The client wanted to change their partially finished basement from an indoor play area for their children and pets to a club like atmosphere where they could entertain in the winter months, enjoy watching sports and share their favorite hobby, tasting wine. The design was realized by integrating a natural jog in the exterior wall which provided the perfect spot to recess the back-bar area, a television and lighted shelves to display liquor. The lighted shelving creates a cool illumination which adds to the club vibe. Tall illuminated glass door cabinets display glasses and bar ware. Under the counter you will find a dishwasher, sink, ice maker and liquor storage. The front bar contains an undercounter refrigerator, built in garbage/ recycle center and more custom storage for cases of beer, soda and mixers. A raised waterfall countertop has seating for six. High top tables add to the club feel and can be combined for communal style tastings. For the client’s extensive wine collection, a walk-in wine cellar anchors the bar. Glass panels showcase the bottles and illuminate the space with soft dramatic lighting. Extra high ceiling heights allowed for a dropped soffit around the bar for recessed lighting and created a tray ceiling to highlight the custom chrome and crystal light fixture

Falling Water is a glazed porcelain collection imported from Italy displaying an unusual shade formation of grey, beige, and white tones to resemble petrified wood and rushing water. Falling Water is designed using digital ink jet technology allowing for a wider variation and enhanced precision of each porcelain tile. Available in four captivating colors and two contemporary formats. Images show Falling Water tile in the color Niagara in the size 6x36. Rated for both floor and wall use in all residential and light commercial spaces. Photo Credit: Lindsey DiFlorio for Best Tile

Inspiration for a contemporary landscaping in Houston.

Infinity pool with outdoor living room, cabana, and two in-pool fountains and firebowls. Signature Estate featuring modern, warm, and clean-line design, with total custom details and finishes. The front includes a serene and impressive atrium foyer with two-story floor to ceiling glass walls and multi-level fire/water fountains on either side of the grand bronze aluminum pivot entry door. Elegant extra-large 47'' imported white porcelain tile runs seamlessly to the rear exterior pool deck, and a dark stained oak wood is found on the stairway treads and second floor. The great room has an incredible Neolith onyx wall and see-through linear gas fireplace and is appointed perfectly for views of the zero edge pool and waterway. The center spine stainless steel staircase has a smoked glass railing and wood handrail. Photo courtesy Royal Palm Properties

