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Pro Spotlight: How to Take Your Home Outside the Ordinary
A San Francisco architect shares ways to use glass, wood, texture and more to your advantage
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Who: Mark Brand
Where: San Francisco
In his own words: “Architecture teaches you to see design everywhere you look; it enriches your life in general.”
Picture this: A home so beautifully designed that it makes your heart soar. One with an ineffable magic about it. But what are the secret ingredients to such a space? “Natural light, wood and strategic accents add a richer, more welcoming feel to a home,” says Mark Brand, a San Francisco-based architect. “They draw the eye in and take your home to the next level.” He helps clients throughout the Bay Area achieve homes they adore.
Where: San Francisco
In his own words: “Architecture teaches you to see design everywhere you look; it enriches your life in general.”
Picture this: A home so beautifully designed that it makes your heart soar. One with an ineffable magic about it. But what are the secret ingredients to such a space? “Natural light, wood and strategic accents add a richer, more welcoming feel to a home,” says Mark Brand, a San Francisco-based architect. “They draw the eye in and take your home to the next level.” He helps clients throughout the Bay Area achieve homes they adore.
In the family. With a builder as a father, an artist as a grandmother and an architect as an older brother, Brand was destined for a creative career. “I remember my brother saying, ‘You’re so good at art and math, you’d be a great architect,’ ” he says. Brand found his path while majoring in pre-med at the University of California, Berkeley. “I thought maybe I should try an architecture course,” he says. “I fell in love with the camaraderie of the practice, and I enjoyed drawing and doing design right from the start.”
Joys of the job. A self-professed people person, Brand enjoys interacting with and helping his clients. “People often come to me with a vague idea of what they want but don’t have any idea of how to pull it all together,” he says. “I Iove that look of delight when everything comes together, whether it’s showing them drawings, models, finishes or the final result. They’re pretty amazed that someone could make their idea real.”
Read on for Brand’s tips for designing a next-level home.
Read on for Brand’s tips for designing a next-level home.
1. Let in the Light
Embrace nature’s rays with large glass doors and wall-to-wall windows that extend from floor to ceiling, Brand says. A flood of natural light visually expands your home and brings the outdoors in, creating a more welcoming environment. “It transforms the home,” Brand says. He also likes to work magic with skylights: Instead of a hole in the center of the ceiling, he places them against the wall so that the light bleeds down.
The benefits of expansive glass are on full display in this remodeled home in Portola Valley. Big glass windows and sliding doors wrap the structure, creating an airy, light-filled escape within the wooded surroundings. Near-invisible stainless steel railings allow the residents to better enjoy the views.
See more of this project
Embrace nature’s rays with large glass doors and wall-to-wall windows that extend from floor to ceiling, Brand says. A flood of natural light visually expands your home and brings the outdoors in, creating a more welcoming environment. “It transforms the home,” Brand says. He also likes to work magic with skylights: Instead of a hole in the center of the ceiling, he places them against the wall so that the light bleeds down.
The benefits of expansive glass are on full display in this remodeled home in Portola Valley. Big glass windows and sliding doors wrap the structure, creating an airy, light-filled escape within the wooded surroundings. Near-invisible stainless steel railings allow the residents to better enjoy the views.
See more of this project
2. Embrace Unexpected Accents
Well-placed accents can turn a simple space into a showstopper. “I like to use mostly neutral colors and then have something that really pops,” Brand says. “Emphasize different depths and forms in different colors.” He also encourages exploring texture as an accent, especially if you’re a bit color-averse.
Place the accent on the opposite wall from the room’s entrance to maximize its effect, as shown in this Cole Valley bathroom. Handmade Moroccan tile in acid green brings panache to an otherwise neutral space. The shower’s white sidewalls blend into the rest of the room, allowing the floor-to-ceiling tile to take center stage.
See more of this project
Well-placed accents can turn a simple space into a showstopper. “I like to use mostly neutral colors and then have something that really pops,” Brand says. “Emphasize different depths and forms in different colors.” He also encourages exploring texture as an accent, especially if you’re a bit color-averse.
Place the accent on the opposite wall from the room’s entrance to maximize its effect, as shown in this Cole Valley bathroom. Handmade Moroccan tile in acid green brings panache to an otherwise neutral space. The shower’s white sidewalls blend into the rest of the room, allowing the floor-to-ceiling tile to take center stage.
See more of this project
3. Work Wonders With Wood
Tactile and warm, wood is an ideal way to imbue your home with a more accessible feel. Work with your architect to accent different planes of your home’s exterior. “If you want to maintain wood’s natural color outside, you’ll need to refinish it every two years,” Brand says. For this reason, he wouldn’t recommend covering your whole house in the material — instead, use it strategically.
All-heart, vertical-grain Western red cedar siding in a clear finish makes a statement on this new build in Noe Valley. Its rich hue juxtaposes well with the rest of the home’s muted palette. Brand repeated the wood on the fence and stairs for a harmonious feel.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Mark Brand and examples of his work, visit Mark Brand Architecture’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
Tactile and warm, wood is an ideal way to imbue your home with a more accessible feel. Work with your architect to accent different planes of your home’s exterior. “If you want to maintain wood’s natural color outside, you’ll need to refinish it every two years,” Brand says. For this reason, he wouldn’t recommend covering your whole house in the material — instead, use it strategically.
All-heart, vertical-grain Western red cedar siding in a clear finish makes a statement on this new build in Noe Valley. Its rich hue juxtaposes well with the rest of the home’s muted palette. Brand repeated the wood on the fence and stairs for a harmonious feel.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Mark Brand and examples of his work, visit Mark Brand Architecture’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
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