We opened the kitchen up to the living room to create a more connected & social functioning kitchen as well as creating a brighter more inviting work space which now benefits from the many large windows in the living room

This South Minneapolis family bathroom was pretty groovy before Castle arrived! Old shiny wallpaper, outdated and crumbling tile and an inefficient floor plan were not serving this growing family any longer. A new floor plan opened up the natural light to the entire bathroom and allowed a much-desired double vanity to be installed. The homeowners wanted direct access from their master bedroom as well, so a new door opening was created for easier access without disturbing the rest of the household. A bright space was important to the homeowners, so a solar tube was installed with an integral bath fan. The old window was converted to more private glass block, and a wall of mirror was added to reflect natural light throughout the space and to make the space feel bigger. A fresh, transitional color scheme was chosen with timeless materials like marble and white.

Mike and Stacy moved to the country to be around the rolling landscape and feed the birds outside their Hampshire country home. After living in the home for over ten years, they knew exactly what they wanted to renovate their 1980’s two story once their children moved out. It all started with the desire to open up the floor plan, eliminating constricting walls around the dining room and the eating area that they didn’t plan to use once they had access to what used to be a formal dining room. They wanted to enhance the already warm country feel their home already had, with some warm hickory cabinets and casual granite counter tops. When removing the pantry and closet between the kitchen and the laundry room, the new design now just flows from the kitchen directly into the smartly appointed laundry area and adjacent powder room. The new eat in kitchen bar is frequented by guests and grand-children, and the original dining table area can be accessed on a daily basis in the new open space. One instant sensation experienced by anyone entering the front door is the bright light that now transpires from the front of the house clear through the back; making the entire first floor feel free flowing and inviting. Photo Credits- Joe Nowak

Cleanliness and organization are top priority for this large family laundry room/mudroom. Concrete floors can handle the worst the kids throw at it, while baskets allow separation of clothing depending on color and dirt level!

Classic, timeless, and ideally positioned on a picturesque street in the 4100 block, discover this dream home by Jessica Koltun Home. The blend of traditional architecture and contemporary finishes evokes warmth while understated elegance remains constant throughout this Midway Hollow masterpiece. Countless custom features and finishes include museum-quality walls, white oak beams, reeded cabinetry, stately millwork, and white oak wood floors with custom herringbone patterns. First-floor amenities include a barrel vault, a dedicated study, a formal and casual dining room, and a private primary suite adorned in Carrara marble that has direct access to the laundry room. The second features four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and an oversized game room that could also be used as a sixth bedroom. This is your opportunity to own a designer dream home.

Stone Stairs by 'Ancient Surfaces' Product: Antique Stone Stairs Contacts: (212) 461-0245 Email: Sales@ancientsurfaces.com Website: www.AncientSurfaces.com Stairs are one of the most basic indoors and outdoors architectural feature that are a must both functionally and esthetically speaking. In landscaping beside their obvious usefulness in helping you access various elevations on your property they will also allow you to divide and breakup various section of your outdoor design, they'll help you redirect your line of sight to specific focal points of interest and by themselves can make a powerful design statement that symbolizes hospitality and openness towards guests. When creating staircases out of our antique stone building elements we focus on waring all of those hats that your stairs need to ware in order to serve their intended multipurpose role. Most don't dwell or even think twice about this seemingly rudimentary and basic building element that on its surface seems unchanged from the days of the Roman empire. However we've identified various stairs designs and cataloged over 30 divers stone stairs type that forms the bulk of our stone stair library. Here are a few that are noteworthy of mentioning: 1- The thick hexagon staggered stepping stone stairs ideal for any ancient, whimsical, 17th century English or Asiatic landscaping themes you may be using in your outdoors. 2- The 3" and 5" Thick foundation slab slices that are massive cut-out chunks from salvaged cornerstone foundation blocks that used to be laid underneath old farmhouses and building structures in medieval and renaissance Europe before the invention of modern cement and steel foundations. 3- The double stacked antique reclaimed limestone stair edge and risers. All made out of our various lines of very hard antique limestone paves that defies all weather types from sub-Saharan to Tundra climates and perfect for both indoors and outdoors applications. 4- Full blocked 8" thick (or more) )stairs with both the squared backs and the slanted backs ideal for the outdoors or for creating a self-supporting structure that will allow architects and designer an extended range of design options and usages. 5- Limestone stairs with Encaustic Tile raisers ideal for any coastal Spanish or Italian style home. 6- Thick and solid single pieced bull-nosed stairs and raisers flanked by wrist high limestone balustrades when used on the outdoor entryway staircase of your home. All of those types of stairs and countless many others will play an invisible role in defining the character and feel of your future home.

