Elegant kitchen pantry photo in Boston with white cabinets and open cabinets

Entrance to this home features ship lap walls & ceilings that are off set with a brilliant blue barn door and abstract ocean theme art. Photography by Patrick Brickman

Example of a huge country light wood floor and brown floor open concept kitchen design in New York with a farmhouse sink, white cabinets, white backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island, white countertops and shaker cabinets

Tuscan Moon finish. Swivel ironing board. Soho High Gloss Fronts.
Large minimalist l-shaped vinyl floor and gray floor dedicated laundry room photo in Jacksonville with a side-by-side washer/dryer, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, quartz countertops and white walls

Cottage Style Lake house
Mid-sized beach style blue one-story wood exterior home photo in Indianapolis with a shingle roof

Dedicated laundry room - transitional l-shaped gray floor dedicated laundry room idea in Portland with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, gray walls, a side-by-side washer/dryer, gray countertops and a drop-in sink

Complete master bedroom remodel with stacked stone fireplace, sliding barn door, swing arm wall sconces and rustic faux ceiling beams. New wall-wall carpet, transitional area rug, custom draperies, bedding and simple accessories help create a true master bedroom oasis.

This renovated brick rowhome in Boston’s South End offers a modern aesthetic within a historic structure, creative use of space, exceptional thermal comfort, a reduced carbon footprint, and a passive stream of income. DESIGN PRIORITIES. The goals for the project were clear - design the primary unit to accommodate the family’s modern lifestyle, rework the layout to create a desirable rental unit, improve thermal comfort and introduce a modern aesthetic. We designed the street-level entry as a shared entrance for both the primary and rental unit. The family uses it as their everyday entrance - we planned for bike storage and an open mudroom with bench and shoe storage to facilitate the change from shoes to slippers or bare feet as they enter their home. On the main level, we expanded the kitchen into the dining room to create an eat-in space with generous counter space and storage, as well as a comfortable connection to the living space. The second floor serves as master suite for the couple - a bedroom with a walk-in-closet and ensuite bathroom, and an adjacent study, with refinished original pumpkin pine floors. The upper floor, aside from a guest bedroom, is the child's domain with interconnected spaces for sleeping, work and play. In the play space, which can be separated from the work space with new translucent sliding doors, we incorporated recreational features inspired by adventurous and competitive television shows, at their son’s request. MODERN MEETS TRADITIONAL. We left the historic front facade of the building largely unchanged - the security bars were removed from the windows and the single pane windows were replaced with higher performing historic replicas. We designed the interior and rear facade with a vision of warm modernism, weaving in the notable period features. Each element was either restored or reinterpreted to blend with the modern aesthetic. The detailed ceiling in the living space, for example, has a new matte monochromatic finish, and the wood stairs are covered in a dark grey floor paint, whereas the mahogany doors were simply refinished. New wide plank wood flooring with a neutral finish, floor-to-ceiling casework, and bold splashes of color in wall paint and tile, and oversized high-performance windows (on the rear facade) round out the modern aesthetic. RENTAL INCOME. The existing rowhome was zoned for a 2-family dwelling but included an undesirable, single-floor studio apartment at the garden level with low ceiling heights and questionable emergency egress. In order to increase the quality and quantity of space in the rental unit, we reimagined it as a two-floor, 1 or 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a modern aesthetic, increased ceiling height on the lowest level and provided an in-unit washer/dryer. The apartment was listed with Jackie O'Connor Real Estate and rented immediately, providing the owners with a source of passive income. ENCLOSURE WITH BENEFITS. The homeowners sought a minimal carbon footprint, enabled by their urban location and lifestyle decisions, paired with the benefits of a high-performance home. The extent of the renovation allowed us to implement a deep energy retrofit (DER) to address air tightness, insulation, and high-performance windows. The historic front facade is insulated from the interior, while the rear facade is insulated on the exterior. Together with these building enclosure improvements, we designed an HVAC system comprised of continuous fresh air ventilation, and an efficient, all-electric heating and cooling system to decouple the house from natural gas. This strategy provides optimal thermal comfort and indoor air quality, improved acoustic isolation from street noise and neighbors, as well as a further reduced carbon footprint. We also took measures to prepare the roof for future solar panels, for when the South End neighborhood’s aging electrical infrastructure is upgraded to allow them. URBAN LIVING. The desirable neighborhood location allows the both the homeowners and tenant to walk, bike, and use public transportation to access the city, while each charging their respective plug-in electric cars behind the building to travel greater distances. OVERALL. The understated rowhouse is now ready for another century of urban living, offering the owners comfort and convenience as they live life as an expression of their values. Photography: Eric Roth Photo

An update to a dated 80s bath using high quality custom cabinetry, silestone quartz countertop, accent tile and Kohler fixtures. Cabinets by Dura Supreme, Silestone Quartz countertops, basketweave tile purchased through Prosource Marietta, Design By Kandrac & Kole, renovation by Highland Design Gallery and photo credit Emily Followill

Cabinets: Centerpoint Black splash: Savannah Surfaces Perimeter: Caesarstone Island Countertop: Precision Granite & Marble- Cygnus Leather Appliances: Ferguson, Kitchenaid

Pergola and kitchen are focal items.
Design ideas for a small modern backyard landscaping in New York.

