Example of a classic kitchen design in San Diego with a farmhouse sink, stainless steel appliances, raised-panel cabinets, blue cabinets and blue backsplash

A perfect addition to your outdoor living is a seating wall surrounding a firepit. Cambridge Maytrx wall, Pyzique Fire Pit, Round table Pavers. Installed by Natural Green Landsacpe & Design in Lincoln, RI

No the 2nd floor with the kids' suites the playroom makes perfect retreat for the owner's children to play games, relax and hang out with friends. Built-in 7.1 surround sound with a 70" wall-mounted LED TV ensure they'll have fun watching movies or playing video games, while keeping the excess noise away from the rest of the home.

After working through various design concepts, we landed on this spunky layout – A great combination of decking & hardscaping. Fitting the customers’ needs for a simple space without a lot of fluff, or excess space they wouldn’t use. With subtle touches throughout the job; a bump-out for the grill, a flower box to add character to the step, & even continuing the seating wall along the house wall - to hide a less appealing wall, where an old deck once attached to the foundation. Altogether, it’s the little things that help to create a one of a kind custom space for years of enjoying!

Yes, the overhang on the island looks excessive without bar chairs in place. Take a look at some of the other images of this kitchen. http://www.houzz.com/projects/13132/Traditional-Kitchen-Remodel-Los-Altos Think about the space with comfortable bar chairs on two sides of the island and you'll find that the homeowner has come up with a practical solution (and the cabinets probably won't get scuffed up with shoe marks). Many islands don't have enough knee room.

Photo by: Warren Lieb
Cottage kitchen photo in Charleston with stainless steel countertops, white appliances and recessed-panel cabinets

Bluestone Pavers, custom Teak Wood banquette with cement tile inlay, Bluestone firepit, custom outdoor kitchen with Teak Wood, concrete waterfall countertop with Teak surround.

Barry Grossman Photography
Example of a trendy white floor living room design in Miami with a ribbon fireplace

This organic modern design is built in an area known for having notable issues with ground movement. After speaking with the developer and reviewing the soil report with our Structural Engineer, we made our recommendations to the client. Since the budget for a full-blown pier and beam structure with void boxes under the pool was well beyond the comfort level of our client, they elected to have us utilize a float shell construction method. For this, we over-excavated the hole and placed a 12" layer of gravel beneath the shell of the pool. Drain lines lead from the deepest point under the pool down into a culvert, placed off to the side of the pool. A sump pump removes any excess water from the culvert as it accumulates. For the shell of the pool, we utilized a double matt of steel and increased the wall thickness to a minimum of 12". This gave added strength to withstand the volatile soil. The elements of fire, water, wood and stone were very important in creating the organic modern feel of this design. The layered effect along the back wall creates a visual stimulation across the length of the yard, without overwhelming the senses. Rather than creating walls only of hard materials, we used Ipe wood to create horizontal screen walls of a more organic nature. At either end, the raised wall and the fire feature are finished in a large-scale porcelain tile, with the look of stained concrete. Custom stainless steel scuppers, made by a local fabricator, create a soothing sound of falling water. The low wall at the center of the project is faced in natural ledgestone, and carries a color palette that set the tone for the entire project. Behind this wall and in front of one of the Ipe screens are three Desert Steel Giant Agave sculptures. The unique fire feature isn't quite a fire place, nor is it a fire pit. It is a linear fire burner, surrounded by a 4" thick cantilevered Leuder limestone hearth, with a backdrop wall of blue glazed clay tile. Although the pool was initially planned as a plaster pool, as the project began to take shape, the client elected to go all the way and finish it in a beautiful blue glass mosaic. Custom fabricated stainless steel cannon jets send a delicate arch of water over this deep blue, and draw attention to the three square wok planters on the far side of the yard. For the decking on this project, we elected to work with Mother Nature rather than against her. Two and a half inch thick concrete pavers, set on a bed of compacted, decomposed granite allow for movement around the pool that is easily fixed. If an area of deck moves around, we can simply lift the affected areas, re-level with DG bed, and re-set the pavers.

Beach style eat-in kitchen photo in Philadelphia with stainless steel appliances, subway tile backsplash, a farmhouse sink, granite countertops, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash and black countertops

Modern large master bathroom. Very airy and light. Pure white Caesarstone quartz counter, hansgrohe metris faucet, glass mosaic tile (Daltile - City lights), taupe 12 x 24 porcelain floor (tierra Sol, English bay collection), bamboo cabinet, Georges Kovacs wall sconces, wall mirror Photo credit: Jonathan Solomon - http://www.solomonimages.com/

Mid-sized elegant backyard concrete paver patio photo in Richmond with a fire pit and no cover

Open concept kitchen - large traditional galley light wood floor open concept kitchen idea in Other with an undermount sink, beaded inset cabinets, white cabinets, quartzite countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

