Open concept kitchen - mid-sized modern galley medium tone wood floor open concept kitchen idea in New York with a single-bowl sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, marble countertops, white backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

This freestanding covered patio with an outdoor kitchen and fireplace is the perfect retreat! Just a few steps away from the home, this covered patio is about 500 square feet. The homeowner had an existing structure they wanted replaced. This new one has a custom built wood burning fireplace with an outdoor kitchen and is a great area for entertaining. The flooring is a travertine tile in a Versailles pattern over a concrete patio. The outdoor kitchen has an L-shaped counter with plenty of space for prepping and serving meals as well as space for dining. The fascia is stone and the countertops are granite. The wood-burning fireplace is constructed of the same stone and has a ledgestone hearth and cedar mantle. What a perfect place to cozy up and enjoy a cool evening outside. The structure has cedar columns and beams. The vaulted ceiling is stained tongue and groove and really gives the space a very open feel. Special details include the cedar braces under the bar top counter, carriage lights on the columns and directional lights along the sides of the ceiling. Click Photography

Rooftop deck with the office dog. Christian Sauer Images
Inspiration for a mid-sized industrial rooftop rooftop deck container garden remodel in St Louis with no cover

Example of a classic pool house design in Philadelphia

Mountain style screened-in porch idea in Burlington

Garden shed - traditional garden shed idea in Philadelphia

Inspiration for a contemporary backyard deck remodel in New York with a roof extension and a fireplace

The home includes a great room, island kitchen, dining room, library, four bedrooms, four full baths and two half-baths, and an outdoor living area with an outdoor kitchen with conversation areas. The earthy coastal design features monochromatic, tonal color elements in the backgrounds, with unique layered colors provided by the artwork and furniture fabrics. Bleached hardwood flooring creates a variety of patterns in the main living areas and cork flooring in the library brings warmth to the home. Wood beam details in both the master bedroom and great room embellish this home with the perfect amount of architectural detailing. An eclectic mixture of decorative lighting fixtures compliment the rooms in the most attractive way. The overall ambiance is one of light Florida living with an air of casual, barefoot elegance.

This pre-civil war post and beam home built circa 1860 features restored woodwork, reclaimed antique fixtures, a 1920s style bathroom, and most notably, the largest preserved section of haint blue paint in Savannah, Georgia. Photography by Atlantic Archives

Challenge This 2001 riverfront home was purchased by the owners in 2015 and immediately renovated. Progressive Design Build was hired at that time to remodel the interior, with tentative plans to remodel their outdoor living space as a second phase design/build remodel. True to their word, after completing the interior remodel, this young family turned to Progressive Design Build in 2017 to address known zoning regulations and restrictions in their backyard and build an outdoor living space that was fit for entertaining and everyday use. The homeowners wanted a pool and spa, outdoor living room, kitchen, fireplace and covered patio. They also wanted to stay true to their home’s Old Florida style architecture while also adding a Jamaican influence to the ceiling detail, which held sentimental value to the homeowners who honeymooned in Jamaica. Solution To tackle the known zoning regulations and restrictions in the backyard, the homeowners researched and applied for a variance. With the variance in hand, Progressive Design Build sat down with the homeowners to review several design options. These options included: Option 1) Modifications to the original pool design, changing it to be longer and narrower and comply with an existing drainage easement Option 2) Two different layouts of the outdoor living area Option 3) Two different height elevations and options for the fire pit area Option 4) A proposed breezeway connecting the new area with the existing home After reviewing the options, the homeowners chose the design that placed the pool on the backside of the house and the outdoor living area on the west side of the home (Option 1). It was important to build a patio structure that could sustain a hurricane (a Southwest Florida necessity), and provide substantial sun protection. The new covered area was supported by structural columns and designed as an open-air porch (with no screens) to allow for an unimpeded view of the Caloosahatchee River. The open porch design also made the area feel larger, and the roof extension was built with substantial strength to survive severe weather conditions. The pool and spa were connected to the adjoining patio area, designed to flow seamlessly into the next. The pool deck was designed intentionally in a 3-color blend of concrete brick with freeform edge detail to mimic the natural river setting. Bringing the outdoors inside, the pool and fire pit were slightly elevated to create a small separation of space. Result All of the desirable amenities of a screened porch were built into an open porch, including electrical outlets, a ceiling fan/light kit, TV, audio speakers, and a fireplace. The outdoor living area was finished off with additional storage for cushions, ample lighting, an outdoor dining area, a smoker, a grill, a double-side burner, an under cabinet refrigerator, a major ventilation system, and water supply plumbing that delivers hot and cold water to the sinks. Because the porch is under a roof, we had the option to use classy woods that would give the structure a natural look and feel. We chose a dark cypress ceiling with a gloss finish, replicating the same detail that the homeowners experienced in Jamaica. This created a deep visceral and emotional reaction from the homeowners to their new backyard. The family now spends more time outdoors enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of nature. Their professional lives allow them to take a trip to paradise right in their backyard—stealing moments that reflect on the past, but are also enjoyed in the present.