Transitional kitchen photo in Los Angeles

The work zone makes good use of the island, in which the sink and dishwasher are installed. It is across from the range and within easy reach of the refrigerator. The more social area of the kitchen is on the other side of the island, which has easy access to a drinks station. Placing the island extension and beverage station out of the way of the work zone was deliberate. French cafe stools and a tiered coconut shell chandelier keep things laid-back and coastal. The shells on the chandelier bring in an earthy element. Brass hardware pops against the green cabinets.

This laundry room doubles as the mudroom entry from the garage so we created an area to kick off shoes and hang backpacks as well as the laundry.
Inspiration for a small craftsman porcelain tile utility room remodel in San Francisco with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, wood countertops, gray walls, a side-by-side washer/dryer, brown countertops and a drop-in sink

Designed by David Earl
Example of a mountain style u-shaped light wood floor eat-in kitchen design in New York with a farmhouse sink, recessed-panel cabinets, blue cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, ceramic backsplash and stainless steel appliances

The late-19th-century row houses on this block are very charming – and very narrow. PLANT gutted the interior of one and extended it at the rear and up to a third-floor deck with commanding views of downtown. The addition’s minimal presence on the street made it possible to enlarge the house while meeting stringent local restrictions on heritage-block alterations. Although the addition elongates what was already a skinny house, it floods it with light. The expanded kitchen now steps down into a new, garden-bordering lounge with seating by a small fireplace. Overhead, a skewed bar of open shelving blazes an orange trail through the kitchen and lounge, concealing the mechanical ductwork. One of the house’s owners is a minimalist who favours a neutral palette; the other is a collector who loves colour. With the minimalist in mind, we unified the interior with a grey and white palette. At the same time, the ground floor’s crowning expanse of orange shelving satisfies the maximalist’s craving for colour and provides a highly visible – yet clutter-taming – system for displaying possessions.

This home is located on a one acre parcel of land near the banks of the Milwaukee River in the older established subdivision of Sleepy Hollow Estates in Mequon, Wisconsin. The inspiration for this Glen Cove Residence was to bring the desired by many, contemporary and modern lifestyle of a down town loft and establish it in a neighborhood in the suburbs amongst traditional style homes. Sleepy Hollow Estates like many older established neighborhoods throughout the North shore and Westside communities of Milwaukee had great local architects such as John Randall McDonald and Russell Barr Williamson, who built contemporary master pieces amongst very traditional style homes. This created diversity in the style of homes in these neighborhoods which for the people living in them and the people just passing by, an experience of harmony and cultural lifestyle. Unfortunately today, many new neighborhood developments lack harmony and cultural lifestyle and don’t allow for homes such as this Glen Cove Residence to be built. And for that matter many of the homes built by John Randall McDonald and Russell Barr Williamson back in the 1950’s. When driving through these new developments, one would experience beautiful traditional style homes, but all the homes tend to look the same. There is no diversity in the styles of homes thus these neighborhoods lack the harmony and a cultural life style for the people who live there or what people are looking for when buying a home that reflects their lifestyle. This Glen Cove Residence is an example that a contemporary home which offers a modern lifestyle that many desires can be established amongst traditional homes while blending in with the neighborhood. Don’t be fooled by the flat roof of this home, building technology has come a long way since Frank Lloyd Wright! The roof system on this home is more energy efficient than most roof systems builders are putting on traditional homes today and it doesn’t leak! This Glen Cove Residence was built using all traditional building materials that you would see in homes being built in new developments today. There is a misconception out there that modern homes are expensive to build. That is not true! This Glen Cove Residence was built for roughly $130 per square foot which is the same price one would pay for a similar builder’s model traditional style home with the same upgrades. This Glen Cove Residence consists of three bedrooms and three and one half baths. All bedrooms are located on second floor with laundry, guest bath and a master suite. Located between the first and second floors off of the landing is an office/den space. The first floor is open concept with the kitchen, dining and living areas located at the rear of the home with expansive windows allowing a great connection to back yard area and outdoors. On the back of the home is a covered deck area allowing for outdoor entertaining without the worry of the elements. The first floor also offers a powder room, mudroom and walk-in pantry off the kitchen area. From the mudroom there is access to an attached four car tandem garage. From the first floor to the finished basement is an open stair allowing the basement area to feel as part of the house and not just a basement? The basement consists of a main living area, game area with wet bar, exercise room, kids play room with 14’ ceilings, full bathroom and mechanical room with storage closets throughout.

