Whipple Russell Architects FAQ | Designing Custom Modern Luxury Homes with Indoor-Outdoor Flow and Resort-Style Living
At Whipple Russell Architects, our work is rooted in a deep understanding of space, light, and how people live. We believe that architecture is a conversation between landscape, lifestyle, and timeless beauty. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions by those considering a modern luxury home—whether overlooking coastal bluffs, tucked into hillside terrain, situated in sculpted desert landscapes, or integrated into vibrant cityscapes.
While we’ve become widely known for our work in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Paradise Valley, we design modern homes across the United States. Our work is continually expanding into growing modern residential hubs like Austin, Aspen, and Miami. We're also familiar with luxury markets such as Cherry Creek, Palm Beach, Naples, and Woodside. Whether it's desert, hillside, or oceanfront — if it's a setting that inspires thoughtful, expressive modern living, we're ready to collaborate.
Architecture & Design Philosophy
What is your approach to modern luxury residential design?
We craft homes that are modern in form, emotionally resonant, and thoughtfully aligned with each client’s lifestyle. Our architecture blends drama with restraint, open volume with intimacy, and nature with precision.
How do you define resort-style living?
For us, it's the art of everyday serenity. We create environments that feel like a destination: expansive, fluid spaces enriched with natural light, water features, and visual quietude. A Whipple Russell home invites pause, pleasure, and presence.
Do you have a signature style?
While our aesthetic is often described as warm modernism, our style is client-driven. Whether crisp minimalism or sculptural elegance, we tailor each design to the people who will inhabit it and the land that holds it.
Indoor Outdoor Living
How do you design for seamless indoor-outdoor flow?
Our homes erase the boundary between inside and out. Pivoting and sliding walls, flush floor transitions, and material continuity create spaces that breathe with the landscape.
What outdoor features do you typically include?
We design expansive terraces, integrated pools, water gardens, outdoor kitchens, fire lounges, and courtyards. Every exterior element is choreographed to echo the architectural language of the interior.
Can you incorporate wellness and spa-like amenities into the home?
Absolutely. Steam showers, cold plunges, float tanks, infrared saunas, massage rooms, and yoga platforms are often central to our designs. We curate calm.
Regional Design & Adaptation
How do you design for unique environments like desert, hillside, and coastal locations?
We shape each home in conversation with its surroundings. In the desert, we embrace thermal mass, clerestory light, calming courtyards, and passive cooling strategies. In hillside settings—especially in Los Angeles—we maximize views, design for vertical movement, and integrate engineering with elegance. Coastal homes balance transparency with resilience, framing sky and water through elevated forms.
Do you navigate HOA and community design guidelines?
Yes. Many of the neighborhoods we work in—whether Bighorn in the desert, The Vintage in Indian Wells, Paradise Valley in Arizona, or Trousdale Estates in Beverly Hills—hold strict architectural guidelines to protect views, aesthetics, and neighborhood identity. We work fluidly within these frameworks, honoring community standards while shaping modern homes that feel deeply individual. Our design process embraces constraints as creative opportunities, ensuring that each home is both compliant and confidently expressive.
Regions of Focus for Modern Residential Architecture
Where do you design modern homes?
We design modern residences in some of the most remarkable destinations across the United States. Each setting offers its own dialogue of land, light, and lifestyle — from ocean bluffs to desert valleys, from ski mountains to urban skylines.
West Coast
Los Angeles: Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, Brentwood, Benedict Canyon, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Encino, Calabasas, Pasadena
Coastal & Northern California: La Jolla, Santa Barbara, Tahoe, Woodside, Los Altos, Palo AltoSouthwest & Desert
Palm Desert, Indian Wells, Palm Springs
Arizona: Scottsdale, Paradise Valley
Nevada: Reno, Great FallsMountain West
Colorado: Aspen, Boulder, Telluride, Steamboat Springs, Cherry CreekSouth
Texas: Austin, Westlake, The Woodlands
Florida: Miami, Coral Gables, Palm Beach, NaplesNortheast
New York: Tribeca, NoHo, Scarsdale, Greenwich
Coastal: The Hamptons
Across these regions, one constant remains: our commitment to crafting high-end modern homes that merge architectural drama with effortless livability, deeply attuned to the landscapes they inhabit.