The Design Styles Architecture team beautifully remodeled the exterior and interior of this Carolina Circle home. The home was originally built in 1973 and was 5,860 SF; the remodel added 1,000 SF to the total under air square-footage. The exterior of the home was revamped to take your typical Mediterranean house with yellow exterior paint and red Spanish style roof and update it to a sleek exterior with gray roof, dark brown trim, and light cream walls. Additions were done to the home to provide more square footage under roof and more room for entertaining. The master bathroom was pushed out several feet to create a spacious marbled master en-suite with walk in shower, standing tub, walk in closets, and vanity spaces. A balcony was created to extend off of the second story of the home, creating a covered lanai and outdoor kitchen on the first floor. Ornamental columns and wrought iron details inside the home were removed or updated to create a clean and sophisticated interior. The master bedroom took the existing beam support for the ceiling and reworked it to create a visually stunning ceiling feature complete with up-lighting and hanging chandelier creating a warm glow and ambiance to the space. An existing second story outdoor balcony was converted and tied in to the under air square footage of the home, and is now used as a workout room that overlooks the ocean. The existing pool and outdoor area completely updated and now features a dock, a boat lift, fire features and outdoor dining/ kitchen. Photo by: Design Styles Architecture

Transitional tile porch idea in Atlanta with a roof extension

This view of a Houston outdoor sitting area by Outdoor Homescapes of Houston shows electrical light fixtures that were converted to gas with a conversion kity by Cunningham Electric. Other features include Western Austin limestone, stucco chimney column, 10-foot-high pinewood outdoor ceiling, Rosa flagstone patio and Restoration Hardware outdoor furniture. Full project description: Check out this great outdoor sitting area with a stucco and stone fireplace and the largest outdoor ceiling fan we've ever seen! Outdoor living space designs typically match the house exactly - but this one couldn't. The homeowners' association restrictions ended up shrinking the outdoor sitting area from 20-foot-square to 15-foot-square, so the arches couldn't be the same size as they were on the house. After a bit of math and an adjustment in the thickness of the arches, however, Outdoor Homescapes of Houston preserved the proper scale and proportion. Especially problematic was the half arch connecting the free-standing structure to the back of the house - since a gutter had to be added for sufficient drainage. "The wood-burning fireplace will provide heat and definitely cozy up this patio addition as we head into fall and winter - especially with vents that push the heated air directly out into the sitting area," says Franks. "But since this outdoor living space was built for all seasons, the large outdoor ceiling fan will also help keep it cool in summer. In addition to the gas fireplace featuring bench seating, this detached, covered patio also had two outdoor sofas and a coffee table from Restoration Hardware. Built at an angle that faces the back of the house at the far end of the pool and hot tub, this outdoor living space design definitely fulfills its mission to blend in with the existing house. Its light-colored stucco and Western Austin Limestone with bluish-grey accents, for instance, echoes the contemporary home's stone and stucco exterior. The 10-foot-high ceiling under the hipped roof, meanwhile, features a dark stain matching that of the existing covered patio ceiling along the back of the house. The addition's Rosa flagstone patio is also an extension of the existing patio, and the Oklahoma wister flagstone bench seating is a perfect match to the coping on the existing pool. Similarly, the black lantern light fixtures on the support columns of this outdoor sitting area are the same style as those on the house. The client wanted gas light fixtures, like they have on the house. Outdoor Homescapes could only find electric fixtures that matched, but wqw able to convert them into gas fixtures with a conversion kit from Cunningham Gas. The Restoration Hardware seating and coffee table, meanwhile, suit the client's desire to entertain guests in style after dinner while enjoying a cigar. "The project was a challenge, but it turned out beautiful," says company owner Wayne Franks. "And it really does look like it was built with the house."

Example of a trendy kitchen pantry design in Denver

A very handsome porte-cochere addition to this beautiful home. This addition also includes a breezeway to the house.
Carport - craftsman two-car carport idea in Nashville

Gibeon Photography
Great room - contemporary concrete floor great room idea with a ribbon fireplace

Reverse Shed Eichler This project is part tear-down, part remodel. The original L-shaped plan allowed the living/ dining/ kitchen wing to be completely re-built while retaining the shell of the bedroom wing virtually intact. The rebuilt entertainment wing was enlarged 50% and covered with a low-slope reverse-shed roof sloping from eleven to thirteen feet. The shed roof floats on a continuous glass clerestory with eight foot transom. Cantilevered steel frames support wood roof beams with eaves of up to ten feet. An interior glass clerestory separates the kitchen and livingroom for sound control. A wall-to-wall skylight illuminates the north wall of the kitchen/family room. New additions at the back of the house add several “sliding” wall planes, where interior walls continue past full-height windows to the exterior, complimenting the typical Eichler indoor-outdoor ceiling and floor planes. The existing bedroom wing has been re-configured on the interior, changing three small bedrooms into two larger ones, and adding a guest suite in part of the original garage. A previous den addition provided the perfect spot for a large master ensuite bath and walk-in closet. Natural materials predominate, with fir ceilings, limestone veneer fireplace walls, anigre veneer cabinets, fir sliding windows and interior doors, bamboo floors, and concrete patios and walks. Landscape design by Bernard Trainor: www.bernardtrainor.com (see “Concrete Jungle” in April 2014 edition of Dwell magazine). Microsoft Media Center installation of the Year, 2008: www.cybermanor.com/ultimate_install.html (automated shades, radiant heating system, and lights, as well as security & sound).

JC Buck
Trendy freestanding desk study room photo in Denver with white walls