Entryway in Traditional style custom home. Vaulted ceilings. Typical entryway closet excluded in design in favour of built-in wardrobe and bench.
Entryway - traditional light wood floor, brown floor and vaulted ceiling entryway idea in Vancouver with gray walls and a white front door

New Mood Design's clients favor custom pieces that are special to them. They want their homes to be personal. This Togo sofa set - the ottoman is shown here - was customized in a velvet gray fabric for our Druid Hills client. Photo: New Mood Design, LLC

The Albany is a two story plan that makes great use of available square footage It foregoes the formal living room in favor of a spacious formal dining room, open family room, study or fifth bedroom, and a covered patio. A two story foyer creates an open entry, and the very open layout of the family room, kitchen, and breakfast area create a large shared living space. The family room adjoins the covered patio, and the first floor study/fifth bedroom is located at the rear of the home. The upstairs primary suite is accessed by double doors, and includes a tray ceiling in the bedroom, a private sitting room, private access to a covered deck, a room-sized closet, and luxury bath with corner whirlpool, separate shower, dual vanities, and enclosed commode area. The upstairs hall opens to three more bedrooms, two of which share a bath, and to the home's third full bath, utility room, and second linen closet. Two exterior elevations are offered, both featuring a covered entry and a multi-layered hip-and gable roof design, incorporating both brick and shake siding on the front of the home.

The down and out movement of this motorized mount make it ideal for mounting a TV over a fireplace. It moves forward to clear the mantle then drops down for a more favorable viewing position. A truly unique and creative solution.

As written in Northern Home & Cottage by Elizabeth Edwards For years, Jeff and Ellen Miller spent their vacations sailing in Northern Michigan—so they had plenty of time to check out which small harbor town they might like to retire to someday. When that time arrived several years ago, they looked at properties up and down the coast and along inland lakes. When they discovered a sweet piece on the outskirts of Boyne City that included waterfront and a buildable lot, with a garage on it, across the street, they knew they’d found home. The couple figured they could find plans for their dream lake cottage online. After all, they weren’t looking to build anything grandiose. Just a small-to-medium sized contemporary Craftsman. But after an unfruitful online search they gave up, frustrated. Every plan they found had the back of the house facing the water—they needed a blueprint for a home that fronted on the water. The Millers first met the woman, Stephanie Baldwin, Owner & President of Edgewater Design Group, who solved that issue and a number of others on the 2015 Northern Home & Cottage Petoskey Area Home Tour. Baldwin’s home that year was a smart, 2000-square cottage on Crooked Lake with simple lines and a Craftsman sensibility. That home proved to the couple that Edgewater Design Group is as proficient at small homes as the larger ones they are often known for. Edgewater Design Group did indeed come up with the perfect plan for the Millers. At 2400 square feet, the simple Craftsman with its 3 bedrooms, vaulted ceiling in the great room and upstairs deck is everything the Millers wanted—including the fact that construction stayed within their budget. An extra courtesy of working with the talented design team is a screened in porch facing the lake (“She told us, of course you have to have a screened in porch,” Ellen says. “And we love it!’) Edgewater’s other touches are more subtle. The Millers wanted to keep the garage, but the home needed to be sited on a small knoll some feet away in order to capture the views of Lake Charlevoix across the street. The solution is a covered walkway and steps that are so artful they enhance the home. Another favor Baldwin did for them was to connect them with Legacy Construction, a firm known for its craftsmanship and attention to detail. The Miller home, outfitted with touches including custom molding, cherry cabinetry, a stunning custom range hood, built in shelving and custom vanities. A warm hickory floor and lovely earth-toned Craftsman-style color palette pull it all together, while a fireplace mantel hewn from a tree taken on the property rounds out this gracious lake cottage.

