Customer wanted to make their dining room recessed wall an accent wall. I recommended clay plaster first creating a sample board with a Napa Olive tint that they had me trowel on the wall. They are going to live with it while I prepare a sample board showing the added effect of a lime wash that further saturates/darkens the hue of the tinted color and from that decide if they want to proceed with a lime wash.

Photo: Lucy Call © 2013 Houzz
Living room - 1950s living room idea in Salt Lake City

With our vision of transforming their former look into a clean, fresh “Santa Barbara” style, the clients gave us permission to proceed with a new pool and outdoor kitchen design, as well as a new fire pit, additional landscaping and enhanced lighting. Additionally, Aquaterra updated the outdoor appliances, fans, security light fixtures and re-routed some ugly electrical lines. Wade Griffith Photography

This gut renovation updates a 1,200 SF Classic 5 in an historic prewar building overlooking Gramercy Park. The design is organized around a spine of ribbed white oak proceeding from entry hall to living spaces with southwest views over the park. Concealed doors throughout the apartment provide access to storage, and a hidden door in the ribbed wall leads to the master suite. Fran Parente

The clients vision was to convert two closets into one master walk in closet. I worked closely with them on the design until they were confident. We then proceeded with the demolition, rewiring for new lighting, installing salvaged french bi-fold doors, replicating flooring and threshold to match the original pine flooring, and building out their newly conceived wardrobes. The project went swimmingly and they are very happy with their results!

The annual Bucks County Designer House is the Village Improvement Association of Doylestown’s largest fundraiser. Each year a new house is chosen in the Bucks County area to be completely redecorated and fully furnished by local retailers and designers. Tours and events are held in the Designer House, all proceeds benefit the VIA Birthing Center at the Doylestown Hospital. Oskar Huber has participated in the event for several years. This gallery features our Living Room Design from the 2019 Designer House.

With our vision of transforming their former look into a clean, fresh “Santa Barbara” style, the clients gave us permission to proceed with a new pool and outdoor kitchen design, as well as a new fire pit, additional landscaping and enhanced lighting. Additionally, Aquaterra updated the outdoor appliances, fans, security light fixtures and re-routed some ugly electrical lines. Wade Griffith Photography

The clients own what was originally the Palmer House, in Lutz, Florida. They also own 35 acres in Pine Mountain, Georgia, near Callaway Gardens, which attracted them to the area. The project, a small vacation cabin, he intended to build himself. The location chosen on the property looks into the woods but also has a pastoral view of an adjacent pasture, including cattle and a watering pond. Construction is proceeding slowly but surely. A small house that will "live big".

Mike and Anne of Barrington Hills desperately needed to update and renovate both their kid’s hall bath and guest bath, and in their 1980’s home each project presented a different set of unique challenges to overcome. When they set out to identify the right remodeling company to partner with, it was important to find a company that could help them to visualize design solutions for the bath renovations. When they came across Advance Design Studio’s website, they were immediately drawn to the solution-oriented remodeling process and the family friendly company. They say they chose Advance Design because of the integrated approach of “Common Sense Remodeling”, making the design, project management and construction all happen in one place. When they met with Project Designer Michelle Lecinski, they knew they chose the right company. “Michelle’s excellent work on the initial designs made it easy to proceed with Advance Design Studio,” Mike said. Like most homeowners anticipating a big renovation project, they had some healthy fears; with two bathrooms being remodeled at the same time they worried about timeframes and staying within budget. With the help of Michelle, and the “Common Sense” guidelines, they were confident that Advance Design would stay true, orchestrating all the moving parts to stay within both the estimated timeline and budget. The guest bath offered the biggest design challenge. A dormer obstruction made the already cramped shower awkward to access. Mike and Anne also wanted the shower size to be expanded, making it more accommodating. Working with Advance’s construction expert DJ Yurik, Michelle relocated the shower concealing the original dormer and creating a larger, more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing guest shower. The unsightly and not at all user-friendly closet was removed and replaced with elegant White Maple Dura Supreme cabinetry with much improved function featuring dual tall linen cabinets, a special makeup area and two sinks, providing a dual vanity which was extremely important for better guest use. The Fossil Brown quartz countertop is in pleasing contrast to the white cabinetry, and coordinates nicely with the mocha porcelain tile gracing the shower for an accent. The decorative glazed turquoise tile backsplash, tile border, and bottle niche adds a taste of marine green to the room, while marble-looking porcelain tile makes guests feel they are staying in a 5-star hotel. Polished nickel Kohler plumbing fixtures were chosen to add a touch of sophistication. This renovated guest bath is comfortable and elegant, and Anne and Mike’s house guests may never want to leave! “The end result was updated and restyled bathrooms that the client will enjoy and increase the value of their home,” Designer Michelle said. The children’s hall bath had its own set of challenges. The current placement of the sink was not conducive to the best use of the existing space, nor did it allow for any visual interest, something Advance’s designers always work to achieve even within the tight confines of a small bath. Advance removed the linen closet and used the gain in wall space to create a dramatic focal point on the vanity wall. They also took additional space that wasn’t being used for new Storm Gray Dura Supreme tall built-in linen cabinets, creating functional storage space that the former bath lacked. A customized glass splash panel was created for the bath, and the high ceilings with skylights were accented with a custom-made track lighting fixture featuring industrial pipe and cage materials. Authentic cement encaustic tile was used wall to wall surrounding the vanity to create a dramatic and interesting back drop for the new elegant and stately furniture-like double sink wall. Hand-made encaustic tile originated in Western Europe beginning in the 1850’s and reminded Mike and Anne of tile they had seen and loved from their travels overseas. Today, encaustic tile has made a re-appearance in today’s modern bath design with its wide array of appealing patterns and artistic use of color. Oil rubbed bronze Kohler fixtures echo the black accents in the beautiful tile pattern and reflect the matte black of the unique lighting detail. Easy to maintain Blanca Arabescato Quartz countertops add practicality and natural beauty and compliments the warm wood porcelain tile floors. This handsome bath has generated praise from friends and family even before it’s complete unveiling as photos of the space leaked out on social media! It’s not only completely functional to use, but especially pretty to look at. “Advance Design Studio did a terrific job for us. We really appreciated how easy it was to work with them on a complex project of the complete remodeling of two bathrooms. They very capably handled all the details from design, to project management, to construction. It is a great group of people to work with and we would welcome the opportunity to work with them again anytime,” Mike said.

