Ben Benschneider
Inspiration for a contemporary wooden open staircase remodel in Seattle

Photography by Richard Mandelkorn
Kitchen/dining room combo - traditional medium tone wood floor and brown floor kitchen/dining room combo idea in Boston with white walls

Photography by Derek Robinson
Mid-sized transitional galley open concept kitchen photo in Dublin with recessed-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, black appliances and an island

Trendy u-shaped medium tone wood floor and brown floor kitchen photo in Orange County with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, green cabinets, quartz countertops, multicolored backsplash, quartz backsplash, paneled appliances, an island and white countertops

Designer: MODtage Design / Photographer: Paul Dyer
Example of a large transitional enclosed light wood floor family room design in San Francisco with white walls, no fireplace and a media wall

Cabinets: Brand- Omega Cabinetry Style - Transitional Door style/ Finish - White painted shaker door. The penisula features a bi-level counter top going from counter height to bar height with an undermount sink located within so the homeowner can entertain while working in the kitchen. The counter tops are honed black absolute. The flooring is a porcelain wood grain in a distressed beachwood grey finish. Backsplash is a porcelain slate 6x6 tile turned on a diagonal.

Photo Credit: Aaron Snow Photography http://www.aaronsnowphotography.com/

The Kelso's Patio offers a cozy and inviting outdoor living space with various features and elements. The brick fireplace surround serves as a focal point, providing warmth and a charming aesthetic. Ceiling heaters are installed to ensure comfort even during cooler evenings. The covered porch provides shelter from the elements, allowing the space to be enjoyed throughout the year. The patio is furnished with stylish gray wood outdoor furniture, creating a comfortable seating area for relaxation and entertainment. An outdoor covered living space offers additional seating and lounging options. A round chandelier hangs from above, adding a touch of elegance and enhancing the ambiance of the patio. Gray chairs provide seating for gatherings and gatherings. White pillars add architectural interest and a classic touch to the design. A stainless steel fireplace provides a sleek and modern feature, perfect for cozy evenings outdoors. Finally, a fence surrounds the patio, offering privacy and a defined outdoor space. The Kelso's Patio is a wonderful retreat that combines comfort, style, and functionality to create an enjoyable outdoor living area for the family and their guests.

A fire pit is an ideal addition to a family backyard as it opens up the garden for year-round enjoyment, a chance to escape outside and reconnect with nature. A curved seat wall encloses the fire pit area and follows the line of the firepit, providing a practical surface as well as an attractive visual element. Hand-cut Tennessee fieldstone was used here, with a pea gravel floor giving a comforting feel underfoot. ZoomWorks

Salisbury, CT This 4,000 square foot vacation house in northwest Connecticut sits on a small promontory with views across a lake to hills beyond. While the site was extraordinary, the owner’s existing house had no redeeming value. It was demolished, and its foundations provided the base for this house. The new house rises from a stone base set into the hillside. A guest bedroom, recreation room and wine cellar are located in this half cellar with views toward the lake. Above the house steps back creating a terrace across the entire length of the house with a covered dining porch at one end and steps down to the lawn at the other end. This main portion of the house is sided with wood clapboard and detailed simply to recall the 19th century farmhouses in the area. Large windows and ‘french’ doors open the living room and family room to the terrace and view. A large kitchen is open to the family room and also serves a formal dining room on the entrance side of the house. On the second floor a there is a spacious master suite and three additional bedrooms. A new ‘carriage house’ garage thirty feet from the main house was built and the driveway and topography altered to create a new sense of approach and entry.

Saturday June 27, 1:30 to 3:30pm | Greenwich Village Jane Street and 11th Street Gardens by Robin Key of Robin Key Landscape Architecture See the hidden side of Greenwich Village with an exclusive visit to two enchanting townhouse gardens. The first, on Jane Street, includes a front garden, rear garden, and second floor terrace. In the rear garden a large, curved seatwall defines the space, creating a niche for the garden’s dining table and providing additional seating. Custom-made copper planters hold lush, shade-tolerant plantings backed by a cedar and copper trellis, adding warmth and texture to the walled garden. Tucked away in a corner, a compact outdoor kitchen provides the perfect spot from which to entertain. A quick walk will take attendees to 11th Street, where the design for this townhouse rear garden is structured around three outdoor rooms. The geometry of the contemporary space is softened with lush, massed plantings, while two columnar hornbeams provide height. The perimeter fence takes design cues from the steel deck and railings, while the bluestone paving in the upper areas echoes the floor pattern inside the home. Photo by Francine Fleischer

