Who says the appliances need to be stainless. Don't be afraid to be different. Black hides a multitude of sins. It also helps ground a room. Photo by: Picture Perfect LLC

This bathroom was a must for the homeowners of this 100 year old home. Having only 1 bathroom in the entire home and a growing family, things were getting a little tight. This bathroom was part of a basement renovation which ended up giving the homeowners 14” worth of extra headroom. The concrete slab is sitting on 2” of XPS. This keeps the heat from the heated floor in the bathroom instead of heating the ground and it’s covered with hand painted cement tiles. Sleek wall tiles keep everything clean looking and the niche gives you the storage you need in the shower. Custom cabinetry was fabricated and the cabinet in the wall beside the tub has a removal back in order to access the sewage pump under the stairs if ever needed. The main trunk for the high efficiency furnace also had to run over the bathtub which lead to more creative thinking. A custom box was created inside the duct work in order to allow room for an LED potlight. The seat to the toilet has a built in child seat for all the little ones who use this bathroom, the baseboard is a custom 3 piece baseboard to match the existing and the door knob was sourced to keep the classic transitional look as well. Needless to say, creativity and finesse was a must to bring this bathroom to reality. Although this bathroom did not come easy, it was worth every minute and a complete success in the eyes of our team and the homeowners. An outstanding team effort. Leon T. Switzer/Front Page Media Group

Bob Narod
Large transitional l-shaped light wood floor eat-in kitchen photo in DC Metro with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, granite countertops, gray backsplash, mosaic tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Open concept kitchen - mid-sized modern u-shaped light wood floor open concept kitchen idea in Los Angeles with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, quartz countertops, multicolored backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

For a young couple who both love to cook! He likes to BarBQ on the balcony so he has his own scullery kitchen behind the kitchen! Perfect set up! Modern meets rustic meets dramatic!

This Jack n Jill bathroom serves the guest bedroom as well as the clients young daughter. With a lot of thought we were able to get a full suite in here. The spacious shower has an adjustable head for different heights, it is tiled in 12x12 sheets of marble, the ceiling is also tiled. For the floors i chose a herringbone design to give a flow from room to room. The custom made vanity has antiqued mirrored door inserts which pick up on the star mirrored chandelier. I had been carrying this wallpaper with me from England for about 13 years! The client fell in love with it and we decided to use the little star print, it looks as though it's been there forever.

We re-did our kids bathroom. It is a tiny space and had a single sink. I wanted the kids to have their own sinks, but the space was too small. The Duravit double faucet wall hung sink was perfect. Not only does each child have their own side, but having a wall hung sink makes the bathroom feel so much bigger. If the kids were little you could put cute stools under there.

This window moved to the right, allowing for a much needed run of cabinetry on this wall. The cooks have plenty of room to spread out on this side of the kitchen.

For this young family, their existing space wasn’t working for their lifestyle. Besides the aesthetics, they felt the kitchen wasn’t living up to its full potential. A list of their wants/needs included an open, sleek design that allowed their three children to eat at the island and have a place at a nearby desk to complete homework or watch television while dinner was being prepared. With the family’s main traffic area leading directly from the garage into the kitchen, it was critical to consider a place for the kids to place their schoolwork, sports equipment, art supplies and even bring in groceries. With all of that in mind, we added lockers for each child right at the garage entry, with the idea that the cabinets could be transitioned into additional pantry storage as the family matures. With the new open space, we were able to update the room using dark and light grays, on the cabinetry and walls. Combining the elegance of traditional design with the fresh and refined look of contemporary style trends, we mixed natural wood and stone and dark oak flooring with the contemporary look of paneled cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, sleek hardware, and a glass and marble tile backsplash. By mixing these materials the home’s traditional heritage is kept intact, but the young tech savvy family now has a fantastic space where they can gather for family meals and entertainment. Kate Benjamin Photography

Laura Rae Photography
Bathroom - large country kids' white tile and subway tile multicolored floor and ceramic tile bathroom idea in Minneapolis with gray cabinets, gray walls, shaker cabinets, an undermount sink and quartz countertops

Adding different textures - a glossy countertop, a rustic stone backsplash, leather chairs, matte cabinets, ironwork, provides interest and keeps the space from getting boring. Photo by: Picture Perfect LLC

Photography by Meredith Heuer
Example of a mid-sized minimalist l-shaped light wood floor open concept kitchen design in New York with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, multicolored backsplash, terra-cotta backsplash, black appliances, an island and multicolored countertops

Mid-sized transitional l-shaped vinyl floor eat-in kitchen photo in Other with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, quartz countertops, beige backsplash, ceramic backsplash, black appliances and an island

