Craftsman built with vinyl siding
Arts and crafts exterior home photo in DC Metro

The designer was engaged by a client to create a ranch that would be used for hosting corporate retreats and private or small group instruction. The scope of work included a stable, a covered round ring, a tractor/equipment barn, a caretakers house, hay barn, main private residence, open arena with viewing, a small round open arena with viewing, multiple horse shelters, paddocks, accessory structures, and pavilions. A Grand ARDA for Outdoor Living Design goes to Mountainworks Designers: Travis Mileti, Marie Mileti, Valerie Chastain, and Nick Mileti From: Cashiers, North Carolina

The client’s coastal New England roots inspired this Shingle style design for a lakefront lot. With a background in interior design, her ideas strongly influenced the process, presenting both challenge and reward in executing her exact vision. Vintage coastal style grounds a thoroughly modern open floor plan, designed to house a busy family with three active children. A primary focus was the kitchen, and more importantly, the butler’s pantry tucked behind it. Flowing logically from the garage entry and mudroom, and with two access points from the main kitchen, it fulfills the utilitarian functions of storage and prep, leaving the main kitchen free to shine as an integral part of the open living area. An ARDA for Custom Home Design goes to Royal Oaks Design Designer: Kieran Liebl From: Oakdale, Minnesota

This custom home is derived from Chinese symbolism. The color red symbolizes luck, happiness and joy in the Chinese culture. The number 8 is the most prosperous number in Chinese culture. A custom 8 branch tree is showcased on an island in the pool and a red wall serves as the background for this piece of art. The home was designed in a L-shape to take advantage of the lake view from all areas of the home. The open floor plan features indoor/outdoor living with a generous lanai, three balconies and sliding glass walls that transform the home into a single indoor/outdoor space. An ARDA for Custom Home Design goes to Phil Kean Design Group Designer: Phil Kean Design Group From: Winter Park, Florida

Gun Room
Mountain style beige floor entryway photo in Indianapolis with beige walls and a dark wood front door

In this remodel, the client wanted more space for recreation and entertaining as well as a peaceful retreat in their existing home. A detached two-car garage provided the ideal medium for this purpose, in which the biggest challenge was minimizing the visual impact of the transformation. A gable-ended addition to the garage and a half-story above allowed for a sport court and a large entertaining space, without appearing too massive from the street. A bridge creates an interior connection between the home and the garage’s upper level. An ARDA for Renovation Design goes to Royal Oaks Design Designer: Kieran Liebl From: Oakdale, Minnesota

The best of the past and present meet in this distinguished design. Custom craftsmanship and distinctive detailing lend to this lakefront residences’ classic design with a contemporary and light-filled floor plan. The main level features almost 3,000 square feet of open living, from the charming entry with multiple back of house spaces to the central kitchen and living room with stone clad fireplace. An ARDA for indoor living goes to Visbeen Architects, Inc. Designers: Vision Interiors by Visbeen with Visbeen Architects, Inc. From: East Grand Rapids, Michigan

The best of the past and present meet in this distinguished design. Custom craftsmanship and distinctive detailing lend to this lakefront residences’ classic design with a contemporary and light-filled floor plan. The main level features almost 3,000 square feet of open living, from the charming entry with multiple back of house spaces to the central kitchen and living room with stone clad fireplace. An ARDA for indoor living goes to Visbeen Architects, Inc. Designers: Vision Interiors by Visbeen with Visbeen Architects, Inc. From: East Grand Rapids, Michigan

Twenty-eight book-matched slabs of Calcutta Gold were used in the remodeling of a private residence, including the addition of a master bath. The bath was designed to include areas for the toilet and bidet, shower, Japanese soaking tub and bath and vanity room. The stone floors were mud set over an in-floor radiant heating system. The angles in the design of this project challenged the two-man crew, who did the installation in 10 weeks. In the shower and tub deck, almost every piece of stone on the walls had to be measured, fabricated, and installed before the next piece could be measured. Numerous master stone craftsmen brought an incredible vision to life.

Photo Credit: © Joe Fletcher Photography
Example of a trendy two-story metal exterior home design in DC Metro

In the home’s interior, leather-finish Cippolino marble paving was painstakingly end-matched to create the illusion of one continuous piece of stone traveling through the whole level, under a bathtub made from a single block of Cippolino marble, and transitioning into the master bath’s shower walls. On this same level the kitchen is outfitted with a 15 foot long book-matched Lapis Lazuli island countertop shaped at its perimeter with a “knife edge,” adjacent to a countertop and sink clad in book-matched Cippolino marble. Matched vein-cut travertine paving covers the floor and seamlessly continues through the living room and out onto the exterior sundeck, terminating at the swimming pool which is completely bordered by travertine coping containing slots for drainage that allow the top edge of the pool’s water to become perfectly aligned with the top edge of the adjacent travertine paving, thus creating a level surface from the kitchen to the infinity edge of the pool.

Entry Courtyard
Inspiration for a timeless brown floor front door remodel in Indianapolis with beige walls

Twenty-eight book-matched slabs of Calcutta Gold were used in the remodeling of a private residence, including the addition of a master bath. The bath was designed to include areas for the toilet and bidet, shower, Japanese soaking tub and bath and vanity room. The stone floors were mud set over an in-floor radiant heating system. The angles in the design of this project challenged the two-man crew, who did the installation in 10 weeks. In the shower and tub deck, almost every piece of stone on the walls had to be measured, fabricated, and installed before the next piece could be measured. Numerous master stone craftsmen brought an incredible vision to life.