Overhaul Converts Classic Rambler to A Modern Yet Classic Family Home in Fairfax This 1970 rambler in middle of old town in Fairfax City has been home to a growing family of five. Ready for a massive overhaul, the family reached out to Michael Nash Design Build & Homes for assistance. Eligible for a special Fairfax City Renaissance program, this project was awarded special attention and favorable financing. We removed the entire roof and added a bump up, second story three-bedroom, two bathroom and loft addition. The main level was reformatted to eliminate the smallest bedroom and split the space among adjacent bedroom and the main living room. The partition walls between the living room and dining room and the partition wall between dining room and kitchen were eliminated, making space for a new enlarged kitchen. The outside brick chimney was rebuilt and extended to pass into the new second floor roof lines. Flu lines for heater and furnace were eliminated. A furnace was added in the new attic space for second floor heating and cooling, while a new hot water heater and furnace was re-positioned and installed in the basement. Second floor was furnished with its own laundry room. A new stairway to the second floor was designed and built were furnace chase used to be, opening up into a loft area for a kids study or gaming area. The master bedroom suite includes a large walk-in closet, large stoned shower, slip-free standing tub, separate commode area, double vanities and more amenities. A kid’s bathroom was built in the middle of upstairs hallway. The exterior of this home was wrapped around with cement board siding, maintenance free trims and gutters, and life time architectural shingles. Added to a new front porch were Trex boards and stone and tapered style columns. Double staircase entrance from front and side yard made this residence a stand out home of the community. This remodeled two-story colonial home with its country style front porch, five bedrooms, four and half bathrooms and second floor laundry room, will be this family’s home for many years to come. Happier than before, this family moved back into this Extreme Makeover Home to love every inch of their new home.

Escape to your private oasis in this exclusive, gated lakefront community. With its custom design and open concept layout, this 3-bed, 3.5-bath home embodies luxury and style. Enjoy breathtaking lake views from every corner and indulge in boating adventures with the covered boat dock. From the serene surroundings to the spacious living areas, this property is the epitome of a tranquil retreat. Embrace the favored lake life and experience unparalleled relaxation in this exquisite, custom-built haven.

This great room was an aesthetic challenge, with unbalanced windows and cubbies that weren't entirely functional flanking the fireplace. Our client wanted to enhance the use of their space and apply their own Mid-century inspired style. We began by balancing the feature fireplace wall by covering the small windows and demolishing the cubbies in favor of custom-built cabinets that looked like furnishings. We installed shimmering wall coverings and added modern floating shelves. We styled the space with simple, scaled accessories to finish. The swivel club chairs bridged the space, allowing guests to face the kitchen and dining areas while entertaining.

The patio door entryway was increased by four inches in both width and height. The homeowner elected to forgo a screen door in favor of an outswing patio door, maximizing the amount of space in the modest living room. Additionally, the patio doors lay flat against the exterior walls, allowing the homeowner to utilize the full depth of the outdoor area for entertaining.

Nestled among the historic character homes of Crescentwood, this residence offers a striking contemporary counterpoint to its traditional surroundings. Built in 2014, the townhouse moves away from the compartmentalized layouts of the past, favoring a sun-drenched, open-concept design defined by clean lines and neutral tones. The interior feels effortlessly modern, featuring sleek white shaker cabinetry, quartz surfaces, and a central open staircase that enhances the sense of vertical space. With a versatile loft-style den and multiple private decks, it functions as a quiet, low-maintenance sanctuary hidden within the mature tree canopy of this established Winnipeg neighbourhood.

An expressive family home in Clapham. The Brief The brief was to create a new ground floor. It needed to be a flexible home capable of accommodating guests of all ages whilst maintaining purpose and separation between spaces. The Solution We proposed re-routing the hallway to become a central corridor through the ground floor plan. This would connect the rear and front halves of the property across a series of staggered level changes. We also wanted to create an enlarged rear space for entertainment that linked to the garden space. The removal of an existing courtyard allowed for the insertion of a boot room and relocated WC central to the plan. Separating the distinctly classical detailing of the front reception and dining room, which emphasises our clients’ favoured style and family backgrounds, from the sleek contemporary rear kitchen and entertainment space was successfully enhanced by the varied format of the timber flooring from Trunk. Maintaining visual connectivity was achieved by way of two sizeable glazed pocket doors that enable the two halves of the plan to be differentiated from each other. At the same time, the use of internal glazing supports views through the property to the remodelled rear garden. The bespoke designed kitchen from Eclectic Interiors introduces the user to the modernised rear extension, which features sharp detailing and a splash of colour from the feature media unit designed by our interiors team. The symmetrical rear elevation carries through to the garden making for an interconnected, seamless transition through the property. The Result The combination of classical and contemporary elements marry together well to support flexible family living and entertaining. Our clients are delighted with the outcome and feel that it meets their brief and design aspirations.

