A modern ranch style home with a very generous front walk and entry garden. Rustic pavers are disbursed with Pa. flagstone paving. Night lighting leads the way for evening visitors. Annual and perennials add color amongst the trees and shrubs. ©Garden Gate Landscaping, Inc./Charles W. Bowers

When Cummings Architects first met with the owners of this understated country farmhouse, the building’s layout and design was an incoherent jumble. The original bones of the building were almost unrecognizable. All of the original windows, doors, flooring, and trims – even the country kitchen – had been removed. Mathew and his team began a thorough design discovery process to find the design solution that would enable them to breathe life back into the old farmhouse in a way that acknowledged the building’s venerable history while also providing for a modern living by a growing family. The redesign included the addition of a new eat-in kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, wrap around porch, and stone fireplaces. To begin the transforming restoration, the team designed a generous, twenty-four square foot kitchen addition with custom, farmers-style cabinetry and timber framing. The team walked the homeowners through each detail the cabinetry layout, materials, and finishes. Salvaged materials were used and authentic craftsmanship lent a sense of place and history to the fabric of the space. The new master suite included a cathedral ceiling showcasing beautifully worn salvaged timbers. The team continued with the farm theme, using sliding barn doors to separate the custom-designed master bath and closet. The new second-floor hallway features a bold, red floor while new transoms in each bedroom let in plenty of light. A summer stair, detailed and crafted with authentic details, was added for additional access and charm. Finally, a welcoming farmer’s porch wraps around the side entry, connecting to the rear yard via a gracefully engineered grade. This large outdoor space provides seating for large groups of people to visit and dine next to the beautiful outdoor landscape and the new exterior stone fireplace. Though it had temporarily lost its identity, with the help of the team at Cummings Architects, this lovely farmhouse has regained not only its former charm but also a new life through beautifully integrated modern features designed for today’s family. Photo by Eric Roth

An enchanting, L-shaped front porch lends charm and grace to this country home with dual dormers and gables. Bay windows expand both of the home’s dining areas, while the great room and kitchen are amplified by a shared cathedral ceiling. The generous great room features a fireplace with flanking built-ins, skylights, and access to a marvelous back porch. Perfect for young families, this mid size home maintains master suite privacy while keeping close proximity to children’s bedrooms. A cathedral ceiling enhances the master bedroom, which enjoys a large walk-in closet and luxurious bath. Two more bedrooms, one with cathedral ceiling, share a generous hall bath with dual sink vanity.

Open floor plan great room flows seamlessly to the outdoor patio and pool. Builder – GEF Development, Interiors - Ownby Design, Photographer – Thompson Photographic, Sculpture - Guy Dill.

Lindsay Brown
Small trendy dark wood floor and brown floor living room photo in New York with white walls and no fireplace

SeaThru is a new, waterfront, modern home. SeaThru was inspired by the mid-century modern homes from our area, known as the Sarasota School of Architecture. This homes designed to offer more than the standard, ubiquitous rear-yard waterfront outdoor space. A central courtyard offer the residents a respite from the heat that accompanies west sun, and creates a gorgeous intermediate view fro guest staying in the semi-attached guest suite, who can actually SEE THROUGH the main living space and enjoy the bay views. Noble materials such as stone cladding, oak floors, composite wood louver screens and generous amounts of glass lend to a relaxed, warm-contemporary feeling not typically common to these types of homes. Photos by Ryan Gamma Photography

Surrounded by a rich, green lawn and shredded pine mulch garden, this variegated slate stone pathway leads to a magnificent outdoor fireplace, hand crafted out of stacked stone. A generous hearth provides easy access for campfire cooking and roasting marshmallows, with a stone topped surround to provide definition and a beautiful sense of geometry to the structure.

The deck was redone in ipe to match the new seating and the oxidized steel planter. The existing narrow steps were replaced with generous treads that can also serve as improvised seating.

A cabin in Western Wisconsin is transformed from within to become a serene and modern retreat. In a past life, this cabin was a fishing cottage which was part of a resort built in the 1920’s on a small lake not far from the Twin Cities. The cabin has had multiple additions over the years so improving flow to the outdoor space, creating a family friendly kitchen, and relocating a bigger master bedroom on the lake side were priorities. The solution was to bring the kitchen from the back of the cabin up to the front, reduce the size of an overly large bedroom in the back in order to create a more generous front entry way/mudroom adjacent to the kitchen, and add a fireplace in the center of the main floor. Photographer: Wing Ta Interior Design: Jennaea Gearhart Design

Huge country open concept concrete floor family room photo in Burlington with brown walls, a standard fireplace, a stone fireplace and no tv

This master bathroom was completely renovated and expanded to reflect the airy, eclectic-modern design aesthetic we were implementing throughout the rest of this client’s home. Their existing master bath had luxurious finishes, but was a cramped and small space with a disadvantageous layout. By breaking through walls and absorbing a second bathroom behind the master, we were able to create an open, ample layout that offered the features these clients sought - a generous and bright space with a two person shower, a soaking tub, and separate vanity areas with plenty of storage.

Large 3' x 5' curbless shower with glass shower doors and large format tile and grab bar for extra safety. Also includes bench with Quartz seat and clear story window for natural daylight. Photography by: Jeffrey E Tryon

The architectural elements add texture to the space. The custom shutters painted in a contrasting black draw your eye to the gracefully arched front windows framed in substantial trim work. A wall of cabinetry integrated with the fireplace offers a focal wall in the room as you enter the space. It also provides shelf space to give warmth by displaying familial pieces. This ceiling fixture is all the more lovely because the ceiling is framed by generous crown molding. Photo credit: Blackstock Photography

J. Ryan Caruthers
Elegant rectangular pool photo in Dallas

Concrete – New ideas for Kitchens. In a minimalist setting, “concrete” always presents a strong presences in the room. In the handle-less CONCRETE-A kitchens from LEICHT , the dark grey furniture with a surface of genuine concrete (brasilia), provide an impressive visual centre. Island unit and cupboard run are offset by white tall units, integrated in the wall. The island unit rises freely into the room between the generous window surfaces, almost floating above the light floor. An asymmetric, almost playful, wall shelf unit loosens the calm arrangement of the handle-less floor units. The 5 mm thick worktop of hot-rolled steel provides an extremely elegant contrast to the concrete surfaces of the kitchen fronts.

www.genevacabinet.com . . . Geneva Cabinet Company, Lake Geneva WI, Kitchen with NanaWall window to screened in porch, Medallion Gold cabinetry, painted white cabinetry with Navy island, cooktop in island, cabinetry to ceiling with upper display cabinets, paneled ceiling, nautical lighting,

The Master Bathroom has a generous walk-in shower and clean and simple subway tile. John Wilbanks Photography
Example of an arts and crafts bathroom design in Seattle

The third floor bath features a generous 6 foot soaking tub that is illuminated by the skylight above. The bath includes both an overhead rain shower head and hand shower wand. Photograph © Jeffrey Totaro.