Located in Argyle, Texas, this comprehensive whole-home renovation was conceived as a response to a family whose lifestyle had outgrown the limitations of the existing residence. USI Design & Remodeling reimagined the home's interior architecture, transforming a collection of compartmentalized rooms into a cohesive environment designed for modern living, entertaining, and daily comfort. The project encompassed the kitchen, family room, dining room, lounge, office, primary bathroom, and supporting circulation spaces, creating a unified experience that feels both expansive and intentional. At the heart of the renovation is a completely reconfigured kitchen and gathering space designed around functionality, hospitality, and visual connection. Architectural barriers were removed to improve sightlines and circulation, allowing the kitchen, dining, and family spaces to function as a single integrated living environment. Adjacent to the kitchen, the former pantry, laundry, and service corridor were reimagined as a hybrid scullery and utility suite, creating a highly functional support space that discreetly accommodates food preparation, storage, organization, and household operations without compromising the elegance of the primary living areas. The renovation extends beyond aesthetics to create a home tailored to the family's evolving needs. Consistent architectural detailing, layered textures, and thoughtful proportions establish continuity throughout the residence, allowing each room to feel connected to the larger design narrative. The result is a sophisticated yet approachable home that balances practical performance with timeless design, delivering a renewed living experience that is both highly functional and distinctly luxurious.

Tumbled concrete paver drive leading into a dimensionally cut flagstone walk and stairs.
Photo of a traditional landscaping in Chicago.

This entryway embraces the refined warmth of Santa Fe Style Architecture, blending natural light with the rich grain of custom wood doors framed in steel for a contemporary edge. Designed with the expertise of a Santa Fe Architect, the clean lines and thoughtful detailing balance modern craftsmanship with the timeless essence of Adobe Architecture. As part of a larger vision for Custom Residential Design Santa Fe, the space highlights simplicity and elegance while connecting seamlessly to its natural surroundings. Rooted in Sustainable Architecture New Mexico, the entryway reflects integrity, durability, and a sense of place that welcomes both residents and guests with understated sophistication. Wendy McEahern

Boaz Meiri Photography
Large contemporary beige two-story wood house exterior idea in San Francisco with a shingle roof and a hip roof

This bathroom is located in a traditional residence in an old neighborhood known as Mt. Baker in Seattle. White floor tile and wainscot are used with a blue grey color on the walls and ceiling. The vanity is a painted green with a beaded frame mimicking the tile bead on the wainscot. A medicine cabinet which matches the vanity style and traditional side lighting are used as sconces. The heater was encased in a framed moldings with a metal perforated panel on the outside to allow the heat to vent. The shower is located behind the vanity and a free-standing tub is located on the exterior wall.

Project: Minnetonka Residence Builder: Robert Craig Homes Designer: Stephanie McKenna Installer: Miller Tile Products: TXD Ceramic & Glass Imports
Bathroom - traditional ceramic tile bathroom idea in Minneapolis

Above and Beyond is the third residence in a four-home collection in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Originally the site of the abandoned Kachina Elementary School, the infill community, appropriately named Kachina Estates, embraces the remarkable views of Camelback Mountain. Nestled into an acre sized pie shaped cul-de-sac lot, the lot geometry and front facing view orientation created a remarkable privacy challenge and influenced the forward facing facade and massing. An iconic, stone-clad massing wall element rests within an oversized south-facing fenestration, creating separation and privacy while affording views “above and beyond.” Above and Beyond has Mid-Century DNA married with a larger sense of mass and scale. The pool pavilion bridges from the main residence to a guest casita which visually completes the need for protection and privacy from street and solar exposure. The pie-shaped lot which tapered to the south created a challenge to harvest south light. This was one of the largest spatial organization influencers for the design. The design undulates to embrace south sun and organically creates remarkable outdoor living spaces. This modernist home has a palate of granite and limestone wall cladding, plaster, and a painted metal fascia. The wall cladding seamlessly enters and exits the architecture affording interior and exterior continuity. Kachina Estates was named an Award of Merit winner at the 2019 Gold Nugget Awards in the category of Best Residential Detached Collection of the Year. The annual awards ceremony was held at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference in San Francisco, CA in May 2019. Project Details: Above and Beyond Architecture: Drewett Works Developer/Builder: Bedbrock Developers Interior Design: Est Est Land Planner/Civil Engineer: CVL Consultants Photography: Dino Tonn and Steven Thompson Awards: Gold Nugget Award of Merit - Kachina Estates - Residential Detached Collection of the Year

At this residence, the owner wanted a large outdoor living/gathering/party space. An outdoor kitchen with built in grill and granite counter tops rests at the bottom of her screen porch stairs and outside of the basement bar. This patio steps down to a larger living area patio with a grand wood burning fireplace. This space will eventually accommodate a large timber-frame pavilion. A massive water feature starts at the top of the hill near the driveway and winds its way down the slope along the length of the house, ending near the outdoor kitchen patio. The stream is flanked by flowering shrubs and perennials and is bridged by a huge stone slab and stepper path.

