Example of a mountain style dark wood floor and brown floor kitchen design in Denver with a single-bowl sink, dark wood cabinets, brown backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island, brown countertops and shaker cabinets

It'd be easy to make this narrow staircase and porch feel cramped with an obstructive railing, but cable infill and a thin black aluminum railing keep things open, while adding a touch of timeless elegance. As you can see by comparing the “before” image that shows lines depicting the project intentions with the “after” images, this customer got exactly what they were looking for!

This Florida bedroom features an open wardrobe that pairs warm rustic wood with industrial piping, a stylish, functional moment that makes displaying favorite pieces feel effortless and intentional.

This custom wine room was designed as a dedicated, thoughtfully integrated space within this Seattle basement renovation. Tailored storage, custom racking, and subtle lighting create an organized and refined setting that supports how this homeowner entertains. The result is a wine room that feels intentional, polished, and seamlessly connected to the rest of the lower-level design.

A custom concrete fire table designed for a high-end outdoor living space in Delafield, Wisconsin. The goal is to create a fire feature that feels intentional to the property rather than simply placing a standard fire table on the patio. Castin Crete Designs creates handcrafted GFRC concrete fire tables and fire features with custom sizing, finishes, burner configurations, and design details for distinctive outdoor spaces.

Styled vignette on custom oak millwork — landscape art, reed diffuser, and a plaid wool throw casually draped. The kind of detail that makes a space feel lived-in and loved. Curio Studio Interiors — Hudson Valley, NY.

The private toilet room off the primary bath is wrapped in picture-frame wall molding painted a deep charcoal blue, with a smart bidet toilet and brass paper holder. Painted millwork makes a small room feel finished and intentional. La Jolla remodel by SD Remodel Experts.

This new build was designed with a modern organic approach, blending clean architectural lines with warm, natural materials to create a space that feels timeless, calm, and highly livable. The goal was to design a cohesive main floor that feels elevated yet approachable, with thoughtful attention to scale, proportion, and material layering. Soft neutral tones provide a quiet foundation, while warm wood finishes, subtle texture, and brass accents add depth and visual interest. Furniture selections were carefully curated to balance comfort and sophistication, ensuring the home feels welcoming without sacrificing design integrity. Lighting was intentionally layered to enhance both functionality and atmosphere throughout the space. The result is a refined, modern organic interior that feels collected, enduring, and tailored to everyday living — a home designed to age beautifully over time.

Living room - contemporary living room idea in Houston

Example of a transitional dining room design in Los Angeles

Klopf Architecture and Outer space Landscape Architects designed a new warm, modern, open, indoor-outdoor home in Los Altos, California. Inspired by mid-century modern homes but looking for something completely new and custom, the owners, a couple with two children, bought an older ranch style home with the intention of replacing it. Created on a grid, the house is designed to be at rest with differentiated spaces for activities; living, playing, cooking, dining and a piano space. The low-sloping gable roof over the great room brings a grand feeling to the space. The clerestory windows at the high sloping roof make the grand space light and airy. Upon entering the house, an open atrium entry in the middle of the house provides light and nature to the great room. The Heath tile wall at the back of the atrium blocks direct view of the rear yard from the entry door for privacy. The bedrooms, bathrooms, play room and the sitting room are under flat wing-like roofs that balance on either side of the low sloping gable roof of the main space. Large sliding glass panels and pocketing glass doors foster openness to the front and back yards. In the front there is a fenced-in play space connected to the play room, creating an indoor-outdoor play space that could change in use over the years. The play room can also be closed off from the great room with a large pocketing door. In the rear, everything opens up to a deck overlooking a pool where the family can come together outdoors. Wood siding travels from exterior to interior, accentuating the indoor-outdoor nature of the house. Where the exterior siding doesn’t come inside, a palette of white oak floors, white walls, walnut cabinetry, and dark window frames ties all the spaces together to create a uniform feeling and flow throughout the house. The custom cabinetry matches the minimal joinery of the rest of the house, a trim-less, minimal appearance. Wood siding was mitered in the corners, including where siding meets the interior drywall. Wall materials were held up off the floor with a minimal reveal. This tight detailing gives a sense of cleanliness to the house. The garage door of the house is completely flush and of the same material as the garage wall, de-emphasizing the garage door and making the street presentation of the house kinder to the neighborhood. The house is akin to a custom, modern-day Eichler home in many ways. Inspired by mid-century modern homes with today’s materials, approaches, standards, and technologies. The goals were to create an indoor-outdoor home that was energy-efficient, light and flexible for young children to grow. This 3,000 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom new house is located in Los Altos in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, and Chuang-Ming Liu 
Landscape Architect: Outer space Landscape Architects 
Structural Engineer: ZFA Structural Engineers 
Staging: Da Lusso Design 
Photography ©2018 Mariko Reed 
Location: Los Altos, CA
 Year completed: 2017

This minimalist hallway features clean lines and a tall vertical window that brings in soft natural light. Designed with a neutral palette and Scandinavian-inspired simplicity, the space feels open and intentional.