Kitchen - rustic kitchen idea in Salt Lake City

Inspiration for a timeless exterior home remodel in Boston

The owners of this kitchen had spent the money to upgrade the finishes in their kitchen upon building the home 12 years ago, but after living in the space for several years they realized how nonfunctional the layout really was. The (then) two preschool aged children had grown into busy, hungry teenagers with many friends who also liked to hang out at the house. So the family needed a more functional kitchen with better traffic flow, space for daily activities revolving around the kitchen at different times of day, and a kitchen that could accommodate cooking for and serving large groups. Furthermore, the dark, traditional finishes no longer reflected the homeowners’ style. They requested a brighter, more relaxed, coastal style that reflected their love of the seaside cities they like to visit. Originally, the kitchen was U-shaped with a narrow island in the middle. The island created narrow aisles that bottle-necked at the dishwasher, refrigerator, and cooktop areas. There was a pass-through from the foyer into the kitchen, but the owners never liked that the pass-through was also located so close to the powder room. The awkward proximity was unappealing and made guests feel uncomfortable. The kitchen’s storage was made up of lots of narrow cabinets, apothecary drawers, clipped corner units, and very few drawers. It lacked useful storage for the larger items the family used on a daily basis. And the kitchen’s only pantry was small closet that had only builder-grade, narrow shelving with no illumination to be able to see the contents inside. Overall, the kitchen’s lighting plan was poorly executed. Only six recessed cans illuminated the entire kitchen and nook areas. The under cabinet lighting was not evenly distributed either. In fact, the builder had mis-placed the under cabinet lighting around the decorative pilasters which made for choppy, dark cubbies. Further, the builder didn’t include any lighting over the sink or the bar area, which meant whoever was doing the dishes was always in their own shadow. That, coupled with the steep overhang of the game room above made the bar area feel like a dim, cavernous space that wasn’t inviting or task oriented. The kitchen looked out into the main living space, but the raised bar and a narrow wall (which held the only large cabinet in the kitchen) created more of a barrier than a relationship to the living room or breakfast nook. In fact, one couldn’t even see the breakfast nook from the cooktop or sink areas due to its orientation. The raised bar top was too narrow to comfortably sit to either dine at or chat from due to the lack of knee space. The the homeowners confided that the kitchen felt more like a dark, dirty prison than place where the family, or their guests, wanted to gather and commune. The clients' needs and desires were: ➢ to create a kitchen that would be a space the family loved to be in; to relate to the adjacent spaces all around, and to have better flow for entertaining large groups ➢ to remove the walls between the breakfast nook and living area and to be able to utilize the natural light from the windows in both those areas ➢ to incorporate a functional chopping block for prepping fresh food for home cooked meals, an island with a large sink and drain board, 2 pull out trash cans, and seating for at least the 2 teens to eat or do homework ➢ to design a kitchen and breakfast nook with an airy, coastal, relaxed vibe that blended with the rest of the house's coastal theme ➢ to integrate a layered lighting plan which would include ample general illumination, specific task lighting, decorative lighting, and lots of illuminated storage ➢ to design a kitchen with not only more storage for all the husband’s kitchen gadgets and collection of oils and spices, but smart storage, including a coffee/breakfast bar and a place to store and conceal the toaster oven and microwave ➢ to find a way to utilize the large open space between the kitchen, pantry area, and breakfast nook Twelve Stones Designs achieved the owner's goals by: ➢ removing the walls between the kitchen and living room to allow the natural light to filter in from the adjacent rooms and to create a connection between the kitchen, nook, and living spaces for a sense of unity and communion ➢ removing the existing pantry and designing 3 large pantry style cabinets with LED tape lights and rollout drawers to house lots of kitchen appliances, gadgets, and tons of groceries. We also took the cabinets all the way up to the 9’ ceiling for additional storage for seasonal items and bulk storage. ➢ designing 2 islands - 1 with a gorgeous black walnut chopping block that houses a drawer for chopping and carving knives and a custom double pull out trash unit for point of use utilization - and 1 that houses the dishwasher, a large Blanco Gourmet sink with integrated drain board, woven baskets for fresh root vegetables and kitchen towels, plenty of drawer storage for kitchen items, and bar seating for up to 4 diners. ➢ closing off the space between the kitchen and the powder room to create a beautiful new private alcove for the powder room as well as adding some decorative storage. This also gave us space to include more tall storage near the new range for precision placement of the husband’s extensive oil and spice collection as well as a location for a combo-steam oven the wife wanted for baking and cooking healthy meals. The project is enhanced functionally by: ➢ incorporated USB and standard receptacles for the kids’ laptops and phone charging in the large island ➢ designing the small island to include additional open shelving for items used on a daily basis such as a variety of bowls, plates, and colanders. This set up also works well for the husband who prefers to “plate” his dinners