Rustic exterior
Large mountain style gray two-story mixed siding gable roof photo in Other

See "5-Year Kitchen in Elgin" for the kitchen featured in this description. Bud Kane has remodeled nearly every room in his own home over many years. Now reaching his 70’s, he contemplated heading up a major kitchen and laundry room renovation himself, planning on doing the carpentry work with his own hands. “I was not convinced I would ever meet anyone who could do it as well as I could do it myself”, said Bud. Ruth and Bud spent 5 years visiting kitchen firms and interviewing designers. They couldn’t however bring themselves to pull the trigger on the project, until they met Advance Design Studio in 2015. “No one understood what I wanted”, said Ruth. She was continually frustrated by experiences with designers who weren’t hearing what was important to her. “Everyone kept designing my kitchen with what they thought it should look like; I couldn’t find anyone who would listen to me”! When they met designer Scott Christensen from Advance Design Studio, they liked him right away. He listened to Ruth and designed a kitchen that she loved, all the while interjecting years of wisdom and design expertise that Ruth appreciated. “The finished product is better than I expected”, says Ruth. “I respected Scott’s opinions and together we created the perfect place for me to bake with my grandkids and truly enjoy the kitchen and laundry room I’ve been dreaming of for many years!” The kitchen transformation began with removing the home’s soffits, and extending new painted maple cabinetry to the ceiling with the addition of an elegant crown molding. Ruth’s new Vita Mix holds a coveted place on her counter, and adjustments were planned to size the cabinets in conjunction with the under cabinet decorative light molding to fit this appliance just right. “This one small detail was really important to me”, says Ruth smiling. An elegant new island replaced the original island, complete with room for 3 stools where her grandchildren will sit to make home-made pasta every Thanksgiving, and cookies at Christmas time. “Traditions are very important in my family, and making my kitchen work to suit cherished activities with my family was the number one reason this renovation was so desired”, replied Ruth when asked about the island. A picture perfect new tea station replaced a cluttered unused desk area, creating a wonderful place to prepare hot drinks for sipping any season of the year while overlooking the couple’s wonderfully manicured gardens from the lovely 3 season’s room just off the kitchen. The soft sage island bead panel detail was repeated on the backsplash, replicating the feel of a fine old piece of furniture. The biggest problem with the laundry room was 3 doors, one from the garage, one from the closet, and one to the hallway. “Scott designed a pocket door, and oh what a dream it is now to bring groceries in from the garage!” exclaims Bud who grew to disdain this task! Doing laundry is now a breeze in this attractive new space that doubles as a wonderful pantry for the kitchen with room to store food items that didn’t have a home in the poorly designed original space. New Hickory distressed wood flooring was laid both in the kitchen and leading to the hall foyer. Soft gray wood-replicating porcelain was placed in the laundry area, making for an easily cleanable surface for what doubles as a mud room from the garage. Creamy tumbled marble graces an unobtrusive backsplash spilling onto shiny granite counter tops in a rich earthy pattern of fall colors that mimic colors throughout the home. Advance is known details that included custom crafted furniture toe kicks, luxurious crown moldings, and beaded under cabinet moldings. The kitchen is complete with a glass display cabinet showing Ruth’s treasured china tea collection. Early on, it was initially only their intention of purchasing cabinets for the new design. They were so impressed however with Advance Design’s complete program for budgeting, design, installation and management that it became clear to them both that they wanted Advance to handle the entire project from start to finish. “After seeing the quality work they did, coupled with the in-house team completely dedicated to our satisfaction, it became apparent there was no other choice but to hire them to handle everything. And we’re so glad we did, we have not one regret”, says Bud. “The attention to detail by the carpentry crew more than satisfied my perfectionist expectations of the finished carpentry,” exclaimed Bud. “Every one of Advance Design’s people we encountered from design through construction was wonderful. We’ve never met a group of people so dedicated to making sure we were happy with every single detail, and every single part of this experience”, said Ruth and Bud. Designer: Scott Christensen Photographer: Joe Nowak