Designer Elizabeth envisioned a custom mirror, creating an intentional window and mirror relationship to contribute to the spacious feeling of this Bath despite it’s size. We installed the thin single hung windows, and then replicated the finished heights of the windows for the mirror height and fabricated the mirror width to fit perfectly between the two windows. The mirror frame and window casings were built to align perfectly with each other.

This modern living room pairs clean architectural detailing with a curated mix of textures and art. A custom fireplace wall anchors the space with panels of warm wood and stone, creating a seamless backdrop for large-scale artwork. Low-slung seating and soft textiles invite relaxed gathering, while curated objects and sculpture reflect the homeowners’ global interests. Designed by Jaffe Architecture + Interiors to feel layered, intentional, and quietly luxurious.

Rather than positioning the furniture against the walls, the seating arrangement was intentionally floated on a subtle angle to transform the proportions of this narrow urban row home. This strategic space-planning technique visually widens the room, enhances circulation, and creates the illusion of a more expansive, open-concept interior. The angled layout naturally draws guests into the conversation area, fostering a warm, welcoming atmosphere while encouraging effortless entertaining. By balancing scale, sightlines, and flow, the design maximizes every square foot, proving that thoughtful furniture placement is one of the most effective tools for creating a luxurious, spacious-feeling home.

The entryway serves as a vibrant introduction to the home’s narrative, immediately establishing the project’s theme of expressive individuality. An elegant marble-topped console with a sculptural brass base provides a refined anchor, but the true focal point is the kaleidoscopic abstract artwork, which introduces a deliberate burst of energy and depth. The arrangement of organic florals in a soft lavender vase—an intentional echo of the palette found in the adjoining living spaces—creates a sense of quiet continuity. It is a transitional moment that feels curated and celebratory, offering an artful welcome that reflects the owners' personal journey and their nuanced approach to modern city living.

Personal privacy was a large consideration in the design. Placement of windows limit direct views into each neighbor’s home. We capitalized on the site’s topography - not only is there horizontal distance between the houses, there is vertical distance. Because of the height, width, and space, privacy feels more conventional despite the close proximity of the buildings. House 4 in the background was not only built around the tree, but sunken into the site to reduce the perceived scale of this 1800 square foot home. A portion of the house seems to float in space - a dog run intentionally bridges the gap from the garage to the main living space to avoid impact with the tree roots and preserve the life of the oak tree. Photo Credit: Craig Washburn Pictures

Dining Room wallpaper installation – Esther Short, WA. In this eclectic dining space, we used oversized floral wallpaper with a painterly finish to create drama and personality. Installed as a feature wall behind a reclaimed table and mismatched chairs, the design feels intentional, bold, and full of life — perfect for casual hosting.

Custom Home Built for Real Life Our clients came to us with a clear vision: a home that could adapt to their lifestyle and growing family. They needed a home built with intention, designed with the future in mind, and built around the routines they loved and the people they loved more. Open-Concept Living With Hosting in Mind Our clients hosted often and lived actively, so the main level had to be flexible for all of life’s moments. The goal was a space that felt grand without losing its warmth. Cooking together as a family mattered to our clients – the Wolf range, farmhouse sink, integrated appliances, and large island gave them a kitchen that flowed effortlessly while looking beautiful. This space also served as the bridge between other parts of the main level so that they would stay in view of the next. This created the perfect environment for gathering where everyone had their own spot without ever feeling apart from the whole group. For the living room, our clients wanted space that felt open without losing its warmth. Soaring ceilings created that sense of scale, while warm tones and materials, like the wood coffered ceiling and fireplace wall, kept it grounded. That same warmth carried outside, where an outdoor lounge with a fireplace and dining area made sure guests felt welcomed the moment they stepped out. A Backyard Built for Real Rest Every corner of the backyard was designed with one goal: to be the ultimate outdoor retreat. The elevated, white-brick-framed pool and integrated spa hot tub gave them a place to truly exhale. As the sun set, the fire pit lounge next to the pool became the hangout spot when they hosted their youth groups and family gatherings. Room to Grow With kids in the house, “custom” had to also mean flexible. Our clients had 2 young sons and needed their rooms to grow with them through the years. The two bedrooms and a full bath sat beside a loft that served as both their hangout-and-homework spot. The guest suite sat on the same level where a four-poster bed, floor-to-ceiling wood-look tile, and a frameless glass shower welcomed their guests from day one. A Retreat That’s Actually Theirs Between hosting and raising kids, this couple needed a suite that felt like a true escape. The wood-planked tray ceiling and French doors grounded the room in warmth the moment you walked in, while the ensuite bathroom carried a spa-like feeling with a freestanding soaking tub, custom double vanity, and a glass-enclosed shower. This Is What Approachable Luxury Looks Like The approachable luxury experience meant starting with conversations about how they wanted their space to live with them – how they hosted, how their kids played, how they wanted to feel walking through their own front door, and how we took their goals and experience and used it as the foundation of every decision that was made from start to finish. We wanted our clients to feel taken care of through the process and, most importantly, feel heard.