Designed using Trex Transcend decking in Lava Rock – a rich reddish-black shade with subtle shading and natural shade variations creating distinctive hardwood-like streaking and intense tropical hues and Trex Transcend decking in Tiki Torch – a warm, earthy shade features rich, reddish-brown hardwood streaking, and is designed to off the look of real tropical hardwoods with slight variations of color and streaking. Additional Trex products featured include Trex Elevations, Trex Reveal railing, Trex Pergola, Trex Outdoor Furniture and Trex Outdoor Lighting – stair riser lights, post cap lights and recessed lights.

We were contacted by a family named Pesek who lived near Memorial Drive on the West side of Houston. They lived in a stately home built in the late 1950’s. Many years back, they had contracted a local pool company to install an old lagoon-style pool, which they had since grown tired of. When they initially called us, they wanted to know if we could build them an outdoor room at the far end of the swimming pool. We scheduled a free consultation at a time convenient to them, and we drove out to their residence to take a look at the property. After a quick survey of the back yard, rear of the home, and the swimming pool, we determined that building an outdoor room as an addition to their existing landscaping design would not bring them the results they expected. The pool was visibly dated with an early “70’s” look, which not only clashed with the late 50’s style of home architecture, but guaranteed an even greater clash with any modern-style outdoor room we constructed. Luckily for the Peseks, we offered an even better landscaping plan than the one they had hoped for. We proposed the construction of a new outdoor room and an entirely new swimming pool. Both of these new structures would be built around the classical geometry of proportional right angles. This would allow a very modern design to compliment an older home, because basic geometric patterns are universal in many architectural designs used throughout history. In this case, both the swimming pool and the outdoor rooms were designed as interrelated quadrilateral forms with proportional right angles that created the illusion of lengthened distance and a sense of Classical elegance. This proved a perfect complement to a house that had originally been built as a symbolic emblem of a simpler, more rugged and absolute era. Though reminiscent of classical design and complimentary to the conservative design of the home, the interior of the outdoor room was ultra-modern in its array of comfort and convenience. The Peseks felt this would be a great place to hold birthday parties for their child. With this new outdoor room, the Peseks could take the party outside at any time of day or night, and at any time of year. We also built the structure to be fully functional as an outdoor kitchen as well as an outdoor entertainment area. There was a smoker, a refrigerator, an ice maker, and a water heater—all intended to eliminate any need to return to the house once the party began. Seating and entertainment systems were also added to provide state of the art fun for adults and children alike. We installed a flat-screen plasma TV, and we wired it for cable. The swimming pool was built between the outdoor room and the rear entrance to the house. We got rid of the old lagoon-pool design which geometrically clashed with the right angles of the house and outdoor room. We then had a completely new pool built, in the shape of a rectangle, with a rather innovative coping design. We showcased the pool with a coping that rose perpendicular to the ground out of the stone patio surface. This reinforced our blend of contemporary look with classical right angles. We saved the client an enormous amount of money on travertine by setting the coping so that it does not overhang with the tile. Because the ground between the house and the outdoor room gradually dropped in grade, we used the natural slope of the ground to create another perpendicular right angle at the end of the pool. Here, we installed a waterfall which spilled over into a heated spa. Although the spa was fed from within itself, it was built to look as though water was coming from within the pool. The ultimate result of all of this is a new sense of visual “ebb and flow,” so to speak. When Mr. Pesek sits in his couch facing his house, the earth appears to rise up first into an illuminated pool which leads the way up the steps to his home. When he sits in his spa facing the other direction, the earth rises up like a doorway to his outdoor room, where he can comfortably relax in the water while he watches TV. For more the 20 years Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's fine neighborhoods.

Modern Living Room
Inspiration for a transitional formal and enclosed dark wood floor living room remodel in San Francisco with white walls, a brick fireplace and a standard fireplace

Trendy gray tile gray floor alcove shower photo in Chicago with flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, gray walls, an integrated sink and a hinged shower door

View of rear yard included custom-colored concrete walls, pavers, riverstone and a built-in bench around a firepit. Sliding Glass wall system by Nanawall. All exterior lighting by Bega. Catherine Nguyen Photography

Mid-sized transitional master gray tile and marble tile marble floor, gray floor, double-sink and wainscoting bathroom photo in Chicago with recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, a one-piece toilet, gray walls, an undermount sink, marble countertops, a hinged shower door, gray countertops, a niche and a built-in vanity

This beautiful foyer is filled with different patterns and textures.
Entryway - mid-sized contemporary vinyl floor and brown floor entryway idea in Minneapolis with black walls and a black front door

Asheville 1296 luxurious Owner's Bath with freestanding tub and Carerra marble.
Bathroom - large transitional master white tile and porcelain tile porcelain tile and white floor bathroom idea in Cincinnati with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, marble countertops and gray walls