This 1990's home, located in North Vancouver's Lynn Valley neighbourhood, had high ceilings and a great open plan layout but the decor was straight out of the 90's complete with sponge painted walls in dark earth tones. The owners, a young professional couple, enlisted our help to take it from dated and dreary to modern and bright. We started by removing details like chair rails and crown mouldings, that did not suit the modern architectural lines of the home. We replaced the heavily worn wood floors with a new high end, light coloured, wood-look laminate that will withstand the wear and tear from their two energetic golden retrievers. Since the main living space is completely open plan it was important that we work with simple consistent finishes for a clean modern look. The all white kitchen features flat doors with minimal hardware and a solid surface marble-look countertop and backsplash. We modernized all of the lighting and updated the bathrooms and master bedroom as well. The only departure from our clean modern scheme is found in the dressing room where the client was looking for a more dressed up feminine feel but we kept a thread of grey consistent even in this more vivid colour scheme. This transformation, featuring the clients' gorgeous original artwork and new custom designed furnishings is admittedly one of our favourite projects to date!

Photo: Margot Hartford © 2015 Houzz http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/44876872/list/my-houzz-architectural-elegance-with-the-addition-of-built-ins

Parker Smith Photography
Example of a large arts and crafts green two-story mixed siding exterior home design in Atlanta

For many of us, our mudroom is often the first place we enter when arriving home. For our clients, a family of four with 2 young children, the mudroom had to be well designed with ample storage and an efficient lay-out. A combination of closed door and open shelving provides an abundance of storage and hanging space to house everything from boots, shoes, coats and miscellaneous gear. Ample shelving provides space for baskets of varying sizes to corral a plethora of smaller items. A generous cushioned bench for and decorative deer hooks installed above it for those easy to access items allows the family to hang and organize things and still have a space that looks clean and organized. Personal storage lockers with screen doors also provide a separated space for each person so that things can be easily stored, found and retrieved.

Designed for a family who is relocating back to California, this contemporary residence sits atop a severely steep site in the community of Las Ventanas. Working with the topography led to some creative design solutions, structurally and aesthetically, to accommodate all of the family’s programatic needs. The 4127 s.f. home fits into the relatively small building footprint while an infinity edge pool cantilevers 22′ above grade. With spectacular views of the Arroyo Grande foothills and farms, this main pool deck becomes a major feature of the home. All living spaces, including the great room and kitchen open up to this deck, ideal for relaxation and entertainment. Given that the owners have five golden retrievers, this outdoor space also serves as an area for the dogs. The design includes multiple water features and even a dog pond. To further emphasize the views, a third story mitered glass reading room gives one the impression of sitting above the treetops. The use of warm IPE hardwood siding and stone cladding blend the structure into the surrounding landscape while still offering a clean and contemporary aesthetic.

Photo: Mina Brinkey © 2013 Houzz Dogs Bella and Baci make themselves comfortable on the master bedroom bed.
Inspiration for a contemporary bedroom remodel in Tampa

Example of a mid-sized beach style master corner shower design in Charleston with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, an undermount tub, white walls and an undermount sink

