Warmly contemporary, airy, and above all welcoming, this single-family home in the heart of the city blends family-friendly living – and playing – space with rooms designed for large-scale entertaining. As at ease hosting a team’s worth of basketball-dribbling youngsters as it is gathering hundreds of philanthropy-minded guests for worthy causes, it transitions between the two without care or concern. An open floor plan is thoughtfully segmented by custom millwork designed to define spaces, provide storage, and cozy large expanses of space. Sleek, yet never cold, its gallery-like ambiance accommodates an art collection that ranges from the ethnic and organic to the textural, streamlined furniture silhouettes, quietly dynamic fabrics, and an arms-wide-open policy toward the two young boys who call this house home. Of course, like any family home, the kitchen is its heart. Here, linear forms – think wall upon wall of concealed cabinets, hugely paned windows, and an elongated island that seats eight even as it provides generous prep and serving space – define the ultimate in contemporary urban living. Photo Credit: Werner Straube

Every inch of the inside and outside living areas are re-conceived in this full house and guest-house renovation in Berkeley. In the main house the entire floor plan is flipped to re-orient public and private areas, with the formerly small, chopped up spaces opened and integrated with their surroundings. The studio, previously a deteriorating garage, is transformed into a clean and cozy space with an outdoor area of its own. A palette of screen walls, Corten steel, stucco and concrete connect the materiality and forms of the two spaces. What was a drab, dysfunctional bungalow is now an inspiring and livable home for a young family. Architecture by Tierney Conner Design Studio Photo by David Duncan Livingston.

Featuring a classic H-shaped plan and minimalist details, the Winston was designed with the modern family in mind. This home carefully balances a sleek and uniform façade with more contemporary elements. This balance is noticed best when looking at the home on axis with the front or rear doors. Simple lap siding serve as a backdrop to the careful arrangement of windows and outdoor spaces. Stepping through a pair of natural wood entry doors gives way to sweeping vistas through the living and dining rooms. Anchoring the left side of the main level, and on axis with the living room, is a large white kitchen island and tiled range surround. To the right, and behind the living rooms sleek fireplace, is a vertical corridor that grants access to the upper level bedrooms, main level master suite, and lower level spaces. Serving as backdrop to this vertical corridor is a floor to ceiling glass display room for a sizeable wine collection. Set three steps down from the living room and through an articulating glass wall, the screened porch is enclosed by a retractable screen system that allows the room to be heated during cold nights. In all rooms, preferential treatment is given to maximize exposure to the rear yard, making this a perfect lakefront home.

Beach style exterior home photo in DC Metro

Featuring a classic H-shaped plan and minimalist details, the Winston was designed with the modern family in mind. This home carefully balances a sleek and uniform façade with more contemporary elements. Stepping through a pair of natural wood entry doors gives way to sweeping vistas through the living and dining rooms. Anchoring the left side of the main level, and on axis with the living room, is a large white kitchen island and tiled range surround. To the right, and behind the living rooms sleek fireplace, is a vertical corridor that grants access to the upper level bedrooms, main level master suite, and lower level spaces. Set three steps down from the living room and through an articulating glass wall, the screened porch is enclosed by Phantom’s motorized retractable screens that allows the room to be heated during cold nights. Photography: Ashley Avila Photography

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Transitional 3/4 gray tile bathroom photo in Boston with flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, gray walls, an undermount sink and white countertops

The idea for this powder room was to provide the essentials with cluttering up the space. simple lines, hidden accent lighting. The vanity mirror was placed to the side on purpose to provide a full height viewing area

Photos by Julie Soefer
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Kevin Meechan
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Featuring a classic H-shaped plan and minimalist details, the Winston was designed with the modern family in mind. This home carefully balances a sleek and uniform façade with more contemporary elements. Stepping through a pair of natural wood entry doors gives way to sweeping vistas through the living and dining rooms. Anchoring the left side of the main level, and on axis with the living room, is a large white kitchen island and tiled range surround. To the right, and behind the living rooms sleek fireplace, is a vertical corridor that grants access to the upper level bedrooms, main level master suite, and lower level spaces. Set three steps down from the living room and through an articulating glass wall, the screened porch is enclosed by Phantom’s motorized retractable screens that allows the room to be heated during cold nights. Photography: Ashley Avila Photography

Featuring a classic H-shaped plan and minimalist details, the Winston was designed with the modern family in mind. This home carefully balances a sleek and uniform façade with more contemporary elements. This balance is noticed best when looking at the home on axis with the front or rear doors. Simple lap siding serve as a backdrop to the careful arrangement of windows and outdoor spaces. Stepping through a pair of natural wood entry doors gives way to sweeping vistas through the living and dining rooms. Anchoring the left side of the main level, and on axis with the living room, is a large white kitchen island and tiled range surround. To the right, and behind the living rooms sleek fireplace, is a vertical corridor that grants access to the upper level bedrooms, main level master suite, and lower level spaces. Serving as backdrop to this vertical corridor is a floor to ceiling glass display room for a sizeable wine collection. Set three steps down from the living room and through an articulating glass wall, the screened porch is enclosed by a retractable screen system that allows the room to be heated during cold nights. In all rooms, preferential treatment is given to maximize exposure to the rear yard, making this a perfect lakefront home.

Inspiration for a mid-sized 1950s 3/4 tub/shower combo remodel in Seattle with white walls

This gem of a house was built in the 1950s, when its neighborhood undoubtedly felt remote. The university footprint has expanded in the 70 years since, however, and today this home sits on prime real estate—easy biking and reasonable walking distance to campus. When it went up for sale in 2017, it was largely unaltered. Our clients purchased it to renovate and resell, and while we all knew we'd need to add square footage to make it profitable, we also wanted to respect the neighborhood and the house’s own history. Swedes have a word that means “just the right amount”: lagom. It is a guiding philosophy for us at SYH, and especially applied in this renovation. Part of the soul of this house was about living in just the right amount of space. Super sizing wasn’t a thing in 1950s America. So, the solution emerged: keep the original rectangle, but add an L off the back. With no owner to design with and for, SYH created a layout to appeal to the masses. All public spaces are the back of the home--the new addition that extends into the property’s expansive backyard. A den and four smallish bedrooms are atypically located in the front of the house, in the original 1500 square feet. Lagom is behind that choice: conserve space in the rooms where you spend most of your time with your eyes shut. Put money and square footage toward the spaces in which you mostly have your eyes open. In the studio, we started calling this project the Mullet Ranch—business up front, party in the back. The front has a sleek but quiet effect, mimicking its original low-profile architecture street-side. It’s very Hoosier of us to keep appearances modest, we think. But get around to the back, and surprise! lofted ceilings and walls of windows. Gorgeous.

Photo by Vinotemp This image shows the modern, sleek 110 bottle wine cooler, that features two separate temperature zones, and a touch screen digital control panel.

This showpiece in the master bathroom can be seen down the hall leading from the kitchen. Overlooking the backyard and view of the hills, the custom drapery allows for privacy and light control. Photo by Whit Preston.

Country kitchen photo in Atlanta

The Daniel's Porch displays a sleek rustic style while maintaining a robust, modernistic atmosphere. The screened wall feature makes this a perfect place for quiet social gatherings.