Josiah Zukowski
Mid-sized minimalist carpeted straight carpeted staircase photo in Portland with white walls and carpeted risers

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.

Staircase wall trim installed to dress up bland wall!!
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Dining table with legs in extra clear transparent glass 19 mm thick. Top Radix Canaletto Walnut 44 mm thick with irregular solid edges. Also available in ebony matte finish. - For more information, please contact IQMatics 847.885.3600

Small elegant underground cork floor and brown floor home design photo with beige walls and no fireplace

photo by KRUSHgraphics
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Driscoll Interior Design, LLC
Mid-sized transitional kids' white tile and porcelain tile porcelain tile and gray floor alcove bathtub photo in DC Metro with furniture-like cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a two-piece toilet, purple walls, an undermount sink and granite countertops

Living room library - mid-sized transitional enclosed medium tone wood floor and brown floor living room library idea in Toronto with white walls and no tv

Brazilian Teak (Cumaru) floor.

Timber Tech Terrain decking with Westbury Aluminum railings with glass panels.
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Natural bluestone patio replaces a lawn area that had suffered as the surrounding ornamental trees provided too much shade for the grass. Post intallation, ground cover just starting to fill in.

We are extremely excited to present this Rustic Hickory in a black glaze matte from Bertch. The rustic feel of the cabinets fit amazingly well in this older farm home. It was this homeowner's lucky day as soon after install, the Formica laminate tops in Slate Sequoia were discontinued. They compliment the tones of the cabinets better than anything we could imagine. Stainless steel appliances are in good company with the integral Karran 60/40 bowl sink. This all goes well with the bronze tones in the rest of the metal elements of the kitchen. Gracefully holding all of this up is Mannington Adura Max Apex Hilltop luxury vinyl plants in Cliffside. The installers worked with the customer to run the planks in a perpendicular pattern where two rooms came together.

NightVision Outdoor Lighting, Photo by Stefanie Painter, LED path lighting at a home in Alpharetta, GA.
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