Designed with Winslow Architects Inc., this gut renovation involved partial demolition of an existing structure and a full interior gut renovation plus a 750 square foot addition including new two-car garage, living spaces and bonus room.

The flooring that was originally envisioned for this house wasn't Wood Floor of the Year-caliber. When Steve Brattin, president at SVB Wood Floors in Grandview, Mo., got involved in the project, the designers were discussing a simple machine-sanded heart pine or reclaimed wood floor. But once Brattin visited the site—an old world traditional estate set on acreage with its own private lake—he knew it deserved more than a typical floor. "I chatted with the designers and said I would love to meet with the homeowners and have them in our showroom," he recalls. "I said I would really like to do something artistic with it." Brattin's mind was already envisioning the possibilities—something he says usually happens for him within a half hour of walking through a space. "I don't know how certain things come to me," he says, adding that often he draws things out and the designs don't end up being in the clients' budget. That wasn't the case here, however, and the final plans for the flooring called for five designs in various areas, including this Bordeaux parquet in the foyer. With the designs finalized, Brattin turned to Distinctive Floors' (Nashville, Tenn.) Dan Antes to create the walnut flooring, which called for hand-beveling with a circle-sawn and wire-brushed surface; in some areas the flooring was 10-inch plank. The width presented a challenge for Antes, as he had planned to contract out the circle-sawing, but the company he had in mind could handle widths only up to 81⁄2 inches. He decided he would have to do it himself. "We spent maybe $1,500 modifying $20,000 worth of equipment to end up with this awesome distressed product," he says. Due to a tight time frame to complete the job, once the flooring was milled, it was shipped to WD Flooring (Laona, Wis.) to be finished with hardwax oil—a choice Antes says he loves for its maintainability. The actual installation of all 3,000 square feet of flooring was uneventful, Brattin says, crediting his crew, experienced with high-end projects, for a great job. "They had a blast," he says. "They had so much fun out there on the project, and they do it quite frequently; it comes naturally for them at this point." Given the complexity of this job, from scribing around stone to large-scale chevron and mixed media, that's high praise. Antes, himself a Wood Floor of the Year winner and supplier to many more winning projects, sums up the scope of this job: "I think he could have entered any room in this house, really, and won."—K.M.W.

Also known as Seabreeze, this award-winning custom home, in collaboration with Andrea Burrell Design, has been featured in the Spring 2020 edition of Boulevard Magazine. Our Genoa Bay Custom Home sits on a beautiful oceanfront lot in Maple Bay. The house is positioned high atop a steep slope and involved careful tree clearing and excavation. With three bedrooms and two full bathrooms and a powder room for a total of 2,278 square feet, this well-designed home offers plenty of space. Interior Design was completed by Andrea Burrell Design, and includes many unique features. The hidden pantry and fridge, ship-lap styling, hallway closet for the master bedroom, and reclaimed vanity are all very impressive. But what can’t be beat are the ocean views from the three-tiered deck. Photos By: Luc Cardinal

At this beautiful LEICHT Westchester project, The original design was traditional, with a layout involving many angled corners. The goal was to streamline the design and create a modern and more functional space. We accomplished this first by squaring off all corners, rotating the island and enlarging the main window to add more sunlight and visual balance. In the new design, there is ample pantry space, large pots/pans drawer storage and an appliance garage unit to hide away small items to keep the countertop clutter-free. An open display unit with built-in LED lighting allows the homeowner a place to showcase her beautiful artwork. Finishes- Bondi in Arctic (matt laminate), Topos in Textured Oak Marsh (wood veneer) Countertop- Quartz- Aurea in Divine, Granite- Black Absolute in a leathered finish.

