Inspiration for a small eclectic ceramic tile and blue floor mudroom remodel in Denver with beige walls and a red front door

This custom gourmet chef kitchen design was tailored for a foodies that grow their own food, cook on a daily basis and frequently entertain. the purpose was to create a space that serves all these functions to the best fit with a strong wow effect. after a couple of month monitoring and researching how to optimize the new kitchen for their needs, the challenges the current architecture put for us and their aesthetic preferences we came up with a design plan and the result is nothing but stunning!

Anne Matheis Photography
Inspiration for a mid-sized timeless u-shaped ceramic tile eat-in kitchen remodel in St Louis with a farmhouse sink, raised-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, granite countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

Nestled in the hills just to the west of Portland, this elegant home for a family of five is a good example of blending environmental building performance with aesthetics. Our clients requested an abundance of natural light, views from throughout the home to the yard to the south, uncompromised indoor air quality, the use of natural materials, and a home that would generate as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis. The home has achieved a LEED for Homes Platinum certification from the US Green Building Council. Quality craftsmanship is evident throughout from the interior finishes to the steel and wood stair railing. Jeremy Bittermann Photography

In this great room, orangey-gold wood is featured in the minimal L-shaped kitchen (on the left -- not shown). This wood tone became the basis of our selections for furnishings in the larger seating area. A bulky sectional in cognac leather and a classic Eames chair and ottoman with a golden cherry frame offer comfortable lounging. The kitchen's off-black granite countertop also inspired the use of the black slate floors and other dark finishes. The rough surface of the slate tiles lends a natural earthy flavour to the room. Notable is the dark grid created by painting the garden door frames and the open shelving unit in charcoal grey.

We recently worked together with our clients to add a new beverage center onto their existing kitchen. This space proves to be very useful, not only when they are entertaining, but also on a day to day basis.

