With a narrow driveway and leaning concrete retaining walls, parking was a major challenge at this 1938 brick Tudor on Spokane's South Hill. Crumbling concrete stairs added another layer of difficulty, and after a particularly rough winter, the homeowners were ready for a change. The failing concrete walls were replaced with stacked boulders, which created space for a new, wider driveway. Natural stone steps offer access to the backyard, while the new front stairs and sidewalk provide a safe route to the front door. The original iron railings were preserved and modified to be reused with the new stairs.

These custom-built stairs designed by Colorado architect Dominique Gettliffe feature built-in lighting underneath each step, and connect the bedrooms, main living area, and front patio.

Example of a classic two-story house exterior design in DC Metro

This historic front porch stairs were built new by Westbrook Restorations in Seattle. These front porch stairs are made of pressure treated wood back framing, solid fir treads, fir risers, vertical grain cedar siding, custom made fir box tops. All stair wood transitional seams are fully glued and screwed, and sloped away from riser to prevent moisture penetration. As Master carpenters we use a mix of old and new techniques to ensure longevity of product.

Exterior porch on historic Sullivan's Island home. Exposed rafters, custom-milled nostalgic stair railing, Marvin black clad windows, decorative lanterns and painted deck flooring.

Photos by Linda Oyama Bryan
Photo of a large eclectic landscaping in Chicago.

This truly magnificent King City Project is the ultra-luxurious family home you’ve been dreaming of! This immaculate 5 bedroom residence has stunning curb appeal, with a beautifully designed white Cape Cod wood siding, professionally landscaped gardens, precisely positioned home on 3 acre lot and a private driveway leading up to the 4 car garage including workshop. This beautiful 8200 square foot Georgian style home is every homeowners dream plus a beautiful 5800 square foot walkout basement. The English inspired exterior cladding and landscaping has an endless array of attention and detail. The handpicked materials of the interior has endless exceptional unfinished oak hardwood throughout, varying 9” to 12” plaster crown mouldings throughout and see each room accented with upscale interior light fixtures. Spend the end of your hard worked days in our beautiful Conservatory walking out of the kitchen/family room, this open concept room his met with high ceilings and 60 linear feet of glass looking out onto 3 acres of land. Our exquisite Bloomsbury Kitchen designed kitchen is a hand painted work of art. Simple but stunning craftsmanship for this gourmet kitchen with a 10ft calacatta island and countertops. 2 apron sinks incorporated into counter and islands with 2-Georgian Bridge polished nickel faucets. Our 60” range will help every meal taste better than the last. 3 stainless steel fridges. The bright breakfast area is ideal for enjoying morning meals and conversation while overlooking the verdant backyard, or step out to the conservatory to savor your meals under the stars. All accented with Carrara backsplash. Also, on the main level is the expansive Master Suite with stunning views of the countryside, and a magnificent ensuite washroom, featuring built-in cabinetry, a makeup counter, an oversized glass shower, and a separate free standing tub. All is sitting on a beautifully layout of carrara floor tiles. All bedrooms have abundant walk-in closet space, large windows and full ensuites with heated floor in all tiled areas. Hardwood floors throughout have been such an important detail in this home. We take a lot of pride in the finish as well as the planning that went into designing the floors. We have a wide variety of French parque flooring, herringbone in main areas as well as chevron in our dining room and eating areas. Feel the texture on your feet as this oak hardwood comes to life with its beautiful stained finished. 75% of the home is a paneling heaven. The entire first floor leading up to the second floor has extensive recessed panels, archways and bead board from floor to ceiling to give it that country feel. Our main floor spiral staircase is nothing but luxury with its simple handrails and beautifully stained steps. Walk out onto two Garden Walkways, one off of the kitchen and the other off of the master bedroom hallway. BBQ area or just relaxing in front of a wood burning fireplace looking off of a porch with clean cut glass railings. Our wood burning fireplace can be seen in the basement, first floor and exterior of the garden walkway terrace. These fireplaces are cladded with Owen Sound limestone and having a herringbone designed box. To help enjoy these fireplaces, take full advantage of the two storey electronic dumbwaiter elevator for the firewood. Get work done in our 600 square foot office, that is surrounded by oak recessed paneling, custom crafted built ins and hand carved oak desk, all looking onto 3 acres of country side. Enjoy wine? See our beautifully designed wine cellar finished with marble border and pebble stone floor to give you that authentic feel of a real winery. This handcrafted room holds up to 3000 bottles of wine and is a beautiful feature every home should have. Wine enthusiasts will love the climatized wine room for displaying and preserving your extensive collection. This wine room has floor to ceiling glass looking onto the family room of the basement with a wood burning fireplace. After your long meal and couple glasses of wine, see our 1500 square foot gym with all the latest equipment and rubber floor and surrounded in floor to ceiling mirrors. Once you’re done with your workout, you have the option of using our traditional sauna, infrared sauna or taking a dip in the hot tub. Extras include a side entrance to the mudroom, two spacious cold rooms, a CVAC system throughout, 400 AMP Electrical service with generator for entire home, a security system, built-in speakers throughout and Control4 Home automation system that includes lighting, audio & video and so much more. A true pride of ownership and masterpiece built and managed by Dellfina Homes Inc.