This 1,200 square-foot Provincetown condominium lives large, both functionally and aesthetically, thanks to its recent renovation. The waterfront home, overlooking Cape Cod Bay, is part of an historic grouping of three individual buildings on Commercial Street that have been combined into condominiums. Begun in November 2014 and completed just in time for summer in May 2016, b Architecture Studios and Cape Associates Builders worked with a budget of $366,000 to transform this prosaic dwelling into a stunning light-flooded space—designed to maximize both the living space and the mesmerizing views of the bay. “The space was totally reconfigured,” said project manager Jon Ziperman. “It was a total gut job requiring leveling of floors, straightening of walls, removing a chimney and fireplace that ran up to the above neighbors’ unit.” The renovation also required a complete rewiring and plumbing system that involved wires and pipes that were integrated into the surrounding units. From wall to wall and floor to ceiling, there was nothing that could be salvaged from the original space. One of the most prominent changes was moving the stairway from its original placement, where it originally broke up the living and dining space and blocked views to the bay beyond. The stairway now sits on the opposite side of the condominium. With the stairs tucked to the left side of the living area, the sightline now extends from the entry straight through the living and dining areas to the water. The new design allowed for storage space beneath the stairs, which lead to an airy sleeping loft, and room for a desk niche. A light well, where the former sleeping area was, and new windows bring abundant natural light to the central living area. Innovative features in the entry room include a Murphy bed and sliding glass door separating it from the living area, so that the space can double as a guest room. “The Murphy bed fit in nicely, allowing for a flush wall at the entry/guest room and a desk niche in the adjacent room,” Brown said. “Convincing the client to create the wrap-around chair rail, lined up with the divided lights of the sliding glass door, makes a purposeful connection in a small space.” Neolith countertops in the open kitchen and details like the flush minimal baseboard contribute to the sleek, modern aesthetic, now complemented by the owner’s contemporary furnishings. This complete renovation has rendered this compact home worthy of its beautiful setting.

This is an extensive kitchen/dining remodel that involved the removal of a wall and moving a large support header to the attic. The customer wanted a custom oak desk that covering the entire wall of their home office to match the new kitchen cabinetry, large pantry, and hutch/china cabinet with glass doors. The kitchen includes pullouts for spices and trash, as well as a cookie-sheet cabinet above the double oven. The island has an under-counter space for a large microwave and a stainless steel and glass vent hood for the cooktop. The floors are tiled with a ceramic hard-wood styled tile that is very resilient to drops and spills. All our cabinetry is custom made with 100% true-wood (no MDF of particle board), full-extension heavy-duty pull-out tracks, and European hidden-hinges.

This project involved a full kitchen remodel where the square footage and the locations of previous windows, doors, and kitchen items were changed. The old kitchen and dining room finishes were completely removed and new windows, doors, flooring, custom cabinetry, countertops, paint, appliances, hood, lighting and plumbing fixtures were installed in the kitchen and dining room spaces.

At this beautiful LEICHT Westchester project, The original design was traditional, with a layout involving many angled corners. The goal was to streamline the design and create a modern and more functional space. We accomplished this first by squaring off all corners, rotating the island and enlarging the main window to add more sunlight and visual balance. In the new design, there is ample pantry space, large pots/pans drawer storage and an appliance garage unit to hide away small items to keep the countertop clutter-free. An open display unit with built-in LED lighting allows the homeowner a place to showcase her beautiful artwork. Finishes- Bondi in Arctic (matt laminate), Topos in Textured Oak Marsh (wood veneer) Countertop- Quartz- Aurea in Divine, Granite- Black Absolute in a leathered finish.

At this beautiful LEICHT Westchester project, The original design was traditional, with a layout involving many angled corners. The goal was to streamline the design and create a modern and more functional space. We accomplished this first by squaring off all corners, rotating the island and enlarging the main window to add more sunlight and visual balance. In the new design, there is ample pantry space, large pots/pans drawer storage and an appliance garage unit to hide away small items to keep the countertop clutter-free. An open display unit with built-in LED lighting allows the homeowner a place to showcase her beautiful artwork. Finishes- Bondi in Arctic (matt laminate), Topos in Textured Oak Marsh (wood veneer) Countertop- Quartz- Aurea in Divine, Granite- Black Absolute in a leathered finish.

