Phillip Erikson
Inspiration for a contemporary family room remodel in Salt Lake City with a music area and white walls

Inspiration for a mid-sized timeless u-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen remodel in Chicago with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, beige cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, stone tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

This client wanted a relaxing bathroom that brought the ocean to Waterloo, Ontario. The wavy tile in the shower, and the glass teardrop accents in the niche and behind both his & her vanities showcase the movement and sheen of the water, and the soft blue and grey colour scheme allow a warm and cozy, yet fresh feeling overall. The hexagon marble tile on the shower floor was copied behind the soaker tub to define the space, and the furniture style cabinets from Casey’s Creative Kitchens offer an authentic classic look. The oil-rubbed finishes were carried throughout for consistency, and add a true luxury to the bathroom. The client mentioned, ‘…this is an amazing shower’ – the fixtures from Delta offer flexibility and customization. Fantasy Brown granite was used, and inhibites the movement of a stream, bringing together the browns, creams, whites blues and greens. The tile floor has a sandy texture and colour, and gives the feeling of being at the beach. With the sea-inspired colour scheme, and numerous textures and patterns, this bathroom is the perfect oasis from the everyday.

Placed within an idyllic beach community, this modern family home is filled with both playful and functional spaces. Natural light reflects throughout and oversized openings allow for movement to the outdoor spaces. Custom millwork completes the kitchen with concealed appliances, and creates a space well suited for entertaining. Accents of concrete add strength and architectural context to the spaces. Livable finishes of white oak and quartz are simple and hardworking. High ceilings in the bedroom level allowed for creativity in children’s spaces, and the addition of colour brings in that sense of playfulness. Art pieces reflect the owner’s time spent abroad, and exude their love of life – which is fitting in a place where the only boundaries to roam are the ocean and railways. KBC Developments Photography by Ema Peter www.emapeter.com

This project was not only full of many bathrooms but also many different aesthetics. The goals were fourfold, create a new master suite, update the basement bath, add a new powder bath and my favorite, make them all completely different aesthetics. Primary Bath-This was originally a small 60SF full bath sandwiched in between closets and walls of built-in cabinetry that blossomed into a 130SF, five-piece primary suite. This room was to be focused on a transitional aesthetic that would be adorned with Calcutta gold marble, gold fixtures and matte black geometric tile arrangements. Powder Bath-A new addition to the home leans more on the traditional side of the transitional movement using moody blues and greens accented with brass. A fun play was the asymmetry of the 3-light sconce brings the aesthetic more to the modern side of transitional. My favorite element in the space, however, is the green, pink black and white deco tile on the floor whose colors are reflected in the details of the Australian wallpaper. Hall Bath-Looking to touch on the home's 70's roots, we went for a mid-mod fresh update. Black Calcutta floors, linear-stacked porcelain tile, mixed woods and strong black and white accents. The green tile may be the star but the matte white ribbed tiles in the shower and behind the vanity are the true unsung heroes.

Coup D'Etat
Guesthouse - small contemporary detached guesthouse idea in Toronto

THE SETUP Client Background: Our clients, a couple who have transitioned into the empty nest phase, have cherished their home for over three decades without undergoing any significant renovations. With a newfound desire to adapt their living space to better suit their current lifestyle, they’ve embarked on a journey to reimagine their kitchen — the heart of their home. Their aspiration is to cultivate a serene, neutral-toned sanctuary on the first floor that seamlessly merges with their family room, ensuring a harmonious and inviting environment. Design Inspiration: The renovation is inspired by the couple’s penchant for soft, calming neutrals, using their cherished family room and the kitchen’s existing tile flooring as the cornerstone for the color scheme. This approach aims to foster a sense of warmth and tranquility throughout. Design Objectives: Harmonize the kitchen with the family room by adopting a soothing, neutral color scheme, ensuring a seamless flow across the first floor. Enhance kitchen functionality with thoughtfully designed cabinetry, providing a designated place for every item and maximizing storage efficiency. Cultivate an inviting and comfortable atmosphere that reflects the homeowners’ desire for a calm and relaxing space. Design Challenges: The homeowners wish to retain the existing kitchen tile flooring and integrate it into a refreshed, modern design. Accommodating a dining area spacious enough for family visits without compromising the kitchen’s open feel or functional layout. Despite liking the current placement of plumbing and appliances, the homeowners aspire for a more open floor plan to facilitate better movement and interaction. The need to amplify natural light in the kitchen, especially around the sink area, where existing lighting is insufficient. Preserving the half-wall between the kitchen and family room, a feature the homeowners want to keep, while ensuring it complements the new design. THE RENEWED SPACE Design Solutions: By choosing a neutral color palette that complements the existing tile, the design unifies the kitchen with the adjacent spaces. The tile’s grout was cleaned and restored, enhancing the floor’s appearance and integrating it seamlessly with the new kitchen aesthetic. The inclusion of a larger island with seating for two, alongside maintaining a substantial dining table, was achieved by optimizing the spatial layout. This allowed for a sociable yet functional kitchen, accommodating large family gatherings without feeling crowded. Minor adjustments to the kitchen’s layout maintained the preferred locations for plumbing and appliances while introducing an ‘open’ design concept. Strategic modifications, such as angling the pantry wall, improved the flow and accessibility within the space. Replacing the garden window with a broader, standard window significantly increased natural light, transforming the sink area into a bright, welcoming space with enhanced views of the outdoors. The decision to keep the half-wall was ingeniously leveraged to define the dining area while maintaining an open connection to the family room. This feature not only serves as a visual separator but also ties the two spaces together through the shared color scheme and design elements. The homeowners are thrilled with their newly remodeled kitchen, which has become a hub of warmth and hospitality. Hosting a wedding shower and a birthday party, they have shared their renewed space with friends and family, who have been equally enamored. This remodel has not only met their functional and aesthetic desires but has also enriched their home with a fresh sense of serenity and joy. The upstairs part of the home is shaping up nicely. Here’s their newly remodeled primary bathroom.

