The wine bar is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Raccoon Fur, and that gold tile backsplash is a knock-out! Photo by James Northen
Inspiration for a large transitional home design remodel in Miami

This custom home is nestled between Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. The project consisted of knocking down a large part of the original structure and building a new 3000sf wing and then joining the two together. A durable hand split Cedar shingle exterior combined with many architectural trim details made for a stunning and durable envelope. 
 The noteworthy interior details included reclaimed barn board on the walls, custom cabinetry and builtins, a locally fabricated metal staircase railing, with the clients home mountain resort (Mad River Glen) banner incorporated in the balustrade system. The home combined with the beautiful landscaping, pond, and mountain views make for an amazing sanctuary for our clients to retreat too in both the winter and summer seasons.

Sean Dooley Photography
Eat-in kitchen - small transitional galley laminate floor eat-in kitchen idea in Philadelphia with an undermount sink, white cabinets, granite countertops, multicolored backsplash and stainless steel appliances

This project created a great outdoor living space that had been previously unusable. This ranch style farm house was in a valley that had a lot of sun and the wind would blow every afternoon. We installed our solar white cover to knock down the heat of the afternoon sun and the wind wall created a great place to peacefully relax and dine. The dogs love it too. Photo by Doug Woodside, Decks and Patio Covers

Architect: Sullivan, Henry, Oggero; Interior Designer: Julie Dodson; Photographer: Steve Chenn
Dining room - transitional dining room idea in Houston

Kids' room - coastal kids' room idea in Nashville

These homeowners told us they were so in love with some of the details in our Springbank Hill renovation that they wanted to see a couple of them in their own home - so we obliged! It was an honour to know that we nailed the design on the original so perfectly that another family would want to bring a similar version of it into their own home. In the kitchen, we knocked out the triangular island and the pantry to make way for a better layout with even more storage space for this young family. A fresh laundry room with ample cabinetry and a serene ensuite with a show-stopping black tub also brought a new look to what was once a dark and dated builder grade home. Designer: Susan DeRidder of Live Well Interiors Inc.

R.B. Schwarz's client asked for a butcher block in counter for food prep. The Tiffany-style sconces are like jewelry for the wall. The carpenter knocked out wall to increase the window opening from 1 to 3 windows. Photo credit: Marc Golub

This 1910 West Highlands home was so compartmentalized that you couldn't help to notice you were constantly entering a new room every 8-10 feet. There was also a 500 SF addition put on the back of the home to accommodate a living room, 3/4 bath, laundry room and back foyer - 350 SF of that was for the living room. Needless to say, the house needed to be gutted and replanned. Kitchen+Dining+Laundry-Like most of these early 1900's homes, the kitchen was not the heartbeat of the home like they are today. This kitchen was tucked away in the back and smaller than any other social rooms in the house. We knocked out the walls of the dining room to expand and created an open floor plan suitable for any type of gathering. As a nod to the history of the home, we used butcherblock for all the countertops and shelving which was accented by tones of brass, dusty blues and light-warm greys. This room had no storage before so creating ample storage and a variety of storage types was a critical ask for the client. One of my favorite details is the blue crown that draws from one end of the space to the other, accenting a ceiling that was otherwise forgotten. Primary Bath-This did not exist prior to the remodel and the client wanted a more neutral space with strong visual details. We split the walls in half with a datum line that transitions from penny gap molding to the tile in the shower. To provide some more visual drama, we did a chevron tile arrangement on the floor, gridded the shower enclosure for some deep contrast an array of brass and quartz to elevate the finishes. Powder Bath-This is always a fun place to let your vision get out of the box a bit. All the elements were familiar to the space but modernized and more playful. The floor has a wood look tile in a herringbone arrangement, a navy vanity, gold fixtures that are all servants to the star of the room - the blue and white deco wall tile behind the vanity. Full Bath-This was a quirky little bathroom that you'd always keep the door closed when guests are over. Now we have brought the blue tones into the space and accented it with bronze fixtures and a playful southwestern floor tile. Living Room & Office-This room was too big for its own good and now serves multiple purposes. We condensed the space to provide a living area for the whole family plus other guests and left enough room to explain the space with floor cushions. The office was a bonus to the project as it provided privacy to a room that otherwise had none before.