This beautiful contemporary kitchen was designed by Mariah from our Nashua, NH showroom. The design features a full-access slab door cabinet with granite & quartz countertops, an island with a waterfall countertop edge, an induction cooktop with a built-in ceiling vent, and an existing 10ft. window behind the sink. The original kitchen did not use the entire space, which was a main focus during the design process. Pushing the sink against the wall allowed for a bigger island and more space to move around within the kitchen. The homeowners originally wanted concrete countertops, but in the end decided on a more durable granite countertop that looked just like concrete! Special features in this kitchen include two mixer lift cabinets, under-cabinet lighting, a spice rack, double trash, roll out trays and floating shelves above the countertop. Mariah also designed a laundry room cabinetry unit, featuring JSI Designer Cabinetry & a butcher block top, and an entertainment center in this home. Cabinets: ShowplaceEVO Milan Finish: Natural Countertops: Quartz & Granite Color: Calacatta Nuvo/Unknown

This beautiful contemporary kitchen was designed by Mariah from our Nashua, NH showroom. The design features a full-access slab door cabinet with granite & quartz countertops, an island with a waterfall countertop edge, an induction cooktop with a built-in ceiling vent, and an existing 10ft. window behind the sink. The original kitchen did not use the entire space, which was a main focus during the design process. Pushing the sink against the wall allowed for a bigger island and more space to move around within the kitchen. The homeowners originally wanted concrete countertops, but in the end decided on a more durable granite countertop that looked just like concrete! Special features in this kitchen include two mixer lift cabinets, under-cabinet lighting, a spice rack, double trash, roll out trays and floating shelves above the countertop. Mariah also designed a laundry room cabinetry unit, featuring JSI Designer Cabinetry & a butcher block top, and an entertainment center in this home. Cabinets: ShowplaceEVO Milan Finish: Natural Countertops: Quartz & Granite Color: Calacatta Nuvo/Unknown

Our client purchased what had been a custom home built in 1973 on a high bank waterfront lot. They did their due diligence with respect to the septic system, well and the existing underground fuel tank but little did they know, they had purchased a house that would fit into the Three Little Pigs Story book. The original idea was to do a thorough cosmetic remodel to bring the home up to date using all high durability/low maintenance materials and provide the homeowners with a flexible floor plan that would allow them to live in the home for as long as they chose to, not how long the home would allow them to stay safely. However, there was one structure element that had to change, the staircase. The staircase blocked the beautiful water/mountain few from the kitchen and part of the dining room. It also bisected the second-floor master suite creating a maze of small dysfunctional rooms with a very narrow (and unsafe) top stair landing. In the process of redesigning the stairs and reviewing replacement options for the 1972 custom milled one inch thick cupped and cracked cedar siding, it was discovered that the house had no seismic support and that the dining/family room/hot tub room and been a poorly constructed addition and required significant structural reinforcement. It should be noted that it is not uncommon for this home to be subjected to 60-100 mile an hour winds and that the geographic area is in a known earthquake zone. Once the structural engineering was complete, the redesign of the home became an open pallet. The homeowners top requests included: no additional square footage, accessibility, high durability/low maintenance materials, high performance mechanicals and appliances, water and energy efficient fixtures and equipment and improved lighting incorporated into: two master suites (one upstairs and one downstairs), a healthy kitchen (appliances that preserve fresh food nutrients and materials that minimize bacterial growth), accessible bathing and toileting, functionally designed closets and storage, a multi-purpose laundry room, an exercise room, a functionally designed home office, a catio (second floor balcony on the front of the home), with an exterior that was not just code compliant but beautiful and easy to maintain. All of this was achieved and more. The finished project speaks for itself.

Our client purchased what had been a custom home built in 1973 on a high bank waterfront lot. They did their due diligence with respect to the septic system, well and the existing underground fuel tank but little did they know, they had purchased a house that would fit into the Three Little Pigs Story book. The original idea was to do a thorough cosmetic remodel to bring the home up to date using all high durability/low maintenance materials and provide the homeowners with a flexible floor plan that would allow them to live in the home for as long as they chose to, not how long the home would allow them to stay safely. However, there was one structure element that had to change, the staircase. The staircase blocked the beautiful water/mountain few from the kitchen and part of the dining room. It also bisected the second-floor master suite creating a maze of small dysfunctional rooms with a very narrow (and unsafe) top stair landing. In the process of redesigning the stairs and reviewing replacement options for the 1972 custom milled one inch thick cupped and cracked cedar siding, it was discovered that the house had no seismic support and that the dining/family room/hot tub room and been a poorly constructed addition and required significant structural reinforcement. It should be noted that it is not uncommon for this home to be subjected to 60-100 mile an hour winds and that the geographic area is in a known earthquake zone. Once the structural engineering was complete, the redesign of the home became an open pallet. The homeowners top requests included: no additional square footage, accessibility, high durability/low maintenance materials, high performance mechanicals and appliances, water and energy efficient fixtures and equipment and improved lighting incorporated into: two master suites (one upstairs and one downstairs), a healthy kitchen (appliances that preserve fresh food nutrients and materials that minimize bacterial growth), accessible bathing and toileting, functionally designed closets and storage, a multi-purpose laundry room, an exercise room, a functionally designed home office, a catio (second floor balcony on the front of the home), with an exterior that was not just code compliant but beautiful and easy to maintain. All of this was achieved and more. The finished project speaks for itself.

