This family room provides an ample amount of seating for when there is company over and also provides a comfy sanctuary to read and relax. Being so close to horse farms and vineyards, we wanted to play off the surrounding characteristics and include some corresponding attributes in the home. Brad Knipstein was the photographer.

Country kitchen photo in Seattle with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, gray cabinets, white backsplash and white countertops

Mid-sized trendy formal and open concept dark wood floor living room photo in Salt Lake City with beige walls, a ribbon fireplace, no tv and a stone fireplace

Cella Architecture - Erich Karp, AIA Laurelhurst Portland, OR This new Tudor Revival styled home, situated in Portland’s Laurelhurst area, was designed to blend with one of the city’s distinctive old neighborhoods. While there are a variety of existing house styles along the nearby streets, the Tudor Revival style with its characteristic steeply pitched roof lines, arched doorways, and heavy chimneys occurs throughout the neighborhood and was the ideal style choice for the new home. The house was conceived with a steeply pitched asymmetric gable facing the street with the longer rake sweeping down in a gentle arc to stop near the entry. The front door is sheltered by a gracefully arched canopy supported by twin wooden corbels. Additional details such as the stuccoed walls with their decorative banding that wraps the house or the flare of the stucco hood over the second floor windows or the use of unique materials such as the Old Carolina brick window sills and entry porch paving add to the character of the house. But while the form and details for the home are drawn from styles of the last century, the home is certainly of this era with noticeably cleaner lines, details, and configuration than would occur in older variants of the style.

the design offers generous, flowing open spaces on the main level, which overlooks a small courtyard. The site’s woodland characteristics inspired the use of exterior stone. Accoya, a fast-growing softwood that is impervious to decay in the Houston humidity, was used for siding. The combination of the site strategy, program and aesthetic direction respond to the site’s challenges to create an elegant solution. Peter Molick Photography

The open floor plan of this classic lakefront cottage by MAC Custom Homes welcomes friends & family to gather with great flow between the defined spaces. photo courtesy of Jason Hulet

Photo: Adrienne DeRosa © 2015 Houzz After finding the set of antique doors at auction, Carpenter and Weiss removed several layers of paint, revealing the wood's natural characteristics. They were then joined to form a single panel that when opened offer a view of the master suite's sitting area. The interplay of opposites is an everpresent quality running through this couple's home, and the bedroom door is no exception. Its rough-hewn quality is offset by the surrounding walls and cabinetry, and black hardware. Although the door serves as a backdrop for art when opened, it is practically a piece of art itself.

This beautiful Modern Farmhouse plan offers superb curb appeal and lovely possibilities with a bonus room and optional basement foundation. The exterior board and batten siding is accented with wood beams and metal roof accents. The exterior also includes a lovely front covered porch with a cathedral ceiling and an extended portion for sitting and relaxing while greeting guests or enjoying conversations with neighbors.

We removed some of the top cabinets and replaced them with open shelves. We also added geometric backsplash tiles and light sconces.
Example of a mid-sized minimalist l-shaped dark wood floor and brown floor eat-in kitchen design in Atlanta with open cabinets, dark wood cabinets, quartzite countertops, white backsplash, an island, white countertops, a drop-in sink, ceramic backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Andrea Calo
Mid-sized 1960s galley brown floor open concept kitchen photo in Austin with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, an island, quartz countertops and orange countertops

Example of a transitional bathroom design in Boston

The skylights and sliding doors at the fireplace are characteristic of the best qualities of the house, plentiful natural light and a strong connection to nature. Photography by Andrew Fabin

We’ve come across this particularly where twin’s share a room, and the immediate question is: should we double up on everything or give them their own unique items? Well, the answer (for once) is you can do both! Take a minute to think what characteristics each child displays and slot in favorite colors, tendencies toward frills or no-frills, introvert, extrovert, tomboy, girlie and combine with any functional needs you’ll need to accommodate. Dream up the style you’d like to portray the space in, and then divide and conquer with variations in PALETTE.

Example of a mountain style open concept living room design in Denver with beige walls, a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

Our designer has achieved a stylish look by combining dark cabinets and light-colored marbles.

Stone: Cypress Ridge - Orchard Inspired by Italian and Provencal architecture, Cypress Ridge is designed to reflect the poetic harmony and enduring characteristics of age-old hilltop villages. A combination of irregularly shaped stones with colors ranging from sundrenched golds, earthy browns and faint olive green hues offset rust-colored accents to give each stone its own story to tell. Get a Sample of Cypress Ridge: http://shop.eldoradostone.com/products/cypress-ridge-sample

David Cannon
Kitchen - coastal kitchen idea in Atlanta

Elegant carpeted bedroom photo in Birmingham with beige walls

This front garden was transformed into a garden patio that attracts birds and butterflies. Kelly Greenwood
Photo of a mid-sized mediterranean partial sun backyard stone formal garden in San Francisco.