Custom pave-stones and balustrade, hot rolled wall cladding. Photo: Greg Anderson, Design: Hawkins Architecture
Large urban backyard concrete patio photo in Other with no cover

Carter Fox Renovations was hired to do a complete renovation of this semi-detached home in the Gerrard-Coxwell neighbourhood of Toronto. The main floor was completely gutted and transformed - most of the interior walls and ceilings were removed, a large sliding door installed across the back, and a small powder room added. All the electrical and plumbing was updated and new herringbone hardwood installed throughout. Upstairs, the bathroom was expanded by taking space from the adjoining bedroom. We added a second floor laundry and new hardwood throughout. The walls and ceiling were plaster repaired and painted, avoiding the time, expense and excessive creation of landfill involved in a total demolition. The clients had a very clear picture of what they wanted, and the finished space is very liveable and beautifully showcases their style. Photo: Julie Carter

Entertaining friends and family doesn't work well when rooms are small and closed off. So when our clients decided to remodel, they knew they wanted to open up the space to accommodate large gatherings. Also important were ample storage and quality appliances that would hold up to the demands of cooking creative meals several nights a week. As is sometimes the case with remodeling, solving one problem can create another. Opening up the space involved removing a wall, which sacrificed critical square footage for cabinetry and appliances. We knew the wall needed to come down so we were challenged with making sure every available cabinet space in the kitchen was being utilized as thoughtfully and creatively as possible. A tall pantry was added next to the refrigerator to allow for storage of pots and pans, as well as food, while another pantry in the adjacent dining room housed all dishes and silverware. A small bar area was created in an unused section in the back of the home to store coffee and tea accessories and drinkware. Finally, a small island in the center of the kitchen offered the ideal location for the microwave and most-used pots and pans. With the expanded space, smart use of storage options and top-notch appliances, our clients are enjoying working in their new kitchen and have already hosted a ravioli-making class! Matt Villano Photography

