Repainting builder grade oak cabinets.
Inspiration for a timeless kitchen remodel in DC Metro

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

Home design - transitional home design idea in San Francisco

Designer Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn helped a neighbor and friend to update a “builder grade” kitchen into a personal, family space that feels luxurious and inviting. The homeowner wanted to solve a number of storage and flow problems in the kitchen, including a wasted area dedicated to a desk, too-little pantry storage, and her wish for a kitchen bar. The all white builder kitchen lacked character, and the client wanted to inject color, texture and personality into the kitchen while keeping it classic.

Modern mountain aesthetic in this fully exposed custom designed ranch. Exterior brings together lap siding and stone veneer accents with welcoming timber columns and entry truss. Garage door covered with standing seam metal roof supported by brackets. Large timber columns and beams support a rear covered screened porch. (Ryan Hainey)

Dawn M Smith Photography The Kitchen Place, Xenia, OH - Dayton Ohio Kitchen Remodeling Xenia, OH Dayton, OH Springfield, OH Columbus, OH
Mid-sized elegant l-shaped light wood floor kitchen photo in Other with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, quartz countertops, blue backsplash, glass sheet backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Designer Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn helped a neighbor and friend to update a “builder grade” kitchen into a personal, family space that feels luxurious and inviting. The homeowner wanted to solve a number of storage and flow problems in the kitchen, including a wasted area dedicated to a desk, too-little pantry storage, and her wish for a kitchen bar. The all white builder kitchen lacked character, and the client wanted to inject color, texture and personality into the kitchen while keeping it classic.

A stunning kitchen installation in a rambling country farm house – the room had tired builder-grade cabinets, and was so in need of an update. An adventurous client, a talented interior designer and a kitchen designer pulled together this exciting fresh space.

Kitchen - traditional kitchen idea in Portland

Designer Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn helped a neighbor and friend to update a “builder grade” kitchen into a personal, family space that feels luxurious and inviting. The homeowner wanted to solve a number of storage and flow problems in the kitchen, including a wasted area dedicated to a desk, too-little pantry storage, and her wish for a kitchen bar. The all white builder kitchen lacked character, and the client wanted to inject color, texture and personality into the kitchen while keeping it classic.

Designer Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn helped a neighbor and friend to update a “builder grade” kitchen into a personal, family space that feels luxurious and inviting. The homeowner wanted to solve a number of storage and flow problems in the kitchen, including a wasted area dedicated to a desk, too-little pantry storage, and her wish for a kitchen bar. The all white builder kitchen lacked character, and the client wanted to inject color, texture and personality into the kitchen while keeping it classic.

View of the open concept kitchen and living room space of the modern Lakeshore house in Sagle, Idaho. The all white kitchen on the left has maple paint grade shaker cabinets are finished in Sherwin Willams "High Reflective White" allowing the natural light from the view of the water to brighter the entire room. Cabinet pulls are Top Knobs black bar pull. A 36" Thermardor hood is finished with 6" wood paneling and stained to match the clients decorative mirror. All other appliances are stainless steel: GE Cafe 36" gas range, GE Cafe 24" dishwasher, and Zephyr Presrv Wine Refrigerator (not shown). The GE Cafe 36" french door refrigerator includes a Keurig K-Cup coffee brewing feature. Kitchen counters are finished with Pental Quartz in "Misterio," and backsplash is 4"x12" white subway tile from Vivano Marmo. Pendants over the raised counter are Chloe Lighting Walter Industrial. Kitchen sink is Kohler Vault with Kohler Simplice faucet in black. In the living room area, the wood burning stove is a Blaze King Boxer (24"), installed on a raised hearth using the same wood paneling as the range hood. The raised hearth is capped with black quartz to match the finish of the United Flowteck stone tile surround. A flat screen TV is wall mounted to the right of the fireplace. Flooring is laminated wood by Marion Way in Drift Lane "Daydream Chestnut". Walls are finished with Sherwin Williams "Snowbound" in eggshell. Baseboard and trim are finished in Sherwin Williams "High Reflective White."

Designer Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn helped a neighbor and friend to update a “builder grade” kitchen into a personal, family space that feels luxurious and inviting. The homeowner wanted to solve a number of storage and flow problems in the kitchen, including a wasted area dedicated to a desk, too-little pantry storage, and her wish for a kitchen bar. The all white builder kitchen lacked character, and the client wanted to inject color, texture and personality into the kitchen while keeping it classic.

