The new arrangement gave the cook much more usable counter space in addition to appliances that would work with her culinary skills. A large island and an opening to the living area gave her more ability to entertain guests. In addition an in-home elevator was added to the corner of the kitchen.

Custom elevated pool with flamed Bluestone coping and ledger stone. Re-purposed flagstones trace the path from the Mangaris porch. Pool equipment's horizontal screen built with Mangaris to complement. A butterfly garden takes up the rear in front of re-purposed lumber. Photo by Katrina Coombs

An existing house with several additions lacked coherence and connection to the large private yard. The homeowners asked us to re-envision the property to be both a cozy home for them and an inviting destination suitable for entertaining friends and family. Using our master plan design service, we re-imagined the entire house and land as a whole. This holistic approach led to an unexpected and beautiful re-ordering of the home integrated with the private yard. Large floor to ceiling glass walls are used to connect inside and outside rooms. Reclaimed wood beams, stone walls, and integral colored plaster curate an interior environment that is elevated yet relaxed.

This 1914 family farmhouse was passed down from the original owners to their grandson and his young family. The original goal was to restore the old home to its former glory. However, when we started planning the remodel, we discovered the foundation needed to be replaced, the roof framing didn’t meet code, all the electrical, plumbing and mechanical would have to be removed, siding replaced, and much more. We quickly realized that instead of restoring the home, it would be more cost effective to deconstruct the home, recycle the materials, and build a replica of the old house using as much of the salvaged materials as we could. The design of the new construction is greatly influenced by the old home with traditional craftsman design interiors. We worked with a deconstruction specialist to salvage the old-growth timber and reused or re-purposed many of the original materials. We moved the house back on the property, connecting it to the existing garage, and lowered the elevation of the home which made it more accessible to the existing grades. The new home includes 5-panel doors, columned archways, tall baseboards, reused wood for architectural highlights in the kitchen, a food-preservation room, exercise room, playful wallpaper in the guest bath and fun era-specific fixtures throughout.

This spacious modern kitchen boasts an oversized island with engineered quartz counters. A two-tone streamlined cabinets and fixtures makes this kitchen a minimalists’ dream. The gold kitchen hardware, facet, and pendants add a touch of glam. With ReAlta, we are introducing for the first time in Charlotte a fully solar community. Each beautifully detailed home will incorporate low profile solar panels that will collect the sun’s rays to significantly offset the home’s energy usage. Combined with our industry-leading Home Efficiency Ratings (HERS), these solar systems will save a ReAlta homeowner thousands over the life of the home. Credit: Brendan Kahm

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The glass Visilift™ Octagonal home elevator can be retrofit into almost any home.
Staircase - contemporary staircase idea in Denver

This 1914 family farmhouse was passed down from the original owners to their grandson and his young family. The original goal was to restore the old home to its former glory. However, when we started planning the remodel, we discovered the foundation needed to be replaced, the roof framing didn’t meet code, all the electrical, plumbing and mechanical would have to be removed, siding replaced, and much more. We quickly realized that instead of restoring the home, it would be more cost effective to deconstruct the home, recycle the materials, and build a replica of the old house using as much of the salvaged materials as we could. The design of the new construction is greatly influenced by the old home with traditional craftsman design interiors. We worked with a deconstruction specialist to salvage the old-growth timber and reused or re-purposed many of the original materials. We moved the house back on the property, connecting it to the existing garage, and lowered the elevation of the home which made it more accessible to the existing grades. The new home includes 5-panel doors, columned archways, tall baseboards, reused wood for architectural highlights in the kitchen, a food-preservation room, exercise room, playful wallpaper in the guest bath and fun era-specific fixtures throughout.

Martin Vecchio
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The 2024 Southern Living Idea House is a new build that fits perfectly into the lush countryside. Designer and architect Kirsten Schoettelkotte’s design was inspired by the historic farmsteads and traditional architectural styles of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. The home has a wide front porch, brick stairway, copper gutters, and a standalone carriage house. The house’s design blended the indoor and outdoor spaces to take full advantage of the surrounding natural environment. “[Nearly] every room in the house has a window, and that was intentional,” said Schoettelkotte. Multiple Marvin products from the Ultimate and Elevate collections were selected for the home. Their durability and customization ability were a perfect fit for the project. MARVIN PRODUCTS USED: Marvin Ultimate Inswing French Door Marvin Ultimate Multi-Slide Door Marvin Elevate Direct Glaze Windows Marvin Elevate Casement Windows Elevate Awning Windows Architecture Firm: MHK Architecture Builder: Dillard-Jones Interior Designer: Allison Elebash Interior Design Landscape: DesignWorks Photos: 22 Waves Creative

