'LOVE' this room that was recently updated wit Hallmark Floors Moderno Collection: Camden Maple. The contrast of dark floors and light walls is beautiful.

This is an example of a craftsman porch design in Austin.

Arts and crafts porch photo in Austin

Glass tile backsplash for this updated kitchen by Meadowlark.
Mid-sized transitional u-shaped light wood floor and beige floor kitchen pantry photo in Detroit with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, green cabinets, soapstone countertops, green backsplash, glass tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and black countertops

Houston Interior Designer Lisha Maxey took this Museum District condo from the dated, mirrored walls of the 1980s to Mid Century Modern with a gallery look featuring the client’s art collection. The place was covered with glued-down, floor-to-ceiling mirrors,” says Lisha Maxey, senior designer for Homescapes of Houston and principal at LGH Design Services in Houston. “When we took them off the walls, the walls came apart. We ended up taking them down to the studs." The makeover took six months to complete, primarily because of strict condo association rules that only gave the Houston interior designers very limited access to the elevator – through which all materials and team members had to go. “Monday through Friday, we could only be noisy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and if we had to do something extra loud, like sawing or drilling, we had to schedule it with the management and they had to communicate that to the condo owners. So it was just a lot of coordination. But a lot of Inner City Loopers live in these kinds of buildings, so we’re used to handling that kind of thing.” The client, a child psychiatrist in her 60s, recently moved to Houston from northeast Texas to be with friends. After being widowed three years ago, she decided it was time to let go of the traditionally styled estate that wasn’t really her style anyway. An avid diver who has traveled around the world to pursue her passion, she has amassed a large collection of art from her travels. Downsizing to 1,600 feet and wanting to go more contemporary, she wanted the display – and the look – more streamlined. “She wanted clean lines and muted colors, with the main focus being her artwork,” says Maxey. “So we made the space a palette for that.” Enter the white, gallery-grade paint she chose for the walls: “It’s halfway between satin and flat,” explains Maxey. “It’s not glossy and it’s not chalky – just very smooth and clean." Adding to the gallery theme is the satin nickel track lighting with lamps aimed to highlight pieces of art. “This lighting has no wires,” notes Maxey. “It’s powered by a positive and negative conduit.” The new flooring throughout is a blended-grey porcelain tile that looks like wood planks. “It’s gorgeous, natural-looking and combines all the beauty of wood with the durability of tile,” says Maxey. “We used it throughout the condo to unify the space.” After Maxey started looking at the client’s bright, vibrant, colorful artwork, she felt the palette couldn’t stay as muted anymore. Hence the Mid Century Modern orange leather sofas from West Elm and bright green chairs from Joybird, plus the throw pillows in different textures, patterns and shades of gold, orange and green. The concave lines of the Danish-inspired chairs, she notes, help them look beautiful from all the way around – a key to designing spaces for loft living. “The table in the living room is very interesting,” notes Maxey. “It was handmade for the client in 1974 and has a signature on it from the artist. She was adamant about including the piece, which has all these hand-painted black-and-white art tiles on the top. I took one look at it and said ‘It’s not really going to go.’” However, after cutting 6 inches off the bottom and making it look a little distressed, the table ended up being the perfect complement to the sofas. The dining room table – from Design Within Reach – is a solid piece of mahogany, the chair upholstery a mix of grey velvet and leather and the legs a shiny brass. “The side chairs are leather and the end ones are velvet,” says Maxey. “It’s a nice textural mix that lends depth and texture.”The galley kitchen, meanwhile, has been lightened and brightened, with new, white contemporary cabinetry, quartz countertops mimicking the look of Carrara marble, stainless steel appliances and a velvet green bench seat for a punch of color.The two bathrooms have been updated with contemporary white vanities and vessel sinks and the master bath now features a walk-in shower tiled in Dolomite white marble (the floor is Bianco Carrara marble mosaic, done in a herringbone pattern).In the master bedroom, Homescapes of Houston knocked down a wall between two smaller closets with swing doors to make one large walk-in closet with pocket doors. The closet in the guest bedroom also came out 13 more inches.The client’s artwork throughout personalizes the space and tells the story of a life. There’s a huge bowl of shells from the client’s diving adventures, framed art from her child psychiatry patients and a 16th century wood carving from a monastery that’s been in her family forever. “Her collection is quite impressive,” says Maxey. “There’s even a framed piece of autographed songs written by John Lennon.” (You can see this black-framed piece of art on the wall in the photo above of two green chairs). “We’re extremely happy with how the project turned out, and so is the client,” says Maxey. “No expense was spared for her. It was a labor of love and we were excited to do it.”