This markedly modern, yet warm and inviting abode in the Oklahoma countryside boasts some of our favorite kitchen items all in one place. Miele appliances (oven, steam, coffee maker, paneled refrigerator, freezer, and "knock to open" dishwasher), induction cooking on an island, a highly functional Galley Workstation and the latest technology in cabinetry and countertop finishes to last a lifetime. Grain matched natural walnut and matte nanotech touch-to-open white and grey cabinets provide a natural color palette that allows the interior of this home to blend beautifully with the prairie and pastures seen through the large commercial windows on both sides of this kitchen & living great room. Cambria quartz countertops in Brittanica formed with a waterfall edge give a natural random pattern against the square lines of the rest of the kitchen. David Cobb photography

Houston Interior Designer Lisha Maxey took this Museum District condo from the dated, mirrored walls of the 1980s to Mid Century Modern with a gallery look featuring the client’s art collection. The place was covered with glued-down, floor-to-ceiling mirrors,” says Lisha Maxey, senior designer for Homescapes of Houston and principal at LGH Design Services in Houston. “When we took them off the walls, the walls came apart. We ended up taking them down to the studs." The makeover took six months to complete, primarily because of strict condo association rules that only gave the Houston interior designers very limited access to the elevator – through which all materials and team members had to go. “Monday through Friday, we could only be noisy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and if we had to do something extra loud, like sawing or drilling, we had to schedule it with the management and they had to communicate that to the condo owners. So it was just a lot of coordination. But a lot of Inner City Loopers live in these kinds of buildings, so we’re used to handling that kind of thing.” The client, a child psychiatrist in her 60s, recently moved to Houston from northeast Texas to be with friends. After being widowed three years ago, she decided it was time to let go of the traditionally styled estate that wasn’t really her style anyway. An avid diver who has traveled around the world to pursue her passion, she has amassed a large collection of art from her travels. Downsizing to 1,600 feet and wanting to go more contemporary, she wanted the display – and the look – more streamlined. “She wanted clean lines and muted colors, with the main focus being her artwork,” says Maxey. “So we made the space a palette for that.” Enter the white, gallery-grade paint she chose for the walls: “It’s halfway between satin and flat,” explains Maxey. “It’s not glossy and it’s not chalky – just very smooth and clean." Adding to the gallery theme is the satin nickel track lighting with lamps aimed to highlight pieces of art. “This lighting has no wires,” notes Maxey. “It’s powered by a positive and negative conduit.” The new flooring throughout is a blended-grey porcelain tile that looks like wood planks. “It’s gorgeous, natural-looking and combines all the beauty of wood with the durability of tile,” says Maxey. “We used it throughout the condo to unify the space.” After Maxey started looking at the client’s bright, vibrant, colorful artwork, she felt the palette couldn’t stay as muted anymore. Hence the Mid Century Modern orange leather sofas from West Elm and bright green chairs from Joybird, plus the throw pillows in different textures, patterns and shades of gold, orange and green. The concave lines of the Danish-inspired chairs, she notes, help them look beautiful from all the way around – a key to designing spaces for loft living. “The table in the living room is very interesting,” notes Maxey. “It was handmade for the client in 1974 and has a signature on it from the artist. She was adamant about including the piece, which has all these hand-painted black-and-white art tiles on the top. I took one look at it and said ‘It’s not really going to go.’” However, after cutting 6 inches off the bottom and making it look a little distressed, the table ended up being the perfect complement to the sofas. The dining room table – from Design Within Reach – is a solid piece of mahogany, the chair upholstery a mix of grey velvet and leather and the legs a shiny brass. “The side chairs are leather and the end ones are velvet,” says Maxey. “It’s a nice textural mix that lends depth and texture.”The galley kitchen, meanwhile, has been lightened and brightened, with new, white contemporary cabinetry, quartz countertops mimicking the look of Carrara marble, stainless steel appliances and a velvet green bench seat for a punch of color.The two bathrooms have been updated with contemporary white vanities and vessel sinks and the master bath now features a walk-in shower tiled in Dolomite white marble (the floor is Bianco Carrara marble mosaic, done in a herringbone pattern).In the master bedroom, Homescapes of Houston knocked down a wall between two smaller closets with swing doors to make one large walk-in closet with pocket doors. The closet in the guest bedroom also came out 13 more inches.The client’s artwork throughout personalizes the space and tells the story of a life. There’s a huge bowl of shells from the client’s diving adventures, framed art from her child psychiatry patients and a 16th century wood carving from a monastery that’s been in her family forever. “Her collection is quite impressive,” says Maxey. “There’s even a framed piece of autographed songs written by John Lennon.” (You can see this black-framed piece of art on the wall in the photo above of two green chairs). “We’re extremely happy with how the project turned out, and so is the client,” says Maxey. “No expense was spared for her. It was a labor of love and we were excited to do it.”

