Ehlen Creative Communications
Example of a small farmhouse galley light wood floor kitchen design in Minneapolis with an integrated sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, solid surface countertops, multicolored backsplash, stone tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and no island

Mid-sized transitional medium tone wood floor and brown floor entryway photo in Orange County with gray walls and a black front door

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 chartruese 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 white quartz countertops and backsplashes mimicking the look of Carrara marble, stainless steel appliances and a velvet green bench seat for a punch of color. The cabinets are painted a cool grey color called "Silverplate." 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."

Designed by Akram Aljhami of Reico Kitchen & Bath in Woodbridge, VA, this traditional white kitchen design features kitchen cabinets from Merillat Classic in the Seneca Ridge door style in Maple with a Chiffon with Tuscan Glaze finish. Kitchen countertops are Cambria Torquay engineered quartz. Kitchen appliances are by Maytag. The kitchen tile backsplash features 2x6 AV323 UPS Clock Tower Field Gotham tile with .5 by 12" MX103 Iron Nickel Links liner inlay. The client loves how spacious the new kitchen area is now. Working with Akram, they opened up the space and designed a kitchen that was able to include an island. Communication throughout the project was critical to the overall success and important factor in the client satisfied before, during and after the project was completed. Photos courtesy of BTW Images LLC.

Our homeowners purchased this home for its excellent location and great bones. They were desirous of returning it to the era of it’s time while updating and modernizing it with the elegance it deserved. To add to our challenges, they were living out of the country during our design and renovation, making for great communications utilizing modern technology to ensure we could deliver what they hoped to achieve. We opened some space in the kitchen to create an updated and more functional kitchen for this active family, relocating appliances for efficiency, adding an island and relocating a chimney. We had structural challenges with the sagging hardwood floors, which required us to reframe floor systems, and while we were at it, we antique finished the hardwoods reminiscent of the 1940’s. We added wainscoting in the dining room and entry stair hallway to enhance the old-world look and added some arched openings to match other areas of the home. We also added custom moldings to the fireplace wall to allow it to shine as a focal point in the space, utilizing restored antique light fixtures. The finished result is stunning and truly honors the integrity of the original time period of this home.

Photos by Jean Carnet, Carnet Communications

Designed to relate to the first home built on Greenview, this English-inspired home - on a 25'-wide lot - was designed with four bedrooms and three bathrooms on the second floor, including a lavish master suite with a private terrace. Designed with an extra-wide floor plan (20'-6" wide), achieved through zoning relief, this house also has two rooms on the lower level that could be used as additional bedrooms, offices or exercise rooms; a large, gourmet, eat-in kitchen with breakfast area that opens into the sun-lighted great room; gracefully proportioned living and dining rooms; separate entry and stair halls; a lower level family room; an attached, heated 2-½-car garage with a roof deck; and a third-floor den and roof-deck with green roof. This home has been designed to enable easy living within a backdrop of understated elegance. The plan of the house integrates highly-efficient environmental technologies as well as the opportunity to incorporate all types of advanced communications systems. This home went under contract early in the construction process during the Great Recession. Jim Yochum

A beautiful master bathroom remodel designed to evoke Exotic Island Dreaming for our clients. Bathroom amenities include custom raised wood panel vanity, vanity tower, pull out drawers, granite countertops and surrounds, exotic porcelain tiles, Brizo Rook fixtures in Venetian Bronze, frameless art glass shower and toilet space doors, spacious walk-in curbless shower with bench, transom window, and oversized product niches. Photos by Northlight Photography, Roger Turk.

This cute, little ranch was transformed into a beautiful bungalow. Formal family room welcomes you from the front door, which leads into the expansive, open kitchen with seating, and the formal dining and family room off to the back. Four bedrooms top off the second floor with vaulted ceilings in the master. Traditional collides with farmhouse and sleek lines in this whole home remodel. Elizabeth Steiner Photography

Josh Partee Photography With sweeping views of the Willamette river and Mt. Hood, this Atwater Place condo was designed with a balance of minimalism and livability in mind. A complete kitchen remodel brought a dark interior kitchen to the light and a full furnishings package welcomed Los Angeles transplants home to their new modern and bright residence. Our clients, a retired camera operator for both feature films and television and a producer/production manager on numerous television series including Weeds and The Middle, relocated from their traditionally-styled LA bungalow to Portland in the Summer of 2014. The couple sought a design departure from their long-term California residence and a fresh start for their new life in the South Waterfront. With only two pieces of sentimental furniture and a handful of artwork included in the plan, we set out to create a comfortable and clean-lined furnishings package complimenting the broad southeast views. Organically shaped upholstery pieces juxtaposed with angular steel and wood tables create a soft balance in the open floor plan. Several custom pieces, including a dining table designed by our studio and a custom hand-blown glass chandelier crafted by Scott Schiesel with Lightlite compliment timeless pieces from Knoll, Herman Miller, and B&B Italia. The kitchen is designed to reflect light and create brilliance in a space that is otherwise naturally dark. A material balance of stainless steel, back painted glass, quartz composite, lacquer, and mirror all play their part in creating a vibrant cooking environment. We collectively decided to forgo the traditional island pendant for a linear commercial fixture that provides tremendous light to the prep surface and creates an unexpected architectural element. The mirrored prep island creates the illusion of open space while concealing casework and wine storage on the working side of the kitchen. It is worth noting that this project was designed and installed almost entirely while our clients were still living in LA and wrapping up professional obligations and selling their home. This afforded us the tremendous opportunity to send our clients to showrooms not available in Portland to view key pieces before final specification. Textiles and finish samples were approved via mail and communication took place over e-mail, telephone, and an occasional office visit. This unique process lead to a successful result and a beautifully balanced living environment.