Huge elegant two-story concrete fiberboard exterior home photo in Jacksonville

Entrance hall featuring dark-painted custom wood front door with diamanti panels, blown-milk-glass lanterns, wrought iron stair railing and grasscloth wall covering. Photography: Eric Piasecki

A monstrous change from 1995, the landscape is now a riot of color with perennials and container plantings complementing the boxwood hedge. A bluestone entry and new limestone steps highlight the front makeover.

The exterior features a mixture of stone, stucco, and reclaimed cedar siding. Posts are also reclaimed beams from an old saw mill. The garage door is painted to look aged and the front door has carvings on both sides. Both the gate and the railings are one of a kind designs.

Kowalske Kitchen & Bath transformed this 1940s Delafield cape cod into a stunning home full of charm. We worked with the homeowner from concept through completion, ensuring every detail of the interior and exterior was perfect! The goal was to restore the historic beauty of this home. Interior renovations included the kitchen, two full bathrooms, and cosmetic updates to the bedrooms and breezeway. We added character with glass interior door knobs, three-panel doors, mouldings, etched custom lighting and refinishing the original hardwood floors. The center of this home is the incredible kitchen. The original space had soffits, outdated cabinets, laminate counters and was closed off from the dining room with a peninsula. The new space was opened into the dining room to allow for an island with more counter space and seating. The highlights include quartzite counters, a farmhouse sink, a subway tile backsplash, custom inset cabinets, mullion glass doors and beadboard wainscoting. The two full bathrooms are full of character – carrara marble basketweave flooring, beadboard, custom cabinetry, quartzite counters and custom lighting. The walk-in showers feature subway tile, Kohler fixtures and custom glass doors. The exterior of the home was updated to give it an authentic European cottage feel. We gave the garage a new look with carriage style custom doors to match the new trim and siding. We also updated the exterior doors and added a set of french doors near the deck. Other updates included new front steps, decking, lannon stone pathway, custom lighting and ornate iron railings. This Nagawicka Lake home will be enjoyed by the family for many years.

Modern bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows leading out to the deck. the deck railing is a modern horizontal round bar railing. Floating Stairs and Railings by Keuka Studios

