Example of an urban bedroom design in Seattle with gray walls

In our busy lives, creating a peaceful and rejuvenating home environment is essential to a healthy lifestyle. Built less than five years ago, this Stinson Beach Modern home is your own private oasis. Surrounded by a butterfly preserve and unparalleled ocean views, the home will lead you to a sense of connection with nature. As you enter an open living room space that encompasses a kitchen, dining area, and living room, the inspiring contemporary interior invokes a sense of relaxation, that stimulates the senses. The open floor plan and modern finishes create a soothing, tranquil, and uplifting atmosphere. The house is approximately 2900 square feet, has three (to possibly five) bedrooms, four bathrooms, an outdoor shower and spa, a full office, and a media room. Its two levels blend into the hillside, creating privacy and quiet spaces within an open floor plan and feature spectacular views from every room. The expansive home, decks and patios presents the most beautiful sunsets as well as the most private and panoramic setting in all of Stinson Beach. One of the home's noteworthy design features is a peaked roof that uses Kalwall's translucent day-lighting system, the most highly insulating, diffuse light-transmitting, structural panel technology. This protected area on the hill provides a dramatic roar from the ocean waves but without any of the threats of oceanfront living. Built on one of the last remaining one-acre coastline lots on the west side of the hill at Stinson Beach, the design of the residence is site friendly, using materials and finishes that meld into the hillside. The landscaping features low-maintenance succulents and butterfly friendly plantings appropriate for the adjacent Monarch Butterfly Preserve. Recalibrate your dreams in this natural environment, and make the choice to live in complete privacy on this one acre retreat. This home includes Miele appliances, Thermadore refrigerator and freezer, an entire home water filtration system, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry by SieMatic, Ceasarstone kitchen counter tops, hardwood and Italian ceramic radiant tile floors using Warmboard technology, Electric blinds, Dornbracht faucets, Kalwall skylights throughout livingroom and garage, Jeldwen windows and sliding doors. Located 5-8 minute walk to the ocean, downtown Stinson and the community center. It is less than a five minute walk away from the trail heads such as Steep Ravine and Willow Camp.

THE SETUP Client Background: Our clients, a couple who have transitioned into the empty nest phase, have cherished their home for over three decades without undergoing any significant renovations. With a newfound desire to adapt their living space to better suit their current lifestyle, they’ve embarked on a journey to reimagine their kitchen — the heart of their home. Their aspiration is to cultivate a serene, neutral-toned sanctuary on the first floor that seamlessly merges with their family room, ensuring a harmonious and inviting environment. Design Inspiration: The renovation is inspired by the couple’s penchant for soft, calming neutrals, using their cherished family room and the kitchen’s existing tile flooring as the cornerstone for the color scheme. This approach aims to foster a sense of warmth and tranquility throughout. Design Objectives: Harmonize the kitchen with the family room by adopting a soothing, neutral color scheme, ensuring a seamless flow across the first floor. Enhance kitchen functionality with thoughtfully designed cabinetry, providing a designated place for every item and maximizing storage efficiency. Cultivate an inviting and comfortable atmosphere that reflects the homeowners’ desire for a calm and relaxing space. Design Challenges: The homeowners wish to retain the existing kitchen tile flooring and integrate it into a refreshed, modern design. Accommodating a dining area spacious enough for family visits without compromising the kitchen’s open feel or functional layout. Despite liking the current placement of plumbing and appliances, the homeowners aspire for a more open floor plan to facilitate better movement and interaction. The need to amplify natural light in the kitchen, especially around the sink area, where existing lighting is insufficient. Preserving the half-wall between the kitchen and family room, a feature the homeowners want to keep, while ensuring it complements the new design. THE RENEWED SPACE Design Solutions: By choosing a neutral color palette that complements the existing tile, the design unifies the kitchen with the adjacent spaces. The tile’s grout was cleaned and restored, enhancing the floor’s appearance and integrating it seamlessly with the new kitchen aesthetic. The inclusion of a larger island with seating for two, alongside maintaining a substantial dining table, was achieved by optimizing the spatial layout. This allowed for a sociable yet functional kitchen, accommodating large family gatherings without feeling crowded. Minor adjustments to the kitchen’s layout maintained the preferred locations for plumbing and appliances while introducing an ‘open’ design concept. Strategic modifications, such as angling the pantry wall, improved the flow and accessibility within the space. Replacing the garden window with a broader, standard window significantly increased natural light, transforming the sink area into a bright, welcoming space with enhanced views of the outdoors. The decision to keep the half-wall was ingeniously leveraged to define the dining area while maintaining an open connection to the family room. This feature not only serves as a visual separator but also ties the two spaces together through the shared color scheme and design elements. The homeowners are thrilled with their newly remodeled kitchen, which has become a hub of warmth and hospitality. Hosting a wedding shower and a birthday party, they have shared their renewed space with friends and family, who have been equally enamored. This remodel has not only met their functional and aesthetic desires but has also enriched their home with a fresh sense of serenity and joy. The upstairs part of the home is shaping up nicely. Here’s their newly remodeled primary bathroom.

