David Burroughs
Beach style one-story glass gable roof photo in Baltimore

Designed By: Richard Bustos Photos By: Jeri Koegel Ron and Kathy Chaisson have lived in many homes throughout Orange County, including three homes on the Balboa Peninsula and one at Pelican Crest. But when the “kind of retired” couple, as they describe their current status, decided to finally build their ultimate dream house in the flower streets of Corona del Mar, they opted not to skimp on the amenities. “We wanted this house to have the features of a resort,” says Ron. “So we designed it to have a pool on the roof, five patios, a spa, a gym, water walls in the courtyard, fire-pits and steam showers.” To bring that five-star level of luxury to their newly constructed home, the couple enlisted Orange County’s top talent, including our very own rock star design consultant Richard Bustos, who worked alongside interior designer Trish Steel and Patterson Custom Homes as well as Brandon Architects. Together the team created a 4,500 square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bathroom contemporary house where R&R get top billing in almost every room. Two stories tall and with lots of open spaces, it manages to feel spacious despite its narrow location. And from its third floor patio, it boasts panoramic ocean views. “Overall we wanted this to be contemporary, but we also wanted it to feel warm,” says Ron. Key to creating that look was Richard, who selected the primary pieces from our extensive portfolio of top-quality furnishings. Richard also focused on clean lines and neutral colors to achieve the couple’s modern aesthetic, while allowing both the home’s gorgeous views and Kathy’s art to take center stage. As for that mahogany-lined elevator? “It’s a requirement,” states Ron. “With three levels, and lots of entertaining, we need that elevator for keeping the bar stocked up at the cabana, and for our big barbecue parties.” He adds, “my wife wears high heels a lot of the time, so riding the elevator instead of taking the stairs makes life that much better for her.”

Home bar - craftsman home bar idea

Photo: Hoi Ning Wong © 2014 Houzz
This is an example of a mid-century modern landscaping in San Francisco.

Photo: Carolyn Reyes © 2015 Houzz
Bedroom - traditional bedroom idea in Los Angeles

This 3300 sq. ft. Park Avenue apartment was gut renovated and re-designed for a young couple with three young children, originally a classic pre-war, the goal was to create an open, loft-like, elegant, modernist kid-friendly apartment. The work included custom millwork, interior furniture, finishes, lighting and artwork. The emphasis was on a sophisticated color palette with modern lighting, luxurious fabrics and elegant furniture while maintaining a feeling of “home”. To accommodate the needs for a common area for the family to gather the kitchen, breakfast room, and playroom are open to each other for a spacious casual-living area for the entire family. The Dining Room offers an intimate setting for entertaining formal dinner parties with soft lighting and sensuous materials and textiles while the custom French-polished macassar ebony millwork adds a touch of drama to the space. The Living Room/Den is connected by a partial dividing wall and can be separated by scaled full-height sliding glass doors.

We completely remodeled this historic area kitchen. We opened up the breakfast area and kitchen. Added all new cabinets, appliances, counter tops, wallpaper and lighting. My client wanted a simple shaker style cabinet and to stay with the painted woodwork throughout the home. We built-in a U-shap book the maximize seating in the breakfast area using the existing antique oak loo table. We added can lights, under counter lights and decorative light fixtures.

Inspiration for a contemporary kitchen remodel in DC Metro

Photo: Rikki Snyder © 2015 Houzz
Eclectic hallway photo in New York

Photography by Eric Roth
Inspiration for a large transitional master light wood floor and beige floor bedroom remodel in Boston with gray walls, a standard fireplace and a brick fireplace

Photo: Sarah Seung McFarland © 2017 Houzz Design: Bento Designs
Example of an urban living room design in New York

This 1933 Wauwatosa basement was dark, dingy and lacked functionality. The basement was unfinished with concrete walls and floors. A small office was enclosed but the rest of the space was open and cluttered. The homeowners wanted a warm, organized space for their family. A recent job change meant they needed a dedicated home office. They also wanted a place where their kids could hang out with friends. Their wish list for this basement remodel included: a home office where the couple could both work, a full bathroom, a cozy living room and a dedicated storage room. This basement renovation resulted in a warm and bright space that is used by the whole family. Highlights of this basement: - Home Office: A new office gives the couple a dedicated space for work. There’s plenty of desk space, storage cabinets, under-shelf lighting and storage for their home library. - Living Room: An old office area was expanded into a cozy living room. It’s the perfect place for their kids to hang out when they host friends and family. - Laundry Room: The new laundry room is a total upgrade. It now includes fun laminate flooring, storage cabinets and counter space for folding laundry. - Full Bathroom: A new bathroom gives the family an additional shower in the home. Highlights of the bathroom include a navy vanity, quartz counters, brass finishes, a Dreamline shower door and Kohler Choreograph wall panels. - Staircase: We spruced up the staircase leading down to the lower level with patterned vinyl flooring and a matching trim color. - Storage: We gave them a separate storage space, with custom shelving for organizing their camping gear, sports equipment and holiday decorations. CUSTOMER REVIEW “We had been talking about remodeling our basement for a long time, but decided to make it happen when my husband was offered a job working remotely. It felt like the right time for us to have a real home office where we could separate our work lives from our home lives. We wanted the area to feel open, light-filled, and modern – not an easy task for a previously dark and cold basement! One of our favorite parts was when our designer took us on a 3D computer design tour of our basement. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this could be our basement!?!’ It was so fun to see how our designer was able to take our wish list and ideas from my Pinterest board, and turn it into a practical design. We were sold after seeing the design, and were pleasantly surprised to see that Kowalske was less costly than another estimate.” – Stephanie, homeowner

Bright open space with a camel leather midcentury sofa, and marled grey wool chairs. Black marble coffee table with brass legs.
Inspiration for a mid-sized 1960s open concept light wood floor and beige floor living room remodel in Denver with white walls, a standard fireplace, a stone fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Karl Neumann Photography
Bedroom mountain style carpeted and beige floor kids' bedroom photo with brown walls

Project Developer Jim Wrenn http://www.houzz.com/pro/jwrenn1/jim-wrenn-case-design-remodeling-inc Designer Stephanie Dickens http://www.houzz.com/pro/sdickens1/stephanie-dickens-case-design-remodeling-inc Project Manager Rich Gettys Photography by Stacy Zarin Goldberg

Rachel Loewen Photography © 2017 Houzz
Inspiration for a scandinavian living room remodel in Chicago

This shot beautifully captures all of the different materials used in the staircase from the entry way to the upper floors and guest quarters. The steps are made of kiln dried fir beams from the Oregon Coast, each beam was a free of heart center cut. The railing was built in place to make it look as though it was all on continuous piece. The steps to the third floor office in the top left of the picture are floating and held in place with metal support in the grinder finish. The flooring in the entry way is 2'x3' tiles of Pennsylvania Bluestone. In the bottom left hand corner is a reclaimed sliding barn door that leads to the laundry room, made in a patchwork pattern by local artist, Rob Payne. Photography by Marie-Dominique Verdier

Architectrure by TMS Architects Rob Karosis Photography
Example of a beach style living room design in Boston