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PROJECTS: Exterior Solutions | By Rob Heselbarth Sight for sore EYES The ownerÕs vision of a Tuscan villa evolves into an exterior design heÕs proud to come home to, and show of to the neighborhood T he homeowner loved his neighborhood but disliked what he saw each time he came home. He wanted to live in a Tuscan villa, not the house with no appeal he called home in Torrance, Calif. The new design would be a significant departure from the 22 December 2013 QR COMPANY INFORMATION % residential work: 100% Custom Design & Construction % single-family work: 90% El Segundo, Calif. % design-build: 100% visitcustomdesign.com Full-time employees: 9 PROJECT INFORMATION PRODUCT SPECS Roofing: Eagle Brick/Stone/Stucco: La Habra Average annual revenue: $4.3 million ForResidentialPros.com Doors: TM Cobb Project cost: $75,000 Locksets, hardware: Schlage No. annual remodeling jobs: 25 style of the neighborhood, but also would be an improvement, and an ideal for neighbors to strive for should they desire a change of their own some day. The design team at Custom Design & Construction in El Segundo, Calif., took the owner's basic vision for a Tuscan villa and ran with it. It included the addition of exterior details and custom elements, as well as the beautiful curved, double stairway leading to the main entrance. The seemingly identical twin set of stairways is not identical, to accommodate the uneven left-right topography that presented the main challenge for the CD&C; team. Topographical challenges such as the sloping property this home sits on are easily met, thanks to the close relationship between design and construction Location: Torrance, Calif. Design completed: In-house Railings: Laguna Precast inherent within the design-build business model. "We'll move heaven and Earth to complete the design as presented to a homeowner. We're designbuild, and we pride ourselves on building what we design. We're creating our clients' homes by choosing every nut and bolt," says Bill Simone, president. Design and construction must be in lock-step, says Randy Ricotti, vice president. "As design-builders, we must have the vision of the end product. We don't want any element to look like an add-on or an accident. To do that right we must be in control of the design. As a result, our design process can take longer than construction. That said, design is not the core of our business; it's the genesis of it. Construction is the core," he explains. THE TUSCAN VILLA The architecture of a Tuscan villa begins with a basic rectangular box with a hip roof and flat façade, Ricotti says. "We researched the style and looked at many representative images. Some of this home's elements were a slight departure from what we saw in research, but for the most part we stuck to the Tuscan villa vernacular." When designing a specific style like a Tuscan villa, it's important to adhere to elements such as proportions and size, but you can't always be exact when working with an existing building, Simone says. "What we did was borrow as many of those details as we could and use them in a way they all worked together and speak to the style without trying to make it look like a decorated cupcake."