First home, savvy art owners, decided to hire RBD to design their recently purchased two story, four bedroom, midcentury Diamond Heights home to merge their new parenthood and love for entertaining lifestyles. Hired two months prior to the arrival of their baby boy, RBD was successful in installing the nursery just in time. The home required little architectural spatial reconfiguration given the previous owner was an architect, allowing RBD to focus mainly on furniture, fixtures and accessories while updating only a few finishes. New paint grade paneling added a needed midcentury texture to the entry, while an existing site for sore eyes radiator, received a new walnut cover creating a built-in mid-century custom headboard for the guest room, perfect for large art and plant decoration. RBD successfully paired furniture and art selections to connect the existing material finishes by keeping fabrics neutral and complimentary to the existing finishes. The backyard, an SF rare oasis, showcases a hanging chair and custom outdoor floor cushions for easy lounging, while a stylish midcentury heated bench allows easy outdoor entertaining in the SF climate. Photography Credit: Scott Hargis Photography

This house west of Boston was originally designed in 1958 by the great New England modernist, Henry Hoover. He built his own modern home in Lincoln in 1937, the year before the German émigré Walter Gropius built his own world famous house only a few miles away. By the time this 1958 house was built, Hoover had matured as an architect; sensitively adapting the house to the land and incorporating the clients wish to recreate the indoor-outdoor vibe of their previous home in Hawaii. The house is beautifully nestled into its site. The slope of the roof perfectly matches the natural slope of the land. The levels of the house delicately step down the hill avoiding the granite ledge below. The entry stairs also follow the natural grade to an entry hall that is on a mid level between the upper main public rooms and bedrooms below. The living spaces feature a south- facing shed roof that brings the sun deep in to the home. Collaborating closely with the homeowner and general contractor, we freshened up the house by adding radiant heat under the new purple/green natural cleft slate floor. The original interior and exterior Douglas fir walls were stripped and refinished. Photo by: Nat Rea Photography

Built in 1949, this Edina home had a strong horizontal presence on the site, but through subsequent renovations the overall massing was lacking clarity and refinement and the entry was diminutive and uninviting. The roof and siding materials were aging, and important interior spaces were cramped and closed in. The house needed better light, better connection internally and out, and exterior updates to clarify and enhance the strengths of the home. The primary design evolved out of a celebration of the existing horizontality of the home and a recognition that a bigger home was not needed. By layering materiality and color, a new identity was created. A new cedar entry canopy slips out from under the previous roof line, extending further towards the street. This added warmth at the entry is echoed along the facade, creating a graceful rhythm and texture. The previous additions were re-clad with a darker material palette in order to anchor and unify the ends of the home. As the grade slopes down towards the back yard, horizontal bands are exposed, revealing the layering top to bottom. Combined, these few shifts in color and materiality allowed for a complete transformation of the home. The interior is reflective of the material and color palette used outside. The main living spaces are opened up and connected while strengthening the original symmetry of the more formal linear alignment of rooms. A whole new kitchen relocates the center of the home and makes more fluid the daily life of this young family. The house is fully transformed inside and out, all without adding more square feet. Project Team: Ben Awes, AIA, Principal-in-Charge Nate Dodge

Designer Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn helped a neighbor and friend to update a “builder grade” kitchen into a personal, family space that feels luxurious and inviting. The homeowner wanted to solve a number of storage and flow problems in the kitchen, including a wasted area dedicated to a desk, too-little pantry storage, and her wish for a kitchen bar. The all white builder kitchen lacked character, and the client wanted to inject color, texture and personality into the kitchen while keeping it classic.

Winner of the 2018 Tour of Homes Best Remodel, this whole house re-design of a 1963 Bennet & Johnson mid-century raised ranch home is a beautiful example of the magic we can weave through the application of more sustainable modern design principles to existing spaces. We worked closely with our client on extensive updates to create a modernized MCM gem. Extensive alterations include: - a completely redesigned floor plan to promote a more intuitive flow throughout - vaulted the ceilings over the great room to create an amazing entrance and feeling of inspired openness - redesigned entry and driveway to be more inviting and welcoming as well as to experientially set the mid-century modern stage - the removal of a visually disruptive load bearing central wall and chimney system that formerly partitioned the homes’ entry, dining, kitchen and living rooms from each other - added clerestory windows above the new kitchen to accentuate the new vaulted ceiling line and create a greater visual continuation of indoor to outdoor space - drastically increased the access to natural light by increasing window sizes and opening up the floor plan - placed natural wood elements throughout to provide a calming palette and cohesive Pacific Northwest feel - incorporated Universal Design principles to make the home Aging In Place ready with wide hallways and accessible spaces, including single-floor living if needed - moved and completely redesigned the stairway to work for the home’s occupants and be a part of the cohesive design aesthetic - mixed custom tile layouts with more traditional tiling to create fun and playful visual experiences - custom designed and sourced MCM specific elements such as the entry screen, cabinetry and lighting - development of the downstairs for potential future use by an assisted living caretaker - energy efficiency upgrades seamlessly woven in with much improved insulation, ductless mini splits and solar gain

After purchasing their first home, a 3-bedroom 2 1/2 bathroom condo unit in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, our clients came to us for help with updating the 1990s era interiors. On our first visit, we saw lots of golden oak - cabinets, floors, windows, trim. We started by tearing out the inexpensive developer-grade finishes and replacing them with quality materials capable of withstanding the test of time. We designed custom cabinetry with interior fittings tailored to the particular needs of our client and assisted with the selection of all the interior finishes. Our clients love their new home and the fact that it's interiors are as stylish as their new neighborhood.