The homeowner had a long and dangerous stairs from the street level down to the house. We provided strategically placed lighting all the way from the street level down to the bottom patio in front of their home. Not only did it vastly increase safety, but created a wonderfully warm and inviting entrance to their home.

John Kane / Silver Sun Studio
Country porch photo in New York with decking and a roof extension

The low-growing, delicate grasses also deserve more attention. This Purple Three Awn (Aristada) provides the whimsical movement of Mexican Feather Grass, but it will not travel into wild spaces to increase the community's fire danger. Despite the dangers they present, arson grasses are still sold in many area nurseries - the best rule of thumb is to plant native foliage. Photo: Lesly Hall Photography

With large windows, you want the ability to let in light while not tempting them with dangerous cords. These Luminette privacy shades bring in light, but because they are motorized, won't allow your children to find themselves in harm's way.

Every room in your home should be a safe zone for children. Plantation shutters will give them a view and natural light to play in, but they won't be tempted into the danger of dangling cords.

SimpleLift is our cordless operating system for blinds. Push button control on the bottom rail allows you to move your blinds up and down without the dangers of dangling cords.

Photo: Corynne Pless © 2013 Houzz
Example of an eclectic living room design in New York

Because the property's established and varied trees were planted in the right place, fire agencies and Allstate viewed them as more protective than dangerous.

Elegant back porch photo in Chicago

S113 11' x11' Large Square Trampoline, shown with optional FlexrHoop and Ladder. Say the word 'trampoline' and nine out of ten people think of a steel tube perimeter frame with coiled metal springs that have dangerous gaps between them. Springfree Trampolines offer a revolutionary, safety-conscious design from a team of world class of engineers. With flexible composite rods beneath the jumping surface, soft-edge mats, a hidden frame, and zippered FlexiNet enclosures, your family can enjoy jumping with the highest level of confidence. From the compact 8’ Round trampoline to the 13’ x 13’ Jumbo Square, there’s a Springfree trampoline for every yard and jumpers of every size.

The range used to be crammed into the short leg of the L at the left side of this picture, although it is very dangerous to have the range next to a doorway. Our designer moved it to the opposite end of the L for safety and better function with a landing space on each side.

While homes in the urban wildlife interface (UWI) face greater fire dangers, homeowners can choose to make them much safer. By conscientiously addressing architectural vulnerabilities (home hardening), homeowners protect firefighters and reduce their chances of losing a home. An ember resistant Zone 0, effectively spaced and placed foliage supported with smart irrigation, and conscientious maintenance can add further defenses. Photo: Lesly Hall Photography

The staircase is the focal point of the home. Chunky floating open treads, blackened steel, and continuous metal rods make for functional and sculptural circulation. Skylights aligned above the staircase illuminate the home and create unique shadow patterns that contribute to the artistic style of the home.

Randy Angell, Designer GOLD International Award of Excellence winner - The transitional modern home was designed with large amounts of glass opening into the courtyard, creating an indoor-outdoor feel, and a visual connection among the spaces that could not be ignored. The neighboring wall, however, was not only rather imposing, but also of a style completely disconnected from our clients home. Our goal was to create a layering effect, with features of varying heights, both to add depth and dimension to the space, and to take the focus of the viewer off of the neighbor's wall.

THEME Inspired by the Magic Tree House series of children’s books, this indoor tree house provides entertainment, fun and a place for children to read about or imagine adventures through time. A blue sky, green meadows, and distant matching beech trees recreate the magic of Jack and Annie’s Frog Creek, and help bring the characters from the series to life. FOCUS A floor armoire, ceiling swing and climbing rope give the structure a true tree house look and feel. A drop-down drawing and writing table, wheeled work table and recessed ceiling lights ensure the room can be used for more than play. The tree house has electric interior lighting, a window to the outdoors and a playful sliding shutter over a window to the room. The armoire forms a raised, nine-foot-wide play area, while a TV within one of the wall’s floor-to-ceiling cabinets — with a delightful sliding ladder — transforms the room into a family theater perfect for watching movies and holding Wii competitions. STORAGE The bottom of the drawing table is a magnetic chalk board that doubles as a display for children’s art works. The tree’s small niches are for parents’ shoes; the larger compartment stores children’s shoes and school bags. Books, games, toys, DVDs, Wii and other computer accessories are stored in the wall cabinets. The armoire contains two spacious drawers and four nifty hinged storage bins. A rack of handy “vegetable buckets” above the armoire stores crayons, scissors and other useful items. GROWTH The room easily adapts from playroom, to party room, to study room and even to bedroom, as the tree house easily accommodates a twin-size mattress. SAFETY The rungs and rails of the ladder, as well as the grab bars beside the tree house door are wrapped with easy-grip rope for safe climbing. The drawing table has spring-loaded hinges to help prevent it from dropping dangerously from the wall, and the table door has double sets of locks up top to ensure safety. The interior of each storage compartment is carpeted like the tree house floor to provide extra padding.

Laundry room - coastal laundry room idea in New York

Rachael Black
Example of a mid-sized farmhouse l-shaped brown floor and medium tone wood floor kitchen design in Nashville with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, quartz countertops, metallic backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island, white countertops and metal backsplash

R79 10' Round Trampoline Say the word 'trampoline' and nine out of ten people think of a steel tube perimeter frame with coiled metal springs that have dangerous gaps between them. Springfree Trampolines offer a revolutionary, safety-conscious design from a team of world class of engineers. With flexible composite rods beneath the jumping surface, soft-edge mats, a hidden frame, and zippered FlexiNet enclosures, your family can enjoy jumping with the highest level of confidence. From the compact 8’ Round trampoline to the 13’ x 13’ Jumbo Square, there’s a Springfree trampoline for every yard and jumpers of every size.

Note that the large, mounded accent grass in the previous photo is California native Deer Grass, not an arson grass (Feather, Fountain or Pampas Grass). While they have similar aesthetics, their performance is wildly different. Arson Grasses readily ignite and will escape gardens to increase the fire danger in neighboring wild spaces. While the golden wands of seed heads seen here may appear dry, they launch from a dense, hydrated mound of greenery during the rainy season, whereas arson grasses themselves will dry in summer heat. Photo: Lesly Hall Photography