Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel It's gorgeous. I salute the homeowners for knowing what they want and the architect for delivering that! Spectacular design and wow, no rough carpentry. What a job!

sdguy More info on how the landscaping was approached would be useful. I'm certainly dealing with a similar dilemma and could use some ideas on how to tame a large expanse of land that has been neglected for many years.

Robert M. Cain, Architect Briar Creek's landscaping is an ongoing project based on relocating onsite native/local species. A large variety of native trees, shrubs and planting materials grow spontaneously around the property. The owner selects and relocates material as necessary to reinforce a conceptual landscape plan established several years ago.
In the hardwood area around the house, for example, understory species such as Dogwood, American Holly, Wax Myrtle, Inkberry, Winterberry, several varieties of magnolia (big leaf, bay, etc.) as well as native ground covers are being inserted. Near the entry transplanted Wax Myrtle, American Holly and Live Oaks and native grasses are creating a screen to the interior of the property as well as creating a focus for a future gate.
Simultaneously, all exotics or invasive species (privet, etc.) are being removed.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel The dining room of a young couple who love purple and silver. The undulating stripes were inspired by the sconces. Wine glasses and cooler are near at hand.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Loved all your ideas, except that during cold months, I have a huge Persian carpet in my salon. When summer arrives, I roll up the carpet and enjoy the cool, ivory tiled floor.

Phantom Screens Great article! It is so true - entryway sets the tone and the feel of the home and especially so during summer! Another great option to make the most of warm weather is to install a retractable screen on the front and back doors, thereby creating natural ventilation and cutting down on having to run the air conditioner to cool the house. Phantom`s retractable door screens are perfect for all door designs and styles, plus they are only visible when in use.

Tru Tech Doors You can also upgrade your backyard appearance by putting in a Garden Door, made by Tru Tech Doors.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Starting with the exterior, I love the color choices, and am completely envious of the lush environs. Congrats on buying the big lot next door! Love the juxtaposition of the bright strong wall colors with the antique furniture. All the art in the living room MAKES that room. I love that you kept the vintage range, but use new equipment where it's important, like in the laundry room. Enjoy your beautiful, unique home.

familyideas Sorry...I meant "akdiamond"...my 'spell and check' changed it!

kdynek Thank you for the tour! I really like the mixed wall art, and feel inspired to hang pieces that I have stored. It is wonderful that the homeowners have allowed all of us to visit. My takeaway is warm, cozy, welcoming, colorful, interesting, and beautiful.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Sorry, I have to disagree with you who are mesmerized by conceptual art. Emperor's new clothes. You have to be talked into seeing its value. Yawn.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Dana: You're absolutely right, and I apologize to John and the others whose taste is different from mine. I was wrong.

Dana Veach Thank you, Laurel...well done!

bonnieinflorida Art is wherever you find it. A spring and summer view down a long hallway and out to the front porch, framed through an antique wooden screen door, was of gingerbread trim, greenery and gorgeous purple blooms, and I enjoyed it every morning from my kitchen table. It was definitely art, collaborative art at that. It was what I missed most about that lovely old house when we moved to a new town nearly 50 years ago.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Informative article and discussion! Thanks to all.

marilynwilliamsclark Bamboo flooring is beautiful, but be aware that it will pit and get scratched by even very light wear. High heel shoes, and small pebbles caught in the underside of shoes can ruin it. It was not cheap and was a good grade of bamboo. Also I found that any item dropped on the floor can cause it to crack.

oldie49 Installed bamboo flooring through 3 bedrooms and upstairs bathroom and we love it! Light is reflected making all the rooms bright and it is so easy to keep clean. Best decision ever!

Lauren Elyse I have a sweet painterly purse at the moment that double as my art book & materials bag. I also do painterly pieces myself & have a few hanging around my house that I haven't sold yet!

If you're interested in getting your own piece, email me & decorate your space for summer!

www.laurenelysefineart.com

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Thank you for this fun post and lovely collection of ideas.

julietjones I too would like to know more about pruning/trimming boxwood. I bought 3 of the "Green Mountain" variety which are quite small (because any bigger was too pricy for me). I plan to shape them not into balls, but into cone shapes. I want to know when to start! (and when to stop). they have already become a bit straggly with new growth. I am in Memphis TN, zone 7B.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel You've created an interesting mix between sculpted/formal and seemiingly natural. Lovely. A little crowded for my taste, but wonderfully varied.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel First three examples are gorgeous. I appreciate Laurel Ennis' and Anthony Simpson's contributions. The vent/fans I've experienced made too much noise and didn't really remove smells, therefore I'm in favor of stoves near windows and ovens on an exterior service porch. Also, I hate open plans. I love to cook, but don't want to look at the kitchen when I'm finished.

