With a restrained hand, out interior designer set about bringing a new life in our clients petite apartment while also introducing easy to maintain, durable surfaces and furnishings as they love to entertain and have a lively St. Bernard. And as they had an extensive book collection and a single three-foot wide closet, the key challenge here was to make the best use of the entire space while injecting it with charming whimsy. After falling in love with our designer’s presentation, our clients went for a complete apartment overhaul and started from scratch. Since the space is small, our designer Anna S. wanted to create an urgent sense of vibrancy without coming off as too heavy handed. So she worked in expressive colors and decorative extras in small doses for subtle impact. Starting the project by changing several of the unit’s light fixtures for brighter, more minimal styles, Anna surveyed the apartment room to room to devise clever storage solutions that are easy on the eye. As they have friends over often, Anna created a warm and inviting living room boasting a slightly feminine take on mid-century modern layered with colorful pillows, patterned rugs, and eclectic art that doesn’t take over the apartment. In the kitchen, she added a strong yet gender neutral burlap wallpaper, floating wooden shelves, and new plumbing fixtures that were more sophisticated than the original, standard ones in place. However, our favorite part of the apartment is the moody, statement-making foyer. Though it was a long and narrow barely used, neglected space, Anna brought in wallpaper from Tempaper that features a matte black background covered with gold bird and floral illustrations, and added a long row of black glass cabinets and several large gold mirrors for an added sense of glamorous drama and an extra amount of storage space to boot.

Inspiration for a cottage master bathroom remodel in Minneapolis

Designed to embrace an extensive and unique art collection including sculpture, paintings, tapestry, and cultural antiquities, this modernist home located in north Scottsdale’s Estancia is the quintessential gallery home for the spectacular collection within. The primary roof form, “the wing” as the owner enjoys referring to it, opens the home vertically to a view of adjacent Pinnacle peak and changes the aperture to horizontal for the opposing view to the golf course. Deep overhangs and fenestration recesses give the home protection from the elements and provide supporting shade and shadow for what proves to be a desert sculpture. The restrained palette allows the architecture to express itself while permitting each object in the home to make its own place. The home, while certainly modern, expresses both elegance and warmth in its material selections including canterra stone, chopped sandstone, copper, and stucco. Project Details | Lot 245 Estancia, Scottsdale AZ Architect: C.P. Drewett, Drewett Works, Scottsdale, AZ Interiors: Luis Ortega, Luis Ortega Interiors, Hollywood, CA Publications: luxe. interiors + design. November 2011. Featured on the world wide web: luxe.daily Photos by Grey Crawford

Example of an urban white tile and marble tile concrete floor and gray floor bathroom design in Los Angeles with flat-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, white walls, a trough sink and marble countertops

Inspiration for a large contemporary bedroom remodel in New York

A long & narrow master bathroom & closet gets a stylish, sophisticated upgrade from designer Rachel Peterson of Simply Baths, Inc. The former bathroom & closet combination was dark and cluttered, lacking in personality and in great need of a refresh. Combining the homeowner's vision and Peterson's creative expertise, Simply Baths transformed the bathroom into a soothing transitional space that is both wonderfully luxurious and perfectly restrained.

Freestanding bathtub - large mediterranean master beige tile and glass tile freestanding bathtub idea in San Francisco with open cabinets, glass countertops and beige walls

The Sonoma Farmhaus project was designed for a cycling enthusiast with a globally demanding professional career, who wanted to create a place that could serve as both a retreat of solitude and a hub for gathering with friends and family. Located within the town of Graton, California, the site was chosen not only to be close to a small town and its community, but also to be within cycling distance to the picturesque, coastal Sonoma County landscape. Taking the traditional forms of farmhouse, and their notions of sustenance and community, as inspiration, the project comprises an assemblage of two forms - a Main House and a Guest House with Bike Barn - joined in the middle by a central outdoor gathering space anchored by a fireplace. The vision was to create something consciously restrained and one with the ground on which it stands. Simplicity, clear detailing, and an innate understanding of how things go together were all central themes behind the design. Solid walls of rammed earth blocks, fabricated from soils excavated from the site, bookend each of the structures. According to the owner, the use of simple, yet rich materials and textures...“provides a humanness I’ve not known or felt in any living venue I’ve stayed, Farmhaus is an icon of sustenance for me".

In this house, no area is too small to be artfully designed and decorated. Her water closet has a stunning tile accent, highlighted by a well-placed can light. It's a water closet so beautiful you'll have to restrain yourself from bragging about it to all of your guests. Another interesting aspect of the water closets in the master bathroom is that both his and hers are on a motion sensor. Since both closets are fairly recessed into the bathroom, when the lights come on, they serve as a perfect nightlight. Now that's what I call ingenious design. Designer: Debra Owens Photographer: Michael Hunter

Dave Burk Photography
Large minimalist master white tile and marble tile cement tile floor and black floor bathroom photo in Chicago with flat-panel cabinets, black cabinets, a one-piece toilet, white walls, a drop-in sink and granite countertops