The first time we met they wanted to add a small kitchen and a 200 square foot pergola to the existing concrete. This beautifully evolved into what we eventually built. By adding an elevated deck to the left of the structure it created the perfect opportunity to elevate the sitting walls. Whether you’re sitting on the deck or over by the travertine the sitting wall is the exact same distance off of the floor. By creating a seamless transition from one space to the other no matter where you are, you're always a part of the party. A 650 square foot cedar pergola, 92 feet of stone sitting walls, travertine flooring, composite decking and summer kitchen. With plenty of accent lighting this space lights up and highlights all of the natural materials. Appliances: Fire Magic Diamond Echelon series 660 Pergola: Solid Cedar Flooring: Travertine Flooring/ Composite decking Stone: Rattle Snake with 2.25” Cream limestone capping Photo Credit: TK Images

Welcome to five separate units of luxury living. The residences at Greenleaf are the new standard for living the integrated lifestyle. While multiple systems control everything from lighting and powered windows, to custom wireless shades, the life of a Greenleaf resident iseasily controlled through their touchscreen interface. A Single Interface – Unlimited Control Greenleaf units are all controlled through an AMX system using an intuitive iPad user interface. With such a powerful system, residents are able to control their lighting, as well as powered shades and motorized windows through the simple touch of a button. Intelligence in Technology Thanks to automated sensors, residents are always in the know about their home and safety – whether at home or away. The control system monitors the weather and natural lighting to close powered windows if they need to be shut for incoming rain, and raise or lower shades automatically. Lights can be set to turn on as any resident gets home from work late at night, welcoming them home after a long day away. While they are getting ready to head out for a night on the town, residents can listen to their favorite music throughout the home and call the elevator when they’re ready all from one spot. Call stations allow you to always know who is at the front door, so having multiple guests over for dinner is easier (with less trips up and down the stairs). Remote, secure access allows the home owner to control their property from anywhere in the world and make sure everything is safe and sound. Save Energy Without Lifting a Finger Motorized shades can be raised and lowered automatically by the system according to weather and season for efficient light harvesting. Dimmers throughout the residences are set to a default turn-on of 80% for more energy savings. Residents can monitor their heating and cooling systems, as well as energy use, all from their touch pads at home or away. Control that Disappears At every Greenleaf residence your eyes focus on the luxurious design, not the state-of-theart technology that seamlessly controls it all. Spire collaborated to create custom solutions focused around an integrated lifestyle while maintaining the high-end design expected at the Greenleaf Trust building. Equipment List: • Lutron RA 2 Lighting • AMX control processors • Custom iPad user interface • Sonance in-wall iPad dock • Marantz Surround Receivers • Motorized Window Control • Sonance Architectural Series Speakers • Motorized TV lift • Leon Speaker Bars • AMX integrated thermostats w/ weather forecasting • Rain sensors • Elevator control • Pico remotes • Door access control • Siedle Vario Residential Intercom system • Intelix HDMI distribution • Sonic Wall routers with secure remote access (client has remote access) • Apple TV • Airplay Endpoint • Motorola Cable Box • Samsung bluray player • Samsung televisions • Gaming system integration (Xbox and Playstation) • Lutron QS Shades

Photo: Jill Greer
Inspiration for a contemporary living room remodel in Minneapolis

Trendy exterior home photo in Dallas

A real estate agent turned to interior designer Dane Austin to imbue his new abode with character and beauty. Throughout the home Austin implemented pops of character and texture. "I'm kind of terrified of color but Dane did a really good job using it in a way I felt comfortable with," says the owner, who is happy with the results of Austin's labors. "I have an elevator entrance, so people walk right into the apartment. They're always surprised -- it's a really soothing space." Project designed by Boston interior design studio Dane Austin Design. They serve Boston, Cambridge, Hingham, Cohasset, Newton, Weston, Lexington, Concord, Dover, Andover, Gloucester, as well as surrounding areas. For more about Dane Austin Design, click here: https://daneaustindesign.com/ To learn more about this project, click here: https://daneaustindesign.com/dupont-circle-highrise

[Our Clients] We were so excited to help these new homeowners re-envision their split-level diamond in the rough. There was so much potential in those walls, and we couldn’t wait to delve in and start transforming spaces. Our primary goal was to re-imagine the main level of the home and create an open flow between the space. So, we started by converting the existing single car garage into their living room (complete with a new fireplace) and opening up the kitchen to the rest of the level. [Kitchen] The original kitchen had been on the small side and cut-off from the rest of the home, but after we removed the coat closet, this kitchen opened up beautifully. Our plan was to create an open and light filled kitchen with a design that translated well to the other spaces in this home, and a layout that offered plenty of space for multiple cooks. We utilized clean white cabinets around the perimeter of the kitchen and popped the island with a spunky shade of blue. To add a real element of fun, we jazzed it up with the colorful escher tile at the backsplash and brought in accents of brass in the hardware and light fixtures to tie it all together. Through out this home we brought in warm wood accents and the kitchen was no exception, with its custom floating shelves and graceful waterfall butcher block counter at the island. [Dining Room] The dining room had once been the home’s living room, but we had other plans in mind. With its dramatic vaulted ceiling and new custom steel railing, this room was just screaming for a dramatic light fixture and a large table to welcome one-and-all. [Living Room] We converted the original garage into a lovely little living room with a cozy fireplace. There is plenty of new storage in this space (that ties in with the kitchen finishes), but the real gem is the reading nook with two of the most comfortable armchairs you’ve ever sat in. [Master Suite] This home didn’t originally have a master suite, so we decided to convert one of the bedrooms and create a charming suite that you’d never want to leave. The master bathroom aesthetic quickly became all about the textures. With a sultry black hex on the floor and a dimensional geometric tile on the walls we set the stage for a calm space. The warm walnut vanity and touches of brass cozy up the space and relate with the feel of the rest of the home. We continued the warm wood touches into the master bedroom, but went for a rich accent wall that elevated the sophistication level and sets this space apart. [Hall Bathroom] The floor tile in this bathroom still makes our hearts skip a beat. We designed the rest of the space to be a clean and bright white, and really let the lovely blue of the floor tile pop. The walnut vanity cabinet (complete with hairpin legs) adds a lovely level of warmth to this bathroom, and the black and brass accents add the sophisticated touch we were looking for. [Office] We loved the original built-ins in this space, and knew they needed to always be a part of this house, but these 60-year-old beauties definitely needed a little help. We cleaned up the cabinets and brass hardware, switched out the formica counter for a new quartz top, and painted wall a cheery accent color to liven it up a bit. And voila! We have an office that is the envy of the neighborhood.

“Nestled on Sanctuary” in Chagrin Falls is a masterfully re-imagined 5,000 sq ft residence that elevates everyday living into an experience of curated elegance. The owners, after 18 years in their Mediterranean-style home, partnered with Ovation Interior Design and Otero Signature Homes to embark on a full-scale transformation. The vision: to honor the home’s architectural roots while layering in an airy, modern sensibility and bespoke craftsmanship. At the heart of the remodel, the kitchen and breakfast room were merged into a cohesive hub featuring a sweeping curved porcelain island and a custom integrated banquette—rounded forms which ripple through the design narrative appearing in elegant arched openings, sculptural stair details, and gently curved furnishings. Luxurious materials anchor the palette—2 cm full-height quartz backsplash, a custom pewter-and-brass range hood—while richly textured, approachable finishes and layered lighting bring warmth and welcome. Each space is custom-designed for how the clients live and entertain: bespoke cabinetry tailored to daily use, a dramatic color-washed hearth room, a brass-inlaid dry bar, and a statement egg-blue porcelain shower all create moments of surprise and personal imprint. The upstairs has been styled like a boutique-hotel guest suite, with intimate seating areas and thoughtful details such as Ralph Lauren sconces in the kitchen. The result is a home rooted in rhythm, reflection and refined comfort—luxurious without being austere, opulent yet lived-in.

Inspiration for a rustic staircase remodel in Denver

The Hive This remodel transforms three small, crowded rooms into an expansive, open kitchen connecting directly onto a new backyard deck. The coziness of a former breakfast nook is re-created with a built-in bench with discreet storage, and a pre-existing island is re-imagined with a new marble surface and complementary marble slab installed above the counters. The new modern kitchen, combines bamboo, white, and glass cabinet materials and integrates an original Wedgewood range stove providing a spacious, open environment. Outside, the new deck design addresses a previous basement flooding problem and brings together the upper and lower floors with a floating “crow’s nest” balcony, maximizing available outdoor space for use by both couples. To avoid the need for a support post, the balcony is supported by steel beams cantilevered into the house itself. Its custom rail system is galvanized steel and stainless steel cable, leaving as much space open as possible, and a steel awning overhead protects the new door from potential rain damage. The deck itself, as well as its railings and trellis structure, are built in durable ipe, a smooth barefoot-friendly hardwood. Stairs and seating create a smooth transition from the elevated deck down into the yard, where the new owners installed flagstones and setup their own bee hives.