in restaurant-style fashion before presenting them to the table. ➢ the integration of specific storage units, such as double stacked cutlery drawers, a custom spice pull-out, a Kuerig coffee and tea pod drawer, and custom double stacked utensil drawers ➢ moving the refrigerator to the old oven location - this eliminated the bottle neck as well as created a better relationship to the eating table. It also utilizes the floor space between the pantry, nook, and kitchen ➢ creating a banquet style breakfast nook - this banquette seating not only doubles the amount of seating for large gatherings but it better utilizes the odd space between the kitchen and the previous nook area. It also helps to create a distinct pathway from the mudroom room through the pantry area, kitchen, nook, and living room. ➢ the coffee/breakfast bar area which includes the perfect location for the concealed microwave and toaster oven, convenient storage for the coffee pods and tea accoutrements. Roll-out drawers below also house the smoothie maker, hot water kettle, and a plethora of smoothie-making ingredients such as protein powders, smoothie additives, etc. Furthermore, the drawers below the Keurig house measuring utensil, cutlery, baking supplies and tupperware storage. ➢ incorporating lots of wide drawers and pullouts to accommodate large cookware. ➢ utilizing as much vertical space as possible by building storage to the ceiling which accommodates the family’s abundant amount of serving platters, baking sheets, bakeware, casserole dishes, and additional cutting boards. The project is enhanced aesthetically by: ➢ new 5-piece Versailles pattern porcelain tile that now seamlessly joins the entire down stairs area together creating a bright, cohesiveness feeling instead of choppy separated spaces - it also adds a coastal feeling ➢ designing a cabinet to conceal the microwave and toaster oven ➢ the coastal influenced light fixtures over the nook table and island ➢ the sandy colors of the Langdon Cambria countertops. The swirling pattern and sparkling quartz pieces remind the homeowner of black-and-tan sandy beaches ➢ the striped banquet seating whose creamy white background and blue-green stripes were the inspiration for the cabinet and wall colors. ➢ All the interior doors were painted black to coordinate with the blacks and grays in the backsplash tile and countertop. This also adds a hint of tailored formality to an otherwise casual space. ➢ the use of WAC's Oculux small aperture LED units for the overhead lighting complimented with Diode LED strips for task lighting under the cabinets and inside the pantry and glass wall cabinets. All of the lighting applications are on separate dimmer switches. Innovative uses of materials or construction methods by Realty Restoration LLC: ➢ Each 1-1/2” x 3” block of reclaimed end-grain black walnut that makes up the center island chopping block was hand milled and built in the shop. It was designed to look substantial and proportional to the surrounding elements, executed by creating the 4 inch tall top with a solid wood chamfered edge band. ➢ The metal doors on either side of the vent hood were also custom designed for this project and built in the Realty Restoration LLC shop. They are made 1x2, 11-gauge mild steel with ribbed glass. Weighing 60 lbs a piece, heavy duty cabinet hinges were added to support the weight of the door and keep them from sagging. ➢ Under-cabinet receptacles were added along the range wall in order to have a clean, uninterrupted backsplash. Design obstacles to overcome: ➢ Because we were removing the demising walls between the kitchen and living room, we had to find a way to plumb and vent the new island. We did this by tunneling through the slab (the slab had post tension cables which prevented us from just trenching) to run a new wet vent through a nearby structural wall. We pulled the existing hot and cold lines between upper floor joists and ran them down the structural wall as well and up through a conduit in the tunnel. ➢ Since we were converting from wall overs to a gas range it allowed us to utilize the 220 feed for the wall ovens to provide a new sub panel for all the new kitchen circuits ➢ Due to framing deficiencies inherited from the original build there was a 1-1/2” differential in the floor-to-ceiling height over a 20 foot span; by utilizing the process of cutting and furring coupled with the crown moulding details on the cabinet elevations we were able to mask the problem and provide seamless transitions between the cabinet components. Evidence of superior craftsmanship: ➢ uniquely designed, one-of-a-kind metal “X” end panels on the large island. The end panels were custom made in the Realty Restoration LLC shop and fitted to the exact dimensions of the island. The welding seams are completely indistinguishable - the posts look like they are cut from a single sheet of metal ➢ square metal posts on the small island were also custom made and designed to compliment and carry through the metal element s throughout the kitchen ➢ the beautiful, oversized end panels on the pantry cabinets which give the breakfast nook a tailored look ➢ integrating a large format 5 piece Versailles tile pattern to seamlessly flow from the existing spaces into the new kitchen space ➢ By constructing a custom cabinet that jogged around a corner we could not remodel (housing the entry way coat closet) we were able to camouflage the adjacent wall offset within the upper and lower cabinets. By designing around the existing jog in the structural walls we accomplished a few things: we were able to find the space to house, and hide, the microwave and toaster oven yet still have a clean cohesive appearance from the kitchen side. Additionally, the owners were able to keep their much needed coat closet and we didn’t have to increase the budget with unnecessary structural work.