The down and out movement of this motorized mount make it ideal for mounting a TV over a fireplace. It moves forward to clear the mantle then drops down for a more favorable viewing position. A truly unique and creative solution.

Like many projects, this one started with a simple wish from a client: turn an unused butler’s pantry between the dining room and kitchen into a fully functioning, climate-controlled wine room for his extensive collection of valuable vintages. But like many projects, the wine room is connected to the dining room which is connected to the sitting room which is connected to the entry. When you touch one room, it only makes sense to reinvigorate them all. We overhauled the entire ground floor of this lovely home. For the wine room, I worked with Vintage Cellars in Southern California to create custom wine storage embedded with LED lighting to spotlight very special bottles. The walls are in a burgundy tone and the floors are porcelain tiles that look as if they came from an old wine cave in Tuscany. A bubble light chandelier alludes to sparkling varietals. But as mentioned, the rest of the house came along for the ride. Since we were adding a climate-controlled wine room, the brief was to turn the rest of the house into a space that would rival any hot-spot winery in Napa. After choosing new flooring and a new hue for the walls, the entry became a destination in itself with a huge concave metal mirror and custom bench. We knocked out a half wall that awkwardly separated the sitting room from the dining room so that after-dinner drinks could flow to the fireplace surrounded by stainless steel pebbles; and we outfitted the dining room with a new chandelier. We chose all new furniture for all spaces. The kitchen received the least amount of work but ended up being completely transformed anyhow. At first our plan was to tear everything out, but we soon realized that the cabinetry was in good shape and only needed the dated honey pine color painted over with a cream white. We also played with the idea of changing the counter tops, but once the cabinetry changed color, the granite stood out beautifully. The final change was the removal of a pot rack over the island in favor of design-forward iron pendants. Photo by: Genia Barnes

This is a case study of a client living in Hong Kong. The client's residence is an 80-square-meter home. The client has a preference for a modern minimalist Scandinavian style, with an overall white color scheme complemented by colorful decorations. The client's objective was to select a pendant light for the dining area, specifically in white color, and not too large in size. The client favored small and simple designs. After careful consideration, we recommended the elegant and compact bud-shaped white Macaron pendant light, which is one of the most popular choices for Nordic-style small pendant lights. Given the size of the dining area, we suggested the client purchase two of these pendant lights to achieve better lighting effects. Upon receiving the products, the client expressed their satisfaction, as the pendant lights perfectly matched their requirements. We are delighted to share this case study with everyone, hoping to provide inspiration and ideas for their own home renovations.

The primary bedroom and bathroom are the showstoppers of this phase! Unused and awkwardly located closets in both the bedroom and bathroom were removed to make way for additional square-footage in the bath and replaced with a sizable and functional reach-in closet in the bedroom. A dated and cramped shower stall was removed in favor for an expansive step in shower spanning the width of the bathroom and a new transom window washes the room in natural light. While the previous bathroom was only able to accommodate a single vanity, the new layout allowed us to create double matching vanities mirrored across from each other - a much appreciated addition for a primary bath. Floating walnut vanities boast impressive storage and are capped with tower cabinets with hidden outlets for charging and storing electronic bathroom tools. While the color palette is restrained - black, white, gray, and brown - the result is a timelessly modern and masculine space that is at once striking and warm. Modern geometric patterns play with each other throughout the material selections.

Kitchen - large contemporary l-shaped porcelain tile and gray floor kitchen idea in Other with a single-bowl sink, flat-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, quartz backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and white countertops

Escape to your private oasis in this exclusive, gated lakefront community. With its custom design and open concept layout, this 3-bed, 3.5-bath home embodies luxury and style. Enjoy breathtaking lake views from every corner and indulge in boating adventures with the covered boat dock. From the serene surroundings to the spacious living areas, this property is the epitome of a tranquil retreat. Embrace the favored lake life and experience unparalleled relaxation in this exquisite, custom-built haven.