Natural materials, neutral colors, a water feature and an abundance of light combine to create this harmonious, tranquil and resort-like Master Bathroom/Spa Suite. The simplified palette and consistent building materials facilitate the transition from inside to outside. Large, square, honed and filled travertine flooring tiles run throughout the interior, across the lanai, and around the pool deck. Massive siding window walls disappear into pockets to transform the Master Bath/Spa/Pool areas into a single indoor/outdoor space. The suite's volume is defined by the crisp, geometric shape of travertine tile above the tub and on the shower walls. The spa-like atmosphere is created by natural light playing on the neutral grey and sand color of the travertine and the sand tone of the polished Crema Marfil marble slab countertop. All elements combine to provide warmth and consistency. A weeping wall water feature dat the end of the pool contributes the sound of tranquility to the bath and spa areas. Water flows over a Golden Harvest ledge stone quartzite wall into the beach area of the pool completing the resort/spa-like atmosphere desired.

The client’s coastal New England roots inspired this Shingle style design for a lakefront lot. With a background in interior design, her ideas strongly influenced the process, presenting both challenge and reward in executing her exact vision. Vintage coastal style grounds a thoroughly modern open floor plan, designed to house a busy family with three active children. A primary focus was the kitchen, and more importantly, the butler’s pantry tucked behind it. Flowing logically from the garage entry and mudroom, and with two access points from the main kitchen, it fulfills the utilitarian functions of storage and prep, leaving the main kitchen free to shine as an integral part of the open living area. An ARDA for Custom Home Design goes to Royal Oaks Design Designer: Kieran Liebl From: Oakdale, Minnesota

This 6,000 square foot residence in Newport Beach, CA exemplifies classic elegance through a combination of glass, wood and split-face Roman Travertine. The Roman Travertine was purchased directly from an Italian supplier by the general contractor. Accurate shop drawings and cut lists developed by SMG Stone Company allowed the material to be ordered effectively and ensured a smooth transfer and installation of the stone to the job. Approximately 3,300 square feet of split-face Roman Travertine dressed interior and exterior walls using a mechanical attachment system with stainless steel clips and ungrouted joints. Some onsite work included chiseling face edges to match the split-face finish of each piece. Shop drawings allowed planning for slightly oversized pieces to accomodate the field finishing of 4" thick pieces of a height of 24" and varying lengths of 12: - 60". From an installation stand point the lintels proved to be the biggest challenge of the project because the size of the doors were 6' - 8' and longer. Due to this each piece had to be handled by hand due to the small space of the job site. After five years of stone selection and detailed drawings, this dream home was completed in 2007.

For over twenty years, Walker Zanger has been a participating vendor for the Pasadena Showcase House of Design. Each year, a house in the Pasadena area is selected and transformed into a showpiece by some of the leading interior designers in Los Angeles. The house selected for the 2014 Showcase is known as the Flint House and was originally built for Robert Flint and his wife Margaret Grey Flint in 1915, in the English Arts and Crafts style. Designs of the Interior was selected to design the Master Suite Wing and teamed up with Walker Zanger to remodel the master bath. Due to the historical aspect of this landmark, major construction was limited and the designers were barred from removing historical pieces, like windows and fireplaces. The designers selected a color palette of grays, taupe, cream and peacock. Sleek fixtures graced the freestanding oval bath tub, while nickel finishes adorn the shower and sink. Walker Zanger’s Tangent Collection, which consists of decorative marble and limestone mosaics, lined the floors and the shower and bath walls. The floor contains a starburst mosaic pattern made out of Calacatta marble and Flannel and Ash Grey limestones. The shower fixtures were highlighted by a strip of Café Bruno marble tiles and surrounded by a teardrop mosaic pattern in Calacatta. Inspired by a blend of abstract geometrical shapes and mid-century modern design, Designs of the Interior considered Walker Zanger’s Tangent Collection the perfect choice for transforming this master bath into a magnificent show piece that complements the home’s original architecture.

This Palm Springs inspired, one story, 8,245 sq. ft. modernist “party pad” merges golf and Rat Pack glamour. The net-zero home provides resort-style living and overlooks fairways and water views. The front elevation of this mid-century, sprawling ranch showcases a patterned screen that provides transparency and privacy. The design element of the screen reappears throughout the home in a manner similar to Frank Lloyd Wright’s use of design patterns throughout his homes. The home boasts a HERS index of zero. A 17.1 kW Photovoltaic and Tesla Powerwall system provides approximately 100% of the electrical energy needs. A Grand ARDA for Custom Home Design goes to Phil Kean Design Group Designer: Phil Kean Design Group From: Winter Park, Florida

This home was designed with a clean, modern aesthetic that imposes a commanding view of its expansive riverside lot. The wide-span, open wing design provides a feeling of open movement and flow throughout the home. Interior design elements are tightly edited to their most elemental form. Simple yet daring lines simultaneously convey a sense of energy and tranquility. Super-matte, zero sheen finishes are punctuated by brightly polished stainless steel and are further contrasted by thoughtful use of natural textures and materials. The judges said “this home would be like living in a sculpture. It’s sleek and luxurious at the same time.” The award for Best In Show goes to RG Designs Inc. and K2 Design Group Designers: Richard Guzman with Jenny Provost From: Bonita Springs, Florida