Search results for "Skeleton" in Home Design Ideas

Central El Paso Backyard Renovation:
Fifteen years is a long time for a backyard to quietly wait.
At first, it was full of intention—a pool that promised summers, laughter, and long evenings. But time has a way of settling in. The water turned still, then green. Edges cracked. The space became less of a destination and more of something you looked past. Life moved forward, but the backyard stayed behind.
Then came the decision: it was time.
Not a patch job. Not a quick fix. A complete reset.
The transformation didn’t begin beautifully—it began with demolition. The old pool was drained, exposing years of neglect etched into its surface. Crews stepped in, breaking, clearing, reshaping. What once held stagnant water became an open cavity of possibility. Steel rebar formed a new skeleton, precise and intentional. Every line measured. Every elevation reconsidered.
This wasn’t just construction—it was rethinking how the space should live.
The shell was rebuilt. Surfaces were refined. Plumbing, structure, and flow were corrected at their core. What had once been outdated and failing was now engineered to last.
Then the shift happened.
Hardscape came in—clean, warm-toned concrete replacing worn decking. Stone walls, once just boundaries, were elevated into features. Subtle textures, intentional lines. A visual language that matched the architecture of the home instead of competing with it.
The pool returned—but not as it was.
Now it was sharp, modern, and inviting. A long, clean body of water with a shallow tanning ledge that catches the sun just right. Stainless steel scuppers arc water into the pool—movement, sound, life. Steps are crisp, geometry is balanced, and the water reflects clarity instead of neglect.
Around it, the yard found purpose.
Artificial turf introduced contrast—green, controlled, low-maintenance. A pergola structure rose in the corner, creating a destination within the destination. Beneath it, a built-in outdoor kitchen turned the backyard into a place to gather, not just pass through. Lighting stitched everything together, making the space just as alive at dusk as it is under the midday sun.
By the end, nothing felt accidental.
What was once forgotten is now deliberate. What was once avoided is now the center of attention.
Fifteen years later, the backyard didn’t just come back—it finally became what it was always supposed to be.

It’s rare when a client comes to me with a brief for a complete home from scratch, but that is exactly what happened here. My client, a professional musician and singer, was having a luxury three-story condo built and wanted help choosing not only all the hardscape materials like tile, flooring, carpet, and cabinetry, but also all furniture and furnishings. I even outfitted his new home with plates, flatware, pots and pans, towels, sheets, and window coverings. Like I said, this was from scratch!
We defined his style direction for the new home including dark colors, minimalistic furniture, and a modern industrial sensibility, and I set about creating a fluid expression of that style. The tone is set at the entry where a custom laser-cut industrial steel sign requests visitors be shoeless. We deliberately limited the color palette for the entire house to black, grey, and deep blue, with grey-washed or dark stained neutral woods.
The navy zellige tiles on the backsplash in the kitchen add depth between the cement-textured quartz counters and cerused cabinetry. The island is painted in a coordinating navy and features hand-forged iron stools. In the dining room, horizontal and vertical lines play with each other in the form of an angular linear chandelier, lighted acrylic light columns, and a dining table with a special faceted wave edge. Chair backs echo the shape of the art maps on the wall.
We chose a unique, three dimensional wall treatment for the living room where a plush sectional and LED tunable lights set the stage for comfy movie nights. Walls with a repeating whimsical black and white whale skeleton named Bruce adorn the walls of the powder room. The adjacent patio boasts a resort-like feeling with a cozy fire table, a wall of up-lit boxwoods, and a black sofa and chairs for star gazing.
A gallery wall featuring a roster of some of my client’s favorite rock, punk, and jazz musicians adorns the stairwell. On the third floor, the primary and guest bathrooms continue with the cement-textured quartz counters and same cerused cabinetry.
We completed this well-appointed home with a serene guest room in the established limited color palette and a lounge/office/recording room.
All photos by Bernardo Grijalva

This nook at the fireplace was unusable dead space. The owners wanted to create a bar space that complemented the nautical themes in the house, looked well used, but was useful and beautiful. Due to limited space, we designed a cantilevered flip up bar-top for stools to fit around when the bar was in use. The cabinetry is inset shaker style with antique brass finial hinges and icebox latch hardware with working antique skeleton key locks for the liquor cabinet and antique brass cup pulls for the inset soft close dovetail drawers. The bar-tops and glass rack are made of antique wormy chestnut and the backsplash is an antiqued mirror. A milk paint distressed finish completes the look and feel of this unit.
Find the right local pro for your project

Photo from the Blue Sky Archives
Dining room - contemporary dining room idea in Vancouver
Dining room - contemporary dining room idea in Vancouver

Photo from the Blue Sky Archives
Trendy hallway photo in Vancouver
Trendy hallway photo in Vancouver

This loft is part of a revitalization of a historic commercial building in the Pacific Northwest. The original concrete and masonry were preserved, giving the space so much character! The modernity of the cabinetry is the perfect complement to the industrial skeleton. The waterfall edge of the quartz counters keep the ultra-modern feeling going, and ring-side seating allows guests to comfortably enjoy the show.

