Large island style white two-story exterior home photo in Miami

Garage - contemporary garage idea in San Diego

St Charles with Light Gray mortar

Photo by Ketti Kupper.
Inspiration for a small backyard landscaping in Los Angeles.

Horizontal slat cedar privacy fence in woodland garden.

Master bathroom Photos: Natalia Lorca Ruiz
Mid-sized trendy master white tile and ceramic tile ceramic tile and black floor doorless shower photo in New York with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, a wall-mount toilet, white walls, an integrated sink, solid surface countertops and a hinged shower door

DECO Window Fashions. Ripple Fold Draperies
Home design - contemporary home design idea in Austin

Silestone Eternal Calacatta Gold
Trendy kitchen photo in New York

Inspiration for a mid-sized rustic carpeted straight cable railing staircase remodel in Denver with carpeted risers

Staghorn fern (Platycerium superbum) in the garden of Robert Fuchs and Michael Coronado, Homestead, FL. Photo by Jay Sifford.
Home design - tropical home design idea in Miami

The Challenge: Create a rugged yet warm farmhouse feel in a high rise tower. Start with an entire 9600 gross square foot penthouse floor of raw concrete floor, walls and ceiling. Devise inventive ways to address intractable existing conditions including a plumbing layout inconsistent with our Client program, a relatively low ceiling and a massive elevator core and yet take of advantage of panoramic views of the city from all sides. For example, rather than make a bulky drywall enclosure for existing pipes that poke thru the kitchen counter, they are wrapped with antique painted galvanized sheet metal to keep sight lines around the corner as open as possible. Or, transform an unattractive and inconveniently located 24” diameter vertical duct in the middle of Samantha’s and Hannah’s (grandchildren’s) guest bedroom into part of a lovely arched top bed nook. Or, disguise a chase for above floor plumbing runs as the base for an open buffet counter. The oppressive elevator lobby was shortened; terminating in handmade glass and steel garden doors at both ends. Custom details include a groined vaulted ceiling and arched openings with stone pilasters (for future trompe-l’oeil images of a Tuscany countryside). To maximize a feeling of height, the ceilings start low and get higher as they progress to the outside walls. The Program: Create a five bedroom condo for an elderly couple with specific and different needs. Mr. likes his privacy and to stay up late into the night on the internet. He likes order. Mrs. has some physical limits that have been addressed in various ways such as shorter travel distances, a step down shower, raised dishwasher and custom cast (to ensure that they won’t rust) iron grab bars. She prefers more disorder. Spaces should be visually arresting, full of detail and easy to maintain. Private spaces include separate master bathrooms, his and her offices and a multi screened Media Room. The balance of the floor must link spaces into one continuous open room along the south and east elevations using large elements yet keeping an intimate scale, sound control and privacy. For example, a substantial fireplace made of old barn timber framing, country stone and a hammered iron grill is strategically located at the critical Southeast corner. Above, black iron offset pintel hardware allow custom double doors to hide a large flat screen TV. High technology is in place for inconspicuous yet easy use. Icon driven key pads operate lighting, window treatments, audio visual systems with multiple sources and access to movie and music databases and five HVAC zones with independent humidity controls. Outstanding Features: Exterior masonry walls have stone culled from five quarries. Sprinkled throughout are surprises - bricks with words as messages from the past, wood trimmed niches and colored glass. Glass pieces set in window corners offer bursts of color when backlit by the sun. These materials are assembled in a rough irregular fashion to look like the work of a mason from the Italian countryside. Interior ceilings and walls have overlapping layers of two plaster colors. Perimeter ceilings are made of smooth random width cedar. Rough planed cedar beams hide ductwork and allow the maximum ceiling height between them. Custom details are everywhere-consider the ten foot barn doors on overhead track at the service elevator, cedar benches/storage areas that run below window banks, antique air registers, acid washed piano hinges and transom window operators and existing concrete piers that are featured instead of hidden. The floors are made of random width wide plank old oak with hand planed faces and edges. Overall, the elements were carefully selected or painted/stained to form a soft muted gray palate The Country kitchen features an old fashioned style ice box appearance for the refrigerator/freezer, a tin ceiling, a distressed assortment of cabinets in multiple heights, colors and woods such as the cherry wood buffet cabinet with sliding glass doors on both sides. A backlit breakfast counter, a hammered copper hood and chicken wire inserts are part of the effort to make a comfortable, eclectic old fashioned looking Kitchen while containing the latest appliances and storage systems. Awards: This project has won several kitchen and bath awards: Felman Kitchen Awards 2009 St. Louis Homes and Lifestyles Kitchen of the Year – Gold Award 2008-2009 SubZero Wolf Kitchen Design Contest – Regional Winner, Regional Designer’s Choice 2010 NKBA Art of the Industry – Pinnacle of Design Award 2010 NKBA Art of the Industry – First Place Medium Kitchen 2010 NKBA Art of the Industry – Consumer’s Choice Award 2010 K&BB Kitchen of the Year Award Felman Bath Awards 2010 Ladue News Award—Master Bathroom

Urban dining room photo in Houston

Coffee table with curved base in wenge finish. Glass top 12 mm thick. - For more information, please contact IQMatics 847.885.3600

Ben Finch of Finch Photo

Photo Credit: N. Leonard
Large elegant enclosed dark wood floor and brown floor family room photo in New York with a standard fireplace, a wall-mounted tv and blue walls

Sheer and blackout drapery on a decorative metal rod. Both with Ripplefold style.
Example of a trendy bedroom design in Seattle

Concrete, Exposed Aggregate
Patio - coastal patio idea in Philadelphia