This tiny powder room is minimal yet full of interest. The marble on the wall and the counter top creates interest naturally. The mirror is back-lit so that the marble is illuminated in the evening.

This gut renovation updates a 1,200 SF Classic 5 in an historic prewar building overlooking Gramercy Park. The design is organized around a spine of ribbed white oak proceeding from entry hall to living spaces with southwest views over the park. Concealed doors throughout the apartment provide access to storage, and a hidden door in the ribbed wall leads to the master suite. Fran Parente

The clients vision was to convert two closets into one master walk in closet. I worked closely with them on the design until they were confident. We then proceeded with the demolition, rewiring for new lighting, installing salvaged french bi-fold doors, replicating flooring and threshold to match the original pine flooring, and building out their newly conceived wardrobes. The project went swimmingly and they are very happy with their results!

Name a better feeling than pulling into a well-organized garage after long #LDW travels. We’ll wait. To support Hunger Action Month we are proud to contribute a portion of all September installation proceeds to the Yavapai County Food Bank. Schedule your FREE design consultation today

The kitchen remodel was not planned at the beginning of the project. But as the demo proceeded, the client agreed that the older kitchen cabinets and counters were not going to blend too well with all the new interiors. This is a low budget kitchen remodel. The range was existing. The refrigerator, dishwasher, sink and faucet were replaced. A new hood and ducting was added.

The Brooklyn Solar Canopy allows flat roof homeowners with highly obstructed roofs to proceed with solar installations by elevating modules above the roof surface. For NYC townhomes HVAC and AC units are typically solar project killers given the amount of scarce space they take up. The Brooklyn Solar Canopy overcomes this challenge by literally rising above it.

The clients vision was to convert two closets into one master walk in closet. I worked closely with them on the design until they were confident. We then proceeded with the demolition, rewiring for new lighting, installing salvaged french bi-fold doors, replicating flooring and threshold to match the original pine flooring, and building out their newly conceived wardrobes. The project went swimmingly and they are very happy with their results!

Example of an arts and crafts deck design in San Diego

This gut renovation updates a 1,200 SF Classic 5 in an historic prewar building overlooking Gramercy Park. The design is organized around a spine of ribbed white oak proceeding from entry hall to living spaces with southwest views over the park. Concealed doors throughout the apartment provide access to storage, and a hidden door in the ribbed wall leads to the master suite. Fran Parente

Before we redesigned the basement of this charming but compact 1950's North Vancouver home, this space was an unfinished utility room that housed nothing more than an outdated furnace and hot water tank. Since space was at a premium we recommended replacing the furnace with a high efficiency model and converting the hot water tank to an on-demand system, both of which could be housed in the adjacent crawl space. That left room for a generous laundry room conveniently located at the back entrance of the house where family members returning from a mountain bike ride can undress, drop muddy clothes into the washing machine and proceed to shower in the bathroom just across the hall. Interior Design by Lori Steeves of Simply Home Decorating. Photos by Tracey Ayton Photography.