Houston Interior Designer Lisha Maxey took this Museum District condo from the dated, mirrored walls of the 1980s to Mid Century Modern with a gallery look featuring the client’s art collection. The place was covered with glued-down, floor-to-ceiling mirrors,” says Lisha Maxey, senior designer for Homescapes of Houston and principal at LGH Design Services in Houston. “When we took them off the walls, the walls came apart. We ended up taking them down to the studs." The makeover took six months to complete, primarily because of strict condo association rules that only gave the Houston interior designers very limited access to the elevator – through which all materials and team members had to go. “Monday through Friday, we could only be noisy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and if we had to do something extra loud, like sawing or drilling, we had to schedule it with the management and they had to communicate that to the condo owners. So it was just a lot of coordination. But a lot of Inner City Loopers live in these kinds of buildings, so we’re used to handling that kind of thing.” The client, a child psychiatrist in her 60s, recently moved to Houston from northeast Texas to be with friends. After being widowed three years ago, she decided it was time to let go of the traditionally styled estate that wasn’t really her style anyway. An avid diver who has traveled around the world to pursue her passion, she has amassed a large collection of art from her travels. Downsizing to 1,600 feet and wanting to go more contemporary, she wanted the display – and the look – more streamlined. “She wanted clean lines and muted colors, with the main focus being her artwork,” says Maxey. “So we made the space a palette for that.” Enter the white, gallery-grade paint she chose for the walls: “It’s halfway between satin and flat,” explains Maxey. “It’s not glossy and it’s not chalky – just very smooth and clean." Adding to the gallery theme is the satin nickel track lighting with lamps aimed to highlight pieces of art. “This lighting has no wires,” notes Maxey. “It’s powered by a positive and negative conduit.” The new flooring throughout is a blended-grey porcelain tile that looks like wood planks. “It’s gorgeous, natural-looking and combines all the beauty of wood with the durability of tile,” says Maxey. “We used it throughout the condo to unify the space.” After Maxey started looking at the client’s bright, vibrant, colorful artwork, she felt the palette couldn’t stay as muted anymore. Hence the Mid Century Modern orange leather sofas from West Elm and bright green chairs from Joybird, plus the throw pillows in different textures, patterns and shades of gold, orange and green. The concave lines of the Danish-inspired chairs, she notes, help them look beautiful from all the way around – a key to designing spaces for loft living. “The table in the living room is very interesting,” notes Maxey. “It was handmade for the client in 1974 and has a signature on it from the artist. She was adamant about including the piece, which has all these hand-painted black-and-white art tiles on the top. I took one look at it and said ‘It’s not really going to go.’” However, after cutting 6 inches off the bottom and making it look a little distressed, the table ended up being the perfect complement to the sofas. The dining room table – from Design Within Reach – is a solid piece of mahogany, the chair upholstery a mix of grey velvet and leather and the legs a shiny brass. “The side chairs are leather and the end ones are velvet,” says Maxey. “It’s a nice textural mix that lends depth and texture.”The galley kitchen, meanwhile, has been lightened and brightened, with new, white contemporary cabinetry, quartz countertops mimicking the look of Carrara marble, stainless steel appliances and a velvet green bench seat for a punch of color.The two bathrooms have been updated with contemporary white vanities and vessel sinks and the master bath now features a walk-in shower tiled in Dolomite white marble (the floor is Bianco Carrara marble mosaic, done in a herringbone pattern).In the master bedroom, Homescapes of Houston knocked down a wall between two smaller closets with swing doors to make one large walk-in closet with pocket doors. The closet in the guest bedroom also came out 13 more inches.The client’s artwork throughout personalizes the space and tells the story of a life. There’s a huge bowl of shells from the client’s diving adventures, framed art from her child psychiatry patients and a 16th century wood carving from a monastery that’s been in her family forever. “Her collection is quite impressive,” says Maxey. “There’s even a framed piece of autographed songs written by John Lennon.” (You can see this black-framed piece of art on the wall in the photo above of two green chairs). “We’re extremely happy with how the project turned out, and so is the client,” says Maxey. “No expense was spared for her. It was a labor of love and we were excited to do it.”

Gregory Allen Butler
Example of a large transitional u-shaped light wood floor and brown floor eat-in kitchen design in Charleston with a farmhouse sink, beaded inset cabinets, white cabinets, an island, wood countertops, multicolored backsplash, stone tile backsplash and paneled appliances

Photo by John Welsh.
Kitchen - kitchen idea in Philadelphia with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, green cabinets, soapstone countertops, brick backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

The materials we chose draw inspiration from (and balances) contemporary aesthetics and the jubilant energy we experience during our younger years. We created a long step and a long bench to provide seating for the parents while bathing the child. Vanity and concealed storage niche are spaces for towels and toiletry. The glass tiles hue harmonizes very well with grey toned floors and remaining walls resulting in a one of a kind delicate space.

Mid-century modern powder room photo in Orange County

This Jack n Jill bathroom serves the guest bedroom as well as the clients young daughter. With a lot of thought we were able to get a full suite in here. The spacious shower has an adjustable head for different heights, it is tiled in 12x12 sheets of marble, the ceiling is also tiled. For the floors i chose a herringbone design to give a flow from room to room. The custom made vanity has antiqued mirrored door inserts which pick up on the star mirrored chandelier. I had been carrying this wallpaper with me from England for about 13 years! The client fell in love with it and we decided to use the little star print, it looks as though it's been there forever.