The site descends from the street and is privileged with dynamic natural views toward a creek below and beyond. To incorporate the existing landscape into the daily life of the residents, the house steps down to the natural topography. A continuous and jogging retaining wall from outside to inside embeds the structure below natural grade at the front with flush transitions at its rear facade. All indoor spaces open up to a central courtyard which terraces down to the tree canopy, creating a readily visible and occupiable transitional space between man-made and nature. The courtyard scheme is simplified by two wings representing common and private zones - connected by a glass dining “bridge." This transparent volume also visually connects the front yard to the courtyard, clearing for the prospect view, while maintaining a subdued street presence. The staircase acts as a vertical “knuckle,” mediating shifting wing angles while contrasting the predominant horizontality of the house. Crips materiality and detailing, deep roof overhangs, and the one-and-half story wall at the rear further enhance the connection between outdoors and indoors, providing nuanced natural lighting throughout and a meaningful framed procession through the property. Photography Charles Davis Smith

Large modern multicolored two-story mixed siding flat roof idea in Vancouver with a mixed material roof and a gray roof

Falling Water is a glazed porcelain collection imported from Italy displaying an unusual shade formation of grey, beige, and white tones to resemble petrified wood and rushing water. Falling Water is designed using digital ink jet technology allowing for a wider variation and enhanced precision of each porcelain tile. Available in four captivating colors and two contemporary formats. Images show Falling Water tile in the color Niagara in the size 6x36. Rated for both floor and wall use in all residential and light commercial spaces. Photo Credit: Lindsey DiFlorio for Best Tile

MBW Designs Contemporary Dining Room New dining area incorporated into long living room to make space more functional and multi-purpose. Photo by Simply Arlie

The client wanted to change their partially finished basement from an indoor play area for their children and pets to a club like atmosphere where they could entertain in the winter months, enjoy watching sports and share their favorite hobby, tasting wine. The design was realized by integrating a natural jog in the exterior wall which provided the perfect spot to recess the back-bar area, a television and lighted shelves to display liquor. The lighted shelving creates a cool illumination which adds to the club vibe. Tall illuminated glass door cabinets display glasses and bar ware. Under the counter you will find a dishwasher, sink, ice maker and liquor storage. The front bar contains an undercounter refrigerator, built in garbage/ recycle center and more custom storage for cases of beer, soda and mixers. A raised waterfall countertop has seating for six. High top tables add to the club feel and can be combined for communal style tastings. For the client’s extensive wine collection, a walk-in wine cellar anchors the bar. Glass panels showcase the bottles and illuminate the space with soft dramatic lighting. Extra high ceiling heights allowed for a dropped soffit around the bar for recessed lighting and created a tray ceiling to highlight the custom chrome and crystal light fixture

Along the side passage a string of tropical flowering plant in the family Zingiberaceae (Gingres Pink and red); H. Densifora Fireflash.
Photo of a mid-sized tropical full sun front yard stone garden path for summer.

Alcove shower - small contemporary master white tile and ceramic tile ceramic tile alcove shower idea in Ottawa with recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, blue walls, an undermount sink and marble countertops

HOBI Award 2014 - Winner - Best Custom Home 12,000- 14,000 sf Charles Hilton Architects Woodruff/Brown Architectural Photography
Example of a transitional gray three-story stone gable roof design in New York

A view of the breakfast area and family room from the kitchen. The counters are Blanco Talum granite with a 1/2” bevel.
Open concept kitchen - large traditional l-shaped dark wood floor open concept kitchen idea with white cabinets, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and an island

gut renovation, new dyed ebony hardwood floors, Benjamin Moore super white walls, custom floating wood shelves to match flooring, nest smoke/carbon monoxide detector

The client wanted to change their partially finished basement from an indoor play area for their children and pets to a club like atmosphere where they could entertain in the winter months, enjoy watching sports and share their favorite hobby, tasting wine. The design was realized by integrating a natural jog in the exterior wall which provided the perfect spot to recess the back-bar area, a television and lighted shelves to display liquor. The lighted shelving creates a cool illumination which adds to the club vibe. Tall illuminated glass door cabinets display glasses and bar ware. Under the counter you will find a dishwasher, sink, ice maker and liquor storage. The front bar contains an undercounter refrigerator, built in garbage/ recycle center and more custom storage for cases of beer, soda and mixers. A raised waterfall countertop has seating for six. High top tables add to the club feel and can be combined for communal style tastings. For the client’s extensive wine collection, a walk-in wine cellar anchors the bar. Glass panels showcase the bottles and illuminate the space with soft dramatic lighting. Extra high ceiling heights allowed for a dropped soffit around the bar for recessed lighting and created a tray ceiling to highlight the custom chrome and crystal light fixture

This is an example of a mid-sized asian partial sun backyard concrete paver formal garden in San Francisco.