A complete kitchen and powder room remodel in Herndon, Virginia, designed around two clear priorities: open up the kitchen to the rest of the main level, and create an experience that felt warm and timeless rather than trendy. The original layout had a wall separating the kitchen from the dining room and an awkward fridge wall that limited both storage and traffic flow. Our solution involved removing the dividing wall (confirmed non-load-bearing), tightening the new dining room opening to 66 inches, and extending the fridge wall 25 inches into the kitchen to create a proper full-height pantry run. The result is a kitchen that breathes — open to the dining and living areas, with clear sight lines from the island to the bay windows at the far end. Design Approach The clients came in knowing they didn't want white. They didn't want navy. They wanted something with real wood character — the kind of finish that ages well and looks more like furniture than stock kitchen cabinetry. Cherry was the answer to that question. We anchored the room around contrast: warm cherry cabinetry against clean white walls and white quartz, black hardware grounding the cherry's warmth, and a single waterfall island acting as the architectural focal point. Stainless appliances, brushed gold pendant accents, and the herringbone hardwood floor pull the room together without any one element shouting for attention. The Cabinetry Medallion Gold Line Sonoma Cappuccino — a stained cherry finish that catches light differently throughout the day. All-plywood box construction, solid wood doors and drawer fronts, soft close everywhere, US-made with a lifetime warranty. Four pull-out drawers built into the pantry bottoms keep the deep storage actually usable rather than a black hole. Cabinet hardware is Top Knobs Riverside Pulls in flat black — 40 pulls across drawers and doors, plus three longer pulls on the 36-inch base drawers. The black was a deliberate decision: with cherry and stainless already providing warm and cool tones, brass or gold would have been one warm tone too many. Black grounds the cabinetry and gives the kitchen its architectural definition. The Island and Countertops MSI Calacatta Miraggio Gold quartz throughout — perimeter counters, island, waterfall ends, and the powder room. The Gold variant has subtle warm veining that pairs with cherry where cooler whites would have fought the wood tone. The island gets a full waterfall edge — slabs book-matched, miters precise, the finished edge essentially seamless. Treating the island as architectural sculpture rather than just functional storage. The black undermount farmhouse-style sink ties back to the hardware throughout the rest of the kitchen. The Backsplash MSI Metro Gold tile — small format white and gold tiles in a herringbone-adjacent pattern with intermittent gold accents. Full height, continuous behind the floating shelves and behind the hood. Four custom floating shelves are spaced above a 3-inch countertop ledge: first shelf 18 inches above the ledge, second shelf 9 inches above that, third 18 inches above the second. The shelves are stained to match the cabinetry. The backsplash continues behind the shelves and behind the hood, so the wall reads as a continuous textured surface that the shelves and hood float in front of. The Appliances This is a serious cooking kitchen. The clients chose a 48-inch Wolf gas range, a Sub-Zero built-in refrigerator integrated into the cherry cabinet wall, a Wolf microwave drawer in the island base, and a Bosch dishwasher. For ventilation, we installed a 1200 CFM hood paired with a make-up air system to balance the negative pressure that hood pulls. New ducting was routed through the exterior siding on the side of the house. The Flooring MSI engineered hardwood throughout the entire main level — approximately 800 square feet — installed in a Bramlett herringbone pattern. Herringbone adds roughly 15-20 percent to material and labor costs because of the angled cuts and waste factor, but the result is a floor that reads as more considered and luxurious than standard plank flooring. Finished with 4.5-inch white wood baseboards throughout. The Powder Room A small room with a big personality. The clients chose a deep blue and teal scallop pattern wallpaper (client-supplied, we installed) and paired it with the same Sonoma Cappuccino cherry vanity used in the kitchen — material continuity between the spaces. Powder room countertop is the same MSI Calacatta Miraggio Gold quartz from the kitchen with a rectangular white undermount sink. Hardware on the powder room vanity is Top Knobs Riverside in honey bronze rather than the kitchen's flat black — the warm bronze pulls the brass tones from the faucet into the millwork and complements the wallpaper. New sconce, kept the existing toilet (refinishing or replacing a working toilet is wasted money in a powder room remodel), and a Panasonic Whisper Green exhaust fan. Project Specs Location: Herndon, Virginia Project type: Combined kitchen and powder room remodel Project duration: Approximately 4 to 6 weeks Style: Transitional, Modern Farmhouse, Warm Wood Contemporary Color palette: Cherry, white, black, brushed gold, deep blue (powder room) Materials Cabinetry (kitchen and powder room): Medallion Gold Line Sonoma Cappuccino cherry, Shaker-style, all-plywood box construction, lifetime warranty Kitchen hardware: Top Knobs Riverside Pulls in flat black (TK1014BLK and TK1017BLK) Powder room hardware: Top Knobs Riverside Pulls in honey bronze (TK1012HB) Counter tops: MSI Calacatta Miraggio Gold Quartz, pencil edge, waterfall island Backsplash: MSI Metro Gold tile, full height Floating shelves: 4 custom shelves at 48" by 9", stained to match cabinets Range: 48-inch Wolf gas range Refrigerator: Sub-Zero built-in Microwave: Wolf microwave drawer (island base) Hood: 1200 CFM with make-up air system Kitchen sink: Kohler farmhouse-style, 36-inch base, black Kitchen faucet: Brizo (homeowner-supplied) Flooring: MSI engineered hardwood in Bramlett herringbone pattern, approximately 800 sq ft Baseboards: 4.5-inch white wood throughout Powder room wallpaper: Client-supplied scallop pattern in blues and teals Powder room exhaust fan: Panasonic Whisper Green Paint: Benjamin Moore Designed and built by My Kitchen and Bath out of our Herndon showroom at 285 Sunset Park Drive. We've been designing and building kitchens, bathrooms, and full home renovations across Northern Virginia and the DMV since 1994.

