Designer Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn helped a neighbor and friend to update a “builder grade” kitchen into a personal, family space that feels luxurious and inviting. The homeowner wanted to solve a number of storage and flow problems in the kitchen, including a wasted area dedicated to a desk, too-little pantry storage, and her wish for a kitchen bar. The all white builder kitchen lacked character, and the client wanted to inject color, texture and personality into the kitchen while keeping it classic.

Kid's Bedroom
Example of a classic boy kids' room design in Austin with multicolored walls

M & M Quality Home Contractors
Mid-sized elegant ceramic tile laundry room photo in Minneapolis with a drop-in sink, white cabinets, laminate countertops, blue walls, a side-by-side washer/dryer and recessed-panel cabinets

Example of a trendy metal tile bathroom design in San Francisco with a vessel sink, flat-panel cabinets and medium tone wood cabinets

Danny Piassick
Kids' bedroom - transitional carpeted and gray floor kids' bedroom idea in Dallas with multicolored walls

Modern family loft renovation. The master bedroom includes a woven warm wall treatment. Photos by Eric Roth. Construction by Ralph S. Osmond Company. Green architecture by ZeroEnergy Design. http://www.zeroenergy.com

Bill Timmerman Photography
Inspiration for a modern galley concrete floor open concept kitchen remodel in Phoenix with an undermount sink, open cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances

Mid-sized arts and crafts multicolored two-story concrete fiberboard exterior home photo in Atlanta

Andrew Sherman. www.AndrewSherman.co Limited Edition Photographs https://www.etsy.com/shop/AndrewShermanFineArt

Family Room
Example of a trendy family room design in DC Metro with beige walls

Scott Amundson Photography
Elegant built-in desk beige floor craft room photo in Minneapolis with gray walls

Photography ©2012 Tony Valainis
Dining room - mid-sized contemporary dark wood floor dining room idea in Indianapolis with blue walls and no fireplace

Cozy bright greatroom with coffered ceiling detail. Beautiful south facing light comes through Pella Reserve Windows (screens roll out of bottom of window sash). This room is bright and cheery and very inviting. We even hid a remote shade in the beam closest to the windows for privacy at night and shade if too bright.

Midcentury Ranch Reno Portland, OR type: remodel & addition status: built credits design: Matthew O. Daby - m.o.daby design interior design: Angela Mechaley - m.o.daby design construction: Hayes Brothers Construction photography: Erin Riddle - KLIK Concepts & Parallel Photography

Rich wood tones let the food be the star of this post and beam log home kitchen. Produced By: PrecisionCraft Log & Timber Homes Photo Credit: Mountain Photographics, Inc.

Example of a country multicolored floor powder room design in Chicago with furniture-like cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a one-piece toilet, gray walls and an undermount sink

Emily Followill
Entryway - traditional dark wood floor entryway idea in Charlotte with pink walls

Large butler's pantry approximately 8 ft wide. This space features a ton of storage from both recessed and glass panel cabinets. The cabinets have a lightwood finish and is accented very well with a blue tile backsplash.

  Free ebook, Creating the Ideal Kitchen. DOWNLOAD NOW   One of my favorite things to work on is older homes with a bit of history because I find it an interesting challenge to marry the historical architectural features of a home with modern design elements that work well for my client’s current lifestyle. This home was particularly fun because it was the second kitchen we had done for this family and was quite a departure from the style of the first kitchen. The before shot of the kitchen shows a view from the family room. See the dropped ceiling? We were curious, was this just part of the design or was the dropped ceiling there to hide mechanicals? Well we soon found out that it was mostly decorative (yay!), and with the exception of a little bit of work to some plumbing from an upstairs bathroom and rerouting of the ventilation system within the original floor joists, we were in the clear, phew! The shot of the completed kitchen from roughly the same vantage point shows how much taller the ceilings are. It makes a huge difference in the feel of the space. Dark and gloomy turned fresh and light! Another serious consideration was what do we do with the skinny transom window above the refrigerator. After much back and forth, we decided to eliminate it and do some open shelving instead. This ended up being one of the nicest areas in the room. I am calling it the “fun zone” because it houses all the barware, wine cubbies and a bar fridge — the perfect little buffet spot for entertaining. It is flanked on either side by pull out pantries that I’m sure will get a ton of use. Since the neighboring room has literally three walls of almost full height windows, the kitchen gets plenty of light. The gold shelving brackets, large pendant fixtures over the island and the tile mural behind the range all pay subtle homage to the home’s prairie style architecture and bring a bit of sparkle to the room. Even though the room is quite large, the work triangle is very tight with the large Subzero fridge, sink and range all nearby for easy maneuvering during meal prep. There is seating for four at the island, and work aisles are generous. Designed by: Susan Klimala, CKD, CBD Photography by: LOMA Studios For more information on kitchen and bath design ideas go to: www.kitchenstudio-ge.com