There are few things we enjoy nearly as much as helping a homeowner create a statement that is so exclusively them that it’s all but impossible for another to duplicate what they’re creating in their home. Sure, there can be common colors and sometimes even common themes, but for as many homeowners as there are, there are as many individual tastes, thoughts, and ideas that can inspire creativity and design. Tapping into where each homeowner is coming from is what is what brings us so much joy and excitement. Just imagine the excitement we felt when this homeowner asked us to help him with this unusual project! He received this Jack Daniels barrel as a gift from a close friend and wanted to create a new bar in his basement to entertain family and friends. The initial thought was to have the barrel as a stand alone conversation piece, but after some further discussion we suggested using it as a focal point and thus the project was born. Jack was known to be a man of refinement and to pay him the appropriate respect it only made sense to approach this project with an equal sense of detail in the crafting of this project, if for no other reason, we hold the same values. To match all of this with our homeowner’s fondness of entertaining friends, the warm and relaxing feeling he was looking for and the aesthetics of the room, the use of reclaimed and live-edge wood made for a natural fit. In fact aside from a few structural 2x4s beneath the surface, the entire project is built from reused, reclaimed, or re-purposed materials. The most obvious example would be the barrel itself. A bit of research revealed that Jack Daniels only uses their barrels one time before replacing them. Rather than simply destroying them or throwing them away, the barrels are made available to the public to use for other purposes. As a side note we appreciate seeing other companies taking this responsible and earth friendly approach to business. As a part of our own mission to reduce, reuse, and recycle as often as we can, you’ll note the wall paneling is also re-purposed materials. These particular boards we retrieved from an old building that was being removed and rather than allowing all these materials to be bulldozed with the rest of the old structure, we took as much of the old building materials as we could to use elsewhere. For this project we had the old planks and beams them re-sawn into the wall paneling you see here. Look closely at the picture and you’ll see the original nail holes in the boards that made their new home in this project. We even incorporated the reclaimed paneling into wrapping the column the previously exposed wood beams above bar area. It adds to the overall feel by incorporating the theme into an otherwise ungainly (and obviously necessary!) part of the house structure. All the boards in the design of the bar itself come from re-purposed, urban Ash logs. These are either aging and at-risk trees that cities need removed. Ash trees can be subject to assorted infections and diseases and it’s an unfortunate truth that once the disease is discovered, the best way to reduce it’s spreading is to remove the trees in the surrounding area. To further our mission, we take these trees before they end up in a shredder and re-purpose as many of them as we can rather than seeing them simply turned to mulch. We believe this to be a much more responsible use of available materials and just as beautiful. Each board has so much individual character with their natural knots and swirls. We particularly enjoyed the perfectly sized and shaped piece that became the support at the far end of the bar top. It’s as if nature knew we were going to make this project and grew that board to the perfect dimensions just for this purpose! We also had a small leftover piece that was extra knotty and so full of character that we incorporated it as a small shelf just above the barrel. Just because it’s small doesn’t mean it can’t make a statement… Of course no bar would be complete without the top itself. We had a few extra large pieces of Ash with live edges on both sides for the owner to choose from that fit the rough dimensions we needed. His decision made, we added just a very subtle hint of blue and green with our proprietary treatment before the final finishing with epoxy to a mirror finish. We added a few recessed lights to help highlight the natural patterns in the bar top and this bar is ready to serve. This project was satisfying for several reasons. We were thrilled we were able to complete the project entirely out of reclaimed and re-purposed materials. The homeowner’s desire for a rustic feel made it easier to accomplish this and we appreciate that we can partake in projects like this, particularly one so unique. Custom doesn’t come out of a catalog. At Serenity Design Studio our number one goal is to see your unique vision come to life.

View of upper level entry bridge, hot tub enclosure below. Scott Becker | Architect
Example of a small minimalist gray two-story wood exterior home design in Seattle

This 1990's home, located in North Vancouver's Lynn Valley neighbourhood, had high ceilings and a great open plan layout but the decor was straight out of the 90's complete with sponge painted walls in dark earth tones. The owners, a young professional couple, enlisted our help to take it from dated and dreary to modern and bright. We started by removing details like chair rails and crown mouldings, that did not suit the modern architectural lines of the home. We replaced the heavily worn wood floors with a new high end, light coloured, wood-look laminate that will withstand the wear and tear from their two energetic golden retrievers. Since the main living space is completely open plan it was important that we work with simple consistent finishes for a clean modern look. The all white kitchen features flat doors with minimal hardware and a solid surface marble-look countertop and backsplash. We modernized all of the lighting and updated the bathrooms and master bedroom as well. The only departure from our clean modern scheme is found in the dressing room where the client was looking for a more dressed up feminine feel but we kept a thread of grey consistent even in this more vivid colour scheme. This transformation, featuring the clients' gorgeous original artwork and new custom designed furnishings is admittedly one of our favourite projects to date!

