To set a pool into a hillside, a retaining wall is a necessity. With a beautiful fieldstone veneer and a serpentine shape, this wall not only does the job, it adds beauty to both the pool and the garden above. Designed and installed by Merrifield Garden Center

Located on a picturesque setting on Lake Minnetonka, this lakefront home masterfully balances contemporary and traditional sentiments, striving not to design to either extreme. With team collaboration intentions to combine both form and function — and an eye on simple, beautiful and comfortable solutions, this relaxed elegant design approach honors lakeside living that permeates the residence. This Streeter home also blends in beautifully with surrounding classic lake homes that are reminiscent of timeless architecture and craftsmanship found in Europe and Nantucket. BUILDER: Streeter & Associates ARCHITECT: Kurt Baum & Associates INTERIOR: Alecia Stevens Interior Design Photography: Steve Henke Photography

This transitional kitchen brings in clean lines, simple cabinets, warm earth tones accents, and lots of function. This kitchen has a small footprint and had very little storage space. Our clients wanted to add more space, somehow, get the most storage possible, make it feel bright and open, have a desk area, and somewhere that could function as a coffee area. By taking out the doorway into the dining room, we were able to extend the cabinetry into the dining room, giving them their desk area as well as storage and a nice area for guests! A custom appliance garage was made that allows you to have all the necessities right at your hands and gives you the ability to close it up and hide all of the appliances. Trash, spice, tray, and drawer pull outs were added for function, as well as 2 lazy susans, wine storage, and deep drawers for pots and pans. The homeowner fell in love with the matte white GE Cafe appliances with the brushed bronze accents, and quite frankly, so did we! Once we found those, we knew we wanted to incorporate that metal throughout the kitchen. New hardwood flooring was installed in the kitchen and finished to match the existing wood in the dining room. We brought the warmth up to eye level with open shelving stained to match. We love creating with our clients, and this kitchen was no exception! We are thrilled with how everything came together.

Relax in Style! Sartorial elegance is how we define our fabulous fall 2013 fabrics. Marlowe Stripe, Plaza and Cascade fabrics by Company C mix and match perfectly with our signature colored solids - Jewel and Nori! The sexy swoop of the arm, the deep seat and pitched, loose-cushion back all combine to make the Company C Charleston Chaise a clean-lined paragon of comfort and style! Learn more here: http://www.companyc.com/furniture-chairs/charleston-chaise-marlowe-stripe-berry/70232-chsf-mrlw-bery.htm Company C, Inc.

The homeowners came to us with the desire to update their master bathroom into a more spa-like retreat that was also more functional for their daily needs. The existing space was large with a vaulted ceiling, lots of natural light and an existing private water closet. So the bones of the space were great and the room just needed a few tweaks. We started by relocating the cramped shower that shared the water closet room, to the existing tub location. The giant whirlpool tub took up more than its share of real estate in the room, and the beautiful new shower, which gets used daily, now sits in its spot. The new shower features beautiful lass tile accents as well as a bench seat and frameless shower door. The new tub is freestanding and sits in front of an updated slightly smaller window, providing a sculptural focal point upon entry to the room. There was still plenty of room for two large vanities, and a corner storage cabinet and appliance garage that hides small bathroom necessities. The water closet remains in its own private room and the area that once housed the shower, is now an additional closet for the master bedroom. The room is a pallet of soft grays and whites with the cherry vanities adding some warmth. Polished chrome and glass accents bring some sparkle to the space. Designed by: Susan Klimala, CKD, CBD Photography by: Mike Kaskel For more information on kitchen and bath design ideas go to: www.kitchenstudio-ge.com

Morgenroth Development is a fully licensed general contractor in Pleasanton, California offering a full-range of professional design and construction services. This garden shed could be used for a pool house, children's playhouse, tool shed or any other storage needs you may have.

Contemporary entry door with dual insulated satin Low-E glass. Door is crafted from FSC certified Mahogany and is available in various configurations.