mrsobbs A company in your area that specializes in (your search term -->) "residential air leakage & pressure testing" can be commissioned to remove an exterior door, pressurize your home and take readings that identify the things Chris speaks to above. But also, using infrared technology they can locate breaches; pesky locations where you have intrusion of outside air and are losing heat. Might be as simple as where insulation was too minimal/caulk was forgotten. Here's an online graphic that nicely illustrates the blower door. You might call your local environmental health office for some direction. I hope my intervening is forgiven.

Online info source: www.retrotec.com/Portals/5/Documents/Manuals/Manual-Residential Pressure & Air Leakage Testing.pdf

Tip - Hover cursor over graphic to enlarge.

Chris Hale If you go to www.homeperformancesolutions.org there are a number of articles and pictures of blower doors. Basically they put a metal frame in your doorway (no need to remove the door) with a big fan in it. It measures how much air your house is sucking in and where that air is coming from. A "worst case draft test" runs every device in you house at the same time. So the dryer gets turned on, your bath fans, kitchen hood, furnace, water heater, etc. All that air is being sucked out of your house and is being replaced by air coming in from leaks or from places where your gas appliances are supposed to be pushing out their combustion products. If the suck is strong enough, the combustion gases don't go out, they come back into the house. At my house, when everything was turned on, the water heater was pumping CO into the downstairs! Soooo not good!
This is my layman description. A professional can tell you more and they can find where cold air is coming in. Infrared cameras can tell you a lot as well, but not about the back drafting. But I know when you add fans or gas appliances, it is good to make sure your alterations are working the way you want them to work.

Lisa M. This home is a beauty! It's is so well done. It's warm, inviting, fun, and elegant. I feel I can get a feel of the homeowners personality just from viewing a few pictures of this home. You can tell the owners truly picked what they liked, and didn't "copy" a certain look from a magazine. I love how all of the different styles from traditional to modern blend so cohesively. Well done, thanks for sharing! Congrats on your growing family:)

bonnieinflorida In going back and looking at the photos again, I do believe this home is child-friendly, as long as the child is lovingly raised and taught to appreciate beautiful things from the beginning. My own "treasures" don't run to anything as dear as a Chihuly bowl, but I don't put them up when my grandchildren and great-grandchildren visit. Instead, I explain what they are, what makes them delicate, and why their beauty is there to be appreciated by adults and children alike.

K.O.H. Construction Corporation The stone work and plantings around the patio are the best I ever seen. You definitely have a eye for detail.
I also like the black in the living room. The illuminated pedestal added a nice touch.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Many cool industrial elements, yet it's still homey and beautiful. Great job!

Marcin Stepski absolutely perfect for me.
Steel industrial chairs are awesome,so i have to make a similar for my self

Robin Kitchen is outstanding withe the pennies, open shelves, and lighting.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel A beautiful, soulful home! Why can't creative people, at least, resist trends (subway tiles)?

jansanronzi brand/sheen/color of the front door, PLEASE?? i want to paint this weekend..thanks so much

Lauren Piasecki I will ask and get back to you (hopefully soon)!

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel What a huge improvement! Especially the fireplace in the dining room. It's all much more cheerful now.

Resource Art & Design Oh, and you've got to find a taller drinks table for between fireplace and sofa. No one wants to be doing calisthenics in order to reach for their cocktail :-}

Dixie Henrie I would LOVE to work in that kitchen. This reno has made it completely charming in every picture provided, including the living room. It's all so full of character. That dining room transformation is stunning! If there's one thing I don't care for it's the grey and white back splash, but I'd live with it. Good job to all involved.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel I appreciate the functional flow of the ground floor rooms, and that it wasn't all opened up into some horrible 'great room'. Most of the furniture choices work, giving a fresh yet still traditional look. I cringed at the trendy live edge in the kitchen and the slave-to-fashion 'mid-century' furnishings here and there. Overall the house is very attractive, especially the rooms with non-white walls. Excellent built ins throughout.

Elizabeth Dete The mirror above the sink in the kitchen is a great idea!

