Brett Zamore Design
Trendy backyard concrete paver patio photo in Houston with a pergola and a bbq area

Garden for the Disconnected Downspout. Photo by Amy Whitworth, Installation by Apogee Landscapes www.apogeelandscapes.com
This is an example of a small eclectic partial sun backyard stone landscaping in Portland for summer.

Home office - traditional home office idea in New York

This large side yard in the Lakeshore Historic District was redeveloped into a natural woodland clearing. Stormwater from the roof has been directed through a steel runnel into a native rain garden where it replenishes the cistern for a bubbling stone fountain. Weathered concrete slabs act as a thread from a firepit seating area, across the rain garden to the rear yard. This additional garden has a lawn parking pad, extensive kitchen gardens and a custom-built garden shower for visits to the beach. Darris Lee Harris Photography

Bamboo floors' popularity has increased over the past few years as people have become more aware of the fragile state of the environment. Because it is a grass rather than a wood, it grows far more quickly than a tree. The plant's extensive root system continually grows underground and it replenishes itself naturally, as grass does. New growth, which springs out of the ground and can mature up to 24" in 24 hours and unlike trees, bamboo will regenerate quickly, making it a renewable resource.

Delightfully crunchy decomposed granite hardscapes like this walkway ensure rainwater can seep into the ground. That replenishes groundwater tables in drought. It also absorbs and cleans runoff, preventing both flooding and ocean pollution.

Example of a beach style family room design in Miami

The Pine Haven, a home designed for modern day living. This unique Craftsman style home with its open concept, loft room with Juliet balcony and timber framed porches exemplifies family living and entertaining as if at your own private resort. The great room and kitchen combination is a great gathering space for family and friends. The distressed, hand scraped flooring and floor to ceiling stone fireplace which walks out to an exposed timber beam covered porch makes one feel that they’re on a retreat vacation all year round! The chef’s kitchen has a walk-in pantry, abundance of alder custom cabinets and countertop workspace. Families can choose to eat at the ten person oversized arched island or the private dining space with a walk-through butler service area with wet bar. The master bedroom has a walk-in, oversized tile shower with dual showerheads and one rain head, plus whirlpool tub, dressing area and two walk-in closets. What truly sets the Pine Haven apart are the two-2 ½ car garages in the front of the home plus a third garage featuring the Spancrete Replenish product located in the back of the home in the lower level - a handyman’s dream. A convenient staircase from the upper garage makes accessing the lower level of the home a breeze. Some notable features of the Pine Haven are; front and back timber beam porches; Andersen Windows; a floor to ceiling stone fireplace with a custom oversize mantle; shaker-style maple 5 ½” base and header; 3 ½” casing with stained shaker-style doors; custom, distressed alder cabinets; hand carved random width hickory wood and tile floors throughout. The option of finishing the exposed lower level could include a fifth bedroom, bathroom, bar area, theater room, hobby areas or additional living space to meet your individual needs. Woodhaven Homes is a family owned business using high quality contractors. We have been awarded the #1 Builder Rating for Customer Satisfaction by Milwaukee Magazine. Woodhaven Homes will gladly customize its designs to make your dream home uniquely yours.

"Bamboo floors' popularity has increased over the past few years as people have become more aware of the fragile state of the environment. Because it is a grass rather than a wood, it grows far more quickly than a tree. The plant's extensive root system continually grows underground and it replenishes itself naturally, as grass does. New growth, which springs out of the ground and can mature up to 24"" in 24 hours and unlike trees, bamboo will regenerate quickly, making it a renewable resource."

Photo: Claire Esparros for Homepolish
Home yoga studio - home yoga studio idea in New York