Bedroom - mid-sized contemporary bedroom idea in San Francisco with white walls

A desire for a more modern and zen-like environment in a historical, turn of the century stone and stucco house was the drive and challenge for this sophisticated Siemasko + Verbridge Interiors project. Along with a fresh color palette, new furniture is woven with antiques, books, and artwork to enliven the space. Carefully selected finishes enhance the openness of the glass pool structure, without competing with the grand ocean views. Thoughtfully designed cabinetry and family friendly furnishings, including a kitchenette, billiard area, and home theater, were designed for both kids and adults.

A sleeping alcove tucked into one end of a guest room just off the main living area provides respite even when the rest of the home is busy. Images | Kurt Jordan Photography

Kids' room - rustic gender-neutral carpeted and beige floor kids' room idea in Other with white walls

Photo of a mid-sized contemporary front yard garden path in Miami.

Wolf 30" E Series Transitional Built-In Double Oven Stainless Steel | DO30TE Available at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center | uakc.com New stainless steel touch-control panel: A favorite of chefs, the easy-to-master control panel now has a sleeker, cleaner look, with the same precise control of temperature, timer and mode settings — all visible via crisp LCD display. Coordinated design styles: Built to beautifully complement other Wolf products such as microwaves and warming drawers, ovens are available in three coordinating trim styles for easy customization. Dual convection: Two dedicated heating elements distribute heat evenly throughout the oven, for faster and better-tasting results — especially when using multiple racks at once. 10 one-touch cooking modes: Each mode uses a distinct combination of heat source and airflow, providing the right cooking environment for every dish and ensuring delicious results. Cobalt blue porcelain interiors: Wolf's signature aesthetics enhance the ovens' interior, creating a bold cooking backdrop. Temperature probe: The temperature probe alerts you when your dish has reached the desired temperature, eliminating guesswork when preparing roasts and other meats. Smooth door opening and closing: Say goodbye to the sound of oven-door slams. Doors on built-in E series ovens open and close quietly and effortlessly, thanks to a balanced door hinge system. Home automation compatible: Select built-in E series oven features can be controlled via an existing home automation system for enhanced convenience. Convenient features: Ease-of-use is enhanced with self-clean, delayed start, timed cook and Sabbath mode settings. Lower oven features: The lower oven is a standard, non-convection oven offering four cooking modes (bake, broil, roast and proof). Adjustable oven racks: Each built-in E series oven comes standard with three adjustable racks: one standard rack, one full-extension easy-glide rack and one full-extension door-glide rack — placing heavier dishes safely within reach. Obstacle-free cooking environment: A hidden bake element allows for obstacle-free cleaning of the oven's floor, and a recessed broil element provides more room for large dishes. Design flexibility: Built-in E series ovens can be installed flush with surrounding cabinetry to complement an overall integrated kitchen design. Enhanced interior views: Large, double-pane glass door windows and bright, dual halogen lights give you a clear view of your dish without having to open the door and disturb the cooking environment. Technical Features: Dimensions: 29 7/8"W x 50 3/8"H x 23 3/4"D Star-K Kosher certified as Sabbath and holiday-compliant

The now updated primary bathroom feels much more open, purposeful, and the shower footprint has tripled. Modern whites and creamy neutrals give this attractive bathroom a calming Zen yet chic aesthetic. Custom Walnut cabinetry adds depth and richness, providing generous storage while complementing the leathered Taj Mahal stone surface and polished nickel fixtures. A double niche was incorporated in the design for convenient space- saving storage and a smart toilet bidet was necessary for comfort. Every material was chosen for its beauty and function, resulting in a serene, spa-like environment that invites daily relaxation and doesn’t fall into a single style category.

