(c) Stephen Dunn Photography
Photo of a tropical landscaping in Miami.

Design ideas for a mid-sized transitional full sun backyard stone formal garden in New York for summer.

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

Classic Cobble: Gray Charcoal
Design ideas for a mediterranean full sun front yard stone driveway in San Francisco.

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

Vicenza Grigio Limestone
Patio - large coastal backyard concrete paver patio idea with no cover

Photo of a mid-sized rustic partial sun backyard mulch outdoor playset.

The fact that this home is in a development called Providence now seems perfectly fitting. Chris, the owner, was merely considering the possibility of downsizing from a formal residence outside Atlanta when he happened on the small complex of luxury brownstones under construction in nearby Roswell. “I wandered into The Providence by chance and loved what I saw. The developer, his wife, and the agent were there and discussing how Cantoni was going to finish out one of the units, and so we all started talking,” Chris explains “They asked if I wanted to meet with the designer from Cantoni, and suggested I could customize the home as I saw fit, and that did it for me. I was sold.” Cantoni was originally approached by Mike and Joy Walsh, of Lehigh Homes, to create a contemporary model home to be featured on the Roswell Woman’s Club home tour. “Since Chris bought the brownstone right after we agreed to do the design work,” Lorna Hunter recalls, “we brought him in on the meetings with the architects to help finalize the layout.” From selecting tile and counter tops, to designing the kitchen and baths, to the furniture, art and even linens—Cantoni was involved with every phase of the project. “This home really represents the complete range of design and staging services we offer at Cantoni,” says Lorna. “Rooms were reconfigured to allow for changes Chris found appealing, and every tile and doorknob was thoughtfully chosen to complete the overall look.” Chris found an easy rapport with Lorna. “I have always been drawn to contemporary décor,” he explains, “ so Lorna and I hit it off immediately.” Among the custom design ideas the two conceived for the 2,600 sq. ft. 3/3 brownstone: creating a “wing wall” (open on both sides) to form a sitting area adjacent to the guest room downstairs, removing the elevator to enhance a sense of openness while leaving the 3-story shaft as a unique focal point, and choosing to expand the height of windows on the third level to maximize the flow of natural light. The Providence is ideally located near quaint shops, great restaurants, jogging trails and a scenic river—not to mention it’s just four miles from Chris’ office. The project represents the breadth and depth of Cantoni’s in-house creative resources, and proves again that GREAT DESIGN IS A WAY OF LIFE.

Hudson Construction introduces the new standard for luxury single-family living. With a price tag of $1.8 million per side, these custom two-story duplexes located in the Northern Heights neighborhood continue to sell before hitting the market. From the custom wine racks, marble fireplace, waterfall edge countertops, and state-of-the-art appliances to lighting, paneled walls, and finish-out, no detail was left unturned. These homes are truly a conversation piece and have their own personality, making new buyers continue to push record prices for new construction in this area. The engaging, open floor plan is perfect for entertaining and even includes an outdoor kitchen fully equipped with warming drawers. Wren Homsey, The Wrenovator, used her design expertise to bring function, form, and beauty to create this out-of-the-box vision to the property with her attention to detail. The second story primary bedroom features open sliding doors to the extended, spacious balcony, perfect for enjoying the sunrise with coffee or relaxing with a glass of wine while watching the sunset in the evening. Thoughtfully designed by MGooden and masterfully built with Hudson, this home takes living to a new level of enjoyment. This standout luxury home has 3 beds, 3.1 baths, 2 outdoor areas, and is 3,000 – 3,750 sqft. These luxury duplexes are located in the tranquil and walkable streets in the desirable and vibrant community near the Knox District. Close to boutique stores, trendy restaurants, up-scale services, and the Katy Trail, which invites miles of walking, jogging, and biking activities for the heart and soul. When you combine quality, location, and innovation, you truly have something special, and if you image it, Hudson can build it!

The staircase includes an oversize picture window on the landing that floods the space with natural light and frames the gorgeous trees outside. Photographer: Tyler Chartier

Design ideas for a mid-sized tropical partial sun side yard stone driveway in Hawaii.

This is a lifestyle with something for everyone! Bike to the pool or to Mellow Mushroom for a slice of pizza! The new state of the art YMCA is inside the community. New Library and “A” rated schools are a walk or a bike ride away. It’s amazing to see, hundreds of students riding bikes and walking to school everyday. It’s like a Norman Rockwell village. Relocating here myself several years ago all this was very new to me. I felt like I was moving into a Disney like neighborhood. The truth is we did! Activities are planned on a weekly basis by the amenity staff for all ages year round. It makes it so easy to meet new people. There are 3 pools that include a family pool, lap pool and a tower slide pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball and more. There are miles of bike and jogging trails along with shaded park benches for those quiet moments. Close to shopping and restaurants there is something for everyone on Fleming Island! Living here ourselves we would be happy to answer all of your questions. We look forward to helping you in anyway we can. Call us today we are waiting to hear from you! 904-334-7426

Mature Eastern Red Cedars that have matured into a large privacy screen. Photographed in Frisco, Texas.
Inspiration for a traditional landscaping in Dallas.

Example of a mid-sized transitional dark wood floor and brown floor double front door design in Austin with gray walls and a black front door

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.

Hosta, Hackonechloa macra 'Aureola' and cimicifuga in shade
This is an example of a traditional landscaping in New York.

The fruit of the Adams crabapple stay on the trees throughout the winter months. Neil Landino
Inspiration for a mid-sized farmhouse full sun hillside landscaping in New York for summer.