After photo of Kitchen/Great Room Renovation. The kitchen with the blue cabinets and the paneled room with the fireplace are the before pictures. We knocked out a wall between the kitchen and the paneled great room to make one open space.

Grays add a softness to the design, whether as a primary color, shown in the kitchen here, or as a secondary color, often on an island. Gray is the perfect fit for the growing trend of Transitional design. The washed look and character of Peppercorn cherry paired with our Boardwalk door style creates a naturally calm and simple space. Designing with consistent horizontal sight lines, linear crown and a blended color palette are a few of the key elements to create a Transitional haven. Pairing gray toned finishes, such as stain and paint, allows you to showcase multiple textures and values for creating depth through a layered approach

gamble + Design
Inspiration for a mid-sized modern living room remodel in San Francisco

Kevin Driver
Inspiration for a mid-sized timeless galley light wood floor eat-in kitchen remodel in Other with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

Retractable Screens, also known as Roll-up Screens and Vertical Rolling Screens are completely customized to meet the needs of the space. Easy to see through and completely retractable, exterior Retractable Screens create a cool, comfortable, insect-free environment without sacrificing your view. Designed to provide superior solar protection, they mitigate UV damage, optimize comfort and provide daytime privacy even in windy settings. Extra sun control can be achieved by increasing thread counts and weave density. Retractable Solar Shades provide energy-efficient sun shading, shelter against bugs and mosquitoes, climate control and rain/wind reduction while allowing outward visibility. Depending on screen fabric selection, our solar shade fabric selections are capable of blocking up to 95% of ultra-violet (UV) rays–saving up to 50% of the energy used to heat and cool homes. Motorize Retractable Screens provide control at the touch of a button. Somfy Motors allow activation by wall mounted toggle switch or several different types of remote control options. These Retractable Screens will stop at upper and lower limits and are able to stop any where along the travel path on command. Optional Manual Override features allow for operation in case of power outage for motorized units. Manual Operations are available on most models. Motorized Retractable Screens equipped with Somfy RTS motors may be upgraded for use in Smart Homes and operated via Smartphone or other Mobile Devices. Retractable Screens should be retracted when not in use. The screens are raised and housed inside the aluminum housing. All major components of the system are powder coated aluminum for durability, ease of operations, and longevity. All Retractable Screens from Shade & Shutter Systems come with a 5 year Warranty, to include the Somfy Motor. Retractable Screens offer wind and rain abatement for breezy days. Many of our clients enjoy outdoor patio settings along coastal areas and beach front properties. Those areas also endure regular breezes that can be knocked down with retractable Screens for a more enjoyable experience. Although these screens are not designed for storm protection, winds to 40 mph are easily abated. If you would like more information about Retractable Screens, our Product Specialists can be reached at 800-522-1599.

Example of a trendy kitchen design in San Diego

The homeowners wanted to preserve the efficiency of their existing galley-style kitchen, but still open up their floor plan and allow the cook to participate fully in the rest of the household's activity. Removing an unnecessary wall between the kitchen and dining area and knocking a pass-through between the kitchen and the living room allowed us to provide a great room while allowing the kitchen to remain compact and efficient. Custom cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, engineered wood flooring, Mombasa granite counter tops and an attractive copper vent hood updated the space with contemporary conveniences while retaining an aura of traditional hominess. Pictures by Neil Johnson Photography.

French Country Kitchen Jason Weil
Inspiration for a large timeless l-shaped cork floor eat-in kitchen remodel in DC Metro with a single-bowl sink, raised-panel cabinets, yellow cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, stone tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island