Glam update to this West Plano home leaves the homeowner happy and wanting nothing more! White shaker style cabinets with deep ebony accents in the Kitchen. Upper cabinets stained interiors with accent lighting. Custom floating ceiling detail with Arteriors Chandelier. Display front refrigerator and upgraded appliances. Ann Sacks Hex Backsplash, Taj Mahal Quartzite Counters, Artistic Tile Porcelain floor. Butler's Pantry has custom ombre Oceanside backsplash, Taj Mahal Counter and glass front cabinetry. CTH Sherril custom breakfast table, Madegoods chairs with faux leather upholstery, Robert Abby chandelier and Surya round area rug.

Engineered cedar siding creates beautiful gray-blue tones at the exterior of the home, while adding a textural element to activate the simple exterior design.

Photograph © Ken Gutmaker • Interior Designer: Jennifer Ott Design • Architect: Studio Sarah Willmer Architecture • Builder: Blair Burke General Contractors, Inc.

Love is all around Dick "RJ" Valentine, especially when he enters his home garage. A professional race car driver, entrepreneur, chairman of The MBA Group of Companies, and owner of F1 Boston and F1 Outdoors kart racing facility, Dick is surrounded by some of his most prized possessions: a radiant blue Hennessey Venom Viper 650, a twin turbo Porsche, a 500e Mercedes, and a BMW model 750il, an M5 and an M6. And that's just the four-wheelers. Dick's garage is also home to four motorcycles: a BMW 1200LT, a BMW 1200RS, a Ducati 996F, and a Ducati ST4F. "I've basically driven everything short of the space shuttle," he jokes. His wife adds, "If it doesn't make noise, leak or have wheels, Dick doesn't want any part of it!" Driving for gold. RJ has been racing professionally for 30 years and has raced virtually every type of competitive race car at tracks all over the world, including IMSA Corvettes, Trans-Am Camaros, Riley & Scott MK3 World Sports Cars, BMW M3 V8's, Dodge Vipers, Porsche 911s, Pontiac GTO.Rs and Porsche GT3s. He has more than 325 professional road racing starts, and is one of only seven people to eclipse 120 starts in the Trans-Am Series. RJ's career Trans-Am record includes a 62% incidence of top ten finishes and in excess of 20 top-five finishes. In 2007, RJ and teammate Andy Lally claimed 5 victories, 2 seconds and placed 3rd for the 2007 GT Championship in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series aboard the #66 TRG CRG/Maxter Porsche GT3. He has driven in over 20 consecutive Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, a significant achievement given the grueling nature of this 24-hour endurance race. He uses his garage to house and service not only his personal vehicles, but his professional karts as well. That's where Lista comes in. Dick stores all his tools and parts using Lista garage workbenches with drawer cabinet pedestals, stationary riser shelves and overhead cabinets with retractable doors. "We use only Lista equipment in our racing trailers and at F1 Boston. In the racing environment, precision and quality are the name of the game. Lista is the gold standard in the business. So I wouldn't have used anything but Lista in my own garage."

Love is all around Dick "RJ" Valentine, especially when he enters his home garage. A professional race car driver, entrepreneur, chairman of The MBA Group of Companies, and owner of F1 Boston and F1 Outdoors kart racing facility, Dick is surrounded by some of his most prized possessions: a radiant blue Hennessey Venom Viper 650, a twin turbo Porsche, a 500e Mercedes, and a BMW model 750il, an M5 and an M6. And that's just the four-wheelers. Dick's garage is also home to four motorcycles: a BMW 1200LT, a BMW 1200RS, a Ducati 996F, and a Ducati ST4F. "I've basically driven everything short of the space shuttle," he jokes. His wife adds, "If it doesn't make noise, leak or have wheels, Dick doesn't want any part of it!" Driving for gold. RJ has been racing professionally for 30 years and has raced virtually every type of competitive race car at tracks all over the world, including IMSA Corvettes, Trans-Am Camaros, Riley & Scott MK3 World Sports Cars, BMW M3 V8's, Dodge Vipers, Porsche 911s, Pontiac GTO.Rs and Porsche GT3s. He has more than 325 professional road racing starts, and is one of only seven people to eclipse 120 starts in the Trans-Am Series. RJ's career Trans-Am record includes a 62% incidence of top ten finishes and in excess of 20 top-five finishes. In 2007, RJ and teammate Andy Lally claimed 5 victories, 2 seconds and placed 3rd for the 2007 GT Championship in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series aboard the #66 TRG CRG/Maxter Porsche GT3. He has driven in over 20 consecutive Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, a significant achievement given the grueling nature of this 24-hour endurance race. He uses his garage to house and service not only his personal vehicles, but his professional karts as well. That's where Lista comes in. Dick stores all his tools and parts using Lista garage workbenches with drawer cabinet pedestals, stationary riser shelves and overhead cabinets with retractable doors. "We use only Lista equipment in our racing trailers and at F1 Boston. In the racing environment, precision and quality are the name of the game. Lista is the gold standard in the business. So I wouldn't have used anything but Lista in my own garage."