Wanting to update their kitchen and bathroom from "builder grade" materials, this couple desired a elegant kitchen and master bathroom. Photographer: Ros Anania

Houston Interior Designer Lisha Maxey took this Museum District condo from the dated, mirrored walls of the 1980s to Mid Century Modern with a gallery look featuring the client’s art collection. The place was covered with glued-down, floor-to-ceiling mirrors,” says Lisha Maxey, senior designer for Homescapes of Houston and principal at LGH Design Services in Houston. “When we took them off the walls, the walls came apart. We ended up taking them down to the studs." The makeover took six months to complete, primarily because of strict condo association rules that only gave the Houston interior designers very limited access to the elevator – through which all materials and team members had to go. “Monday through Friday, we could only be noisy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and if we had to do something extra loud, like sawing or drilling, we had to schedule it with the management and they had to communicate that to the condo owners. So it was just a lot of coordination. But a lot of Inner City Loopers live in these kinds of buildings, so we’re used to handling that kind of thing.” The client, a child psychiatrist in her 60s, recently moved to Houston from northeast Texas to be with friends. After being widowed three years ago, she decided it was time to let go of the traditionally styled estate that wasn’t really her style anyway. An avid diver who has traveled around the world to pursue her passion, she has amassed a large collection of art from her travels. Downsizing to 1,600 feet and wanting to go more contemporary, she wanted the display – and the look – more streamlined. “She wanted clean lines and muted colors, with the main focus being her artwork,” says Maxey. “So we made the space a palette for that.” Enter the white, gallery-grade paint she chose for the walls: “It’s halfway between satin and flat,” explains Maxey. “It’s not glossy and it’s not chalky – just very smooth and clean." Adding to the gallery theme is the satin nickel track lighting with lamps aimed to highlight pieces of art. “This lighting has no wires,” notes Maxey. “It’s powered by a positive and negative conduit.” The new flooring throughout is a blended-grey porcelain tile that looks like wood planks. “It’s gorgeous, natural-looking and combines all the beauty of wood with the durability of tile,” says Maxey. “We used it throughout the condo to unify the space.” After Maxey started looking at the client’s bright, vibrant, colorful artwork, she felt the palette couldn’t stay as muted anymore. Hence the Mid Century Modern orange leather sofas from West Elm and bright green chairs from Joybird, plus the throw pillows in different textures, patterns and shades of gold, orange and green. The concave lines of the Danish-inspired chairs, she notes, help them look beautiful from all the way around – a key to designing spaces for loft living. “The table in the living room is very interesting,” notes Maxey. “It was handmade for the client in 1974 and has a signature on it from the artist. She was adamant about including the piece, which has all these hand-painted black-and-white art tiles on the top. I took one look at it and said ‘It’s not really going to go.’” However, after cutting 6 inches off the bottom and making it look a little distressed, the table ended up being the perfect complement to the sofas. The dining room table – from Design Within Reach – is a solid piece of mahogany, the chair upholstery a mix of grey velvet and leather and the legs a shiny brass. “The side chairs are leather and the end ones are velvet,” says Maxey. “It’s a nice textural mix that lends depth and texture.”The galley kitchen, meanwhile, has been lightened and brightened, with new, white contemporary cabinetry, quartz countertops mimicking the look of Carrara marble, stainless steel appliances and a velvet green bench seat for a punch of color.The two bathrooms have been updated with contemporary white vanities and vessel sinks and the master bath now features a walk-in shower tiled in Dolomite white marble (the floor is Bianco Carrara marble mosaic, done in a herringbone pattern).In the master bedroom, Homescapes of Houston knocked down a wall between two smaller closets with swing doors to make one large walk-in closet with pocket doors. The closet in the guest bedroom also came out 13 more inches.The client’s artwork throughout personalizes the space and tells the story of a life. There’s a huge bowl of shells from the client’s diving adventures, framed art from her child psychiatry patients and a 16th century wood carving from a monastery that’s been in her family forever. “Her collection is quite impressive,” says Maxey. “There’s even a framed piece of autographed songs written by John Lennon.” (You can see this black-framed piece of art on the wall in the photo above of two green chairs). “We’re extremely happy with how the project turned out, and so is the client,” says Maxey. “No expense was spared for her. It was a labor of love and we were excited to do it.”

