Corian® Quartz Cashmere Carrara makes a classic statement of luxury. Quiet and unassuming, its creaminess is contrasted with subtle veining to create a restrained appearance that suits any interior or exterior space.

Patio - contemporary patio idea in Los Angeles

Formal Grand Salon with painted mural ceiling. Taylor Architectural Photography
Living room - huge traditional formal and open concept marble floor and beige floor living room idea in Miami with a stone fireplace, beige walls, a standard fireplace and no tv

Inspiration for a transitional living room remodel in Minneapolis

The walls and brick flooring were painted black, which made the space feel larger. Vibrant blues in squares and rectangles were added to mimic the sky and pull it down visually to ground level. A step-up deck was built to separate the dining area from the seating area. The planter filled with 'Everillo' carex further divides the spaces. A living wall was added to create an immersive garden experience.

Designed to embrace an extensive and unique art collection including sculpture, paintings, tapestry, and cultural antiquities, this modernist home located in north Scottsdale’s Estancia is the quintessential gallery home for the spectacular collection within. The primary roof form, “the wing” as the owner enjoys referring to it, opens the home vertically to a view of adjacent Pinnacle peak and changes the aperture to horizontal for the opposing view to the golf course. Deep overhangs and fenestration recesses give the home protection from the elements and provide supporting shade and shadow for what proves to be a desert sculpture. The restrained palette allows the architecture to express itself while permitting each object in the home to make its own place. The home, while certainly modern, expresses both elegance and warmth in its material selections including canterra stone, chopped sandstone, copper, and stucco. Project Details | Lot 245 Estancia, Scottsdale AZ Architect: C.P. Drewett, Drewett Works, Scottsdale, AZ Interiors: Luis Ortega, Luis Ortega Interiors, Hollywood, CA Publications: luxe. interiors + design. November 2011. Featured on the world wide web: luxe.daily Photo by Grey Crawford.

With a restrained hand, out interior designer set about bringing a new life in our clients petite apartment while also introducing easy to maintain, durable surfaces and furnishings as they love to entertain and have a lively St. Bernard. And as they had an extensive book collection and a single three-foot wide closet, the key challenge here was to make the best use of the entire space while injecting it with charming whimsy. After falling in love with our designer’s presentation, our clients went for a complete apartment overhaul and started from scratch. Since the space is small, our designer Anna S. wanted to create an urgent sense of vibrancy without coming off as too heavy handed. So she worked in expressive colors and decorative extras in small doses for subtle impact. Starting the project by changing several of the unit’s light fixtures for brighter, more minimal styles, Anna surveyed the apartment room to room to devise clever storage solutions that are easy on the eye. As they have friends over often, Anna created a warm and inviting living room boasting a slightly feminine take on mid-century modern layered with colorful pillows, patterned rugs, and eclectic art that doesn’t take over the apartment. In the kitchen, she added a strong yet gender neutral burlap wallpaper, floating wooden shelves, and new plumbing fixtures that were more sophisticated than the original, standard ones in place. However, our favorite part of the apartment is the moody, statement-making foyer. Though it was a long and narrow barely used, neglected space, Anna brought in wallpaper from Tempaper that features a matte black background covered with gold bird and floral illustrations, and added a long row of black glass cabinets and several large gold mirrors for an added sense of glamorous drama and an extra amount of storage space to boot.

Example of a small trendy backyard gravel patio fountain design in Other with a pergola

Heaven on earth! All Margie could think of while on this site was, "All I need is a tent out here with this view and I'd be happy." The small weekend home on the flank of the rolling grassy coastal plain in Hollister Ranch (near Gaviota, CA) faces breath-taking panoramic views of ocean, islands, coastal plain, foothills and mountains. This place is all about a great outdoor space with just enough house for in case it rains! The pocket sized garden makes a titanic impact bringing a little intimate, livable space to the expansive scenery. Restrained plantings take their cue from the glorious setting. Sweeps of native grasses and succulents dot the garden with olive trees for shade. Dramatic succulents in pots as juxtapose the simple background. The goal was to blend a few practical uses such as wind protected dining and lounging, a hot tub and a fire pit into the nearly undisturbed surroundings. The cedar hot tub is tucked into hillside and surrounded by fieldstone walls and fish-scale flagstone. A small flash-heater provides a warm water shower under an olive next to the tub for de-sanding before plunging into the tub for post-surf warm-up. Meandering gravel paths and lyrical fieldstone "tole work" on the floor plane brings movement to the garden and ties the long narrow space together. The campfire circle (fueled by propane) and lanterns in the trees invite outdoor evening entertainment. Driftwood details - surf rack, stools around the fire pit, posts for hanging lanterns - complete this idyllic surf camp. Cowabunga, dude!