Photo by Barbara Wilson Landscape Architect, LLC A small residential, seaside property located on Fairfield Beach, Fairfield was renovated by the new owners and adapted for their active family. Barbara was the landscape architect in charge of all of the landscape elements upgrades. She designed new bluestone curving paths to access the front and side doors and designed new landscape lighting to enhance the walks. The existing trees were saved and she designed new shade and salt-tolerant plantings which were added to provide seasonal color and interest while respecting the existing plantings. Along the beach front additional native beach grasses were added to stabilize the dunes while removing some invasive plantings. This work will be phased over the next few years in an effort to keep the sand stable. Beach roses were incorporated into a hollow in the dunes. A small lawn area was renovated and the surrounding Black Pines pruned to provide a small play area and respite from the sun. Beautiful reblooming hydrangeas line the edge of the gravel driveway. Rounded beach stones were used instead of mulch in the island planting along the edge of the adjacent road planted with Miscanthus, Mugo pine and yucca. Barbara designed a custom kayak rack, custom garbage enclosure, a new layout of the existing wooden deck to facilitate access to the side doors, and detailed how to renovate the front door into only an emergency access with new railings and steps. She coordinating obtaining bids and then supervised the installation of all elements for the new landscape the project. The interiors were designed by Jack Montgomery Design of Greenwich, CT and NYC . Tree work was completed by Bartlett Tree Experts. Freddy’s Landscape Company of Fairfield, CT installed the new plantings, installed all the new masonry work and provides landscape maintenance services. JT Low Voltage and Electric installed the landscape lighting.

Elaine Heintz
Large victorian green three-story wood gable roof idea in New York

This small inner city residence get a modern landscape update from front to back. The front garden design included the use of low, stone clad columns and an iron rail fence to help separate the public street from the private residence. Clean, simple lines between the lawn area and planting along with the use of ornamental grasses create an inviting entry to the property. The new stainless steel front door acts as the focal point and sets the tone for the use of stainless steel in the rear garden. The rear garden features a modern cooking and dining area complimented with a conversation seating area complete with built-in seating, linear fire pit, planters, overhead shade structure and cable wire railing. The deck steps down to a lower grassed area for the family pet and entry to the garage. A decorative modern fence provides a screen to the rear alley and surrounding neighbors while new trees were added to soften up the landscape and provide added shade.

This small inner city residence get a modern landscape update from front to back. The front garden design included the use of low, stone clad columns and an iron rail fence to help separate the public street from the private residence. Clean, simple lines between the lawn area and planting along with the use of ornamental grasses create an inviting entry to the property. The new stainless steel front door acts as the focal point and sets the tone for the use of stainless steel in the rear garden. The rear garden features a modern cooking and dining area complimented with a conversation seating area complete with built-in seating, linear fire pit, planters, overhead shade structure and cable wire railing. The deck steps down to a lower grassed area for the family pet and entry to the garage. A decorative modern fence provides a screen to the rear alley and surrounding neighbors while new trees were added to soften up the landscape and provide added shade.

This small inner city residence get a modern landscape update from front to back. The front garden design included the use of low, stone clad columns and an iron rail fence to help separate the public street from the private residence. Clean, simple lines between the lawn area and planting along with the use of ornamental grasses create an inviting entry to the property. The new stainless steel front door acts as the focal point and sets the tone for the use of stainless steel in the rear garden. The rear garden features a modern cooking and dining area complimented with a conversation seating area complete with built-in seating, linear fire pit, planters, overhead shade structure and cable wire railing. The deck steps down to a lower grassed area for the family pet and entry to the garage. A decorative modern fence provides a screen to the rear alley and surrounding neighbors while new trees were added to soften up the landscape and provide added shade.

This small inner city residence get a modern landscape update from front to back. The front garden design included the use of low, stone clad columns and an iron rail fence to help separate the public street from the private residence. Clean, simple lines between the lawn area and planting along with the use of ornamental grasses create an inviting entry to the property. The new stainless steel front door acts as the focal point and sets the tone for the use of stainless steel in the rear garden. The rear garden features a modern cooking and dining area complimented with a conversation seating area complete with built-in seating, linear fire pit, planters, overhead shade structure and cable wire railing. The deck steps down to a lower grassed area for the family pet and entry to the garage. A decorative modern fence provides a screen to the rear alley and surrounding neighbors while new trees were added to soften up the landscape and provide added shade.