The owners of this kitchen had spent the money to upgrade the finishes in their kitchen upon building the home 12 years ago, but after living in the space for several years they realized how nonfunctional the layout really was. The (then) two preschool aged children had grown into busy, hungry teenagers with many friends who also liked to hang out at the house. So the family needed a more functional kitchen with better traffic flow, space for daily activities revolving around the kitchen at different times of day, and a kitchen that could accommodate cooking for and serving large groups. Furthermore, the dark, traditional finishes no longer reflected the homeowners’ style. They requested a brighter, more relaxed, coastal style that reflected their love of the seaside cities they like to visit. Originally, the kitchen was U-shaped with a narrow island in the middle. The island created narrow aisles that bottle-necked at the dishwasher, refrigerator, and cooktop areas. There was a pass-through from the foyer into the kitchen, but the owners never liked that the pass-through was also located so close to the powder room. The awkward proximity was unappealing and made guests feel uncomfortable. The kitchen’s storage was made up of lots of narrow cabinets, apothecary drawers, clipped corner units, and very few drawers. It lacked useful storage for the larger items the family used on a daily basis. And the kitchen’s only pantry was small closet that had only builder-grade, narrow shelving with no illumination to be able to see the contents inside. Overall, the kitchen’s lighting plan was poorly executed. Only six recessed cans illuminated the entire kitchen and nook areas. The under cabinet lighting was not evenly distributed either. In fact, the builder had mis-placed the under cabinet lighting around the decorative pilasters which made for choppy, dark cubbies. Further, the builder didn’t include any lighting over the sink or the bar area, which meant whoever was doing the dishes was always in their own shadow. That, coupled with the steep overhang of the game room above made the bar area feel like a dim, cavernous space that wasn’t inviting or task oriented. The kitchen looked out into the main living space, but the raised bar and a narrow wall (which held the only large cabinet in the kitchen) created more of a barrier than a relationship to the living room or breakfast nook. In fact, one couldn’t even see the breakfast nook from the cooktop or sink areas due to its orientation. The raised bar top was too narrow to comfortably sit to either dine at or chat from due to the lack of knee space. The the homeowners confided that the kitchen felt more like a dark, dirty prison than place where the family, or their guests, wanted to gather and commune. The clients' needs and desires were: ➢ to create a kitchen that would be a space the family loved to be in; to relate to the adjacent spaces all around, and to have better flow for entertaining large groups ➢ to remove the walls between the breakfast nook and living area and to be able to utilize the natural light from the windows in both those areas ➢ to incorporate a functional chopping block for prepping fresh food for home cooked meals, an island with a large sink and drain board, 2 pull out trash cans, and seating for at least the 2 teens to eat or do homework ➢ to design a kitchen and breakfast nook with an airy, coastal, relaxed vibe that blended with the rest of the house's coastal theme ➢ to integrate a layered lighting plan which would include ample general illumination, specific task lighting, decorative lighting, and lots of illuminated storage ➢ to design a kitchen with not only more storage for all the husband’s kitchen gadgets and collection of oils and spices, but smart storage, including a coffee/breakfast bar and a place to store and conceal the toaster oven and microwave ➢ to find a way to utilize the large open space between the kitchen, pantry area, and breakfast nook Twelve Stones Designs achieved the owner's goals by: ➢ removing the walls between the kitchen and living room to allow the natural light to filter in from the adjacent rooms and to create a connection between the kitchen, nook, and living spaces for a sense of unity and communion ➢ removing the existing pantry and designing 3 large pantry style cabinets with LED tape lights and rollout drawers to house lots of kitchen appliances, gadgets, and tons of groceries. We also took the cabinets all the way up to the 9’ ceiling for additional storage for seasonal items and bulk storage. ➢ designing 2 islands - 1 with a gorgeous black walnut chopping block that houses a drawer for chopping and carving knives and a custom double pull out trash unit for point of use utilization - and 1 that houses the dishwasher, a large Blanco Gourmet sink with integrated drain board, woven baskets for fresh root vegetables and kitchen towels, plenty of drawer storage for kitchen items, and bar seating for up to 4 diners. ➢ closing off the space between the kitchen and the powder room to create a beautiful new private alcove for the powder room as well as adding some decorative storage. This also gave us space to include more tall storage near the new range for precision placement of the husband’s extensive oil and spice collection as well as a location for a combo-steam oven the wife wanted for baking and cooking healthy meals. The project is enhanced functionally by: ➢ incorporated USB and standard receptacles for the kids’ laptops and phone charging in the large island ➢ designing the small island to include additional open shelving for items used on a daily basis such as a variety of bowls, plates, and colanders. This set up also works well for the husband who prefers to “plate” his dinners in restaurant-style fashion before presenting them to the table. ➢ the integration of specific storage units, such as double stacked cutlery drawers, a custom spice pull-out, a Kuerig coffee and tea pod drawer, and custom double stacked utensil drawers ➢ moving the refrigerator to the old oven location - this eliminated the bottle neck as well as created a better relationship to the eating table. It also utilizes the floor space between the pantry, nook, and kitchen ➢ creating a banquet style breakfast nook - this banquette seating not only doubles the amount of seating for large gatherings but it better utilizes the odd space between the kitchen and the previous nook area. It also helps to create a distinct pathway from the mudroom room through the pantry area, kitchen, nook, and living room. ➢ the coffee/breakfast bar area which includes the perfect location for the concealed microwave and toaster oven, convenient storage for the coffee pods and tea accoutrements. Roll-out drawers below also house the smoothie maker, hot water kettle, and a plethora of smoothie-making ingredients such as protein powders, smoothie additives, etc. Furthermore, the drawers below the Keurig house measuring utensil, cutlery, baking supplies and tupperware storage. ➢ incorporating lots of wide drawers and pullouts to accommodate large cookware. ➢ utilizing as much vertical space as possible by building storage to the ceiling which accommodates the family’s abundant amount of serving platters, baking sheets, bakeware, casserole dishes, and additional cutting boards. The project is enhanced aesthetically by: ➢ new 5-piece Versailles pattern porcelain tile that now seamlessly joins the entire down stairs area together creating a bright, cohesiveness feeling instead of choppy separated spaces - it also adds a coastal feeling ➢ designing a cabinet to conceal the microwave and toaster oven ➢ the coastal influenced light fixtures over the nook table and island ➢ the sandy colors of the Langdon Cambria countertops. The swirling pattern and sparkling quartz pieces remind the homeowner of black-and-tan sandy beaches ➢ the striped banquet seating whose creamy white background and blue-green stripes were the inspiration for the cabinet and wall colors. ➢ All the interior doors were painted black to coordinate with the blacks and grays in the backsplash tile and countertop. This also adds a hint of tailored formality to an otherwise casual space. ➢ the use of WAC's Oculux small aperture LED units for the overhead lighting complimented with Diode LED strips for task lighting under the cabinets and inside the pantry and glass wall cabinets. All of the lighting applications are on separate dimmer switches. Innovative uses of materials or construction methods by Realty Restoration LLC: ➢ Each 1-1/2” x 3” block of reclaimed end-grain black walnut that makes up the center island chopping block was hand milled and built in the shop. It was designed to look substantial and proportional to the surrounding elements, executed by creating the 4 inch tall top with a solid wood chamfered edge band. ➢ The metal doors on either side of the vent hood were also custom designed for this project and built in the Realty Restoration LLC shop. They are made 1x2, 11-gauge mild steel with ribbed glass. Weighing 60 lbs a piece, heavy duty cabinet hinges were added to support the weight of the door and keep them from sagging. ➢ Under-cabinet receptacles were added along the range wall in order to have a clean, uninterrupted backsplash. Design obstacles to overcome: ➢ Because we were removing the demising walls between the kitchen and living room, we had to find a way to plumb and vent the new island. We did this by tunneling through the slab (the slab had post tension cables which prevented us from just trenching) to run a new wet vent through a nearby structural wall. We pulled the existing hot and cold lines between upper floor joists and ran them down the structural wall as well and up through a conduit in the tunnel. ➢ Since we were converting from wall overs to a gas range it allowed us to utilize the 220 feed for the wall ovens to provide a new sub panel for all the new kitchen circuits ➢ Due to framing deficiencies inherited from the original build there was a 1-1/2” differential in the floor-to-ceiling height over a 20 foot span; by utilizing the process of cutting and furring coupled with the crown moulding details on the cabinet elevations we were able to mask the problem and provide seamless transitions between the cabinet components. Evidence of superior craftsmanship: ➢ uniquely designed, one-of-a-kind metal “X” end panels on the large island. The end panels were custom made in the Realty Restoration LLC shop and fitted to the exact dimensions of the island. The welding seams are completely indistinguishable - the posts look like they are cut from a single sheet of metal ➢ square metal posts on the small island were also custom made and designed to compliment and carry through the metal element s throughout the kitchen ➢ the beautiful, oversized end panels on the pantry cabinets which give the breakfast nook a tailored look ➢ integrating a large format 5 piece Versailles tile pattern to seamlessly flow from the existing spaces into the new kitchen space ➢ By constructing a custom cabinet that jogged around a corner we could not remodel (housing the entry way coat closet) we were able to camouflage the adjacent wall offset within the upper and lower cabinets. By designing around the existing jog in the structural walls we accomplished a few things: we were able to find the space to house, and hide, the microwave and toaster oven yet still have a clean cohesive appearance from the kitchen side. Additionally, the owners were able to keep their much needed coat closet and we didn’t have to increase the budget with unnecessary structural work.