This Washington Park Residence sits on a bluff with easterly views of Lake Washington and the Cascades beyond. The house has a restrained presence on the street side and opens to the views with floor to ceiling windows looking east. A limited palette of concrete, steel, wood and stone create a serenity in the home and on its terraces. The house features a ground source heat pump system for cooling and a green roof to manage storm water runoff. Photo by Aaron Leitz

This modern farmhouse–style master bathroom became a bright, airy retreat defined by bold black metal fixtures, a warm wood vanity, and soft neutral tones. Subtle white tile keeps the space calm and refined while balancing the striking contrasts, turning a once-generic development bathroom into a serene, one-of-a-kind master escape that blends rustic charm with modern sophistication.

This 27 square foot powder room is by far the smallest space in this 3,200 square foot home in Nicasio CA. Where some might restrain themselves from highlighting such a utilitarian space, we elevated this tiny room to one of the most unique spaces in the home. The powder room sits behind a board-formed concrete wall adjacent to the front door of the home. In conjunction with our structural engineer and a master-mason, we developed a way to embed ¾” planks of acrylic into the South facing concrete wall. During the day, the acrylic captures the intense sun (while the concrete keeps the space temperate) creating a vibrant and entirely unexpected light show when one opens the powder room door. From the outside though, the acrylic planks appear simply as dark striations in the concrete. At night though, a timed light inside the bathroom illuminates the backside of the wall and creates a glowing nightlight at the front door. The constraints of board-formed concrete and the sequencing of this type of construction determined a pattern that could both retain the material integrity of the concrete while pushing its limits. In addition, the requirements for the vertical members of rebar created a staggered pattern that suggests a sense of movement; a theme that is carried throughout the project. After several experimental concrete pours, the final detail turned a typical powder room into a design feature that pushes the limits of material and construction and jolts our preconceptions of what lies behind a simple bathroom door. The wall appears to transform -- from solid to penetrable, from tame to wild, from utilitarian to spectacle, from dark and stoic to light-filled and poetic. Bruce Damonte

Occupying a prominent property in Notting Hill, the brief for this 120 sq m apartment was to rationalise a sequence of disconnected spaces in order to create a coherent design. The palette of materials is restrained in order to provide a neutral backdrop for the client’s collection of furniture and artworks. High quality finishes and detailing include shadow gaps, full height door apertures, concealed storage and limed oak flooring, together with a library area equipped with bespoke storage to display books and objets d’art. A notable feature of the apartment is the corner ‘rotunda’, now accommodating a shower-room; the rotunda’s roof structure has been exposed to add architectural interest. Throughout the apartment, great care has been taken to maximise natural light

Hallway - mid-sized mediterranean hallway idea in San Francisco with white walls

Joe Pollina
Photo of a traditional front yard brick landscaping in Chicago.

This Washington Park Residence sits on a bluff with easterly views of Lake Washington and the Cascades beyond. The house has a restrained presence on the street side and opens to the views with floor to ceiling windows looking east. A limited palette of concrete, steel, wood and stone create a serenity in the home and on its terraces. The house features a ground source heat pump system for cooling and a green roof to manage storm water runoff. Photo by Aaron Leitz

The primary bedroom and bathroom are the showstoppers of this phase! Unused and awkwardly located closets in both the bedroom and bathroom were removed to make way for additional square-footage in the bath and replaced with a sizable and functional reach-in closet in the bedroom. A dated and cramped shower stall was removed in favor for an expansive step in shower spanning the width of the bathroom and a new transom window washes the room in natural light. While the previous bathroom was only able to accommodate a single vanity, the new layout allowed us to create double matching vanities mirrored across from each other - a much appreciated addition for a primary bath. Floating walnut vanities boast impressive storage and are capped with tower cabinets with hidden outlets for charging and storing electronic bathroom tools. While the color palette is restrained - black, white, gray, and brown - the result is a timelessly modern and masculine space that is at once striking and warm. Modern geometric patterns play with each other throughout the material selections.

Inspiration for a transitional kitchen remodel in Chicago

This girls bedroom was for a college going girl who loved pink but wanted a more grown up feel to the room. Photography by Abner Fernandes
Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary guest light wood floor bedroom remodel in Pune with white walls