This older couple have been residing in their one level custom home since the early 80’s. The Master bathroom old design was dysfunctional, steps in bathroom were dangerous for their age, the deck mounted tub took too much floor space, vanity space was limited. Swing doors were cutting accessibility for them. The wanted to open up the space and bring this old dragged of bathroom into a new era of design and functionality. Planned a double sided fireplace in front of the tub area, taking out all multi-level shower and tub area, enlarged the shower stall and moved the new free standing tub directly under the wall of glass blocks, We have taken advantage of tall cathedral ceiling and added new ceiling and recess lights to brighten this space. The toilet area was enclosed with a frost glass pocket and made more room for larger vanity and counter space, given them lots of storage, small closets were taken out and replaced with larger linen cabinetry. We have relocated the toilet to open up large portion of back wall, now home for his vanity space. The shower was moved to the corner, taking some space form adjacent closet. Customer framed mirror, sconce lighting has taken over the left side of pantry, will large scale tile (and heated floor) this master bathroom transformation has given them a whole new life. Carefully selected stain on cabinetry complimenting the stone top and porcelain floor and wall tiles were all a big part of this transformation. The custom closet system has given them a much-needed space for their clothing and all their seasonal clothes. Now more than ever life in their master suite is pleasurable and relaxing.

2010 NARI CAPITAL COTY GRAND AWARD WINNER The homeowner wanted to add square footage and implement an aging-in-place strategy that will enable her to live out her days in residence with dignified self-sufficiency. Specifically, she was seeking an updated family room and larger master bedroom suite. Additionally, she wanted to maintain the original intent of the Cape Cod style. A 28’ x 29’ addition was split between the new family room and the new master suite. First, every doorway into the master suite was redone for better accessibility. The suite itself features a cathedral ceiling, skylights and recessed lighting. The master suite bathroom has features a whirlpool bath, walk-in shower and double vanity. Grab bars and other handicap-accessible features are incorporated for aging in place living. A double-sided fireplace connects the master suite and the family room.

Boasting views of the Museum of Natural History and Central Park, the Beaux Arts and French Renaissance style building built in 1900 was once home to a luxury hotel. Over the years multiple hotel rooms were combined into the larger apartment residences that exist today. The resulting units, while large in size, lacked the continuity of a single formed space. StudioLAB was presented with the challenge of re-designing the space to fit a modern family’s lifestyle today with the flexibility to adjust as they evolve into their tomorrow. Thus, the existing configuration was completely abandoned with new programmatic elements being relocated in each and every corner of the space. For clients that are big wine connoisseurs, the focal point of entry and circulation lies in a 400 bottle, custom built, blackened steel and glass, temperature controlled wine cabinet. The once enclosed living room was demolished to create one main entertaining space that includes a new dining area and open kitchen. Hafele bi-folding pocket door slides were used in the Living room wall unit to conceal the television, bar and display shelves when not in use. Posing as kitchen cabinetry, a hidden integrated door opens to reveal a guest bedroom with an en suite bathroom. Down the hallway of wide plank ebony stained walnut flooring, a compact powder room was built to house an original Paul Villinski installation of small butterflies cut from recycled aluminum cans, entitled Mistral. Continuing down the hall, and through one of the walnut veneered doors, is the shared kids bedroom where a custom-built bunk bed with integrated storage steps and desk was designed to allow for play space and a reading corner. The kids bathroom across the hall is decorated with custom Lego inspired hand cast concrete tiles and integrated pull-out footstools residing underneath the floating vanity. The master suite features a bio-ethanol fireplace wrapped in blackened steel and integrated into the Tabu veneered built-in. The spacious walk-in closet serves several purposes, which include housing the apartment’s new central HVAC system as well as a sleeping spot for the family’s dog. An integrated URC control system paired with Lutron Radio RA lighting keypads were installed to control the AV, HVAC, lighting and solar shades all by the use of smartphones.

