We used a beautiful and earthy sage green on the cabinets, warm wood on the floors, island, floatng shelves, and back of glass cabinets for added warmth.

Designed by Clive Newey and Jason Humphrey Constructed by Outdoor Artisan, Inc. team Photo by Everett Yang
Small trendy backyard patio photo in Charlotte with a fire pit

The Yin-Yang House is a net-zero energy single-family home in a quiet Venice, CA neighborhood. The design objective was to create a space for a large and growing family with several children, which would create a calm, relaxed and organized environment that emphasizes public family space. The home also serves as a place to entertain, and a welcoming space for teenagers as they seek social space with friends. The home is organized around a series of courtyards and other outdoor spaces that integrate with the interior of the house. Facing the street the house appears to be solid. However, behind the steel entry door is a courtyard, which reveals the indoor-outdoor nature of the house behind the solid exterior. From the entry courtyard, the entire space to the rear garden wall can be seen; the first clue of the home’s spatial connection between inside and out. These spaces are designed for entertainment, and the 40 foot sliding glass door to the living room enhances the harmonic relationship of the main room, allowing the owners to host many guests without the feeling of being overburdened. The tensions of the house’s exterior are subtly underscored by a 12-inch steel band that hews close to, but sometimes rises above or falls below the floor line of the second floor – a continuous loop moving inside and out like a pen that is never lifted from the page, but reinforces the intent to spatially weave together the indoors with the outside as a single space. Scale manipulation also plays a formal role in the design of the structure. From the rear, the house appears to be a single-story volume. The large master bedroom window and the outdoor steps are scaled to support this illusion. It is only when the steps are animated with people that one realizes the true scale of the house is two stories. The kitchen is the heart of the house, with an open working area that allows the owner, an accomplished chef, to converse with friends while cooking. Bedrooms are intentionally designed to be very small and simple; allowing for larger public spaces, emphasizing the family over individual domains. The breakfast room looks across an outdoor courtyard to the guest room/kids playroom, establishing a visual connection while defining the separation of uses. The children can play outdoors while under adult supervision from the dining area or the office, or do homework in the office while adults occupy the adjacent outdoor or indoor space. Many of the materials used, including the bamboo interior, composite stone and tile countertops and bathroom finishes are recycled, and reinforce the environmental DNA of the house, which also has a green roof. Blown-in cellulose insulation, radiant heating and a host of other sustainable features aids in the performance of the building’s heating and cooling. The active systems in the home include a 12 KW solar photovoltaic panel system, the largest such residential system available on the market. The solar panels also provide shade from the sun, preventing the house from becoming overheated. The owners have been in the home for over nine months and have yet to receive a power bill.

Photo shows the interior of the Japanese Tea House. The four skylights have hand carved overlay screens. The open ceiling shows the beauty of the design. The structure is very sustainable in that the building can be left to age naturally or oiled every few years to retain the wood color. Photo credits: Dan Drobnick

Range wall perspective. Custom cabinetry by Cottonwood Mills features opaque stain and glaze on poplar. Appliances by Wolf and Sub Zero.
Example of a classic kitchen design in Chicago with stainless steel appliances, white cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash and ceramic backsplash

Outdoor Makeover
This is an example of an asian landscaping in Atlanta.

Landscape complemented by fire bowl and fountain by Maysun Wells of http://www.wellsconcreteworks.com/

Long. Narrow. Can’t move any plumbing. These can be dreaded words in the design industry. Or they can be a challenge issued to spur creativity. These challenges were met head on by repurposing the tub to a full shower and adding zen-like materials to transform what was once a jungle-theme bath shared by children to an elegant guest bath that welcomes home grown adults on occasional visits. Very dark brown stained maple cabinetry feature an intriguing drawer configuration: is it three, four, eight, how many? It’s actually 5 drawers designed to flow with each other both horizontally and vertically; the hardware chosen to help accentuate this unity (the bottom 2/4 drawer fronts is actually one deep drawer). Quartz counters, porcelain sinks, contemporary faucetry and a large custom-framed mirror complete the vanity ensemble! A dual-flush toilet meet the homeowners’ wish for “green” solutions. Natural stone, pebble tiles and wood satisfy the desire for an earthier, more natural feeling in the room. Frameless glass gives an unencumbered view to take in the natural elements within the shower. Even the shampoo and soap niches reflect the “ying & yang” notions often thought of when envisioning a “zen” atmosphere. While the footprint remained the same, this bath was converted from “monkey business” to total tranquility.

Long. Narrow. Can’t move any plumbing. These can be dreaded words in the design industry. Or they can be a challenge issued to spur creativity. These challenges were met head on by repurposing the tub to a full shower and adding zen-like materials to transform what was once a jungle-theme bath shared by children to an elegant guest bath that welcomes home grown adults on occasional visits. Very dark brown stained maple cabinetry feature an intriguing drawer configuration: is it three, four, eight, how many? It’s actually 5 drawers designed to flow with each other both horizontally and vertically; the hardware chosen to help accentuate this unity (the bottom 2/4 drawer fronts is actually one deep drawer). Quartz counters, porcelain sinks, contemporary faucetry and a large custom-framed mirror complete the vanity ensemble! A dual-flush toilet meet the homeowners’ wish for “green” solutions. Natural stone, pebble tiles and wood satisfy the desire for an earthier, more natural feeling in the room. Frameless glass gives an unencumbered view to take in the natural elements within the shower. Even the shampoo and soap niches reflect the “ying & yang” notions often thought of when envisioning a “zen” atmosphere. While the footprint remained the same, this bath was converted from “monkey business” to total tranquility.

This powder room was squeezed into a basement renovation. Strategic lighting, subway tile and wall to wall mirrors helped to make the windowless space feel airy and bright.

Simple elegance abounds in this Zen bath. The modern, clean linear lines of Montresano are the perfect yin to the yang of the curved, organic shape of the vessel sink. The vanity, created with two Furniture Drawers, a towel bar and lots of open space, creates a calming focal point to the room. More storage is subtly placed next to the sink area. Made from a well-balanced combination of Wall Cabinets, a Furniture Drawer and a Spice Drawer Cabinet, this area gives you plenty of room to stylishly store all of the things you frequently use. The simple color palette adds to the Zen-like quality of the room. We selected a cool grey solid surface vanity top and backsplash to serve as a soothing contrast to the warm Cherry wood in a Kaffe finish.

Yin Yang, the celebration of opposites. Fire dances above blue glass and reflects in the bowl below. Visitors are warmed up to ten feet away. This portable fire/water feature can hold water within the bowl as a reflecting bowl or cascade over the sides as a fountain.

The Yin Yang fire/water feature embraces opposites. Fire warms the visitor while water cascades over the edge and into the fire section, creating interest and soothing water sounds.

Pool - traditional pool idea in New York

Photo by Kimberly Murray
Example of a cottage chic bedroom design in Atlanta

A mountain house dining room designed by Robert Brown in Cashiers, North Carolina.
Home design - rustic home design idea in Atlanta

Bill Rose
Photo of a mid-sized asian partial sun backyard formal garden in Austin for summer.

Dick Maxfield
Inspiration for a traditional landscaping in Denver.

This beautiful secondary bathroom features a floating vanity resting beneath an accent wall of Porcelanosa's Treasures Mist Shannan mosaic tile. Cleverly placed lighting provides working light as well as an accent to this beautiful tile. Designer: Debra Owens Photographer: Michael Hunter