Succulents, grasses and low-water shrubs with vivid foliage give this coastal garden a rich, textured look with minimal maintenance. Exterior colors and furniture selection by Julie McMahon. Photos by Daniel Bosler

Hoi Ning Wong
Photo of a traditional full sun formal garden in San Francisco.

MillerRoodell Architects // Gordon Gregory Photography
Mountain style brown one-story wood gable roof photo in Other with a shingle roof

Daniel O'Connor
Inspiration for a transitional living room remodel in Denver with blue walls

shared desk space for designer and assistant Photo by Rebecca McAlpin
Study room - mid-sized transitional freestanding desk medium tone wood floor and beige floor study room idea in Philadelphia with white walls

Photo: Charlotte Albers © 2014 Houzz
This is an example of a traditional landscaping in Burlington.

Construction by Deep Creek Builders, Photography by Sara Rounsavall
Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional l-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen remodel in Louisville with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, concrete countertops, gray backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

A modern twist on the hotel bedding look… instead of lines of embroidered stripes, embroidered dots frame the duvet cover and shams in a design reminiscent of candy dots. Large dots varied in size are placed in a random design on the wall… sweet dreams!

photography by Anice Hoachlander
Bathroom - large contemporary master gray tile gray floor bathroom idea in DC Metro with flat-panel cabinets, beige cabinets, gray walls and quartz countertops

Example of a mountain style stone patio design in San Francisco with no cover

Example of a trendy backyard deck design in Phoenix with a fire pit

Megan Papworth
Inspiration for a large contemporary light wood floor and gray floor great room remodel in Phoenix with white walls and no fireplace

Elegant dining room photo in Dallas

Teen Girl's Bedroom Meagan Larsen
Example of a minimalist bedroom design in Salt Lake City

Mekenzie France Photography Renovation completed by Carolina Classic Builders, Charlotte NC
Inspiration for a large eclectic l-shaped medium tone wood floor open concept kitchen remodel in Charlotte with an undermount sink, beaded inset cabinets, white cabinets, wood countertops, white backsplash, mosaic tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Alison Hodgson
Photo of a landscaping in Grand Rapids.

There are few things we enjoy nearly as much as helping a homeowner create a statement that is so exclusively them that it’s all but impossible for another to duplicate what they’re creating in their home. Sure, there can be common colors and sometimes even common themes, but for as many homeowners as there are, there are as many individual tastes, thoughts, and ideas that can inspire creativity and design. Tapping into where each homeowner is coming from is what is what brings us so much joy and excitement. Just imagine the excitement we felt when this homeowner asked us to help him with this unusual project! He received this Jack Daniels barrel as a gift from a close friend and wanted to create a new bar in his basement to entertain family and friends. The initial thought was to have the barrel as a stand alone conversation piece, but after some further discussion we suggested using it as a focal point and thus the project was born. Jack was known to be a man of refinement and to pay him the appropriate respect it only made sense to approach this project with an equal sense of detail in the crafting of this project, if for no other reason, we hold the same values. To match all of this with our homeowner’s fondness of entertaining friends, the warm and relaxing feeling he was looking for and the aesthetics of the room, the use of reclaimed and live-edge wood made for a natural fit. In fact aside from a few structural 2x4s beneath the surface, the entire project is built from reused, reclaimed, or re-purposed materials. The most obvious example would be the barrel itself. A bit of research revealed that Jack Daniels only uses their barrels one time before replacing them. Rather than simply destroying them or throwing them away, the barrels are made available to the public to use for other purposes. As a side note we appreciate seeing other companies taking this responsible and earth friendly approach to business. As a part of our own mission to reduce, reuse, and recycle as often as we can, you’ll note the wall paneling is also re-purposed materials. These particular boards we retrieved from an old building that was being removed and rather than allowing all these materials to be bulldozed with the rest of the old structure, we took as much of the old building materials as we could to use elsewhere. For this project we had the old planks and beams them re-sawn into the wall paneling you see here. Look closely at the picture and you’ll see the original nail holes in the boards that made their new home in this project. We even incorporated the reclaimed paneling into wrapping the column the previously exposed wood beams above bar area. It adds to the overall feel by incorporating the theme into an otherwise ungainly (and obviously necessary!) part of the house structure. All the boards in the design of the bar itself come from re-purposed, urban Ash logs. These are either aging and at-risk trees that cities need removed. Ash trees can be subject to assorted infections and diseases and it’s an unfortunate truth that once the disease is discovered, the best way to reduce it’s spreading is to remove the trees in the surrounding area. To further our mission, we take these trees before they end up in a shredder and re-purpose as many of them as we can rather than seeing them simply turned to mulch. We believe this to be a much more responsible use of available materials and just as beautiful. Each board has so much individual character with their natural knots and swirls. We particularly enjoyed the perfectly sized and shaped piece that became the support at the far end of the bar top. It’s as if nature knew we were going to make this project and grew that board to the perfect dimensions just for this purpose! We also had a small leftover piece that was extra knotty and so full of character that we incorporated it as a small shelf just above the barrel. Just because it’s small doesn’t mean it can’t make a statement… Of course no bar would be complete without the top itself. We had a few extra large pieces of Ash with live edges on both sides for the owner to choose from that fit the rough dimensions we needed. His decision made, we added just a very subtle hint of blue and green with our proprietary treatment before the final finishing with epoxy to a mirror finish. We added a few recessed lights to help highlight the natural patterns in the bar top and this bar is ready to serve. This project was satisfying for several reasons. We were thrilled we were able to complete the project entirely out of reclaimed and re-purposed materials. The homeowner’s desire for a rustic feel made it easier to accomplish this and we appreciate that we can partake in projects like this, particularly one so unique. Custom doesn’t come out of a catalog. At Serenity Design Studio our number one goal is to see your unique vision come to life.

Large transitional l-shaped light wood floor and brown floor enclosed kitchen photo in Austin with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, quartzite countertops, gray backsplash, matchstick tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and white countertops

double hollyhock flowers
Inspiration for a landscaping in Phoenix.