Steps from Riverside Park, the existing apartment had previously not been renovated for 30 years and was in dire need of a complete overhaul. StudioLAB was presented with the challenge of re-designing the space to fit a modern family’s lifestyle today with the flexibility to adjust as they evolve into their tomorrow. The existing formal closed kitchen and dining room were combined and opened up to allow the owners to entertain in an open living environment and allow natural light to permeate throughout different exposures of the apartment. Bathrooms were gutted, enlarged and reconfigured. Central air conditioning was added with minimal ducting as to be hidden and not seem clunky. Built-in bookshelves run the length of the perimeter walls below windows, concealing radiators and providing extra valuable storage in every room. A neutral color palette, minimalist details, and refined materials create a warm, modern atmosphere. Light brown oak veneered archways as well as LED cove ceilings are used to separate programmatic spaces visually without the use of physical partitions. A charcoal stained cube built-in was designed with in the foyer to create deep storage while continuing into the kitchen to hide the built-in refrigerator and pantry visually connecting the two spaces. The family’s two children share one large bedroom in order to create a playroom in the other which can also serves as a guest room when needed. The master bedroom features a full height grey stained ash veneered wall unit that serves as the predominant clothes storage. A panel housing the TV slides to reveal more clothes storage behind. To utilize the exiting formal maid’s room behind the kitchen, a small study and powder room were created that house laundry machines as well.

A desire for a more modern and zen-like environment in a historical, turn of the century stone and stucco house was the drive and challenge for this sophisticated Siemasko + Verbridge Interiors project. Along with a fresh color palette, new furniture is woven with antiques, books, and artwork to enliven the space. Carefully selected finishes enhance the openness of the glass pool structure, without competing with the grand ocean views. Thoughtfully designed cabinetry and family friendly furnishings, including a kitchenette, billiard area, and home theater, were designed for both kids and adults.

Travis Dubreuil and Thomas Loof
Inspiration for a contemporary boy light wood floor kids' room remodel in New York with white walls

Home office - contemporary built-in desk carpeted and gray floor home office idea in Salt Lake City with white walls

Inspiration for a transitional freestanding desk light wood floor study room remodel in London

The renovation of this classic Muskoka cottage, focused around re-designing the living space to make the most of the incredible lake views. This update completely changed the flow of space, aligning the living areas with a more modern & luxurious living context. In collaboration with the client, we envisioned a home in which clean lines, neutral tones, a variety of textures and patterns, and small yet luxurious details created a fresh, engaging space while seamlessly blending into the natural environment. The main floor of this home was completely gutted to reveal the true beauty of the space. Main floor walls were re-engineered with custom windows to expand the client’s majestic view of the lake. The dining area was highlighted with features including ceilings finished with Shadowline MDF, and enhanced with a custom coffered ceiling bringing dimension to the space. Unobtrusive details and contrasting textures add richness and intrigue to the space, creating an energizing yet soothing interior with tactile depth.

Material expression and exterior finishes were carefully selected to reduce the apparent size of the house, last through many years, and add warmth and human scale to the home. The unique siding system is made up of different widths and depths of western red cedar, complementing the vision of the structure's wings which are balanced, not symmetrical. The exterior materials include a burn brick base, powder-coated steel, cedar, acid-washed concrete and Corten steel planters.

It wasn’t necessary to overthink things when Axis Mundi designed interiors for an apartment at Brooklyn’s glass-sheathed 1 Grand Army Plaza, the luxury building by Richard Meier already endowed with all the “starchitect” bells and whistles, as well as drop-dead stunning views of Brooklyn, the harbor and Prospect Park. What did require considerable aptitude was to strike the right balance between respect for these assets, particularly the panoramas, and livability. The all-white scheme doesn’t just complement Meier’s own aesthetic devotion to this purest of pure hues; it serves as a cool backdrop for the views, affording comfortable vantage points from which to enjoy them, yet not drawing attention away from the splendors of one of the world’s most distinctive boroughs. Sleek, low-lying Italian seating avoids distracting interruptions on the horizon line. But minimal color accents and pattern also sidestep what could have been a potentially antiseptic environment, making it tactile, human and luxurious. 2,200 sf Design Team: John Beckmann, Richard Rosenbloom and Nick Messerlian Vintage photography coursety of the Ubu Gallery, New York Photography: Adriana Buffi and Fran Parente © Axis Mundi Design LLC

Photo: Mike Wiseman
Mid-sized mountain style brown one-story mixed siding gable roof photo in Other with a green roof