At this beautiful LEICHT Westchester project, The original design was traditional, with a layout involving many angled corners. The goal was to streamline the design and create a modern and more functional space. We accomplished this first by squaring off all corners, rotating the island and enlarging the main window to add more sunlight and visual balance. In the new design, there is ample pantry space, large pots/pans drawer storage and an appliance garage unit to hide away small items to keep the countertop clutter-free. An open display unit with built-in LED lighting allows the homeowner a place to showcase her beautiful artwork. Finishes- Bondi in Arctic (matt laminate), Topos in Textured Oak Marsh (wood veneer) Countertop- Quartz- Aurea in Divine, Granite- Black Absolute in a leathered finish.

This is an extensive kitchen/dining remodel that involved the removal of a wall and moving a large support header to the attic. The customer wanted a custom oak desk that covering the entire wall of their home office to match the new kitchen cabinetry, large pantry, and hutch/china cabinet with glass doors. The kitchen includes pullouts for spices and trash, as well as a cookie-sheet cabinet above the double oven. The island has an under-counter space for a large microwave and a stainless steel and glass vent hood for the cooktop. The floors are tiled with a ceramic hard-wood styled tile that is very resilient to drops and spills. All our cabinetry is custom made with 100% true-wood (no MDF of particle board), full-extension heavy-duty pull-out tracks, and European hidden-hinges.

Also known as Seabreeze, this award-winning custom home, in collaboration with Andrea Burrell Design, has been featured in the Spring 2020 edition of Boulevard Magazine. Our Genoa Bay Custom Home sits on a beautiful oceanfront lot in Maple Bay. The house is positioned high atop a steep slope and involved careful tree clearing and excavation. With three bedrooms and two full bathrooms and a powder room for a total of 2,278 square feet, this well-designed home offers plenty of space. Interior Design was completed by Andrea Burrell Design, and includes many unique features. The hidden pantry and fridge, ship-lap styling, hallway closet for the master bedroom, and reclaimed vanity are all very impressive. But what can’t be beat are the ocean views from the three-tiered deck. Photos By: Luc Cardinal

This Kirkland, WA deck resurfacing and repair project involved extensive structural upgrades and a complete transformation of the deck's appearance while preserving the existing framework where possible. The scope included removing an aging hot tub, demolishing an existing half wall, and replacing it with a modern aluminum cable railing system to improve views and safety. Areas of siding affected by the half wall were repaired and restored to create a clean, finished appearance. Due to moisture-related wear, 12 deck joists and their hangers were replaced as part of the structural rehabilitation. The deck, which features approximately 300 square feet of elevated surface reaching nearly 16 feet above grade, required careful material handling and installation due to steep terrain and limited side-yard access. The existing decking was replaced with premium TimberTech Terrain composite decking in Vintage Weathered Teak, creating a low-maintenance outdoor living space with the warmth and character of natural wood. New picture-framed borders and finishing details enhanced the overall appearance, while strategic fascia installation was completed on visible interior step-down areas. The result is a safer, stronger, and more visually appealing deck that maximizes the property's views while providing years of low-maintenance performance.

Transitional kitchen photo in Los Angeles

Entertaining friends and family doesn't work well when rooms are small and closed off. So when our clients decided to remodel, they knew they wanted to open up the space to accommodate large gatherings. Also important were ample storage and quality appliances that would hold up to the demands of cooking creative meals several nights a week. As is sometimes the case with remodeling, solving one problem can create another. Opening up the space involved removing a wall, which sacrificed critical square footage for cabinetry and appliances. We knew the wall needed to come down so we were challenged with making sure every available cabinet space in the kitchen was being utilized as thoughtfully and creatively as possible. A tall pantry was added next to the refrigerator to allow for storage of pots and pans, as well as food, while another pantry in the adjacent dining room housed all dishes and silverware. A small bar area was created in an unused section in the back of the home to store coffee and tea accessories and drinkware. Finally, a small island in the center of the kitchen offered the ideal location for the microwave and most-used pots and pans. With the expanded space, smart use of storage options and top-notch appliances, our clients are enjoying working in their new kitchen and have already hosted a ravioli-making class! Matt Villano Photography