Ulrich Designer: Tom Santarsiero Photography by Peter Rymwid This is a master bath with subtle sophistication and understated elegance. The cabinets were custom designed by Tom, with straight, simple lines, and custom built by Draper DBS of walnut, with a deep, rich brown finish. The richness of the dark cabinetry juxtaposed with the elegance of the white carrara marble on the countertop, wall and floors contributes to the room's sophistication. Ample storage is found in the large vanity and an armoire style cabinet, designed to mimic a free-standing furniture piece, that is positioned behind the door. Architectural beams placed across the vaulted ceiling bring a sense of scale to the room and invite natural light in through the skylight.

Dual-directional woodgrain colors provide the look of natural wood but with the ease and low-maintenance of steel. Photo: Amarr Heritage Collection Short Panel design in Golden Oak dual-directional woodgrain.

This renovated brick rowhome in Boston’s South End offers a modern aesthetic within a historic structure, creative use of space, exceptional thermal comfort, a reduced carbon footprint, and a passive stream of income. DESIGN PRIORITIES. The goals for the project were clear - design the primary unit to accommodate the family’s modern lifestyle, rework the layout to create a desirable rental unit, improve thermal comfort and introduce a modern aesthetic. We designed the street-level entry as a shared entrance for both the primary and rental unit. The family uses it as their everyday entrance - we planned for bike storage and an open mudroom with bench and shoe storage to facilitate the change from shoes to slippers or bare feet as they enter their home. On the main level, we expanded the kitchen into the dining room to create an eat-in space with generous counter space and storage, as well as a comfortable connection to the living space. The second floor serves as master suite for the couple - a bedroom with a walk-in-closet and ensuite bathroom, and an adjacent study, with refinished original pumpkin pine floors. The upper floor, aside from a guest bedroom, is the child's domain with interconnected spaces for sleeping, work and play. In the play space, which can be separated from the work space with new translucent sliding doors, we incorporated recreational features inspired by adventurous and competitive television shows, at their son’s request. MODERN MEETS TRADITIONAL. We left the historic front facade of the building largely unchanged - the security bars were removed from the windows and the single pane windows were replaced with higher performing historic replicas. We designed the interior and rear facade with a vision of warm modernism, weaving in the notable period features. Each element was either restored or reinterpreted to blend with the modern aesthetic. The detailed ceiling in the living space, for example, has a new matte monochromatic finish, and the wood stairs are covered in a dark grey floor paint, whereas the mahogany doors were simply refinished. New wide plank wood flooring with a neutral finish, floor-to-ceiling casework, and bold splashes of color in wall paint and tile, and oversized high-performance windows (on the rear facade) round out the modern aesthetic. RENTAL INCOME. The existing rowhome was zoned for a 2-family dwelling but included an undesirable, single-floor studio apartment at the garden level with low ceiling heights and questionable emergency egress. In order to increase the quality and quantity of space in the rental unit, we reimagined it as a two-floor, 1 or 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a modern aesthetic, increased ceiling height on the lowest level and provided an in-unit washer/dryer. The apartment was listed with Jackie O'Connor Real Estate and rented immediately, providing the owners with a source of passive income. ENCLOSURE WITH BENEFITS. The homeowners sought a minimal carbon footprint, enabled by their urban location and lifestyle decisions, paired with the benefits of a high-performance home. The extent of the renovation allowed us to implement a deep energy retrofit (DER) to address air tightness, insulation, and high-performance windows. The historic front facade is insulated from the interior, while the rear facade is insulated on the exterior. Together with these building enclosure improvements, we designed an HVAC system comprised of continuous fresh air ventilation, and an efficient, all-electric heating and cooling system to decouple the house from natural gas. This strategy provides optimal thermal comfort and indoor air quality, improved acoustic isolation from street noise and neighbors, as well as a further reduced carbon footprint. We also took measures to prepare the roof for future solar panels, for when the South End neighborhood’s aging electrical infrastructure is upgraded to allow them. URBAN LIVING. The desirable neighborhood location allows the both the homeowners and tenant to walk, bike, and use public transportation to access the city, while each charging their respective plug-in electric cars behind the building to travel greater distances. OVERALL. The understated rowhouse is now ready for another century of urban living, offering the owners comfort and convenience as they live life as an expression of their values. Eric Roth Photo

High-gloss lilac adds unexpected color above, while a Dutch door and built-in dog beds keep the McKinleys' pets contained and comfortable in the laundry room. Photo by Erica George Dines for Southern Living

A great way to brighten up a bedroom is with painted nightstands. In this case, we wanted to maintain a calming environment with neutral wall colors and bedding. To add a bit of cheer to the space, we upholstered two lounge chairs and painted both nightstands similar shaded of aqua. Martha O'Hara Interiors, Interior Design | L. Cramer Builders + Remodelers, Builder | Troy Thies, Photography | Shannon Gale, Photo Styling Please Note: All “related,” “similar,” and “sponsored” products tagged or listed by Houzz are not actual products pictured. They have not been approved by Martha O’Hara Interiors nor any of the professionals credited. For information about our work, please contact design@oharainteriors.com.

Darren Edwards Photography www.darrenedwardsphotography.com
Example of a trendy dark wood floor family room design in San Diego

Inspiration for a cottage medium tone wood floor kitchen remodel in DC Metro

Example of a trendy entryway design in Orange County with a glass front door

This 100 year old barn recently received a complete makeover. The upper level, which is separated by sliding barn doors, has a home theater area, bar, and a center game room complete with a Camaro pool table. Photo by Daniel Contelmo.