This organic modern design is built in an area known for having notable issues with ground movement. After speaking with the developer and reviewing the soil report with our Structural Engineer, we made our recommendations to the client. Since the budget for a full-blown pier and beam structure with void boxes under the pool was well beyond the comfort level of our client, they elected to have us utilize a float shell construction method. For this, we over-excavated the hole and placed a 12" layer of gravel beneath the shell of the pool. Drain lines lead from the deepest point under the pool down into a culvert, placed off to the side of the pool. A sump pump removes any excess water from the culvert as it accumulates. For the shell of the pool, we utilized a double matt of steel and increased the wall thickness to a minimum of 12". This gave added strength to withstand the volatile soil. The elements of fire, water, wood and stone were very important in creating the organic modern feel of this design. The layered effect along the back wall creates a visual stimulation across the length of the yard, without overwhelming the senses. Rather than creating walls only of hard materials, we used Ipe wood to create horizontal screen walls of a more organic nature. At either end, the raised wall and the fire feature are finished in a large-scale porcelain tile, with the look of stained concrete. Custom stainless steel scuppers, made by a local fabricator, create a soothing sound of falling water. The low wall at the center of the project is faced in natural ledgestone, and carries a color palette that set the tone for the entire project. Behind this wall and in front of one of the Ipe screens are three Desert Steel Giant Agave sculptures. The unique fire feature isn't quite a fire place, nor is it a fire pit. It is a linear fire burner, surrounded by a 4" thick cantilevered Leuder limestone hearth, with a backdrop wall of blue glazed clay tile. Although the pool was initially planned as a plaster pool, as the project began to take shape, the client elected to go all the way and finish it in a beautiful blue glass mosaic. Custom fabricated stainless steel cannon jets send a delicate arch of water over this deep blue, and draw attention to the three square wok planters on the far side of the yard. For the decking on this project, we elected to work with Mother Nature rather than against her. Two and a half inch thick concrete pavers, set on a bed of compacted, decomposed granite allow for movement around the pool that is easily fixed. If an area of deck moves around, we can simply lift the affected areas, re-level with DG bed, and re-set the pavers.

Sally Painter
Enclosed kitchen - mid-sized craftsman u-shaped medium tone wood floor enclosed kitchen idea in Portland with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances

The Clear 130 photographed here by Mark Hundley at a private residence in San Francisco. Designed and installed by Nelson Construction.
Trendy living room photo in Los Angeles

Edward Duarte, duartephoto.com
Urban porcelain tile kitchen photo in Los Angeles with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, marble countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Terren Landscapes http://www.terrenlandscapes.com Project Entry: Pembrooke Estate Rain Garden 2014 PLNA Awards for Landscape Excellence Winner Category: Sustainable Landscape &60,000-$120,000 Award Level: Silver Project Description: The client contracted our company to solve multiple existing drainage problems. In a heavy rain event the existing French drain system would overflow, causing water to pool in the driveway. After investigating the system we found that the capacity of the French drain was undersized for the amount of storm water from the large rain events received in recent years. As a result of our findings and at the request of the homeowner, we designed a storm water management system to capture all storm water from the structures on the property and regenerate the underground aquifers for the volume of a 5.8” rainstorm. In addition to the new drain system, the homeowners wanted a rain garden to provide a backdrop for an existing formal garden, provide a habitat for wildlife, and provide screening from an adjacent neighbor. Throughout the design process many challenges were presented, including an existing gas line, which ran directly through the area that best suited the bioswale. The existence of the gas line caused us to alter the shape and depth of the bioswale in some areas. We also inspected the existing downspouts to make sure there were no obstructions that would impede the system’s efficiency, and then conducted a test pit dig to make sure we had sufficient percolation rates for disposal of storm water. To effectively capture the storm water runoff, the existing downspouts were piped from the main house and the large detached garage to a large catch basin located at the low point in the driveway. The driveway catch basin contains two outlet pipes at different elevations within the basin allowing water from smaller rain events to enter the bioswale and rain garden area to percolate into the soil before excess water overflows into a sediment trap which filters out any debris and is then piped to an underground StormTech® pit to slowly percolate into the ground. The other outlet pipe in the driveway catch basin is used for larger storm water events, taking the water directly to the StormTech® pit. Accepting and slowing the velocity of the storm water, mitigation of erosion, and filtering out pollutants contained in the “first flush” of rainfall are the primary functions of the bioswale and rain garden. Planting these areas with mostly native plant species helps carry out these functions while attracting and providing shelter for wildlife. The ‘Niobe’ weeping willow is the centerpiece of the rain garden, connecting with the axis of the existing formal garden. To screen the neighboring property we chose Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’ for its graceful evergreen habit and tolerance of wet sites. ‘Ivory Halo’ dogwood and Panicum ‘Cloud Nine’ were used for screening as well as winter interest. To provide deciduous structure to the garden Taxodium distichum and Magnolia virginiana were used in conjunction with witch hazel. Mostly native wetland perennials were used due to their tolerance of wet conditions and occasional drought. The area above the StormTech® pit provides space for the client’s family to relax. The rain garden and bioswale provide screening, storm water management, a habitat for wildlife, and plants that enhance the adjacent formal garden. Photo Credit: Terren Landscapes

photography by Trent Bell
Elegant medium tone wood floor bedroom photo in Boston with white walls