Alcove shower - mid-sized mediterranean master gray tile and mosaic tile alcove shower idea in San Francisco with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, marble countertops and beige walls

Tessa Neustadt http://tessaneustadt.com
Example of a danish bedroom design in Los Angeles

Inspiration for a large eclectic master white tile and mosaic tile mosaic tile floor bathroom remodel in New York with an undermount sink, furniture-like cabinets, gray cabinets, marble countertops, a one-piece toilet and gray walls

Tuscan master gray tile and mosaic tile bathroom photo in San Francisco with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, marble countertops and beige walls

Inspired by the iconic American farmhouse, this transitional home blends a modern sense of space and living with traditional form and materials. Details are streamlined and modernized, while the overall form echoes American nastolgia. Past the expansive and welcoming front patio, one enters through the element of glass tying together the two main brick masses. The airiness of the entry glass wall is carried throughout the home with vaulted ceilings, generous views to the outside and an open tread stair with a metal rail system. The modern openness is balanced by the traditional warmth of interior details, including fireplaces, wood ceiling beams and transitional light fixtures, and the restrained proportion of windows. The home takes advantage of the Colorado sun by maximizing the southern light into the family spaces and Master Bedroom, orienting the Kitchen, Great Room and informal dining around the outdoor living space through views and multi-slide doors, the formal Dining Room spills out to the front patio through a wall of French doors, and the 2nd floor is dominated by a glass wall to the front and a balcony to the rear. As a home for the modern family, it seeks to balance expansive gathering spaces throughout all three levels, both indoors and out, while also providing quiet respites such as the 5-piece Master Suite flooded with southern light, the 2nd floor Reading Nook overlooking the street, nestled between the Master and secondary bedrooms, and the Home Office projecting out into the private rear yard. This home promises to flex with the family looking to entertain or stay in for a quiet evening.

Inspired by the iconic American farmhouse, this transitional home blends a modern sense of space and living with traditional form and materials. Details are streamlined and modernized, while the overall form echoes American nastolgia. Past the expansive and welcoming front patio, one enters through the element of glass tying together the two main brick masses. The airiness of the entry glass wall is carried throughout the home with vaulted ceilings, generous views to the outside and an open tread stair with a metal rail system. The modern openness is balanced by the traditional warmth of interior details, including fireplaces, wood ceiling beams and transitional light fixtures, and the restrained proportion of windows. The home takes advantage of the Colorado sun by maximizing the southern light into the family spaces and Master Bedroom, orienting the Kitchen, Great Room and informal dining around the outdoor living space through views and multi-slide doors, the formal Dining Room spills out to the front patio through a wall of French doors, and the 2nd floor is dominated by a glass wall to the front and a balcony to the rear. As a home for the modern family, it seeks to balance expansive gathering spaces throughout all three levels, both indoors and out, while also providing quiet respites such as the 5-piece Master Suite flooded with southern light, the 2nd floor Reading Nook overlooking the street, nestled between the Master and secondary bedrooms, and the Home Office projecting out into the private rear yard. This home promises to flex with the family looking to entertain or stay in for a quiet evening.

Inspired by the iconic American farmhouse, this transitional home blends a modern sense of space and living with traditional form and materials. Details are streamlined and modernized, while the overall form echoes American nastolgia. Past the expansive and welcoming front patio, one enters through the element of glass tying together the two main brick masses. The airiness of the entry glass wall is carried throughout the home with vaulted ceilings, generous views to the outside and an open tread stair with a metal rail system. The modern openness is balanced by the traditional warmth of interior details, including fireplaces, wood ceiling beams and transitional light fixtures, and the restrained proportion of windows. The home takes advantage of the Colorado sun by maximizing the southern light into the family spaces and Master Bedroom, orienting the Kitchen, Great Room and informal dining around the outdoor living space through views and multi-slide doors, the formal Dining Room spills out to the front patio through a wall of French doors, and the 2nd floor is dominated by a glass wall to the front and a balcony to the rear. As a home for the modern family, it seeks to balance expansive gathering spaces throughout all three levels, both indoors and out, while also providing quiet respites such as the 5-piece Master Suite flooded with southern light, the 2nd floor Reading Nook overlooking the street, nestled between the Master and secondary bedrooms, and the Home Office projecting out into the private rear yard. This home promises to flex with the family looking to entertain or stay in for a quiet evening.

Photo credit Michael Partenio This new home takes advantage of a beautiful hilltop site. The outdoor spaces function as an extension of the house and support the family’s casual, sports-oriented lifestyle. The design, for a family of seven, provides spaces for individual privacy and family gatherings. The design challenge was to incorporate a number of sustainable features into the design. The south-facing roof is integrated with a 5-kilowatt photovoltaic system, generating electricity for the home and furnishing emergency backup power. The heating is exclusively radiant with high efficiency boilers partially burning biofuel. Measures taken to produce an efficient building envelope include a drainage plane behind the siding, spray foam insulation, and high performance, insulated window glass.

Example of a trendy white tile mosaic tile floor and white floor alcove shower design in New York with an undermount tub, a trough sink, a hinged shower door and white countertops