A focal aspect of the 221 square-foot addition is its stairway. Beyond its newel post, the railing ribbons up to the second floor, bridging over the doorway. The resulting open space, canopied above the foyer contributes to an airy atmosphere, allowing natural light to sprawl throughout the entry space and to the private second-floor family area. The new windows further add buoyancy and sunlight. The addition also provided an opportunity to move the powder room to a more discreet location adjacent to the dining room. On the outside of the home, the entry addition introduces a gambrel form, drawing from and repurposing the design of the original structure. Despite its modest size, the addition transformed the entry of the home and its first impression, communicating openness and warmth within first acquainting steps.

Craftsman Bungalow stained glass entry doors and lighting modeled after the Greene and Greene Gamble house. Barry Toranto Photography
Entryway - craftsman entryway idea in San Francisco

3,800sf, 4 bdrm, 3.5 bath with oversized 4 car garage and over 270sf Loggia; climate controlled wine room and bar, Tech Room, landscaping and pool. Solar, high efficiency HVAC and insulation was used which resulted in huge rebates from utility companies, enhancing the ROI. The challenge with this property was the downslope lot, sewer system was lower than main line at the street thus requiring a special pump system. Retaining walls to create a flat usable back yard. ESI Builders is a subsidiary of EnergyWise Solutions, Inc. and was formed by Allan, Bob and Dave to fulfill an important need for quality home builders and remodeling services in the Sacramento region. With a strong and growing referral base, we decided to provide a convenient one-stop option for our clients and focus on combining our key services: quality custom homes and remodels, turnkey client partnering and communication, and energy efficient and environmentally sustainable measures in all we do. Through energy efficient appliances and fixtures, solar power, high efficiency heating and cooling systems, enhanced insulation and sealing, and other construction elements – we go beyond simple code compliance and give you immediate savings and greater sustainability for your new or remodeled home. All of the design work and construction tasks for our clients are done by or supervised by our highly trained, professional staff. This not only saves you money, it provides a peace of mind that all of the details are taken care of and the job is being done right – to Perfection. Our service does not stop after we clean up and drive off. We continue to provide support for any warranty issues that arise and give you administrative support as needed in order to assure you obtain any energy-related tax incentives or rebates. This ‘One call does it all’ philosophy assures that your experience in remodeling or upgrading your home is an enjoyable one. ESI Builders was formed by professionals with varying backgrounds and a common interest to provide you, our clients, with options to live more comfortably, save money, and enjoy quality homes for many years to come. As our company continues to grow and evolve, the expertise has been quickly growing to include several job foreman, tradesmen, and support staff. In response to our growth, we will continue to hire well-qualified staff and we will remain committed to maintaining a level of quality, attention to detail, and pursuit of perfection.

This English Cottage set in the hight country of Yosemite National Park features a beautiful slate roof and limestone siding set off with brick and copper details and green shutters. We love the addition of the modern industrial lighting.

Ehlen Creative Communications, LLC
Inspiration for a mid-sized craftsman single-wall porcelain tile and beige floor dedicated laundry room remodel in Minneapolis with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, granite countertops, beige walls, a stacked washer/dryer and black countertops

Challenge: Our clients wanted to modernize the look of their 1997 home, and update all electrical and plumbing infrastructure. Structural issues were apparent at the onset of the project with missing bearing points and beams that should have been incorporated into the original build. Solution: The work started with a complete strip out of the interior. Existing finishes, appliances, kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, electrical, plumbing, doors and frames, heating systems, all trim, drywall, insulation and vapour barrier we all removed. This left a bare wood frame shell which required some tricky structural changes to open up the interior necessitating load transfer modifications and additional foundations. The main stair was widened to create a luxurious ascent to the master bedroom overlooking the golf course. All bathrooms were fully replaced with a new kitchen designed to be open to the dining room and living room. The new interior finishes, and the essential design thereof, came together smoothly with all trades meeting agreed time frames and prices. We had a great time working with the client throughout the project. Communication was strong during the course of construction which resulted in a renovation that exceeded the client’s criteria and that also met our exacting level of quality.

Chalk board door off the kitchen and garage entrance offers a great way to communicate with a busy house hold. Wooden shelving built to clients specification by Foreman Builders from Winchester Virginia.

Interior elements, such as the continuation of the dining room ceiling out onto the extended roof, are reflected onto the design of the exterior realm. Interior and exterior not only visually and spatially communicate but exist as one.

In the newly added wing, the new master bedroom is separated from the renovated master bath with a nickel joint wooden wall. The designers add a bit of whimsy by converting the former exterior window into an interior window. The antique glass paned window can swing open or closed, allowing communication or privacy between the two spaces. Scott Moore Photography