Clingerman Doors - Custom Wood Garage Doors
Inspiration for a timeless garage remodel in Raleigh

The Avondale 36 in. vanity reflects a refreshing approach to design for the bathroom with its country charm. Finished in fashionable weathered pine, the rustic Avondale features a single drawer with dovetail construction, luxurious slow close, full extension drawer glides and attractive antique black handles. Within the large drawer, there are convenient compartments to keep bath necessities well organized. In addition, the open shelf below provides substantial storage space, suitable for towels, toiletries or anything you need. With Avondale, cottage styling, a trendy finish and generous storage space combine to create a perfect addition to any bathroom.

2011 NARI CAPITAL COTY MERIT AWARD WINNER This couple lived in their colonial home in Burke, Virginia, for more than 20 years. Now that their children were grown and gone, it was time for them to pay more attention to their home. First on their list was to renovate their master bathroom. Tight and dysfunctional is how they described the existing space. The homeowners always dreamed of having a whirlpool, a large steam shower and a private toilet area. Importantly, they wanted to use the latest products and materials to bring the bathroom into the 21st Century. Starting with exotic granite and porcelain tile from floor to ceiling, the new design does just that. Then, a highly sophisticated steam shower using granite benches, a heavy glass enclosure, chrome faucets and a rain shower head was installed. Modern body spray heads are embedded in the wall tiles. The shower is complemented by a bubble, jetted whirlpool tub with granite surrounds. A modern double vanity with vessel sinks, a granite countertop, high end cabinets and stylish faucets rest along one wall. Custom-built, recessed mirrored medicine cabinets provide storage for necessities. In the end, the homeowners are thrilled with the outcome and never imagined that their old and dark looking small bath could ever be transformed into such beautiful bathroom.

This extensive home remodel highlights the front porch as the central characteristic of its new identity. Out with the old disintegrating roof and spindly support columns and in with a new cantilevered overhang clad in an asphalt shingle roof to contrast against an off-white stucco. A focal cantilevered roof spans over the floating concrete front porch. A nod to a big smile facing the street, inviting the neighborhood in. Larger dark bronze metal windows brighten up vaulted spaces inside. The old overcast tree no longer sits in front but its memory is not to be forgotten: a new olive tree is planted adjacent to the original and now a series of cast concrete steps replace the dilapidated ramp leading one from the sidewalk directly up to the front door. What was once hidden behind the whims of nature and necessity is now open to the neighbors again.

The outdoor gardening space is functional and attractive. The lovely fence keeps the deer at bay, a necessity in the low country of South Carolina. Raised bed gardening makes for a neat space and the garden shed is a wonderful little house. Love this space.

This client sought to update their recently purchased home in Alexandria. A gourmet kitchen that complemented the size of the home and property was a top priority. They wanted more light-filled and connected living spaces for their growing family. Updating the finishes throughout the home was also a necessity. Design challenges included an existing utility space that occupied a large portion of the kitchen footprint, making the kitchen cramped and narrow. In addition, the foyer was dark, confined and uninviting as a result of its organization and enclosed nature of the main stair. To overcome the challenges, we relocated the utilities, creating a more usable footprint for the kitchen. The aging furnace was replaced with a high efficiency furnace located in a newly insulated and conditioned crawl space. A new hot water heater was placed in the finished attic, and the electrical panel was also relocated. Then, we designed a portion of the kitchen to mask the need for dropped structural headers: the refrigerator, freezer and pantry were placed under the area that necessitated a drop bulkhead, creating a sleek built-in area for the appliances. Once the utilities were moved, the kitchen could be opened up to a large family room and designed with a much-improved layout. Two new four-panel exterior doors replaced small doors at the family room to connect the main living space with the beautiful yard. In addition, white bead board was added to the family room ceiling, creating more visual continuity with the adjacent white kitchen. To transform the foyer into a grand and welcoming entry, a small amount of space was taken from a large second floor bedroom, and the entire second floor structure was supported with a series of flush beams to allow the stair to be opened and expose the rail. New glass doors to the den, relocated at an angle from the main stair provide the foyer with more natural light and a wider, more inviting path to the kitchen. In the master suite, the bedroom and bathroom entry doors were relocated to improve the room’s layout and offer more bathroom privacy and space for a walk-in closet. A room forgotten by the previous owner was turned into a family mudroom with built-ins and wainscoting to keep the family organized in style. Photography by Greg Hadley

