Will Ellis
Example of a mid-sized 1950s light wood floor and beige floor kitchen/dining room combo design in New York with white walls

Photography by Richard Mandelkorn
Elegant dark wood floor dining room photo in Boston

C.L. Fry Photo - www.clfryphoto.com
Great room - cottage great room idea in Austin

JOAN DYER
Example of a trendy dining room design in Austin with gray walls

Point West at Macatawa Park J. Visser Design Insignia Homes
Inspiration for a coastal u-shaped eat-in kitchen remodel in Grand Rapids with a farmhouse sink, recessed-panel cabinets, gray cabinets and stainless steel appliances

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.

Enclosed dining room - mid-sized contemporary dark wood floor and brown floor enclosed dining room idea in Los Angeles with yellow walls

Great room - mid-sized transitional dark wood floor and brown floor great room idea in Dallas with beige walls and no fireplace

In 1963, Alessandro and Giancarlo Bontempi began to lay the foundation for what would become Bontempi Casa, one of the finest Italian design firms in the world today. The two were already recognized as talented Italian designers, known specifically for their innovative, award-winning interpretations of tables and chairs. Since the 1980s, Bontempi Casa has offered a wide range of modern furniture, but chairs remain the stars of the company’s collection. The room service 360° collection of Bontempi Casa chairs includes the best of the best. Welcome to room service 360°, the premier destination for the world’s finest modern furniture. As an authorized dealer of the most respected furniture manufacturers in Europe, room service 360° is uniquely positioned to offer the most complete, most comprehensive and most exclusive collections of custom contemporary and modern furniture available on the market today. From world renowned designers at Bonaldo, Cattelan Italia, Fiam Italia, Foscarini, Gamma Arredamenti, Pianca, Presotto Italia, Tonelli and Tonin Casa, only the finest Italian furniture collections are represented at room service 360°. On our website you will find the latest collections from top European contemporary/modern furniture designers, leading Italian furniture manufacturers and many exclusive products. We are also proud and excited to offer our interior design blog as an ongoing resource for design fanatics, curious souls and anyone who is looking to be inspired. In our Philadelphia showroom we carefully select our products and change them frequently to provide our customers with the best possible mix through which they can envision their room’s décor and their life. This is the reason why many of our customers (thank you all!!!) travel for hours, and some fly to our store. This is the reason why we have earned the privilege to be the starting point for modern living for many of you.

Cadogan Place is a 12-unit gated community developed by Rohe and Wright Builders in Houston's River Oaks area, and inspired by the Belmond Cadogan Hotel in London. Photo by TK Images

Martha O'Hara Interiors, Interior Design & Photo Styling | Troy Thies, Photography | Swan Architecture, Architect | Great Neighborhood Homes, Builder Please Note: All “related,” “similar,” and “sponsored” products tagged or listed by Houzz are not actual products pictured. They have not been approved by Martha O’Hara Interiors nor any of the professionals credited. For info about our work: design@oharainteriors.com

Stu Morley
Inspiration for a large contemporary dark wood floor and brown floor great room remodel in Melbourne with beige walls and no fireplace

Inspiration for a timeless kitchen/dining room combo remodel in New York with blue walls

Photo: Anice Hoachlander
Inspiration for a huge contemporary medium tone wood floor kitchen/dining room combo remodel in DC Metro with white walls

Emily Leis Photography
Example of a classic light wood floor and beige floor enclosed dining room design in Boston with beige walls

This dining room showcases an elegant chandelier with glamorous crystal detailing, which hangs above a dining table with a chrome base and a round glass top. The dining chairs flaunt different fabrics on the back and seat, both in a silvery gray but with slightly contrasting patterns. Two pastel floral arrangements in jagged glass vases stand on a white wooden sideboard with crystal pulls. The light gray area rug was custom-made.

Nick Sargent of Sargent Photography Interior Design by Insignia Design Group
Transitional beige floor and carpeted dining room photo in Miami with gray walls

Michael Hunter
Staircase - large transitional wooden curved staircase idea in Austin with wooden risers

Our client hosts frequent dinner parties and was looking for cozy seating for multiple guests. We created a custom wall-to-wall banquette and paired it with a stylish custom made dining table. Photo by Jacob Snavely