Located in a neighborhood characterized by traditional bungalow style single-family residences, Orange Grove is a new landmark for the City of West Hollywood. The building is sensitively designed and compatible with the neighborhood, but differs in material palette and scale from its neighbors. Referencing architectural conventions of modernism rather than the pitched roof forms of traditional domesticity, the project presents a characteristic that is consistent with the eclectic and often unconventional demographic of West Hollywood. Distinct from neighboring structures, the building creates a strong relationship to the street by virtue of its large amount of highly usable balcony area in the front façade. While there are dramatic and larger scale elements that define the building, it is also broken down into comprehensible human scale parts, and is itself broken down into two different buildings. Orange Grove displays a similar kind of iconoclasm as the Schindler House, an icon of California modernism, located a short distance away. Like the Schindler House, the conventional architectural elements of windows and porches become part of an abstract sculptural ensemble. At the Schindler House, windows are found in the gaps between structural concrete wall panels. At Orange Grove, windows are inserted in gaps between different sections of the building. The design of Orange Grove is generated by a subtle balance of tensions. Building volumes and the placement of windows, doors and balconies are not static but rather constitute an active three-dimensional composition in motion. Each piece of the building is a strong and clearly defined shape, such as the corrugated metal surround that encloses the second story balcony in the east and north facades. Another example of this clear delineation is the use of two square profile balcony surrounds in the front façade that set up a dialogue between them—one is small, the other large, one is open at the front, the other is veiled with stainless steel slats. At the same time each balcony is balanced and related to other elements in the building, the smaller one to the driveway gate below and the other to the roll-up door and first floor balcony. Each building element is intended to read as an abstract form in itself—such as a window becoming a slit or windows becoming a framed box, while also becoming part of a larger whole. Although this building may not mirror the status quo it answers to the desires of consumers in a burgeoning niche market who want large, simple interior volumes of space, and a paradigm based on space, light and industrial materials of the loft rather than the bungalow.

This older couple have been residing in their one level custom home since the early 80’s. The Master bathroom old design was dysfunctional, steps in bathroom were dangerous for their age, the deck mounted tub took too much floor space, vanity space was limited. Swing doors were cutting accessibility for them. The wanted to open up the space and bring this old dragged of bathroom into a new era of design and functionality. Planned a double sided fireplace in front of the tub area, taking out all multi-level shower and tub area, enlarged the shower stall and moved the new free standing tub directly under the wall of glass blocks, We have taken advantage of tall cathedral ceiling and added new ceiling and recess lights to brighten this space. The toilet area was enclosed with a frost glass pocket and made more room for larger vanity and counter space, given them lots of storage, small closets were taken out and replaced with larger linen cabinetry. We have relocated the toilet to open up large portion of back wall, now home for his vanity space. The shower was moved to the corner, taking some space form adjacent closet. Customer framed mirror, sconce lighting has taken over the left side of pantry, will large scale tile (and heated floor) this master bathroom transformation has given them a whole new life. Carefully selected stain on cabinetry complimenting the stone top and porcelain floor and wall tiles were all a big part of this transformation. The custom closet system has given them a much-needed space for their clothing and all their seasonal clothes. Now more than ever life in their master suite is pleasurable and relaxing.

Shingle Style Home featuring Bevolo Lighting. Perfect for a family, this shingle-style home offers ample play zones complemented by tucked-away areas. With the residence’s full scale only apparent from the back, Harrison Design’s concept optimizes water views. The living room connects with the open kitchen via the dining area, distinguished by its vaulted ceiling and expansive windows. An octagonal-shaped tower with a domed ceiling serves as an office and lounge. Much of the upstairs design is oriented toward the children, with a two-level recreation area, including an indoor climbing wall. A side wing offers a live-in suite for a nanny or grandparents.