Home design - transitional home design idea in DC Metro

If you have a job or hobby that requires handling tools or equipment then Wall Control’s metal pegboard system is just what you need. When you’re in the zone tinkering on your project, the last thing you want is to have to stop the momentum to dig through a cluttered drawer or tool box for some tool that is missing. With Wall Control’s pegboard organizer system you can have all of your tools handy, right above your workspace so they are only an arm’s reach away. This workspace is a great example

Designed for a family who is relocating back to California, this contemporary residence sits atop a severely steep site in the community of Las Ventanas. Working with the topography led to some creative design solutions, structurally and aesthetically, to accommodate all of the family’s programatic needs. The 4127 s.f. home fits into the relatively small building footprint while an infinity edge pool cantilevers 22′ above grade. With spectacular views of the Arroyo Grande foothills and farms, this main pool deck becomes a major feature of the home. All living spaces, including the great room and kitchen open up to this deck, ideal for relaxation and entertainment. Given that the owners have five golden retrievers, this outdoor space also serves as an area for the dogs. The design includes multiple water features and even a dog pond. To further emphasize the views, a third story mitered glass reading room gives one the impression of sitting above the treetops. The use of warm IPE hardwood siding and stone cladding blend the structure into the surrounding landscape while still offering a clean and contemporary aesthetic.

Split Level 1970 home of a young and active family of four. The main public spaces in this home were remodeled to create a fresh, clean look. The Jack + Mare demo'd the kitchen and dining room down to studs and removed the wall between the kitchen/dining and living room to create an open concept space with a clean and fresh new kitchen and dining with ample storage. Now the family can all be together and enjoy one another's company even if mom or dad is busy in the kitchen prepping the next meal. The custom white cabinets and the blue accent island (and walls) really give a nice clean and fun feel to the space. The island has a gorgeous local solid slab of wood on top. A local artisan salvaged and milled up the big leaf maple for this project. In fact, the tree was from the University of Portland's campus located right where the client once rode the bus to school when she was a child. So it's an extra special custom piece! (fun fact: there is a bullet lodged in the wood that is visible...we estimate it was shot into the tree 30-35 years ago!) The 'public' spaces were given a brand new waterproof luxury vinyl wide plank tile. With 2 young daughters, a large golden retriever and elderly cat, the durable floor was a must. project scope at quick glance: - demo'd and rebuild kitchen and dining room. - removed wall separating kitchen/dining and living room - removed carpet and installed new flooring in public spaces - removed stair carpet and gave fresh black and white paint - painted all public spaces - new hallway doorknob harware - all new LED lighting (kitchen, dining, living room and hallway) Jason Quigley Photography

This charming West Vancouver home belongs to Robert and Elizabeth (names changed), a professional couple with three high school and university-aged sons and two beloved golden retrievers who are very much part of the family. Known for their love of outdoor pursuits—boating, skiing, basketball, tennis and more—they wanted their home to reflect their active lifestyle while providing comfortable, stylish spaces for gathering and unwinding. The couple came to us with a clear vision: to embrace a modern coastal style, incorporate personal touches, showcase cherished artwork, and create a sanctuary where Elizabeth could relax with her dogs.

This 1990's home, located in North Vancouver's Lynn Valley neighbourhood, had high ceilings and a great open plan layout but the decor was straight out of the 90's complete with sponge painted walls in dark earth tones. The owners, a young professional couple, enlisted our help to take it from dated and dreary to modern and bright. We started by removing details like chair rails and crown mouldings, that did not suit the modern architectural lines of the home. We replaced the heavily worn wood floors with a new high end, light coloured, wood-look laminate that will withstand the wear and tear from their two energetic golden retrievers. Since the main living space is completely open plan it was important that we work with simple consistent finishes for a clean modern look. The all white kitchen features flat doors with minimal hardware and a solid surface marble-look countertop and backsplash. We modernized all of the lighting and updated the bathrooms and master bedroom as well. The only departure from our clean modern scheme is found in the dressing room where the client was looking for a more dressed up feminine feel but we kept a thread of grey consistent even in this more vivid colour scheme. This transformation, featuring the clients' gorgeous original artwork and new custom designed furnishings is admittedly one of our favourite projects to date!