Example of a beach style backyard deck design in Los Angeles

Transitional dining room photo in Richmond

Inspiration for a contemporary dark wood floor bedroom remodel in Las Vegas with white walls

Designed with an open floor plan and layered outdoor spaces, the Onaway is a perfect cottage for narrow lakefront lots. The exterior features elements from both the Shingle and Craftsman architectural movements, creating a warm cottage feel. An open main level skillfully disguises this narrow home by using furniture arrangements and low built-ins to define each spaces’ perimeter. Every room has a view to each other as well as a view of the lake. The cottage feel of this home’s exterior is carried inside with a neutral, crisp white, and blue nautical themed palette. The kitchen features natural wood cabinetry and a long island capped by a pub height table with chairs. Above the garage, and separate from the main house, is a series of spaces for plenty of guests to spend the night. The symmetrical bunk room features custom staircases to the top bunks with drawers built in. The best views of the lakefront are found on the master bedrooms private deck, to the rear of the main house. The open floor plan continues downstairs with two large gathering spaces opening up to an outdoor covered patio complete with custom grill pit.

The homeowners enjoy a wonderful view from the front porch. The front yard is heavily shaded by large trees, eliminating turf as an option. Instead, we situated a pergola in the center of the space, with a flagstone path providing easy access. This encourages movement through the space and helps to bring the landscape into scale with the property. Photo by www.crewsphotography.com

The clients for this small bathroom project are passionate art enthusiasts and asked the architects to create a space based on the work of one of their favorite abstract painters, Piet Mondrian. Mondrian was a Dutch artist associated with the De Stijl movement which reduced designs down to basic rectilinear forms and primary colors within a grid. Alloy used floor to ceiling recycled glass tiles to re-interpret Mondrian's compositions, using blocks of color in a white grid of tile to delineate space and the functions within the small room. A red block of color is recessed and becomes a niche, a blue block is a shower seat, a yellow rectangle connects shower fixtures with the drain. The bathroom also has many aging-in-place design components which were a priority for the clients. There is a zero clearance entrance to the shower. We widened the doorway for greater accessibility and installed a pocket door to save space. ADA compliant grab bars were located to compliment the tile composition. Andrea Hubbell Photography

Kids' room - transitional gender-neutral carpeted kids' room idea in Other with gray walls

A crisp white bathroom with graphic cement tile, enameled light fixtures, and a sink and shower suite by Moen was perfectly packaged with rolled, white towels in natural baskets. The custom-built driftwood vanity a la console-style makes this space special with a touch of elegance. We also carved out an awesome amount of unused space for this walk-in shower - you can stretch out after a day on the beach! Photo by: Alec Hemer

Jesse Young
Inspiration for a small rustic tiny house remodel in Seattle

Warm terracotta floor tiles and white wall tiles by CLE. New high window at shower for privacy. Brass fixtures (Kohler Moderne Brass) and custom cabinets.

Interior Design: Fowler Interiors Photography: Inspiro 8 Studios
Mid-sized transitional dark wood floor bathroom photo in Other with an undermount sink, marble countertops, white cabinets and flat-panel cabinets

In 1949, one of mid-century modern’s most famous NW architects, Paul Hayden Kirk, built this early “glass house” in Hawthorne Hills. Rather than flattening the rolling hills of the Northwest to accommodate his structures, Kirk sought to make the least impact possible on the building site by making use of it natural landscape. When we started this project, our goal was to pay attention to the original architecture--as well as designing the home around the client’s eclectic art collection and African artifacts. The home was completely gutted, since most of the home is glass, hardly any exterior walls remained. We kept the basic footprint of the home the same—opening the space between the kitchen and living room. The horizontal grain matched walnut cabinets creates a natural continuous movement. The sleek lines of the Fleetwood windows surrounding the home allow for the landscape and interior to seamlessly intertwine. In our effort to preserve as much of the design as possible, the original fireplace remains in the home and we made sure to work with the natural lines originally designed by Kirk.