Process & Client Experience
What is the design process like?
It starts with listening. Through collaborative conversations and immersive design tools—like 3D modeling and VR walkthroughs—we bring your home to life before a single stone is set.
How involved will I be in the design process?
As involved as you wish. Some clients collaborate on every material and detail. Others entrust us fully. Most enjoy the balance of strong vision with an open, adaptive process.
Can I see past projects?
We offer an extensive online portfolio to review.
Technical & Logistical
Do you handle permitting and work with local building departments?
Yes, we manage the full permitting process and coordinate with consultants and engineers to ensure smooth approvals.
How do you ensure precision and quality during construction?
We stay involved from start to finish. Our detailed documentation, regular site visits, and trusted builder relationships ensure that what we draw is what gets built.
Do you work with high-profile clients?
Discretion is embedded in our ethos. We’ve worked under NDA with public figures and private clients alike. Your privacy is paramount.
Timelines & Scope
How long does a home typically take to design and build?
From design through completion, most projects take 18 to 30 months. Timelines depend on site complexity, permitting, and customization.
Can you help me evaluate a site before I purchase it?
Yes. We offer site feasibility reviews to assess design potential, views, sun path, and community guidelines—so you can buy with confidence.
Definitions & Key Terms
Modern Architecture
A design style characterized by clean lines, open floor plans, minimal ornamentation, and the integration of function with form.
Indoor-Outdoor Living
A design approach where interiors flow seamlessly into exterior spaces through open plans, sliding glass walls, and material continuity.
Resort-Style Living
A lifestyle-oriented design approach that brings spa-like features, water elements, outdoor lounges, and wellness amenities into residential spaces.
Threshold Design
The architectural detailing that manages how one moves from indoor to outdoor space, often using flush flooring, large openings, or frameless glass.
Passive Design
An approach that maximizes natural light, ventilation, and thermal performance through smart orientation, shading, and material selection.
Program
The list of required spaces and functions within a home — e.g., number of bedrooms, wellness room, outdoor kitchen, etc.
Passive Cooling
A design strategy that uses air movement, water, and material orientation to cool a home naturally, minimizing energy use.
Pedestal Decking System
An engineered flooring system where outdoor tile surfaces rest on adjustable pedestals, creating a level, grout-free surface that drains below.
Clerestory Windows
High, horizontal windows placed near the roofline that bring in soft light and enhance ventilation while maintaining privacy.
View Corridor
A deliberate visual axis established within the home, framing key landscape elements or architectural features.
Anti-Basement
A sunlit, open lower level that defies traditional basement darkness, often designed around sunken courtyards and atria.
Floating Stair
A staircase with concealed supports, often cantilevered, creating the illusion of weightlessness.
Zero Edge Pool
A pool where water flows over the edge, creating a seamless visual plane and a luxurious mirror effect.
Crestron / Basalte
Advanced smart home systems used to automate lighting, climate, and entertainment functions, often via touchscreens or mobile apps.
Baja Shelf
A shallow area in a pool, typically for lounging or sunbathing, often used in resort-style pool designs.
Spa Bathroom
A primary bathroom designed with luxury finishes and amenities like soaking tubs, steam showers, and integrated lighting.
Cold Plunge
A wellness feature — a small, cold-water pool or tub used after heat exposure like sauna or sun.
Cabanas / Pavilion
Freestanding or semi-attached outdoor structures used for lounging, entertaining, or relaxing poolside.
Smart Home Integration
The use of technology to automate lighting, audio, security, climate, and shading — often app-controlled.
Wellness Room
A dedicated space in the home designed for activities like yoga, meditation, massage, or exercise — often paired with nature views or calming materials.
LADBS
Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety — oversees permits, codes, and inspections for LA construction projects.
HPOZ (Historic Preservation Overlay Zone)
An LA-specific zoning designation meant to preserve architectural character in historic neighborhoods.
Hillside Ordinance
Local regulations that affect design and construction on steep hillside lots — including grading limits, retaining walls, and access.
Setback
The minimum distance a structure must be from property lines, streets, or easements — often varies by zone.
FAR (Floor Area Ratio)
A zoning calculation that determines how much floor area can be built on a given lot size.
Still Have Questions?
Let’s begin a conversation about your site, your vision, and the home you imagine. Contact us for a private consultation.