Love is all around Dick "RJ" Valentine, especially when he enters his home garage. A professional race car driver, entrepreneur, chairman of The MBA Group of Companies, and owner of F1 Boston and F1 Outdoors kart racing facility, Dick is surrounded by some of his most prized possessions: a radiant blue Hennessey Venom Viper 650, a twin turbo Porsche, a 500e Mercedes, and a BMW model 750il, an M5 and an M6. And that's just the four-wheelers. Dick's garage is also home to four motorcycles: a BMW 1200LT, a BMW 1200RS, a Ducati 996F, and a Ducati ST4F. "I've basically driven everything short of the space shuttle," he jokes. His wife adds, "If it doesn't make noise, leak or have wheels, Dick doesn't want any part of it!" Driving for gold. RJ has been racing professionally for 30 years and has raced virtually every type of competitive race car at tracks all over the world, including IMSA Corvettes, Trans-Am Camaros, Riley & Scott MK3 World Sports Cars, BMW M3 V8's, Dodge Vipers, Porsche 911s, Pontiac GTO.Rs and Porsche GT3s. He has more than 325 professional road racing starts, and is one of only seven people to eclipse 120 starts in the Trans-Am Series. RJ's career Trans-Am record includes a 62% incidence of top ten finishes and in excess of 20 top-five finishes. In 2007, RJ and teammate Andy Lally claimed 5 victories, 2 seconds and placed 3rd for the 2007 GT Championship in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series aboard the #66 TRG CRG/Maxter Porsche GT3. He has driven in over 20 consecutive Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, a significant achievement given the grueling nature of this 24-hour endurance race. He uses his garage to house and service not only his personal vehicles, but his professional karts as well. That's where Lista comes in. Dick stores all his tools and parts using Lista garage workbenches with drawer cabinet pedestals, stationary riser shelves and overhead cabinets with retractable doors. "We use only Lista equipment in our racing trailers and at F1 Boston. In the racing environment, precision and quality are the name of the game. Lista is the gold standard in the business. So I wouldn't have used anything but Lista in my own garage."

Love is all around Dick "RJ" Valentine, especially when he enters his home garage. A professional race car driver, entrepreneur, chairman of The MBA Group of Companies, and owner of F1 Boston and F1 Outdoors kart racing facility, Dick is surrounded by some of his most prized possessions: a radiant blue Hennessey Venom Viper 650, a twin turbo Porsche, a 500e Mercedes, and a BMW model 750il, an M5 and an M6. And that's just the four-wheelers. Dick's garage is also home to four motorcycles: a BMW 1200LT, a BMW 1200RS, a Ducati 996F, and a Ducati ST4F. "I've basically driven everything short of the space shuttle," he jokes. His wife adds, "If it doesn't make noise, leak or have wheels, Dick doesn't want any part of it!" Driving for gold. RJ has been racing professionally for 30 years and has raced virtually every type of competitive race car at tracks all over the world, including IMSA Corvettes, Trans-Am Camaros, Riley & Scott MK3 World Sports Cars, BMW M3 V8's, Dodge Vipers, Porsche 911s, Pontiac GTO.Rs and Porsche GT3s. He has more than 325 professional road racing starts, and is one of only seven people to eclipse 120 starts in the Trans-Am Series. RJ's career Trans-Am record includes a 62% incidence of top ten finishes and in excess of 20 top-five finishes. In 2007, RJ and teammate Andy Lally claimed 5 victories, 2 seconds and placed 3rd for the 2007 GT Championship in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series aboard the #66 TRG CRG/Maxter Porsche GT3. He has driven in over 20 consecutive Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, a significant achievement given the grueling nature of this 24-hour endurance race. He uses his garage to house and service not only his personal vehicles, but his professional karts as well. That's where Lista comes in. Dick stores all his tools and parts using Lista garage workbenches with drawer cabinet pedestals, stationary riser shelves and overhead cabinets with retractable doors. "We use only Lista equipment in our racing trailers and at F1 Boston. In the racing environment, precision and quality are the name of the game. Lista is the gold standard in the business. So I wouldn't have used anything but Lista in my own garage."