Eat-in kitchen - mid-sized transitional u-shaped dark wood floor eat-in kitchen idea in Chicago with a farmhouse sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, quartzite countertops, stone slab backsplash, stainless steel appliances and gray backsplash

We were excited to provide an Asian Inspired Gate Latch to Bejar Gate Company in San Diego for a project in gorgeous Rancho Santa Fe. As a family business ourself, we love to learn about thriving companies that are family-owned. Bejar Gate has been in business for 37 years and is the oldest and best known gate company in San Diego County. Three generations of Bejars work there on a daily basis. How neat is that?! This garden gate is made of square tube steel frame and clad with Ipe wood. The customer wanted a gate to complement her Asian themed home in the exclusive neighborhood of Rancho Santa Fe, California. Jamie at Bejar Gate shared, “We found the perfect hardware from 360 Yardware. The gate turned out lovely and our customer could not be happier.” If you’re in San Diego County and looking for a gate builder, give Bejar Gate a call! 360 Yardware

Great thought and ingenuity went into creating this dining room. With the homeowner desiring hidden, walk-in butler pantries, accessible from the dining room, but not visible on a regular basis, the Neolith wall with hidden doors was a creative solution. Spring catch doors open up to separate pantries equipped with wood cabinetry; one side stores dishware and the other sports a cocktail bar. CaesarStone Apple Martini countertops add a bright pop of color to the area. A coffered ceiling highlighted with rope lighting and a Rhapsody Chandelier creates the perfect dining ambiance. Paul Kohlman Photography

Kate Blehar John T. Pugh, Architect, LLC is an architectural design firm located in Boston, Massachusetts. John is a registered architect, whose design work has been published and exhibited both nationally and internationally. In addition to his design accolades, John is a seasoned project manager who personally works with each client to design and craft their beautiful new residence or addition. Our firm can provide clients with seamless concept to construction close-out project delivery. If a client prefers working in a more traditional design-only basis, we warmly welcome that approach as well. “Customer first, customer focused” is our approach to every project.