The clients, a young professional couple had lived with this bathroom in their townhome for 6 years. They finally could not take it any longer. The designer was tasked with turning this ugly duckling into a beautiful swan without relocating walls, doors, fittings, or fixtures in this principal bathroom. The client wish list included, better storage, improved lighting, replacing the tub with a shower, and creating a sparkling personality for this uninspired space using any color way except white. The designer began the transformation with the wall tile. Large format rectangular tiles were installed floor to ceiling on the vanity wall and continued behind the toilet and into the shower. The soft variation in tile pattern is very soothing and added to the Zen feeling of the room. One partner is an avid gardener and wanted to bring natural colors into the space. The same tile is used on the floor in a matte finish for slip resistance and in a 2” mosaic of the same tile is used on the shower floor. A lighted tile recess was created across the entire back wall of the shower beautifully illuminating the wall. Recycled glass tiles used in the niche represent the color and shape of leaves. A single glass panel was used in place of a traditional shower door. Continuing the serene colorway of the bath, natural rift cut white oak was chosen for the vanity and the floating shelves above the toilet. A white quartz for the countertop, has a small reflective pattern like the polished chrome of the fittings and hardware. Natural curved shapes are repeated in the arch of the faucet, the hardware, the front of the toilet and shower column. The rectangular shape of the tile is repeated in the drawer fronts of the cabinets, the sink, the medicine cabinet, and the floating shelves. The shower column was selected to maintain the simple lines of the fittings while providing a temperature, pressure balance shower experience with a multi-function main shower head and handheld head. The dual flush toilet and low flow shower are a water saving consideration. The floating shelves provide decorative and functional storage. The asymmetric design of the medicine cabinet allows for a full view in the mirror with the added function of a tri view mirror when open. Built in LED lighting is controllable from 2500K to 4000K. The interior of the medicine cabinet is also mirrored and electrified to keep the countertop clear of necessities. Additional lighting is provided with recessed LED fixtures for the vanity area as well as in the shower. A motion sensor light installed under the vanity illuminates the room with a soft glow at night. The transformation is now complete. No longer an ugly duckling and source of unhappiness, the new bathroom provides a much-needed respite from the couples’ busy lives. It has created a retreat to recharge and replenish, two very important components of wellness.

Garden 9 in Palms
Photo of a modern landscaping in Los Angeles.

Cape Cod Kitchen Island is a timeless design that features a 59 inch mahogany top, large closed cabinets, numerous drawers and a large open shelf. Add the Cape Code Open Display Cabinet for a lovely ensemble. Beautifully hand built from mahogany, a solid hardwood and a sustainable solution for eco-effective design and construction. This classic design would offer lots of quiet beauty to any kitchen. Our European Vintage Collection is hand-made from start to finish. Many traditional “Old World” methods are used including dovetailed and mortise & tenon joints. These unique solid wood products are made mainly from mahogany and their hand-applied finishes create an antique but spirited look that is part of the charm and appeal of this collection. Standard colors are available in Distressed (as shown in most of our pictures achieving the popular "shabby chic" style) and Light Distressed. Knowing the importance of replenishing the earth's natural richness, this artisan actively participates in a tree re-planting program. The Kitchen Island measures 35 High x 59 Wide x 22 Deep.

The clients, a young professional couple had lived with this bathroom in their townhome for 6 years. They finally could not take it any longer. The designer was tasked with turning this ugly duckling into a beautiful swan without relocating walls, doors, fittings, or fixtures in this principal bathroom. The client wish list included, better storage, improved lighting, replacing the tub with a shower, and creating a sparkling personality for this uninspired space using any color way except white. The designer began the transformation with the wall tile. Large format rectangular tiles were installed floor to ceiling on the vanity wall and continued behind the toilet and into the shower. The soft variation in tile pattern is very soothing and added to the Zen feeling of the room. One partner is an avid gardener and wanted to bring natural colors into the space. The same tile is used on the floor in a matte finish for slip resistance and in a 2” mosaic of the same tile is used on the shower floor. A lighted tile recess was created across the entire back wall of the shower beautifully illuminating the wall. Recycled glass tiles used in the niche represent the color and shape of leaves. A single glass panel was used in place of a traditional shower door. Continuing the serene colorway of the bath, natural rift cut white oak was chosen for the vanity and the floating shelves above the toilet. A white quartz for the countertop, has a small reflective pattern like the polished chrome of the fittings and hardware. Natural curved shapes are repeated in the arch of the faucet, the hardware, the front of the toilet and shower column. The rectangular shape of the tile is repeated in the drawer fronts of the cabinets, the sink, the medicine cabinet, and the floating shelves. The shower column was selected to maintain the simple lines of the fittings while providing a temperature, pressure balance shower experience with a multi-function main shower head and handheld head. The dual flush toilet and low flow shower are a water saving consideration. The floating shelves provide decorative and functional storage. The asymmetric design of the medicine cabinet allows for a full view in the mirror with the added function of a tri view mirror when open. Built in LED lighting is controllable from 2500K to 4000K. The interior of the medicine cabinet is also mirrored and electrified to keep the countertop clear of necessities. Additional lighting is provided with recessed LED fixtures for the vanity area as well as in the shower. A motion sensor light installed under the vanity illuminates the room with a soft glow at night. The transformation is now complete. No longer an ugly duckling and source of unhappiness, the new bathroom provides a much-needed respite from the couples’ busy lives. It has created a retreat to recharge and replenish, two very important components of wellness.