Photo: Gilbertson Photography, Inc.
Minimalist front porch idea in Minneapolis with a roof extension
Minimalist front porch idea in Minneapolis with a roof extension

Photo: Mike Kaskel
Example of an eclectic enclosed medium tone wood floor and brown floor living room design in Chicago with purple walls, a standard fireplace and a brick fireplace
Example of an eclectic enclosed medium tone wood floor and brown floor living room design in Chicago with purple walls, a standard fireplace and a brick fireplace

"Our client had this lovely vintage table. Our job was to create a gathering place for her book club. We started with the old skeleton key fabric. The flat-weave rug added texture and pattern. Barn siding conceals an unsightly wall of closets." -Designer, Sarah King
Photo by Jordan Sternberg
Painting by Jana Pierce

The client was looking for a better way to utilize the small backyard of their Baltimore rowhome. The project included a patio using Outdoor Living by Belgard Aquaroc (permeable paver); a water feature using a natural Basalt column with LED light rings and mexican beach gravel; a workbench and storage cabinet with a Flagstone thermal cap and cedar trim; a wrought iron fence and pergola skeleton for plants to grow; wood fence on top of solid painted block; perennial plants in planter boxes; and landscape lighting.

Bedroom - traditional guest medium tone wood floor bedroom idea in New York with blue walls

It’s rare when a client comes to me with a brief for a complete home from scratch, but that is exactly what happened here. My client, a professional musician and singer, was having a luxury three-story condo built and wanted help choosing not only all the hardscape materials like tile, flooring, carpet, and cabinetry, but also all furniture and furnishings. I even outfitted his new home with plates, flatware, pots and pans, towels, sheets, and window coverings. Like I said, this was from scratch!
We defined his style direction for the new home including dark colors, minimalistic furniture, and a modern industrial sensibility, and I set about creating a fluid expression of that style. The tone is set at the entry where a custom laser-cut industrial steel sign requests visitors be shoeless. We deliberately limited the color palette for the entire house to black, grey, and deep blue, with grey-washed or dark stained neutral woods.
The navy zellige tiles on the backsplash in the kitchen add depth between the cement-textured quartz counters and cerused cabinetry. The island is painted in a coordinating navy and features hand-forged iron stools. In the dining room, horizontal and vertical lines play with each other in the form of an angular linear chandelier, lighted acrylic light columns, and a dining table with a special faceted wave edge. Chair backs echo the shape of the art maps on the wall.
We chose a unique, three dimensional wall treatment for the living room where a plush sectional and LED tunable lights set the stage for comfy movie nights. Walls with a repeating whimsical black and white whale skeleton named Bruce adorn the walls of the powder room. The adjacent patio boasts a resort-like feeling with a cozy fire table, a wall of up-lit boxwoods, and a black sofa and chairs for star gazing.
A gallery wall featuring a roster of some of my client’s favorite rock, punk, and jazz musicians adorns the stairwell. On the third floor, the primary and guest bathrooms continue with the cement-textured quartz counters and same cerused cabinetry.
We completed this well-appointed home with a serene guest room in the established limited color palette and a lounge/office/recording room.
All photos by Bernardo Grijalva

The exterior entry from the street (to right) early in the evening. The lower walls are clad in charcoal-stained reclaimed wood placed vertically while the upper exterior walls are smooth stucco. A private entrance is created by offsetting the vertical aligned western red cedar timbers of the brise-soleil. The brise-soleil is formed with steel skeleton connected to the house as well as anchored into the ground. The offset wood screen (brise-soleil) creates a path between the exterior walls of the house and the exterior planters (see next photo) which leads to a quiet pond at the top of the low-rise concrete steps and eventually the entry door to the residence: A vertical courtyard / garden buffer. The lighting is integral to the steel handrail that climbs the steps. A pivot gate (shown in the opening position) lies at the first concrete landing. The run of steps is divided into three equal runs flanked on each side by Coral Bells and Philodendrons. The backside of the western red cedar screen glows at night and day as light graces the surface.

Designing an object was accompanied by certain difficulties. The owners bought a plot on which there was already a house. Its quality and appearance did not suit customers in any way. Moreover, the construction of a house from scratch was not even discussed, so the architects Vitaly Dorokhov and Tatyana Dmitrenko had to take the existing skeleton as a basis. During the reconstruction, the protruding glass volume was demolished, some structural elements of the facade were simplified. The number of storeys was increased and the height of the roof was increased. As a result, the building took the form of a real English home, as customers wanted.
The planning decision was dictated by the terms of reference. And the number of people living in the house. Therefore, in terms of the house acquired 400 m \ 2 extra.
The entire engineering structure and heating system were completely redone. Heating of the house comes from wells and the Ecokolt system.
The climate system of the house itself is integrated into the relay control system that constantly maintains the climate and humidity in the house.

This is another art piece drawn by my tattoo artist Matt Burns. I took the image and hand painted it on the bathroom doors.
Inspiration for an eclectic home design remodel in Other
Inspiration for an eclectic home design remodel in Other
22




