This stainless steel foot rail is mounted to the face of the bar so it's easy to clean underneath.
Trendy home bar photo in Atlanta

The homeowners loved the location of their small Cape Cod home, but they didn't love its limited interior space. A 10' addition along the back of the home and a brand new 2nd story gave them just the space they needed. With a classy monotone exterior and a welcoming front porch, this remodel is a refined example of a transitional style home. Space Plans, Building Design, Interior & Exterior Finishes by Anchor Builders Photos by Andrea Rugg Photography

This Australian-inspired new construction was a successful collaboration between homeowner, architect, designer and builder. The home features a Henrybuilt kitchen, butler's pantry, private home office, guest suite, master suite, entry foyer with concealed entrances to the powder bathroom and coat closet, hidden play loft, and full front and back landscaping with swimming pool and pool house/ADU.

Hey CA friends ?—ever stood at your kitchen counter, elbows dangling while chopping veggies till your arms ached? Or hunched over kneading dough until your back felt like jelly? ? We all say “countertop height matters,” but what’s actually the right height? Stop guessing—this golden formula, tested by CA moms, calculates your perfect counter height in 3 steps: Formula: (Your Height ÷ 2) + 5cm (Example: A 165cm-tall gal? Countertop height = 82.5 + 5 = 87.5cm) Why add 5cm? ’Cause we’re always reaching up for spices or bending down to stir pots—this number balances “standing straight” and “natural bending” comfort zones. CA kitchens love open-concept + islands. Use this formula, and you’ll chop without shrugging, knead without hunching—even check oven temps mid-cake-bake more smoothly. After all, cooking in CA sunshine? Comfort is queen.

Vancouver’s sun-drenched summer is more than patio season—it’s the ideal window for home upgrades, thanks to longer daylight and drier weather that let crews finish faster and materials cure perfectly. Kitchen projects sit at the top of Canadian reno wish-lists, with 37 % of homeowners planning to refresh counters, cabinetry, or layout this year. That’s where Alpine Countertops shines. The Richmond-based fabricator holds an A+ BBB rating and ten years of local trust, delivering quartz, granite, and recycled-glass surfaces across the Lower Mainland. Their fully in-house workflow—digital laser templating, CNC stone cutting, and meticulous hand-polishing—keeps seams tight, timelines short, and quality under one roof. Quartz continues to dominate 2025 design forecasts for its colour range, heat resistance, and stain-proof, non-porous surface that never needs sealing—perfect for lemonade rings and berry smoothies. Prefer natural stone? Granite shrugs off temperatures up to 1,200 °F, so you can set down a sizzling grill pan without panic. Whether you crave a crisp white waterfall island or an earthy stone statement piece, Alpine’s experts handle every detail—from first measurement to final wipe-down—so you can spend the season entertaining, not renovating. Book your free design consultation at 604-630-5700 or visit alpinecountertops.com and toast summer on a countertop that works as hard as you play. #AlpineCountertops #VancouverSummer #QuartzCountertops #Granite #KitchenRenovation #EcoFriendlyDesign #HomeImprovement

Great glass scallop tile detail. This tile is bordered by slabs of white marble.
Bathroom - modern bathroom idea in Miami

Dallas White granite is a good, honest choice for a kitchen that gets used every day. It's a granite with a light gray to white background and darker gray and black mineral flecks scattered through it, sometimes with a little movement in the pattern. It reads clean and bright in a kitchen without being flat or plain, and it works with just about any cabinet color you put it next to. Granite is one of the hardest natural stones we fabricate, and that's what makes it a smart pick for a room where people actually cook. It shrugs off heat from a hot pan set down without thinking, it resists scratching from knives and everyday kitchen traffic, and it holds up to the daily wear a kitchen counter takes better than almost anything else we install. It does need to be sealed, and we take care of that at install so it's protected against staining from day one. Getting a granite kitchen right comes down to the template and the layout at the shop. We lay out the slabs so the pattern falls where it should across the counters, keep seams tight where two pieces meet, and cut the openings for the sink and cooktop clean and square. The edge on this one is eased, a simple, smooth-rounded edge that's easy to keep clean and doesn't chip the way a sharp edge can over time. This kitchen is in Lexington, part of the work we do across the Midlands where granite still holds up as one of the best all-around choices for a working kitchen. Dallas White gives the room a bright, durable surface that's going to look right for a long time, and it does the job every day without asking for much back.

This stained glass window was created as part of our signature Aspen Stained Glass line. These windows look beautiful in cottage style or contemporary homes and are a great way for outdoor enthusiasts to celebrate their love of nature. The textured appearance of the glass provides the homeowners with a high level of privacy and comfort.