When I came to this property not only was the landscape a scrappy mess the property also had some very real grading and drainage issues that were jeopardizing the safety of this house. As recent transplants from New Jerseys to Southern California these clients were in awe of all the plants they were seeing in their neighborhood. Living on the water at the Ventura harbor they wanted to be able to take full advantage or the outdoor lifestyle and cool ocean breeze. Being environmentally conscious citizens, these clients were very concerned that their garden was designed with sustainability as a leading factor. As they said in our initial consultation, “Would want or garden be part of the solution not part of the problem.” This property is the last house on the bottom of a gently sloping street. All the water from the neighbor’s houses drain onto this property. When I came into this project the back yard sloped into the house. When it would rain the water would pool up against the house causing water damage. To address the drainage we employed several tactics. Firstly, we had to invert the slope in the back yard so that water would not pool against the house. We created a very minor slope going away from the house so that water drains away but so the patio area feels flat. The back of the back yard had an existing retaining wall made out of shabby looking slump stone. In front of that retaining wall we created a beautiful natural stone retaining wall. This retain wall severs many purposes. One it works as a place to put some of the soil removed from the grading giving this project a smaller carbon foot print (moving soil of a site burns a lot of fossil fuel). The retaining wall also helps obscure the shabby existing retaining wall and allows for planting space above the footing from the existing retaining wall. The soil behind the ne retaining wall is slightly lower than the top of the wall so that when the run on water on from the neighbor’s property flows it is slowed down and absorbed before it has a chance to get near the house. Finally, the wall is at a height designed to serve as overflow seating as these clients intend to have occasional large parties and gatherings. Other efforts made to help keep the house safe and dry are that we used permeable paving. With the hardscape being comprised of flag stone with gravel in-between water has a chance to soak into the ground so it does not flow into spots where it will pool up. The final element to help keep the house dry is the addition of infiltration swales. Infiltration swales are depressions in the landscape that capture rain water. The down spouts on the sides of the houses are connected to pipe that goes under the ground and conveys the water to the swales. In this project it helps move rain water away from the house. In general, these Infiltration swales are a powerful element in creating sustainable landscapes. These swales capture pollutants that accumulate on the roof and in the landscape. Biology in the soil in the swales can break down these pollutants. When run of watered is not captured by soil on a property the dirty water flows into water ways and then the ocean were the biology that breaks down the pollutants is not as prolific. This is particularly important in this project as it drains directly into the harbor. The water that is absorbed in to the swales can replenish aquafers as well as increasing the water available to the plants planted in that area recusing the amount of water that is needed from irrigation. When it came to the planting we went with a California friendly tropical theme. Using lots of succulents and plants with colorful foliage we created vibrant lush landscape that will have year around color. We planted densely (the images in the picture were taken only a month after installation). Taller drought tolerant plants to help regulate the temperature and loss of water from the plants below them. The dense plantings will help keep the garden, the house and even the neighborhood cooler on hot days, will provide spaces for birds to enjoy and will create an illusion of depth in a somewhat narrow space. Today this garden is a space these homeowners can fully enjoy while having the peace of mind that their house is protected from flooding and they are helping the environment.

This is the ultimate In-Home Lounge for chilling out in impressive style. The look is 'Current' utilizing our hi-tech shop machinery to mill the white satin painted wavy relief panels in 2 different scales. I wanted to create an upbeat atmosphere with the well balanced pattern mixed with Espresso stained Rift Cut Oak and polished glass. The peninsula bar houses extra storage as well as the Led lite hip-wall for the seating. Two TV's to give a "Night out" feel for good energy but not overpowering in size. For projects of this caliber Perlick stainless beer dispenser and appliances was the natural choice accented by a Kohler trough sink and Contemporary faucet. For added convenience there are 2 interior liquor drawers to replenish inventory. To help frame the space some paneling with subtle relief and up-lite LED display shelves. The bar stools where meant to be simple and as transparent as possible to not clutter the design.

A trellised terrace opens up to a quieter view of a magnificent existing redwood grove and bioswale filled with clusters of ornamental grasses and perennials. Photography by Marion Brenner

Organization was important to the homeowner and she chose to utilize clear canisters and open functional baskets to be able to view items easily and know when things needed to be replenished. Stacey Didyoung, Applico - An Appliance and Lighting Co.

Photo of a contemporary retaining wall landscape in San Francisco.