  Free ebook, Creating the Ideal Kitchen. DOWNLOAD NOW   This large open concept kitchen and dining space was created by removing a load bearing wall between the old kitchen and a porch area. The new porch was insulated and incorporated into the overall space. The kitchen remodel was part of a whole house remodel so new quarter sawn oak flooring, a vaulted ceiling, windows and skylights were added. A large calcutta marble topped island takes center stage. It houses a 5’ galley workstation - a sink that provides a convenient spot for prepping, serving, entertaining and clean up. A 36” induction cooktop is located directly across from the island for easy access. Two appliance garages on either side of the cooktop house small appliances that are used on a daily basis. Honeycomb tile by Ann Sacks and open shelving along the cooktop wall add an interesting focal point to the room. Antique mirrored glass faces the storage unit housing dry goods and a beverage center. “I chose details for the space that had a bit of a mid-century vibe that would work well with what was originally a 1950s ranch. Along the way a previous owner added a 2nd floor making it more of a Cape Cod style home, a few eclectic details felt appropriate”, adds Klimala. The wall opposite the cooktop houses a full size fridge, freezer, double oven, coffee machine and microwave. “There is a lot of functionality going on along that wall”, adds Klimala. A small pull out countertop below the coffee machine provides a spot for hot items coming out of the ovens. The rooms creamy cabinetry is accented by quartersawn white oak at the island and wrapped ceiling beam. The golden tones are repeated in the antique brass light fixtures. “This is the second kitchen I’ve had the opportunity to design for myself. My taste has gotten a little less traditional over the years, and although I’m still a traditionalist at heart, I had some fun with this kitchen and took some chances. The kitchen is super functional, easy to keep clean and has lots of storage to tuck things away when I’m done using them. The casual dining room is fabulous and is proving to be a great spot to linger after dinner. We love it!” Designed by: Susan Klimala, CKD, CBD For more information on kitchen and bath design ideas go to: www.kitchenstudio-ge.com

Custom colour Fullview WalkThru Garage Door protecting a private automobile collection in Phoenix, Arizona WalkThru Garage Doors Inc.
Garage - mid-sized contemporary attached one-car garage idea in Toronto

Mike and Stacy moved to the country to be around the rolling landscape and feed the birds outside their Hampshire country home. After living in the home for over ten years, they knew exactly what they wanted to renovate their 1980’s two story once their children moved out. It all started with the desire to open up the floor plan, eliminating constricting walls around the dining room and the eating area that they didn’t plan to use once they had access to what used to be a formal dining room. They wanted to enhance the already warm country feel their home already had, with some warm hickory cabinets and casual granite counter tops. When removing the pantry and closet between the kitchen and the laundry room, the new design now just flows from the kitchen directly into the smartly appointed laundry area and adjacent powder room. The new eat in kitchen bar is frequented by guests and grand-children, and the original dining table area can be accessed on a daily basis in the new open space. One instant sensation experienced by anyone entering the front door is the bright light that now transpires from the front of the house clear through the back; making the entire first floor feel free flowing and inviting. Photo Credits- Joe Nowak

Custom bookshelves and entertainment unit weres built to fit around the clients TV size and storage needs. Addjustable shelves allow the homeowner to move the shelves at any height needed as many times as they want. Pullout drawers on the bottom are gret for hiding things like blankets and other items not used on a daily basis.

Inspiration for a contemporary bedroom remodel in New York with white walls

These South Shore of Boston homeowners desired a larger kitchen as their existing had limited space to host family events and entertain guests – they turned to Renovisions to help transform their small, outdated kitchen with separate walk-in pantry into a beautiful, open and spacious inspirational room. Choosing the right cabinetry for the room and how to meet the needs of the client was critical to the overall success of this design. A traditional style was the framework of the home and the flat paneled doors on the white painted cabinetry support this aspect. Going vertical as possible with cabinets is a trend here to stay; keeping with that idea, we recommended the graceful tall pantry cabinet that flanks one side of the kitchen. This not only lends to an eye-appealing furniture-look, but adds significant storage space, allowing the cabinets to store items they may not use on a regular basis. In this case, the clients are amazed with the amount of storage they’ve gained and one that provides easy access to all interior items. Every inch of space was key to create this optimally functional kitchen. Must-haves such as tray dividers above the refrigerator are handy and the double pull-out trash/recycling bins on the right side of the sink were a simple and clean way to gain floor space and conceal unsightly trash. The focal point of this kitchen is the expansive, soft-grey colored contrasting island with larger, deeper drawers for pots, pans and platters. The client was excited to switch to an induction chef-series range that featured a divided oven that can accommodate two different temperatures. Fit and finish is important in any renovation and this certainly holds true in this kitchen project to personalize their space. The custom recessed panel columns with wainscot details add an architectural element that ties into the kitchen cabinet design and Carrera-look quartz countertops which provide a stunning classical look that ties nicely with the overall traditional style. These homeowners are excited to show off their open and spacious Renovision! “We really enjoyed our new kitchen and it’s amazing improvement over the holidays. We got rave reviews from all of our guests!” Steve & Mary S. (Duxbury)

Our clients had outgrown their kitchen/laundry space and had a rough idea of how to expand their kitchen. Our team worked closely with them to design a new layout that would convert a covered carport area into their new kitchen, mudroom and powder room. The addition of these bright open spaces has already changed how this wonderful family functions on a daily basis, especially with the addition of a mudroom and storage cubbies for all the girls. A fantastic transformation!

Eat-in kitchen - mid-sized contemporary l-shaped dark wood floor eat-in kitchen idea in Denver with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, dark wood cabinets, quartzite countertops, gray backsplash, glass tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island