It was time to update the early 1990s bathroom. The old builder-grade whitewashed oak cabinets were much too short for the homeowner, so executive height vanities were used. The Silestone quartz top is much more durable compared with the original cultured marble top.

Wanting to update their kitchen and bathroom from "builder grade" materials, this couple desired a elegant kitchen and master bathroom. Photographer: Ros Anania

Wanting to update their kitchen and bathroom from "builder grade" materials, this couple desired a elegant kitchen and master bathroom. Photographer: Ros Anania

This kitchen was fully transformed with Stepped Shaker doors in Winter White. The homeowners needed to upgrade the builders' grade kitchen and wanted to modernize the look for a potential resale. They decided to update the countertop first before their Nieu door order, to eliminate the outdated breakfast bar and add further impact to this kitchen overhaul!

Before picture for comparison
Photo of a traditional landscaping in Birmingham.

Small bathrooms should be big on style! Like the other areas that we remodeled in this home, the basic builder-grade look of the early 2000’s was updated to reflect our clients’ wish list and personal style. Located near the kitchen, this hard working powder room was functional but under-styled. Because this half-bath is on the smaller side, we created movement and interest by installing monochromatic wallpaper. The new polished nickel lighting and Rohl plumbing fixtures are complimented by the metallic shimmers highlighted in the tailored wallpaper. The old honey-colored cabinetry was updated with a clear alder wood in a rich, dark toffee finish. Just like the newly updated neighboring kitchen, the shining star in this powder room is the gorgeous Copenhagen granite countertop. After searching and searching for a piece that would seamlessly tie all of these elements together, we custom designed this framed mirror, providing the perfect finishing touch to this petite, classically elegant, traditional powder room.

A builder grade tiled fireplace gets a facelift with a new mosaic tile surround and a dark stained mantle. The lively stone and glass mosaic tile surrounds the wrought iron opening adding a decorative touch.

This master bathroom had been covered in pink and white snowflake tiles and a bulky, outdated vanity. Katherine Stern Design installed a stock, wall-hung vanity and wrapped three walls in mirrors to expand the sense of space and increase the natural light. Standard white square tiles within the tub enclosure and on the walls streamlined the effect. The light, wood-tone of the vanity coupled with gray quartzite counter top and commercial grade floor tiles lends the room a decidedly modern and timeless note.

This reveal is a perfect example of how affordable updates can transform a otherwise dated bathroom. Our clients requested assistance updating their master bath without the cost and time of a bathroom renovation. My first suggestion was to paint the walls and cabinets. Simply painting a builder grade vanity can deliver a beautiful and affordable update. The recommendations we suggested did not require changing the floor plan. DIY home owners did most of the hard work and boy did it pay off!

This reveal is a perfect example of how affordable updates can transform a otherwise dated bathroom. Our clients requested assistance updating their master bath without the cost and time of a bathroom renovation. My first suggestion was to paint the walls and cabinets. Simply painting a builder grade vanity can deliver a beautiful and affordable update. The recommendations we suggested did not require changing the floor plan. DIY home owners did most of the hard work and boy did it pay off!

All Pro Painting completed this kitchen remodel with custom painted cabinets, custom stain for window sashes, high performance enamel trim finishes, custom crown and bead board ceiling. All paint finishes were premium grade Benjamin Moore products with a high end conversion varnish used on cabinetry for a shop like finish.

modern updated kitchen renovation. open concept. quartz island. black leathered granite countertops
Inspiration for a large modern l-shaped vinyl floor and beige floor open concept kitchen remodel in Cincinnati with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, granite countertops, green backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and black countertops