natural modern Archives - David Small Designs

Traditional kitchen with breakfast bar, white countertop and tile backsplash.

A Home With Soul

February 22, 2014/in Design Showcase /by Jack Shepherd

In a meeting the other day, David described the process of designing a custom home as “creating a home with soul”.

We receive calls every week from potential clients who have been searching for a home, preferably a turn-key home, with the aesthetics that appeal to their design style and the layout the suits their lifestyle. They end up calling us once they realize that their ideal home isn’t easy to find.

There is obviously a convenience to buying a turn-key home versus a custom build, such as an earlier move in date and no permit process to deal with. In the end, the result can be a beautiful home, but it’s not a home that was designed with your lifestyle, design style and family in mind.

To embark on the custom home design process, patience is a requirement, but so is a sense of adventure. The process of designing your family home is exciting. From creating your wish list to seeing the first design concept to stepping into a home your ideas and inspirations created. With the right team in place, a team focused on creating a home that is a true reflection of you and your family, the result is a home with soul.

Below we’ve highlighted features of David Small designed homes that helped create the “soul” of the home.

Open concept living that is modern, while still being cozy and inviting
From the project The Coffee House.

Open concept kitchen with two islands, sinks and refrigerators. Ideal for a family who loves to entertain.
From the project The House Next Door.

A cozy basement with lots of natural light creates the ultimate family rec room.
From the project David’s House.

A double fireplace greets guest to create a warm welcome.
From the project Old Oakville.

A piano room designed to put a family heirloom on display.
From the project David’s House.

Natural modern house with wood siding, black frame windows and angled walls.

David’s House on Freshome

January 28, 2014/in Design Showcase /by Jack Shepherd

A “modern home that attracts and even converts traditionalists” is how Freshome, an international design blog, introduced David’s House to their readers. Freshome featured David’s natural modern home on their wildly popular design page at the start of this week. Click here to check out the feature.

www.freshome.com

Modern house with steel beams, wood soffit and black frame windows.

Mississauga Urban Design Awards 2013

October 2, 2013/in News /by admin

You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world.
But it takes people to make the dream a reality.

– Walt Disney

Last Friday evening, David’s House was presented with an Award of Merit at the 2013 Mississauga Urban Design Awards. A Mississauga native and the son of a past Mississauga Urban Design Award winner (nearly 30 years ago), David was truly honoured to accept this award.

As the longest running urban design awards in Ontario, we were thrilled to have our entire team present at Mississauga’s Council Chambers to see Mayor Hazel hand David the award and congratulate our team on a job well done.

Thank you to the City of Mississauga for continuing to recognize excellence and innovation in both public and private design. Thank you to the jury members for your time, discerning eyes, and feedback. Thank you and congratulations to the other winners and finalists; it’s your extraordinary design talent and continued submissions that keep these awards interesting, competitive, and highly esteemed. And a BIG thank you to all the people – our dedicated team at DSD, our loyal clients, our dependable partners – for your contributions in making David’s dream home a reality.

We were fortunate enough to have David’s parents, Bill & Betty Lou Small, join us at the awards on Friday evening. Bill Small, a mentor to David and a respected and accomplished man in the building industry, both on the local and national level, was the President of HUDAC in 1978 (now known as the Canadian Home Builders’ Association). In our search for information about his Urban Design Award, we came across this HUDAC newsletter published in 1978. Just one of Bill’s many contributions to the Canadian Home Building Industry.

The Urban Design Awards were held in Council Chambers at Mississauga’s City Hall

Three generations of the Small Family

David Small and team at OHBA award ceremony.

OHBA Awards of Distinction 2013

September 27, 2013/in News /by admin

This past Tuesday evening, we were honoured to receive three Ontario Home Builders’ Association Awards for David’s House.

David’s natural modern design was recognized as the Most Outstanding Custom Home in its category, and then received 2 more awards for individual room design, New Home Kitchen and New Home Bathroom. We were thrilled to have David’s House acknowledged by the OHBA; a project that is so personal to David and represents a new approach to modern design.

Thank you to the OHBA for putting on this great event that recognizes outstanding design, construction and marketing within the Ontario Building Industry…and kudos to those who came up with the Bond theme “licensed to drill”.

A BIG thank you to all the team members who helped make David’s House an award-winning design. To our DSD team, thank you for your hard work and dedication to excellence in design. To our incredible builder, Tony Ferkul of Tony Ferkul Construction Management Group, thank you for your attention to detail and quality craftsmanship. And to our vendors, Cameo Kitchens & Fine Cabinetry, Pella Windows, Watermarks Kitchen & Bath Boutique, York Fabrica, and many more, thank you for your exceptional customer service and customized product offering.

It was a fantastic evening celebrating tremendous talent in our industry. Sincere congratulations to all the winners and finalists.

