Originally designed by one of the most notable landscape architects in town, this once impressive project had faltered in recent years. The pool and spa still functioned well, and the client wanted to keep it intact. In addition, they wanted to keep as much of the existing landscaping as possible. The surrounding decks, walls, and steps were fair game. At first glance, one might think that our changes were simple material changes. Upon closer inspection, however, one can see the subtle, yet transformative changes that come together to update this classic pool in a tasteful, timeless manner, and improve the flow and usability of the deck areas, while softening the feel of the massive hardscape. The subtle changes begin as soon as you walk out the back door of the house. The existing decking had a lot of what we call “tweeners”; areas that are overly generous walkways, yet not large enough to house furniture. The awkwardly small bluestone patio was expanded to accommodate a generous seating area, by pushing the step-down closer to the pool. Our talented stone mason carefully married the new bluestone into the existing, resulting in an imperceptible difference between the two. As you descend the new bluestone steps to the pool level, your bare feet will be thankful for the new smooth-finished limestone colored concrete, with a hand cut pattern carefully etched into its surface. The old red brick decking was so hot that the owners could not walk around the pool in bare feet. The brick coping was also replaced with an eased edge Pennsylvania Premier Stone which matches the new step treads throughout the project. Between the house and the pool, a large raised planter was reconfigured, giving additional space to the pool deck for a shaded lounge chair area. Across the pool, a bank of rather tall painted brick retaining walls were cut down, shortened, and moved. This lessened the visual impact of the walls, which were rather overwhelming in the space, as well as opening up a new seating area, nestled under the arms of the massive pecan at the back of the property. Rather than continuing solid decking around the entire pool, the area near these walls has been transformed to large stone stepper pads set in a sea of beautiful St. Augustine lawn. This creates a visually softened area that is still suited to setting tables and chairs when the guest list calls for additional seating. The spa area is quite possibly the most dramatic change on this project. Yet more raised planter walls divided this area into awkward spaces, unsuited to proper furniture placement. The planters were removed, new stone decks, once again expertly married into the existing, opening the area to house a large dining table and new built in bbq area. The spa itself was re-imagined with the bluestone coping, and painted brick veneer. The most impressive addition though is the new handmade glazed tiles that surround the existing cast stone water feature. This water feature was almost unnoticeable against the painted brick wall, but now the dramatic arch and pop of color draw the eye to this quaint little corner of the property.

This wooded deck retreat features composite decking material by Fiberon, shown here in the Horizon line in 'Ipe'. The Ipe color reflects the beauty of natural and exotic hardwoods, complete with subtle streaking and varied wood grain patterns. Fiberon hidden fasteners were also used to create a polished, seamless deck surface.

This customer wanted their deck to have seating around the edge. We built their deck and deck seating out of AZEK composite decking in Slate Grey. It features a double picture frame on the deck and single picture frame on the bench seating. This will be a lovely space for the customer to enjoy the outdoors in low maintenance on the comfort.

Built in Winchester, VA for the Trex Company. Low level deck allows for alternate design elements such as wide cascading steps, planter boxes, and custom benches. Notice use of mutiple material colors.

View of deck with custom mahogany built-in seating. Overlooking Provincetown Harbor.
Beach style deck photo in Boston with no cover

A great addition to a small Bay Ridge yard. We created a custom built-in seating area with usable storage space on top of Trex decking. Also in this project, we installed Smart LED Deck Lights.

Sun Room. Exteiror Sunroom -Photographer: Rob Karosis
Elegant two-story wood exterior home photo in New York

This backyard needed a deck large enough to handle a table with umbrella. This is made from Ipe wood - very dense, but beautiful. Built in bench seating accommodates a lot more guests. Photo Credit: N. Leonard

This customer wanted their deck to have seating around the edge. We built their deck and deck seating out of AZEK composite decking in Slate Grey. It features a double picture frame on the deck and single picture frame on the bench seating. This will be a lovely space for the customer to enjoy the outdoors in low maintenance on the comfort.

The upper level of this gorgeous Trex deck is the central entertaining and dining space and includes a beautiful concrete fire table and a custom cedar bench that floats over the deck. Light brown custom cedar screen walls provide privacy along the landscaped terrace and compliment the warm hues of the decking. Clean, modern light fixtures are also present in the deck steps, along the deck perimeter, and throughout the landscape making the space well-defined in the evening as well as the daytime.

The unique design challenge in this early 20th century Georgian Colonial was the complete disconnect of the kitchen to the rest of the home. In order to enter the kitchen, you were required to walk through a formal space. The homeowners wanted to connect the kitchen and garage through an informal area, which resulted in building an addition off the rear of the garage. This new space integrated a laundry room, mudroom and informal entry into the re-designed kitchen. Additionally, 25” was taken out of the oversized formal dining room and added to the kitchen. This gave the extra room necessary to make significant changes to the layout and traffic pattern in the kitchen. Beth Singer Photography

This one- of- a- kind backyard deck features low-maintenance Fiberon decking with an ingelnook style custom seating area also made from Fiberon. This unique design adds privacy to the outdoor living area because before their backyard was visible from the deck of the house next door

Various shades of blue were used to create this serene, modern space. Built in cabinetry house computer equipment, filing cabinets, and misc storage. The built in window seat also has fiiing cabinets below.

View of ipe wood deck, full view of new climbing wall garden. Photo by Jason Wells.
Deck - contemporary deck idea in San Francisco

Lake Front Country Estate Kitchen, designed by Tom Markalunas, built by Resort Custom Homes. Photography by Rachael Boling.
Inspiration for a large timeless l-shaped medium tone wood floor kitchen remodel in Other with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, granite countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Mud Room featuring a custom cushion with Ralph Lauren fabric, custom cubby for kitty litter box, built-in storage for children's backpack & jackets accented by bead board

Family members enter this kitchen from the mud room where they are right at home in this friendly space. The Kitchens central banquette island seats six on cozy upholstered benches with another two diners at the ends. There is table seating for EIGHT plus the back side boasts raised seating for four more on swiveling bar stools. The show-stopping coffered ceiling was custom designed and features beaded paneling, recessed can lighting and dramatic crown molding. The counters are made of Labradorite which is often associated with jewels. It's iridescent sparkle adds glamour without being too loud. The wood paneled backsplash allows the cabinetry to blend in. There is glazed subway tile behind the range. This lovely home features an open concept space with the kitchen at the heart. Built in the late 1990's the prior kitchen was cherry, but dark, and the new family needed a fresh update. This great space was a collaboration between many talented folks including but not limited to the team at Delicious Kitchens & Interiors, LLC, L. Newman and Associates/Paul Mansback, Inc with Leslie Rifkin and Emily Shakra. Additional contributions from the homeowners and Belisle Granite. John C. Hession Photographer

This stunning ceiling is a clear, smooth cedar with a natural finish. That finish was chosen to highlight the natural color variation in the cedar. The ceiling was framed to allow for the change in directions of the ceiling finish. The center was vaulted for the placement of an impressive chandelier and some indirect lighting. The vaulted area is finished with decorative tin.

The kitchen, breakfast room and family room are all open to one another. The kitchen has a large twelve foot island topped with Calacatta marble and features a roll-out kneading table, and room to seat the whole family. The sunlight breakfast room opens onto the patio which has a built-in barbeque, and both bar top seating and a built in bench for outdoor dining. The large family room features a cozy fireplace, TV media, and a large built-in bookcase. The adjoining craft room is separated by a set of pocket french doors; where the kids can be visible from the family room as they do their homework.