The clients, a young professional couple had lived with this bathroom in their townhome for 6 years. They finally could not take it any longer. The designer was tasked with turning this ugly duckling into a beautiful swan without relocating walls, doors, fittings, or fixtures in this principal bathroom. The client wish list included, better storage, improved lighting, replacing the tub with a shower, and creating a sparkling personality for this uninspired space using any color way except white. The designer began the transformation with the wall tile. Large format rectangular tiles were installed floor to ceiling on the vanity wall and continued behind the toilet and into the shower. The soft variation in tile pattern is very soothing and added to the Zen feeling of the room. One partner is an avid gardener and wanted to bring natural colors into the space. The same tile is used on the floor in a matte finish for slip resistance and in a 2” mosaic of the same tile is used on the shower floor. A lighted tile recess was created across the entire back wall of the shower beautifully illuminating the wall. Recycled glass tiles used in the niche represent the color and shape of leaves. A single glass panel was used in place of a traditional shower door. Continuing the serene colorway of the bath, natural rift cut white oak was chosen for the vanity and the floating shelves above the toilet. A white quartz for the countertop, has a small reflective pattern like the polished chrome of the fittings and hardware. Natural curved shapes are repeated in the arch of the faucet, the hardware, the front of the toilet and shower column. The rectangular shape of the tile is repeated in the drawer fronts of the cabinets, the sink, the medicine cabinet, and the floating shelves. The shower column was selected to maintain the simple lines of the fittings while providing a temperature, pressure balance shower experience with a multi-function main shower head and handheld head. The dual flush toilet and low flow shower are a water saving consideration. The floating shelves provide decorative and functional storage. The asymmetric design of the medicine cabinet allows for a full view in the mirror with the added function of a tri view mirror when open. Built in LED lighting is controllable from 2500K to 4000K. The interior of the medicine cabinet is also mirrored and electrified to keep the countertop clear of necessities. Additional lighting is provided with recessed LED fixtures for the vanity area as well as in the shower. A motion sensor light installed under the vanity illuminates the room with a soft glow at night. The transformation is now complete. No longer an ugly duckling and source of unhappiness, the new bathroom provides a much-needed respite from the couples’ busy lives. It has created a retreat to recharge and replenish, two very important components of wellness.

Two large windows in the kitchen - called picture windows - bring tons of light into the everyday work space. The corner sink gives plenty of "triangle work space" in the kitchen floor plan. http://stantonhomes.com/dahlberg/

Door style: Pendleton Inset | Species: Paint grade | Finish: White The dining room is graced by two tall, glass-fronted display cabinets, that also offer convenient storage for table linens and other necessities. The sunny conservatory seen to the rear is a comfortable haven, all year round. Showplace Kitchens: http://www.showplacekitchens.com/ Showplace Wood Products: http://www.showplacewood.com/

Brock Design Group revamped the kitchen in this 1920's Portland home. The wall was knocked down to expand the kitchen, a window was placed looking out the the backyard, all new cabinets and countertops were installed. They gave the kitchen a new look with glass subway tiles as the backsplash and added porcelain tile flooring. The breakfast bar was a necessity for these clients to add more seating and counter space. The feel for this space is bright and functional.

The homeowners desired a more usable layout with timeless appeal in keeping with their historic home. New vanity cabinets with smart storage replaced pedestal sinks. The custom built-in medicine cabinets provide additional spots for bathroom necessities. Classic finishes, black and white hex tile floors, and a soothing green keep the space looking fresh while tying it into the historic roots of the home.

Inspiration for a traditional backyard stone retaining wall landscape in New York for summer.