Love is all around Dick "RJ" Valentine, especially when he enters his home garage. A professional race car driver, entrepreneur, chairman of The MBA Group of Companies, and owner of F1 Boston and F1 Outdoors kart racing facility, Dick is surrounded by some of his most prized possessions: a radiant blue Hennessey Venom Viper 650, a twin turbo Porsche, a 500e Mercedes, and a BMW model 750il, an M5 and an M6. And that's just the four-wheelers. Dick's garage is also home to four motorcycles: a BMW 1200LT, a BMW 1200RS, a Ducati 996F, and a Ducati ST4F. "I've basically driven everything short of the space shuttle," he jokes. His wife adds, "If it doesn't make noise, leak or have wheels, Dick doesn't want any part of it!" Driving for gold. RJ has been racing professionally for 30 years and has raced virtually every type of competitive race car at tracks all over the world, including IMSA Corvettes, Trans-Am Camaros, Riley & Scott MK3 World Sports Cars, BMW M3 V8's, Dodge Vipers, Porsche 911s, Pontiac GTO.Rs and Porsche GT3s. He has more than 325 professional road racing starts, and is one of only seven people to eclipse 120 starts in the Trans-Am Series. RJ's career Trans-Am record includes a 62% incidence of top ten finishes and in excess of 20 top-five finishes. In 2007, RJ and teammate Andy Lally claimed 5 victories, 2 seconds and placed 3rd for the 2007 GT Championship in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series aboard the #66 TRG CRG/Maxter Porsche GT3. He has driven in over 20 consecutive Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, a significant achievement given the grueling nature of this 24-hour endurance race. He uses his garage to house and service not only his personal vehicles, but his professional karts as well. That's where Lista comes in. Dick stores all his tools and parts using Lista garage workbenches with drawer cabinet pedestals, stationary riser shelves and overhead cabinets with retractable doors. "We use only Lista equipment in our racing trailers and at F1 Boston. In the racing environment, precision and quality are the name of the game. Lista is the gold standard in the business. So I wouldn't have used anything but Lista in my own garage."

Love is all around Dick "RJ" Valentine, especially when he enters his home garage. A professional race car driver, entrepreneur, chairman of The MBA Group of Companies, and owner of F1 Boston and F1 Outdoors kart racing facility, Dick is surrounded by some of his most prized possessions: a radiant blue Hennessey Venom Viper 650, a twin turbo Porsche, a 500e Mercedes, and a BMW model 750il, an M5 and an M6. And that's just the four-wheelers. Dick's garage is also home to four motorcycles: a BMW 1200LT, a BMW 1200RS, a Ducati 996F, and a Ducati ST4F. "I've basically driven everything short of the space shuttle," he jokes. His wife adds, "If it doesn't make noise, leak or have wheels, Dick doesn't want any part of it!" Driving for gold. RJ has been racing professionally for 30 years and has raced virtually every type of competitive race car at tracks all over the world, including IMSA Corvettes, Trans-Am Camaros, Riley & Scott MK3 World Sports Cars, BMW M3 V8's, Dodge Vipers, Porsche 911s, Pontiac GTO.Rs and Porsche GT3s. He has more than 325 professional road racing starts, and is one of only seven people to eclipse 120 starts in the Trans-Am Series. RJ's career Trans-Am record includes a 62% incidence of top ten finishes and in excess of 20 top-five finishes. In 2007, RJ and teammate Andy Lally claimed 5 victories, 2 seconds and placed 3rd for the 2007 GT Championship in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series aboard the #66 TRG CRG/Maxter Porsche GT3. He has driven in over 20 consecutive Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, a significant achievement given the grueling nature of this 24-hour endurance race. He uses his garage to house and service not only his personal vehicles, but his professional karts as well. That's where Lista comes in. Dick stores all his tools and parts using Lista garage workbenches with drawer cabinet pedestals, stationary riser shelves and overhead cabinets with retractable doors. "We use only Lista equipment in our racing trailers and at F1 Boston. In the racing environment, precision and quality are the name of the game. Lista is the gold standard in the business. So I wouldn't have used anything but Lista in my own garage."

Transitional dark wood floor and brown floor living room photo in Atlanta with beige walls, a standard fireplace and a plaster fireplace

New Installation of Red Oak Wood, 3 1/4 in width. White-washed Bona Stain was used, Bona Finish, as well as Bona Traffic HD. Dustless sanding.
Living room - contemporary living room idea in Detroit

Collaboration with Canonbury Homes and Frank Neely Design Associates.
Inspiration for a timeless open concept kitchen remodel in Atlanta with beaded inset cabinets and two islands

Gorgeous master bath finished with Dal-Tile's Fabrique porcelain tile in the color Noir Linen polished. Tile size is 12"x24" installed in a brick joint pattern. The floor boasts underfloor heating on a timed thermostat.