OHBA Awards of Distinction 2013 | Most Outstanding Custom Home (2501-5000sf)

Accepting our award for ‘Most Outstanding New Home Bathroom’

Dining room with square dining table, brown chairs and metal chandelier.

David’s House in Toronto Home Magazine

May 1, 2013/in News /by admin

“Modern With Soul” is Toronto Home Magazine’s aptly titled feature on David’s natural modern home. In their Spring 2013 issue, Toronto Home highlights everything from David’s design inspirations (i.e. Wright’s Prairie House style) to his design philosophies to his passion for hockey.

The creative title “Modern With Soul”, coined by writer Silvana Longo (@laselvaoscura), could be interpreted in a variety of ways. It describes the contrast of clean modern lines against warm, rustic elements. It speaks to the essence of the project, a family home with custom design details unique to David, his wife, and twin daughters. It may even be a slight reference to the modern piano room; a juxtaposition of the traditional grand piano, ultra-modern Barcelona bench and cool Abbey Road artwork (photographer Philip Castleton captured a great shot of this on page 31).

Toronto Home not only captured the essence of David’s natural modern design, they also highlighted the personality behind it. Thank you Toronto Home for introducing David and his natural modern design to your readers.

Click here for more information on Toronto Home Magazine. To view the full 14-page spread, pick up the Spring issue in store today!

Behind the scenes at the Toronto Home photo shoot.
Pick up a copy of the magazine to see how this shot turned out.

Contemporary home with corner windows, copper siding and wood soffit.

David’s House is a CHBA Award Finalist

December 24, 2012/in News /by admin

“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”

– Samuel Taylor Coleridge

We can barely contain the enthusiasm that has been buzzing through the office this week. Not only are we still on a high from our recent BILD Associate Award, but we found out Monday morning that ‘David’s House’ is a finalist for the 2012 Canadian Home Builders’ Association’s National SAM Award for New Custom Home. These awards recognize the best in ingenuity and imagination in the home design and construction industry. With ‘David’s House’ being such a labour of love, it’s an honour to have it considered among the most unique projects of 2012 and to have the efforts of everyone involved in the project recognized.

2012 has been a fantastic year – new clients, new designs, new website and new recognitions. We are grateful for the new relationships we made this year, as well as for the loyal clients and partners who have been a part of the DSD team since the beginning. We look forward to what’s to come in 2013…

Thank you to everyone involved in taking this award-nominated home from conception to completion.

For more information about the 2012 National SAM Awards and to see a complete listing of finalists, visit www.chba.ca

Ultra modern house by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Zimmerman House

November 20, 2012/in News /by admin

“The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

The Zimmerman house is a classic 1950s Usonian home, imagined and executed by our most-blogged-about iconic architect Frank Lloyd Wright. FLW’s philosophies, individualism and architectural style inspire the way David approaches each design project, which is most apparent in the design of his own home. Every fall David plans a trip to one of FLW’s most notable buildings. This past October David and his wife visited the Zimmerman House in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Usonian is a term coined by FLW to describe a compact, efficient and economical style of housing. Essentially, it was Wright’s solution to low cost housing for middle-class America. Usonian homes were typically small, single storey dwellings with no basement or attic. Strong emphasis was placed on incorporating nature; from the type of local materials used to the large windows providing uninterrupted sightlines. FLW’s intention was to create a seamless transition from indoors to outdoors…sound familiar?

A writer from The Magazine Antiques described the Zimmerman House as a house that doesn’t age, but grows more modern in time. Mid-century modernism is experiencing a resurgence in the design industry. The Zimmerman house was designed with a focus on removing clutter and ornate décor from the living space. It features low sloping rooflines, large cantilevered overhangs, and an abundance of windows; all elements that could describe modern homes of today.

To recognize the importance and historical value of their home the Zimmerman’s had it placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In a final act of devotion to FLW, the Zimmerman’s left their home to the Currier museum to ensure its beauty and relevance was preserved and shared with the public.

For more information on the Zimmerman House visit www.currier.org.

The Zimmerman House

David’s House

Falling water house in the United States.

Frank Lloyd Wright

September 19, 2012/in News /by admin

“The architect should strive continually to simplify; the ensemble of the rooms should then be carefully considered that comfort and utility may go hand in hand with beauty.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

In the world of architectural design, Frank Lloyd Wright is an icon. Noted as one of the greatest architects of the 20^th century, he was deemed the greatest American architect of all time by the American Institute of Architects.

He believed architectural design must be intimately tied to its surroundings, enhancing the beauty of its environment. To FLW, design went beyond the physical structure; it was about “nourishing the lives of those sheltered within” and creating “environments to inspire and offer repose to the inhabitants”. Visit the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (www.franklloydwright.org) for more information on FLW’s life and work.

Frank Lloyd Wright has been a major inspiration to David throughout his career, as evident in the design of David’s House. Here is a selection of FLW’s designs that hang on the walls of our office, offering a daily dose of inspiration.

Taliesin West Image via Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation