Clean and simple 1" penny round tile with a contrasting grey grout. Looks Great and easy to clean
Example of a mid-sized classic ceramic tile home design design in Boston

Custom Mosaique Surface Nadja mosaic tile backsplash in the kitchen. This goes from the counter to the ceiling in this art deco pattern.
Inspiration for an eclectic home design remodel in Seattle with multicolored backsplash, mosaic tile backsplash and white countertops

KITCHEN RENOVATION  CURRENT CRAFTSMAN This client started off just being curious about our services - what we could do, and if we could even help her update her kitchen. She and her husband with their two teenage kids have lived in their home for several years without updating anything since the house was originally built. They didn’t quite have a budget in mind yet. They didn’t know their style, or even if they had one. Their timeline was simple, “as fast as you can so we’re not without a kitchen for very long” (usually what we hear for kitchen updates). After a very productive consultation: determining the scope of work and zeroing in on a budget, I was very excited to update this underwhelming space to something that is modern but timeless, something that is theirs. And, it was easy to see what type of design style they gravitated toward looking at the pieces they already own: Craftsman/Prairie Style. I left the meeting so excited to weave in yet another genre of design to my CDG portfolio! We circled in our contractor to discuss the changes they were looking to make and the scope of work that would be theirs. Then I was off to get designing: // Because the kitchen’s footprint and the defined breakfast space delineated by the bay, we kept the perimeter cabinetry as it was originally laid out. We updated these cabinets to a beautiful soft Alabaster White with a Barn Wood Glaze to highlight the simplicity of the shaker style doors. We added transom cabinets above the uppers, with only the back wall having seeded glass inserts to highlight some of their collectables. // The original shaped island was counter-productive (See what I did there?) in functionality and design. We squared this off to reduce some of the angles and gain more storage. We highlighted the new island with a contrasting oak cabinet in a dark finish, to pay our respects to the craftsman style, and topped with a concrete-like countertop as a nod to the Prairie Style, allowing the homeowners to gain two extra seats and a massive -uninterrupted- work surface. // The small section of cabinetry between the garage entry and fridge now is the perfect dump-station for mail, electronics, whatever is in their hands when they come into the house; and completely hidden by the refrigerator. // The disconnected cabinetry in the breakfast area makes for a great place to have a working office. Accessible from the kitchen or the adjacent great room, this is the perfect place for the kids to do their homework while mom and dad are putting together dinner. The base cabinets are built out for office-type storage: paper and pencil drawers, filing systems, and cord management. Additionally, the long counter provides a ton of worksurface to spread out. // The largest transformation was the pantry. We raised the height of the doorway and added huge custom designed bypass sliding barndoors. Finished with a dark stain to compliment the island and cut to inset 4 stained glass windows, typical of this style of design, and driving home the concept for the whole space. // They were desperate to replace their flooring with something extremely durable to flow throughout the kitchen and the whole main level. This beautiful new flooring is actually a textured LVT(!) Which allowed them to save on overall cost and extend the life of their new flooring purchase. // They loved their copper table, so we kept it and added new simple, mid-century modern chairs around it and a shiny new craftsman-style chandelier above. We added bright barstools in a burnt orange-red accent, and a bright woven rug to tie it all together. // Because the kitchen renovation was shaping up to be pretty spectacular, they decided they needed to now replace their ‘now-these-look-a-little-too-old’ upholstered seating in the neighboring great room with 2 new sofas. We found the perfect sage-y-grey fabric which we covered on sofa frames that have and exposed oak-wood base, which we finished in a warm weathered grey. // As every designer knows, a room isn’t finished until there’s something on the windows. Now that the new flooring was installed and every other room on the main level ‘seemed’ to be updated, we needed to update the window treatments in the dining, and great rooms to reflect their new design concept. I hope you find the ‘after’ photos refreshing (as refreshing as it was for me to work on something that’s not a “Farm House” style that’s saturating the industry right now!) This was such a fun project and a great collaboration with our contractor.