Dallas White granite is a good, honest choice for a kitchen that gets used every day. It's a granite with a light gray to white background and darker gray and black mineral flecks scattered through it, sometimes with a little movement in the pattern. It reads clean and bright in a kitchen without being flat or plain, and it works with just about any cabinet color you put it next to. Granite is one of the hardest natural stones we fabricate, and that's what makes it a smart pick for a room where people actually cook. It shrugs off heat from a hot pan set down without thinking, it resists scratching from knives and everyday kitchen traffic, and it holds up to the daily wear a kitchen counter takes better than almost anything else we install. It does need to be sealed, and we take care of that at install so it's protected against staining from day one. Getting a granite kitchen right comes down to the template and the layout at the shop. We lay out the slabs so the pattern falls where it should across the counters, keep seams tight where two pieces meet, and cut the openings for the sink and cooktop clean and square. The edge on this one is eased, a simple, smooth-rounded edge that's easy to keep clean and doesn't chip the way a sharp edge can over time. This kitchen is in Lexington, part of the work we do across the Midlands where granite still holds up as one of the best all-around choices for a working kitchen. Dallas White gives the room a bright, durable surface that's going to look right for a long time, and it does the job every day without asking for much back.

Dallas White granite is a good, honest choice for a kitchen that gets used every day. It's a granite with a light gray to white background and darker gray and black mineral flecks scattered through it, sometimes with a little movement in the pattern. It reads clean and bright in a kitchen without being flat or plain, and it works with just about any cabinet color you put it next to. Granite is one of the hardest natural stones we fabricate, and that's what makes it a smart pick for a room where people actually cook. It shrugs off heat from a hot pan set down without thinking, it resists scratching from knives and everyday kitchen traffic, and it holds up to the daily wear a kitchen counter takes better than almost anything else we install. It does need to be sealed, and we take care of that at install so it's protected against staining from day one. Getting a granite kitchen right comes down to the template and the layout at the shop. We lay out the slabs so the pattern falls where it should across the counters, keep seams tight where two pieces meet, and cut the openings for the sink and cooktop clean and square. The edge on this one is eased, a simple, smooth-rounded edge that's easy to keep clean and doesn't chip the way a sharp edge can over time. This kitchen is in Lexington, part of the work we do across the Midlands where granite still holds up as one of the best all-around choices for a working kitchen. Dallas White gives the room a bright, durable surface that's going to look right for a long time, and it does the job every day without asking for much back.

Dallas White granite is a good, honest choice for a kitchen that gets used every day. It's a granite with a light gray to white background and darker gray and black mineral flecks scattered through it, sometimes with a little movement in the pattern. It reads clean and bright in a kitchen without being flat or plain, and it works with just about any cabinet color you put it next to. Granite is one of the hardest natural stones we fabricate, and that's what makes it a smart pick for a room where people actually cook. It shrugs off heat from a hot pan set down without thinking, it resists scratching from knives and everyday kitchen traffic, and it holds up to the daily wear a kitchen counter takes better than almost anything else we install. It does need to be sealed, and we take care of that at install so it's protected against staining from day one. Getting a granite kitchen right comes down to the template and the layout at the shop. We lay out the slabs so the pattern falls where it should across the counters, keep seams tight where two pieces meet, and cut the openings for the sink and cooktop clean and square. The edge on this one is eased, a simple, smooth-rounded edge that's easy to keep clean and doesn't chip the way a sharp edge can over time. This kitchen is in Lexington, part of the work we do across the Midlands where granite still holds up as one of the best all-around choices for a working kitchen. Dallas White gives the room a bright, durable surface that's going to look right for a long time, and it does the job every day without asking for much back.

Originally, the exterior of the Napa ranch residence was a standard knocked down stucco finish. We covered over the entire exterior of the house with a natural plaster product that has been made in Italy for centuries, known as Rialto or Vero. This product is a combination of slaked lime mixed with 60% reconstituted crushed marble dust. Quarried from the legendary Carrara marble mines. The finish itself is a vertically combed striated texture embedded into the plaster. While it cures, a transparent group of patinas are applied to the stone-like plaster substance to create a look of an aged villa.

NSPJ Architects / Cathy Kudelko
Example of a large transitional carpeted l-shaped staircase design in Kansas City with carpeted risers

This kitchen in Elgin came together in engineered quartz, Calacatta Viraldi, and it's the kind of stone that does a lot of the work in a room without shouting about it. The white background stays clean and bright, and the veining moves through it in soft grays and golds. For a kitchen that gets used every day, that's the whole point. Quartz is engineered stone, ground quartz mixed with resin under pressure, so it comes out of the plant with a consistent pattern from slab to slab. That consistency matters when you're templating a kitchen. We can match the veining across a seam or carry it around a corner without hunting for the right spot on the slab, because the pattern's already built in that way. Calacatta Viraldi reads soft and bright in a kitchen, which is exactly why it gets picked for spaces where people actually cook. Getting a countertop like this in is still a craft even with a manufactured material. We template the kitchen precisely, cut the slabs to fit the cabinets and the sink cutout, and dress the edges by hand. Here we kept the edge eased, a clean, simple detail that lets the stone itself stay the focus instead of the profile. Seams get set tight and leveled so your eye reads the counter as one continuous surface, not pieced-together sections. Day to day, this is a low-maintenance surface. Quartz doesn't need sealing, since the resin already closes it off from stains, and it resists scratches and everyday acids from cooking better than a lot of other surfaces. It handles the daily bumps of a real kitchen without much fuss. Heat's the one thing to watch, a hot pan straight off the stove can shock the resin, so a trivet's a smart habit, but that's a small price for a counter that otherwise shrugs off wine, coffee, and citrus without a second thought. It's a good look for Elgin and for the kind of Midlands kitchens we build these for, bright, durable, and built to actually get used instead of just looked at.