Connie Bundy There are custom homes in every era that make no sense for anyone but the original owner. Just because something is old does not mean it was done with good taste. Original does not equal great architecture. Remember Scarlett O'Hara? Overall, I like the pics of the house that are posted here; if we all liked the same thing, we would all want the same house on the same block. How original and charming would that be?

marzenkam wow! that will keep him motivated not to put any weight on

jpp221 I think that those who are poo-pooing the space are doing so because they are stamping their lifestyles onto this space. This isn't a home in which to raise a family, cook much, or entertain. Its a different lifestyle...it's a home to go to at night, sleep, write for a few hours, but, as in the case of much of Europe, you don't *live* there. you live OUT there, in the city , on the street. You walk about, entertain out, live life, in the squares and public spaces. You come back here to sleep and shower up, then head off again for another day.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel A nice amount of personality and unpredictabiiity. Growing older?? hee hee, what is she, 24?

kaleidoscopes I notice the name of the lady and very close to my maiden name, Kaczmar, a name I do not see ever! Wow, I had to do a double take. Oh and her place is fun as well. Christine

Turn Key Decor I completely agree with Alaina about spending your time "finishing" your home. If you live with the things you love, you'll never go wrong!

Visual Senses Design Stunning I love the look and the terrace is the icing on the cake. Just wish that cities where prices are as mad as in Vancouver Canada would offer more "affordable" mooring fees. There is plenty of space on water here but mooring a houseboat is equivalent to renting a home on top of everything else.

Anita Roll Murals It would be a dream come true for me! My sanctuary

wantsideas Wonderful space planning. Seems much more spacious than the square feet stated. Love the built in's and you can't beat the views!

Pankaj Toshniwal Love the Home. Being inspired would like to work a feasibility of one on the banks of river Hoogli here in Kolkata, India. What were the ways of continous fresh water storage and supply and electricity supply as well as waste management? Pl. advise.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel I love the freedom of that open kitchen and living area. Wonderful!

petaben Rico286 we actually get relatively few insects, mostly just geckos on the wall, which we are quite fond of. Bats eat most of the insects and our cats catch some bugs and mice. Overall though you develop a lovely tolerance and balance with nature. Hummingbirds, butterflies etc.

petaben As of today, we are listing this house for sale. We have LOVED living here, it has been awesome!

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Research back in my youth (shortly after the last Ice Age) said that blues and greens lower the body's vital signs, even when the person is comatose. Yellow was recommended for areas where you desired mental stimulation (living rooms, work rooms).

Red tapestries have been hung in bedrooms in the Middle East and Central Asia for centuries, to promote fertility. They didn't call it the Fertile Crescent for nothing. ;-)

Ann Smitt John Whipple - Doesn't it depend on the room's size and lighting? All caramel walls may be very pleasing to the eye and the heart. ;-)

Nina Nezhenets Interestingly enough that they didn't mention pink bedroom walls at all and also my personal experience differs from what they say in that study. Perhaps there are more factors to sound sleep than just the color of the bedroom.

I lived for three years in a place with bedroom walls painted pale pink and I've been sleeping quite soundly there, now I've been residing in another place for almost a year and it has yellow walls, it's hard to fall asleep and hard to wake up, even if I slept my 8 hours I still feel like it's not nearly enough.

Also, I happened to have deep blue rooms in two of my places - left by their owners - somehow people tend to make the WHOLE room blue, walls, floor, even blue sofa and curtains to make completely sure they killed it... The first room I owned, and it was facing north, and one could feel almost physically chilled upon entering it, so I had to repaint to to a pale warm peach. The second blue room is in a rented apartment, so I keep one of the two visible walls covered with either a white sheet or a red bed cover, or it's very unnerving to stay in there. Can't imagine how anyone could sleep in a blue bedroom, though, maybe I'm familiar with too dark a colours...

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Here are two outdoor fireplaces I had a hand in (with my brush). My favorite setting is an outdoor fireplace or fire pit under a pavilion or overhanging eave, so I can sit there in pouring rain.

High Camp Home Here is a picture of an outdoor fireplace in a Tahoe cabin we designed. We love the complimentary elements of wood and stone.

La Lune Collection Beautiful, High Camp Home - we spy La Lune Collection chairs and table, I believe!

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel I love people who have confidence in their own taste. Your home should please you, not your mother, your contractor or even your designer.

Liberace defined flamboyant, but in a sweet way; he was not vulgar. Whether it's your taste or not, people who live artfully outside the norm add beauty and color to the world.

Becky Harris Thank you for the clarification Deborah.

Lot 26 Studio, Inc. Love all of the chandeliers - here is an inexpensive way to add the razzle dazzle to your home or apartment! http://www.lot26.com/s/Paper-Chandeliers