Inspiration for a transitional kitchen remodel in San Diego

This project involved converting a partially finished basement into an ultimate media room with an English pub. The family is big on entertaining and enjoys watching movies and college football. It was important to combine the media area with the pub to create options for guests within the same space. Although the home has a full sized basement the staircase was centrally located, which made it difficult for special configuration. As a result, we were able to work with the existing plan be designing a media area large enough for a sectional sofa and additional seating with the English pub at the far end of the room. The home owner had a projection screen on a bare wall with the electrical components stacked on boxes. The new plan involved installing new cabinets to accommodate components and surround the screen to give it a built-in finish. Open shelving also allows the homeowner to feature some of their collectible sports memorabilia. As if the 130 inch projection screen wasn’t large enough, the surround sound system makes you feel like you are part of the action. It is as close to the I MAX viewing experience as you are going to get in a home. Sound-deadening insulation was installed in the ceiling and walls to prevent noise from penetrating the second floor. The design of the pub was inspired by the home owner’s favorite local pub, Brazenhead. The bar countertop with lift-top entrance was custom built by our carpenters to simulate aged wood. The finish looks rough, but it is smooth enough to wipe down easily. The top encloses the bar and provides seating for guests. A TV at the bar allows guest to follow along with the game on the big screen or tune into another game. The game table provides even another option for entertainment in the media room. Stacked stone with thick mortar joints was installed on the face of the bar and to an opposite wall containing the entrance to a wine room. Hand scrapped hardwood floors were installed in the pub portion of the media room to provide yet another touch to “Brazenhead” their own pub. The wet bar is under a soffit area that continues into the media area due to existing duct work. We wanted to creatively find a way to separate the two spaces. Adding trim on the ceiling and front of soffit at the bar defined the area and made a great transition from the drywall soffit to the wet bar. A tin ceiling was installed which added to the ambience of the pub wet bar and further aided in defining the soffit as an intentional part of the design. Custom built wainscoting borders the perimeter of the media room. The end result allows the client to comfortably entertain in a space designed just for them.

Kirkland clients, Shayna and Anthony had a lovely home with a beautiful view of Lake Washington. However, the waterfront side of their home didn’t offer an ideal set-up to fully enjoy the magnificence that their lot provides. They desired more year-round use of their home in the form of an outdoor covered living room, along with more overall functionality from their outdoor spaces. Their formal living area had a door to the outside that the couple never used. The McAdams Remodeling & Design team replaced the sliding door with a window that still offered plenty of natural light but enclosed the space providing more options for furniture placement. The room’s exterior stairs and landing were removed. The exterior siding was matched, and the new landscaping along with an arbor installed, was created in tandem during the remodel by a local landscape architecture firm, ensuring the change looked natural. Past the seating around the gas firepit, a new large deck was constructed, half of which was covered, to replace the smaller, dated version. The metal railing was exchanged for a new composite one, and a new Dutch back door leading from the kitchen offers an alternative option for ingress and egress along with fresh air on nice days. The covered deck area adjacent to the family room provides protection from the weather and now houses the outdoor kitchen they desired for entertaining family and friends. The outdoor kitchen includes a built-in gas grill, stone gas fireplace, refrigerator for food and beverages, and a garbage receptacle. A ceiling fan and heaters are incorporated into the outdoor living space design to provide year-round comfort. Finally, retractable shades were installed so that the couple can enclose the space if desired. A small upstairs bedroom was used as a den for relaxation and reading but also contains one of the best views in the home. The McAdams team removed the windows and base bulkhead, adding floor to ceiling windows and a glass door for an unobstructed view. The new medium-sized deck above the covered outdoor living space gives Shayna and Anthony the opportunity to entertain or relax while highlighting their view of the lake. Finally, their Juliet balcony off the primary bedroom received a re-coated railing and new decking, while the home was repainted to offer a classy craftsman feel and pull all of the changes into one cohesive home design. Shayna and Anthony love their new entertainment spaces and expect to use them often.

Example of a trendy patio design in San Francisco with a fire pit and no cover

photo by Douglas Gibb
Example of an eclectic living room design in Edinburgh

Home office - farmhouse home office idea in Kansas City

Custom home by Parkinson Building Group in Little Rock, AR.
Inspiration for a large cottage l-shaped concrete floor and gray floor open concept kitchen remodel in Little Rock with a farmhouse sink, raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, solid surface countertops, gray backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and stone tile backsplash

A large island and built-in bench provide seating for casual dining at the island and breakfast nook. French doors in the family room and full light door in the breakfast nook connect the open living space to the patio. The perimeter cabinets are white with Caesarstone Raven countertops. The island is blue with Caesarstone Calacatta Nuvo countertop. There is a prep sink on the island.