This beautiful contemporary kitchen was designed by Mariah from our Nashua, NH showroom. The design features a full-access slab door cabinet with granite & quartz countertops, an island with a waterfall countertop edge, an induction cooktop with a built-in ceiling vent, and an existing 10ft. window behind the sink. The original kitchen did not use the entire space, which was a main focus during the design process. Pushing the sink against the wall allowed for a bigger island and more space to move around within the kitchen. The homeowners originally wanted concrete countertops, but in the end decided on a more durable granite countertop that looked just like concrete! Special features in this kitchen include two mixer lift cabinets, under-cabinet lighting, a spice rack, double trash, roll out trays and floating shelves above the countertop. Mariah also designed a laundry room cabinetry unit, featuring JSI Designer Cabinetry & a butcher block top, and an entertainment center in this home. Cabinets: ShowplaceEVO Milan Finish: Natural Countertops: Quartz & Granite Color: Calacatta Nuvo/Unknown

Our client purchased what had been a custom home built in 1973 on a high bank waterfront lot. They did their due diligence with respect to the septic system, well and the existing underground fuel tank but little did they know, they had purchased a house that would fit into the Three Little Pigs Story book. The original idea was to do a thorough cosmetic remodel to bring the home up to date using all high durability/low maintenance materials and provide the homeowners with a flexible floor plan that would allow them to live in the home for as long as they chose to, not how long the home would allow them to stay safely. However, there was one structure element that had to change, the staircase. The staircase blocked the beautiful water/mountain few from the kitchen and part of the dining room. It also bisected the second-floor master suite creating a maze of small dysfunctional rooms with a very narrow (and unsafe) top stair landing. In the process of redesigning the stairs and reviewing replacement options for the 1972 custom milled one inch thick cupped and cracked cedar siding, it was discovered that the house had no seismic support and that the dining/family room/hot tub room and been a poorly constructed addition and required significant structural reinforcement. It should be noted that it is not uncommon for this home to be subjected to 60-100 mile an hour winds and that the geographic area is in a known earthquake zone. Once the structural engineering was complete, the redesign of the home became an open pallet. The homeowners top requests included: no additional square footage, accessibility, high durability/low maintenance materials, high performance mechanicals and appliances, water and energy efficient fixtures and equipment and improved lighting incorporated into: two master suites (one upstairs and one downstairs), a healthy kitchen (appliances that preserve fresh food nutrients and materials that minimize bacterial growth), accessible bathing and toileting, functionally designed closets and storage, a multi-purpose laundry room, an exercise room, a functionally designed home office, a catio (second floor balcony on the front of the home), with an exterior that was not just code compliant but beautiful and easy to maintain. All of this was achieved and more. The finished project speaks for itself.

Our client purchased what had been a custom home built in 1973 on a high bank waterfront lot. They did their due diligence with respect to the septic system, well and the existing underground fuel tank but little did they know, they had purchased a house that would fit into the Three Little Pigs Story book. The original idea was to do a thorough cosmetic remodel to bring the home up to date using all high durability/low maintenance materials and provide the homeowners with a flexible floor plan that would allow them to live in the home for as long as they chose to, not how long the home would allow them to stay safely. However, there was one structure element that had to change, the staircase. The staircase blocked the beautiful water/mountain few from the kitchen and part of the dining room. It also bisected the second-floor master suite creating a maze of small dysfunctional rooms with a very narrow (and unsafe) top stair landing. In the process of redesigning the stairs and reviewing replacement options for the 1972 custom milled one inch thick cupped and cracked cedar siding, it was discovered that the house had no seismic support and that the dining/family room/hot tub room and been a poorly constructed addition and required significant structural reinforcement. It should be noted that it is not uncommon for this home to be subjected to 60-100 mile an hour winds and that the geographic area is in a known earthquake zone. Once the structural engineering was complete, the redesign of the home became an open pallet. The homeowners top requests included: no additional square footage, accessibility, high durability/low maintenance materials, high performance mechanicals and appliances, water and energy efficient fixtures and equipment and improved lighting incorporated into: two master suites (one upstairs and one downstairs), a healthy kitchen (appliances that preserve fresh food nutrients and materials that minimize bacterial growth), accessible bathing and toileting, functionally designed closets and storage, a multi-purpose laundry room, an exercise room, a functionally designed home office, a catio (second floor balcony on the front of the home), with an exterior that was not just code compliant but beautiful and easy to maintain. All of this was achieved and more. The finished project speaks for itself.