The Goldenwood Guest House is the first phase of a larger estate multi-phase project with the clients are moving into the renovated guest house as we start construction on the main house renovation and addition soon. This is a whole-house renovation to an existing 750sf guest cottage settled near the existing main residence. The property is located West of Austin in Driftwood, TX and the cottage strives to capture a sense of refined roughness. The layout maximizes efficiency in the small space with built-in cabinet storage and shelving in the living room and kitchen. Each space is softly day lit and the open floor plan of the Living, Dining, and Kitchen allows the spaces to feel expansive without sacrificing privacy to the bedroom and restroom. Photo by Ryan Farnau. See our video walk-through: http://youtu.be/lx9wTAm7J-8

Above and Beyond is the third residence in a four-home collection in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Originally the site of the abandoned Kachina Elementary School, the infill community, appropriately named Kachina Estates, embraces the remarkable views of Camelback Mountain. Nestled into an acre sized pie shaped cul-de-sac lot, the lot geometry and front facing view orientation created a remarkable privacy challenge and influenced the forward facing facade and massing. An iconic, stone-clad massing wall element rests within an oversized south-facing fenestration, creating separation and privacy while affording views “above and beyond.” Above and Beyond has Mid-Century DNA married with a larger sense of mass and scale. The pool pavilion bridges from the main residence to a guest casita which visually completes the need for protection and privacy from street and solar exposure. The pie-shaped lot which tapered to the south created a challenge to harvest south light. This was one of the largest spatial organization influencers for the design. The design undulates to embrace south sun and organically creates remarkable outdoor living spaces. This modernist home has a palate of granite and limestone wall cladding, plaster, and a painted metal fascia. The wall cladding seamlessly enters and exits the architecture affording interior and exterior continuity. Kachina Estates was named an Award of Merit winner at the 2019 Gold Nugget Awards in the category of Best Residential Detached Collection of the Year. The annual awards ceremony was held at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference in San Francisco, CA in May 2019. Project Details: Above and Beyond Architecture: Drewett Works Developer/Builder: Bedbrock Developers Interior Design: Est Est Land Planner/Civil Engineer: CVL Consultants Photography: Dino Tonn and Steven Thompson Awards: Gold Nugget Award of Merit - Kachina Estates - Residential Detached Collection of the Year

At this residence, the owner wanted a large outdoor living/gathering/party space. An outdoor kitchen with built in grill and granite counter tops rests at the bottom of her screen porch stairs and outside of the basement bar. This patio steps down to a larger living area patio with a grand wood burning fireplace. This space will eventually accommodate a large timber-frame pavilion. A massive water feature starts at the top of the hill near the driveway and winds its way down the slope along the length of the house, ending near the outdoor kitchen patio. The stream is flanked by flowering shrubs and perennials and is bridged by a huge stone slab and stepper path.

The goal of this Carmichael kitchen transformation was to encapsulate the harmonious blend of the client's modern design aesthetic with the enduring charm and character of the original ranch architecture. By retaining the existing red oak floors and pairing them with dark walnut cabinets, the space achieves a striking contrast that highlights the natural beauty of the materials. Modern slab cabinetry, a sleek vent hood, and contemporary backsplash elements are complemented by transitional hardware and lighting, creating a cohesive style that integrates seamlessly with the rest of the home. Functionality took center stage in this project without altering the kitchen’s footprint. Smart upgrades included custom kitchen organizers, a pull-up mixer stand for the resident baker, and relocating the prep sink to the opposite side of the island to improve workflow. By eliminating unused appliances, we also created room for a larger refrigerator and additional storage. The result is a kitchen that is both stylish and practical, perfectly suited to the client’s needs and lifestyle.

This older couple have been residing in their one level custom home since the early 80’s. The Master bathroom old design was dysfunctional, steps in bathroom were dangerous for their age, the deck mounted tub took too much floor space, vanity space was limited. Swing doors were cutting accessibility for them. The wanted to open up the space and bring this old dragged of bathroom into a new era of design and functionality. Planned a double sided fireplace in front of the tub area, taking out all multi-level shower and tub area, enlarged the shower stall and moved the new free standing tub directly under the wall of glass blocks, We have taken advantage of tall cathedral ceiling and added new ceiling and recess lights to brighten this space. The toilet area was enclosed with a frost glass pocket and made more room for larger vanity and counter space, given them lots of storage, small closets were taken out and replaced with larger linen cabinetry. We have relocated the toilet to open up large portion of back wall, now home for his vanity space. The shower was moved to the corner, taking some space form adjacent closet. Customer framed mirror, sconce lighting has taken over the left side of pantry, will large scale tile (and heated floor) this master bathroom transformation has given them a whole new life. Carefully selected stain on cabinetry complimenting the stone top and porcelain floor and wall tiles were all a big part of this transformation. The custom closet system has given them a much-needed space for their clothing and all their seasonal clothes. Now more than ever life in their master suite is pleasurable and relaxing.