indoors to out.
A Historic Facelift for Hadley House
Originally built in the mid-19th century, the Second Empire home, familiarly known as “Hadley House,” was a far cry from its glory days. Though it flaunted elements of historical importance, like a regal mansard roof, the home clearly needed some serious TLC.
After discovering an old map showing the home’s position to the road, the decision was made to relocate the home on the property, by raising it off its original foundation. The house was lifted, turned 90 degrees to face the street, and situated on a new concrete foundation. Not only did the move stabilize the building, it also brought about a more harmonious relationship between the interior space and the land.
Marvin makes fantastic products to match the scale and details that are there. They custom created 7-foot-tall double-hung windows for this house from their Ultimate line.”
Jeff Novack
Novack Properties
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Once the repositioning was complete the teams at Novack Properties, SeaGlass Architects, and Jackson’s General Carpentry came in, together setting out to reimagine the home for the 21st century. After consulting historical documents and photos, the property was meticulously redesigned to capture its historic personality outside but with an upgraded interior.
Reinventing a Panoramic Bayside View
A San Rafael home, battered from years of West Coast saltwater and sunshine, found its interior outdated, and aluminum windows failing. But architect Scott Landry, of Studio 101 Designs, saw opportunity—connecting the picturesque seaside vista to the interior with expansive corner windows. A labor of love, Landry tackled this architectural challenge for his brother who was making the move to northern California from New York City.
It's been 8 or 9 years since we installed these, and we feel the same as we did when they were installed. They've been perfect.”
Scott Landry
Architect
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The vision required minimal lines to maximize the magnificent seaside from the main living space. Finding elegance that would sustain the constant sunshine, wind, and moisture was a hefty challenge. One that Marvin Ultimate windows would expertly meet.
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