Great spacious bathroom with lot of amenities. Photographer: Jon Upson
Large elegant master beige tile and porcelain tile drop-in bathtub photo in San Diego with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, granite countertops, beige walls and a two-piece toilet

Tucked away in the backwoods of Torch Lake, this home marries “rustic” with the sleek elegance of modern. The combination of wood, stone and metal textures embrace the charm of a classic farmhouse. Although this is not your average farmhouse. The home is outfitted with a high performing system that seamlessly works with the design and architecture. The tall ceilings and windows allow ample natural light into the main room. Spire Integrated Systems installed Lutron QS Wireless motorized shades paired with Hartmann & Forbes windowcovers to offer privacy and block harsh light. The custom 18′ windowcover’s woven natural fabric complements the organic esthetics of the room. The shades are artfully concealed in the millwork when not in use. Spire installed B&W in-ceiling speakers and Sonance invisible in-wall speakers to deliver ambient music that emanates throughout the space with no visual footprint. Spire also installed a Sonance Landscape Audio System so the homeowner can enjoy music outside. Each system is easily controlled using Savant. Spire personalized the settings to the homeowner’s preference making controlling the home efficient and convenient.

Charming North Carolina home featuring "Hamilton" brick exteriors.
Home design - mid-sized victorian two-story brick white home design idea

Photo: F. D. Richards, via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic American Elderberry / Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis

This Victorian tiled hallway was one of the most beautiful Victorian floors I have ever had the pleasure to work on. With the wide range of patterns and colours they are available in, it seems no two Victorian tiled floors are exactly the same, and this uniqueness is part of what makes them so appealing to property owners. Unfortunately, this floor had been poorly maintained over the years, even suffering from a few loose and missing tiles. There was a thick coating of dust and dirt soiling its appearance, and the property owner was understandably keen to remedy the situation. Having realised that everyday household cleaners are not likely to achieve great results, she asked me to carry out a full professional restoration, including making some repairs where necessary. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this property was situated in the town of Wyken, which is a few miles outside of Coventry city centre and in fact just down the road from where I live myself! Before making a start on the cleaning process, it was first necessary to re-fix the small number of loose tiles and replace a single missing tile by the radiator. Fortunately, I’ve been working on these types of floors for some time and have built up a good collection of replacement Victorian tiles so I was able to find one that matched in nicely with the rest of the floor without too much problem. To clean the tiles, I began by applying a layer of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel directly into the floor with a small brush. This product is very similar to the popular Tile Doctor Pro Clean: both are strong alkaline cleaners, strippers and degreasers, with the main difference being that Oxy-Clean comes in a gel form, making it easier to control and therefore ideal for precise cleaning, or for application to vertical surfaces. Like Pro Clean and being an alkaline base it is suitable for use on all types of natural stone and tile. The Oxy-Gel was left to soak into the tiles for around ten minutes before being scrubbed in and then rinsed off carefully with water, I then used a wet vacuum to extract the now soiled cleaning solution off the floor. The next step was to acid wash the floor using Tile Doctor Acid Gel; this served to break down alkaline mineral deposits inherent in the grout along with some excess grout that had been left on the untidily left on tile from installation. It is recommended not to use this product on acid-sensitive soon such as Marble and Limestone as it can cause irreparable etching but its fine on Victorian tiles as long as you don’t leave it on too long. Finally, the floor was given a rinse with clean water to remove any trace of chemicals from the cleaning and to neutralise the area in preparation for sealing. I left the floor for 48 hours to dry before returning to the property to seal the tiles. This allowed plenty of time for the floor to dry completely, which is important as any excess moisture can damage the ability of the sealer to protect against dirt and stains. My choice of sealer for this floor was Tile Doctor High Shine; three coats in total were applied, providing – as the product name suggests – the high shine finish that the customer had requested. The sealer will provide durable surface protection going forward preventing dirt from becoming ingrained into the pores of the tile and ensuring it remains easy to clean and keeping its appearance for some time to come. As a big fan of Victorian tiles, it was a great pleasure to restore this floor, and my customer was certainly pleased too. It’s amazing how far a little professional maintenance can go to improving the appearance of these fantastic types of floor. Mick Gayton Warwickshire Tile Doctor

Exterior, brick, lime, limewash, painted brick, architectural finish