Staircase - transitional staircase idea in Boston

This is a gorgeous formal carpet!
Mid-sized transitional carpeted straight carpeted staircase photo in Seattle with white walls and carpeted risers

I recently re-visited a Victorian period property in the Leeds suburb of Headingley which had an unusually large tiled entrance hall which we believe to be as old as the property itself. I say re-visited as I actually gave this floor a deep clean and reseal around five years ago; it’s always nice to be asked to return to a job as it shows the customers was very happy with the work. However, with five years of wear and tear the sealer had worn down and the floor was now starting to trap dirt, also it had lost the attractive shine added by the sealer and the owner felt it was time to have it done again. Additionally, the owner had recently had the whole house decorated and wanted the floor to look its best and match the fresh appearance of the property. Sealers do wear off with use and so it is inevitable that the tiles will need to be cleaned and sealed again with time. Given it hadn’t had a professional clean and seal for five years the floor wasn’t looking too bad as you can see from the picture, it was just a bit dull in the high traffic areas such as along the centre. I’ve certainly seen a lot worse. Initially I wasn’t 100% sure on which cleaning method l was going to use on this floor. Originally l thought about using a coarse 200-grit burnishing pad to take off a couple of layers of sealer and then re-apply 2 more coats. However, the finish on the floor wasn’t even across the width of the hallway and l felt using that approach wouldn’t resolve that. Additionally, a lot of tiles were pitted and a burnishing pad would struggle to get into the holes. So instead I decided to completely strip the floor and re-seal it which would ensure a uniform finish across the floor. I used a strong 50:50 dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean on the tiles and scrubbed it in with a black floor pad which removed the old sealer and ingrained dirt. The large floor pads are not very effective in the corners and edges, so I used a 6-inch red buffing pad fitted to a hand buffer for those. The floor was rinsed with water and the soil extracted using a wet vacuum. After inspecting the floor some areas were retreated with a repeat of the same process. After a final rinse and extraction of the soiled water the floor was left to dry overnight. The next day after first checking the floor was dry with a damp meter it was sealed with four coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go. This is a water based sealer that gives a lovely sheen and allows the colours to shine through as well as letting the floor breath, which is important in properties of this age that usually do not have a damp proof membrane. I was very pleased with the finished result as the pictures show and glad that l had chosen to do a deep clean and not just apply more coats of sealer. The client was over the moon. Nigel Stoker North West Yorkshire Tile Doctor

Stain nutmeg oak
Mid-sized elegant formal and enclosed light wood floor living room photo in Milwaukee with white walls, no fireplace and no tv

Sisal Stair Carpeting with a wide cotton binding
Example of a classic staircase design in New York

Random width reclaimed oak flooring. Custom free-handed beveling, distressing, hand scraping, wire brushing. Finished with Rubio pure hand rubbed oil by Green Step Flooring, Inc. Home is located in Falls River neighborhood Raleigh, NC

Staircase - mid-sized transitional carpeted straight wood railing staircase idea in Montreal with painted risers

Inspiration for a mid-sized 1950s 3/4 white tile and stone tile marble floor claw-foot bathtub remodel in Seattle

The green, stairway carpet runner close up is rich in pattern and color. It has a lovely plush quality (with luxurious under-padding), and it is a pleasure to climb the stairs in stocking feet! Cotswold Cottage, Tacoma, WA. Belltown Design. Photography by Paula McHugh

Turkish kilim rug. A 50 year old vintage Kilim rug that's more hip now than ever before. It's very high quality, made with vibrant natural dyes. It's been professionally cleaned, well preserved and is in very good vintage condition.

This stairrunner project was something very special. Using 100% wool Stair Runner From Stanton Carpet (Item 21592 Alexander 31” width), we had to create a custom Stair-runner to fit a landing featuring a 90% miter, a Hollywood style step installation and then starting and ending with end caps. The U-Shaped landing area was created by matching two ends of the stair runner. This customer wanted a matching area rug which was not ready available. Our master installer seamed 3 – 31” runners lengths together to create the desired length and then added the borders to finish the look. The completed size was 5.8 x 8.6. Once again – a very satisfied customer. Click Here to see this product:- http://bit.ly/1bxkzdb

Inspiration for a transitional living room remodel in Raleigh

A detail of the custom made seat cushions for a set of 8 black Regency style dining chairs. Photo by Philip Ennis
Example of a large transitional dark wood floor enclosed dining room design in New York with brown walls, a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

Mid-sized tuscan entryway photo in Los Angeles with white walls

Natural fiber runner with linen binding in a mud room by The Carpet Workroom