A stunning restoration and renovation of a historic plantation home on the Eastern Shore of Virginia by Stephen Muse and William Kiwan of Muse Architects, this project was awarded because of its meticulous attention to detail, authenticity and preservation.

Originally constructed in 1784 and expanded in 1829, the brick-ended clapboard structure with twin Georgian entry porches follows a one bay deep linear plan typical of Tidewater homes.

Along with complete renovation and restoration of the original house, the scope of work included removal of recent out-of-character additions and construction of additional living space capturing the view of nearby Hungar’s Creek.

To accomplish this, the twin porches from the drive side of the house were replicated on the waterfront side and a new kitchen with breakfast bay was connected to the existing structure by a one-story hyphen.

Additional work included the restoration of all outbuildings, construction of a new garage and the restoration of all driveways, walkways and gardens.

Marvin products used in the project included Ultimate Double Hung Windows, French Casement Windows, Ultimate Casement Windows, Stationary Windows and Transom Windows.

To see more winners and learn more about the Architect’s Challenge, please visit Marvin.

Are you an architect who reads MLuxe? Are you a Marvin user? Here’s some news of something exciting that we’ve got going, just for architects…

For the third year, Marvin is proud to showcase some of the architectural community’s most inspired work in our annual Architect’s Challenge. Submit your best designs featuring Marvin Windows and Doors and get a chance to showcase your work as well as see how it measures up against your peers. Our esteemed judging panel will evaluate each entry for excellence on a number of attributes, and winners will be featured in our permanent Winners Gallery.

Entries must be received by May 31, 2011. The rules can be found here and the entry form can be found here. Architects, we can’t wait to see what you’ve created with Marvin products!

Image of the Architect’s Challenge 2010 Best in Show project, MD Residence by Kent Chilcott of Kent Chilcott Studio in Santa Rosa, Calif.

In honor of our last post of 2010, we’ve decided to round up our most popular posts ever. Below are the top 10. Enjoy and we will see you next year for more great home living information! Thanks for reading this year.

• Built Around You: Laundry in a Closet
• Remodeling Using ‘Quality Over Quantity’
• Unusual homes: Cool conversions
• How To: Grow Tomatoes Upside Down
• Space-saving ideas for small spaces
• Built Around You: Stylish Bathroom Overhaul
• Small on Space, Big on Style
• New Uses for Old Windows
• Amazing Windows Created By Amazing Artists
• myMarvin Architect’s Challenge: Lake Cottage

The owner of this house in Jaffrey, N.H. was committed to creating a unique home that complemented the rural setting and acknowledged the classical traditions favored by her architect grandfather, but with a distinctly contemporary feel. She charged the architect with creating a home that was both restrained and exuberant, both classic and modern – and was delighted with the result.

Architect Frank Riepe of Building Arts in Sudbury, Mass. looked to early New England architecture, Shaker meeting houses and rural Italian churches for inspiration. He sought simple composition, an intimate relationship between indoors and out, a strong sense of shelter, an expression of honest craft and a timeless quality of proportions and massing. These goals translated into walls a foot thick and special detailing around the windows set into them. The modest program of this small house reflected an early American sensibility of simplicity, spareness and directness.

Marvin’s broad range of standard sizes, ability to customize critical details such as the fixed corner casements, and uniformly high standard of quality combined with technical support and helpful design assistance to realize this project. The large size of the double-hung windows (they are 4′ x 8′) was a part of a calculated over-scaling of window components in a decidedly small house. As a result, people approach the house with a sense of wonderment.

This playful little home, perched on a wooded hillside in Pomfret, Vermont, has lots of personality.

Diverse materials and design elements are all arranged to create an open, informal, comfortable retreat in the woods. The design satisfied the client’s desire for a contemporary getaway, and the assortment of windows facing every direction capture light and views of Vermont forests and mountains.

More than just a contemporary “shed in the woods,” this home was built to be environmentally friendly and thermally efficient, thanks in part to Marvin’s High-R Tripane glazing. Marvin products used in this house included casements, French casements, Venting Picture Windows and awnings.

Vacation Home was designed by Jeff Stetter of Gossens Bachman Architects in Montpelier, Vermont.

This beautiful house, on an island in New York, was designed by Jacob Albert of Albert, Righter & Tittmann in Boston.

The clients wanted a new take on local Shingle Style traditions for this seaside vacation retreat. Its neighbors, which date from the 1880’s through the 1920′s, are light-hearted and picturesque but understated vacation houses. Island House distills the essence of its seaside summer community, updating local traditions to accommodate the requirements of modern living. The round tower and gently flared gambrel roof give the sense of swelling volumes characteristic of the Shingle Style. The strong, continuous eave line helps to root the house to its site.

This house takes full advantage of the ocean view with its large windows and French doors. Dramatic repetition of pointed dormers places paired Marvin double hung windows on an angle to better capture the sweeping views to the water. A row of awning windows on the entry side wraps around a conical tower and continues onto a dormer, visually linking the separate forms. Durable Marvin windows were very important to this project, given the harsh year-round weathering. Marvin clad windows keep the weather out, requiring a minimum of maintenance, while staying true to the flavor of the place.

The design for this Palo Alto, Calif. home for a growing family grew through a careful blending of the husband’s love of some of the more exuberant examples of Arts and Crafts homes and the wife’s strong desire for a quiet and refined ‘California Craftsmen’. Wide porches and predominantly horizontal lines harken back to the classic homes of architects Green and Green, while remarkable attention to detailing produces a “buttoned down” refinement of character. Inside, the generous use of glass, in windows as well as doors, floods the home with natural light, providing brightness and exuberance beyond that typically found in historic arts and crafts design. This project is all about the detailing. Windows and doors play a crucial role in the overall aesthetic of the home. Marvin windows and doors allow great flexibility in sizing and mullion design, and ordering options allowed windows to be trimmed in the field to meet specific requirements.

Marvin product used in this house included Ultimate Double Hungs and French doors. The house was designed by architects at the Fergus Garber Group.

Originally published in “The Small House” magazine in 1931, this Minneapolis house was designed by an architect for a property overlooking the creek. The client was a writer who frequently contributed to the era’s shelter magazines. In his articles he discussed the connection of the house to its site, and the great pleasure of living in a place so connected to nature.

The current owners bought the house for these same qualities but needed to expand the 1,100-square-foot house to meet the needs of their growing family. They set out to take best advantage of the bluff-top setting without compromising the charm of the original house. The addition design brings together the elements of a small, New England saltbox with the red board and batten siding of a Swedish Stuga.

The new construction works with the existing house to control views to the neighbors and create privacy, but remains open to the park and creek below. The large scale and fine detailing of Marvin double-hung windows echo the tradition of the large, low-set double-hung windows that originally existed in the house. Windows, used around corners on all three levels, provide wonderful views of the creek valley. Marvin’s attention to both the performance and appearance of their products allows them to integrate seamlessly with high-quality custom millwork. Other Marvin products used in the Minnehaha Creek Addition include wood French doors.

The Minnehaha Creek Addition was designed by Todd Hansen and Christine Albertsson of Albertsson Hansen Architecture, Ltd. in Minneapolis.