Creating a bridge between buildings at The Sea Ranch is an unusual undertaking. Though several residential, elevated walkways and a couple of residential bridges do exist, in general, the design elements of The Sea Ranch favor smaller, separate buildings. However, to make all of these buildings work for the owners and their pets, they really needed a bridge. Early on David Moulton AIA consulted The Sea Ranch Design Review Committee on their receptiveness to this project. Many different ideas were discussed with the Design Committee but ultimately, given the strong need for the bridge, they asked that it be designed in a way that expressed the organic nature of the landscape. There was strong opposition to creating a straight, longitudinal structure. Soon it became apparent that a central tower sporting a small viewing deck and screened window seat provided the owners with key wildlife viewing spots and gave the bridge a central structural point from which the adjacent, angled arms could reach west between the trees to the main house and east between the trees to the new master suite. The result is a precise and carefully designed expression of the landscape: an enclosed bridge elevated above wildlife paths and woven within inches of towering redwood trees.

These clients reached out to Hillcrest Construction when their family began out-growing their Phoenixville-area home. Through a comprehensive design phase, opportunities to add square footage were identified along with a reorganization of the typical traffic flow throughout the house. All household traffic into the hastily-designed, existing family room bump-out addition was funneled through a 3’ berth within the kitchen making meal prep and other kitchen activities somewhat similar to a shift at a PA turnpike toll booth. In the existing bump-out addition, the family room was relatively tight and the dining room barely fit the 6-person dining table. Access to the backyard was somewhat obstructed by the necessary furniture and the kitchen alone didn’t satisfy storage needs beyond a quick trip to the grocery store. The home’s existing front door was the only front entrance, and without a foyer or mudroom, the front formal room often doubled as a drop-zone for groceries, bookbags, and other on-the-go items. Hillcrest Construction designed a remedy to both address the function and flow issues along with adding square footage via a 150 sq ft addition to the family room and converting the garage into a mudroom entry and walk-through pantry. - The project’s addition was not especially large but was able to facilitate a new pathway to the home’s rear family room. The existing brick wall at the bottom of the second-floor staircase was opened up and created a new, natural flow from the second-floor bedrooms to the front formal room, and into the rear family hang-out space- all without having to cut through the often busy kitchen. The dining room area was relocated to remove it from the pathway to the door to the backyard. Additionally, free and clear access to the rear yard was established for both two-legged and four-legged friends. The existing chunky slider door was removed and in its place was fabricated and installed a custom centerpiece that included a new gas fireplace insert with custom brick surround, two side towers for display items and choice vinyl, and two base cabinets with metal-grated doors to house a subwoofer, wifi equipment, and other stow-away items. The black walnut countertops and mantle pop from the white cabinetry, and the wall-mounted TV with soundbar complete the central A/V hub. The custom cabs and tops were designed and built at Hillcrest’s custom shop. The farmhouse appeal was completed with distressed engineered hardwood floors and craftsman-style window and door trim throughout. - Another major component of the project was the conversion of the garage into a pantry+mudroom+everyday entry. The clients had used their smallish garage for storage of outdoor yard and recreational equipment. With those storage needs being addressed at the exterior, the space was transformed into a custom pantry and mudroom. The floor level within the space was raised to meet the rest of the house and insulated appropriately. A newly installed pocket door divided the dining room area from the designed-to-spec pantry/beverage center. The pantry was designed to house dry storage, cleaning supplies, and dry bar supplies when the cleaning and shopping are complete. A window seat with doggie supply storage below was worked into the design to accommodate the existing elevation of the original garage window. A coat closet and a small set of steps divide the pantry from the mudroom entry. The mudroom entry is marked with a striking combo of the herringbone thin-brick flooring and a custom hutch. Kids returning home from school have a designated spot to hang their coats and bookbags with two deep drawers for shoes. A custom cherry bench top adds a punctuation of warmth. The entry door and window replaced the old overhead garage doors to create the daily-used informal entry off the driveway. With the house being such a favorable area, and the clients not looking to pull up roots, Hillcrest Construction facilitated a collaborative experience and comprehensive plan to change the house for the better and make it a home to grow within.