House was built by LHC Builders in Old Metairie. Jefferson Door supplied int/ext doors, moulding, columns and hardware.
Inspiration for a timeless white two-story wood exterior home remodel in New Orleans with a hip roof

Everything about this home says East Coast, from the large front porch to the old-fashioned painted white Clopay Coachman Collection carriage house garage doors. All you need is the ocean view. Doors shown: Clopay Coachman Collection insulated steel and composite overhead carriage house garage doors, Design 12 with REC13 windows in white.

ansel olson
Example of a mountain style medium tone wood floor living room design in Richmond with white walls and a concealed tv

Designed & Built by Renewal Design-Build. RenewalDesignBuild.com Photography by: Jeff Herr Photography
Mid-century modern beige mixed siding exterior home photo in Atlanta

This beautiful Birmingham, MI home had been renovated prior to our clients purchase, but the style and overall design was not a fit for their family. They really wanted to have a kitchen with a large “eat-in” island where their three growing children could gather, eat meals and enjoy time together. Additionally, they needed storage, lots of storage! We decided to create a completely new space. The original kitchen was a small “L” shaped workspace with the nook visible from the front entry. It was completely closed off to the large vaulted family room. Our team at MSDB re-designed and gutted the entire space. We removed the wall between the kitchen and family room and eliminated existing closet spaces and then added a small cantilevered addition toward the backyard. With the expanded open space, we were able to flip the kitchen into the old nook area and add an extra-large island. The new kitchen includes oversized built in Subzero refrigeration, a 48” Wolf dual fuel double oven range along with a large apron front sink overlooking the patio and a 2nd prep sink in the island. Additionally, we used hallway and closet storage to create a gorgeous walk-in pantry with beautiful frosted glass barn doors. As you slide the doors open the lights go on and you enter a completely new space with butcher block countertops for baking preparation and a coffee bar, subway tile backsplash and room for any kind of storage needed. The homeowners love the ability to display some of the wine they’ve purchased during their travels to Italy! We did not stop with the kitchen; a small bar was added in the new nook area with additional refrigeration. A brand-new mud room was created between the nook and garage with 12” x 24”, easy to clean, porcelain gray tile floor. The finishing touches were the new custom living room fireplace with marble mosaic tile surround and marble hearth and stunning extra wide plank hand scraped oak flooring throughout the entire first floor.

Figuring out how to make a big kitchen work better — for a chef wanting to use her kitchen for both cooking classes and corporate entertaining — is what won Janice two design awards. A designer with Drury Design in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn, Janice won first place in the large kitchen category in the NKBA competition for greater Chicagoland. The same project was also named by Trends magazine as one of its Top 50 kitchens for 2013-2014, the second straight year a Drury project has been so honored. The cabinetry is from Grabill’s Benchmark line with an Olde Towne door style in maple and finished in Super White. Janice uses Grabill all the time, she said. “What we like most about them is their turnaround time. They have a very good product at a fair price. They have a great warranty.” With the kind of detail involved in this kind of project, they are also “most helpful in double-checking everything to make sure everything fits the way I planned it. If they see any issues, if there are any questions, they don’t make assumptions. They call me and we work things out. They’re very flexible in how they work.” This transitional style in its Super White finish from Grabill provides a lot of flexibility, explained Janice. “There’s a really pretty aqua color on the walls, but everything else is neutral, so the owner can put whatever accent color she wants with it and it will still work. So she can really change the look of the kitchen with just the paint color.” Photos provided by Janice Teague

A quiet place to unwind at the end of the day was the top priority for this Thousand Oaks client. Soothing plum accents against crisp white bedding. Custom built double-sided barn door that serves as dual purpose, first and foremost as a layered headboard, and seconds as a privacy door simply by sliding across to the vanity area. The client inherited the small side table, which we painted in a charcoal black and now serves as a nightstand. The bathroom vanity was raised 6 inches and custom arched toe kicks were added. Photography by Amy Bartlam

Jeff Dow Photography
Bedroom - large rustic master medium tone wood floor and brown floor bedroom idea in Other with blue walls and no fireplace

Jim Scmid
Example of a classic medium tone wood floor kitchen design in Charlotte with stainless steel appliances

Our client, with whom we had worked on a number of projects over the years, enlisted our help in transforming her family’s beloved but deteriorating rustic summer retreat, built by her grandparents in the mid-1920’s, into a house that would be livable year-‘round. It had served the family well but needed to be renewed for the decades to come without losing the flavor and patina they were attached to. The house was designed by Ruth Adams, a rare female architect of the day, who also designed in a similar vein a nearby summer colony of Vassar faculty and alumnae. To make Treetop habitable throughout the year, the whole house had to be gutted and insulated. The raw homosote interior wall finishes were replaced with plaster, but all the wood trim was retained and reused, as were all old doors and hardware. The old single-glazed casement windows were restored, and removable storm panels fitted into the existing in-swinging screen frames. New windows were made to match the old ones where new windows were added. This approach was inherently sustainable, making the house energy-efficient while preserving most of the original fabric. Changes to the original design were as seamless as possible, compatible with and enhancing the old character. Some plan modifications were made, and some windows moved around. The existing cave-like recessed entry porch was enclosed as a new book-lined entry hall and a new entry porch added, using posts made from an oak tree on the site. The kitchen and bathrooms are entirely new but in the spirit of the place. All the bookshelves are new. A thoroughly ramshackle garage couldn’t be saved, and we replaced it with a new one built in a compatible style, with a studio above for our client, who is a writer.