This kitchen in Elgin came together in engineered quartz, Calacatta Viraldi, and it's the kind of stone that does a lot of the work in a room without shouting about it. The white background stays clean and bright, and the veining moves through it in soft grays and golds. For a kitchen that gets used every day, that's the whole point. Quartz is engineered stone, ground quartz mixed with resin under pressure, so it comes out of the plant with a consistent pattern from slab to slab. That consistency matters when you're templating a kitchen. We can match the veining across a seam or carry it around a corner without hunting for the right spot on the slab, because the pattern's already built in that way. Calacatta Viraldi reads soft and bright in a kitchen, which is exactly why it gets picked for spaces where people actually cook. Getting a countertop like this in is still a craft even with a manufactured material. We template the kitchen precisely, cut the slabs to fit the cabinets and the sink cutout, and dress the edges by hand. Here we kept the edge eased, a clean, simple detail that lets the stone itself stay the focus instead of the profile. Seams get set tight and leveled so your eye reads the counter as one continuous surface, not pieced-together sections. Day to day, this is a low-maintenance surface. Quartz doesn't need sealing, since the resin already closes it off from stains, and it resists scratches and everyday acids from cooking better than a lot of other surfaces. It handles the daily bumps of a real kitchen without much fuss. Heat's the one thing to watch, a hot pan straight off the stove can shock the resin, so a trivet's a smart habit, but that's a small price for a counter that otherwise shrugs off wine, coffee, and citrus without a second thought. It's a good look for Elgin and for the kind of Midlands kitchens we build these for, bright, durable, and built to actually get used instead of just looked at.

© Anthony Crisafulli 2014
Inspiration for a contemporary landscaping in New York.

Emily Minton-Redfield
Transitional bedroom photo in Denver

This kitchen in Elgin came together in engineered quartz, Calacatta Viraldi, and it's the kind of stone that does a lot of the work in a room without shouting about it. The white background stays clean and bright, and the veining moves through it in soft grays and golds. For a kitchen that gets used every day, that's the whole point. Quartz is engineered stone, ground quartz mixed with resin under pressure, so it comes out of the plant with a consistent pattern from slab to slab. That consistency matters when you're templating a kitchen. We can match the veining across a seam or carry it around a corner without hunting for the right spot on the slab, because the pattern's already built in that way. Calacatta Viraldi reads soft and bright in a kitchen, which is exactly why it gets picked for spaces where people actually cook. Getting a countertop like this in is still a craft even with a manufactured material. We template the kitchen precisely, cut the slabs to fit the cabinets and the sink cutout, and dress the edges by hand. Here we kept the edge eased, a clean, simple detail that lets the stone itself stay the focus instead of the profile. Seams get set tight and leveled so your eye reads the counter as one continuous surface, not pieced-together sections. Day to day, this is a low-maintenance surface. Quartz doesn't need sealing, since the resin already closes it off from stains, and it resists scratches and everyday acids from cooking better than a lot of other surfaces. It handles the daily bumps of a real kitchen without much fuss. Heat's the one thing to watch, a hot pan straight off the stove can shock the resin, so a trivet's a smart habit, but that's a small price for a counter that otherwise shrugs off wine, coffee, and citrus without a second thought. It's a good look for Elgin and for the kind of Midlands kitchens we build these for, bright, durable, and built to actually get used instead of just looked at.

This kitchen in Lexington came together in BSI Zurich granite, and it's the kind of stone that does a lot of the work in a room just by sitting there. Zurich has a cool gray background with movement that breaks up into darker flecks and softer crystal patches, so it reads calm from across the room but keeps your eye busy up close. That range makes it easy to live with next to most cabinet colors, whether the boxes are painted white, a soft gray, or a warmer wood tone. Granite like this is quarried in big blocks and cut into slabs, and no two slabs come out exactly the same. That's part of why we template each kitchen on site instead of working off a generic plan. We measure the actual cabinets, account for the sink and cooktop cutouts, and lay out the slabs so the veining and pattern flow the way they should across the island and the runs of counter, especially where two pieces meet at a seam. Getting that seam tight and matched so it disappears into the pattern takes a steady hand and slabs picked with the layout in mind from the start. Granite is one of the toughest countertop materials you can put in a kitchen. It shrugs off hot pans, resists scratching from everyday knife work, and holds up to the kind of daily traffic a real kitchen sees, dishes, coffee, kids doing homework at the island, all of it. It does need to be sealed, and staying on top of that keeps it looking like day one for years. We finished this one with an eased edge, clean and simple, which is the right call for a stone with this much going on in the surface. It doesn't need extra shaping to look finished. Lexington's seen a lot of kitchens go through updates like this one, and granite remains a favorite around the Midlands because it holds up to how people actually cook and live. This Zurich kitchen is a good example of why: a stone with real character, installed tight and clean, that's going to keep earning its keep for a long time.