This beautiful Birmingham, MI home had been renovated prior to our clients purchase, but the style and overall design was not a fit for their family. They really wanted to have a kitchen with a large “eat-in” island where their three growing children could gather, eat meals and enjoy time together. Additionally, they needed storage, lots of storage! We decided to create a completely new space. The original kitchen was a small “L” shaped workspace with the nook visible from the front entry. It was completely closed off to the large vaulted family room. Our team at MSDB re-designed and gutted the entire space. We removed the wall between the kitchen and family room and eliminated existing closet spaces and then added a small cantilevered addition toward the backyard. With the expanded open space, we were able to flip the kitchen into the old nook area and add an extra-large island. The new kitchen includes oversized built in Subzero refrigeration, a 48” Wolf dual fuel double oven range along with a large apron front sink overlooking the patio and a 2nd prep sink in the island. Additionally, we used hallway and closet storage to create a gorgeous walk-in pantry with beautiful frosted glass barn doors. As you slide the doors open the lights go on and you enter a completely new space with butcher block countertops for baking preparation and a coffee bar, subway tile backsplash and room for any kind of storage needed. The homeowners love the ability to display some of the wine they’ve purchased during their travels to Italy! We did not stop with the kitchen; a small bar was added in the new nook area with additional refrigeration. A brand-new mud room was created between the nook and garage with 12” x 24”, easy to clean, porcelain gray tile floor. The finishing touches were the new custom living room fireplace with marble mosaic tile surround and marble hearth and stunning extra wide plank hand scraped oak flooring throughout the entire first floor.

A custom wet bar, handcrafted from Reclaimed Chestnut, offers a small sink and wine fridge just off the kitchen. Photo Credit: Crown Point Cabinetry

Jeeheon Cho
Photo of a contemporary water fountain landscape in Detroit.

Pool - contemporary pool idea in Houston

AFTER - Randy Angell, Designer Updated pool and spa with outdoor fireplace and awning addition
Inspiration for a timeless custom-shaped pool remodel in Dallas

A small backyard and sloped front yard in the Washington Park area had some unique challenges, especially in terms of creating an inviting space for entertaining and relaxing in the backyard. Retaining walls in the front, complete with young perennials that will quickly grow to create a lush, multi-textured frame around the house, immediately create subtle lines and visual interest in front. The beautifully hardscaped backyard creates outdoor rooms, ideal for entertaining outside and making the most of a limited space. This fresh and new landscape will mature beautifully as the perennials continue to grow! Photo by Bryan Kopp

A small backyard and sloped front yard in the Washington Park area had some unique challenges, especially in terms of creating an inviting space for entertaining and relaxing in the backyard. Retaining walls in the front, complete with young perennials that will quickly grow to create a lush, multi-textured frame around the house, immediately create subtle lines and visual interest in front. The beautifully hardscaped backyard creates outdoor rooms, ideal for entertaining outside and making the most of a limited space. This fresh and new landscape will mature beautifully as the perennials continue to grow! Photo by Bryan Kopp

Deck - small contemporary backyard deck idea in San Francisco with decking

Mid-sized trendy backyard rectangular pool photo in Austin

Joshua T. Moore
Example of a cottage white two-story exterior home design

Hope's Steel Outswing Pair of Doors
Example of a tuscan pool design in Phoenix

This is an example of a mid-sized modern drought-tolerant and partial sun backyard landscaping in San Francisco with a fire pit.

The planning phase of this modern retreat was an intense collaboration that took place over the course of more than two years. While the initial design concept exceeded the clients' expectations, it also exceeded their budget beyond the point of comfort. The next several months were spent modifying the design, in attempts to lower the budget. Ultimately, the decision was made that they would hold off on the project until they could budget for the original design, rather than compromising the vision. About a year later, we repeated that same process, which resulted in the same outcome. After another year-long hiatus, we met once again. We revisited design thoughts, each of us bringing to the table new ideas and options. Each thought simply solidified the fact that the initial vision was absolutely what we all wanted to see come to fruition, and the decision was finally made to move forward. The main challenge of the site was elevation. The Southeast corner of the lot stands 5'6" above the threshold of the rear door, while the Northeast corner dropped a full 2' below the threshold of the door. The backyard was also long and narrow, sloping side-to-side and toward the house. The key to the design concept was to deftly place the project into the slope and utilize the elevation changes, without allowing them to dominate the yard, or overwhelm the senses. The unseen challenge on this project came in the form of hitting every underground issue possible. We had to relocate the sewer main, the gas line, and the electrical service; and since rock was sitting about 6" below the surface, all of these had to be chiseled through many feet of dense rock, adding to our projected timeline and budget. As you enter the space, your first stop is an outdoor living area. Smooth finished concrete, colored to match the 'Leuder' limestone coping, has a subtle saw-cut pattern aligned with the edges of the recessed fire pit. In small spaces, it is important to consider a multi-purpose approach. So, the recessed fire pit has been fitted with an aluminum cover that allows our client to set up tables and chairs for entertaining, right over the top of the fire pit. From here, it;s two steps up to the pool elevation, and the floating 'Leuder' limestone stepper pads that lead across the pool and hide the dam wall of the flush spa. The main retaining wall to the Southeast is a poured concrete wall with an integrated sheer descent waterfall into the spa. To bring in some depth and texture, a 'Brownstone' ledgestone was used to face both the dropped beam on the pool, and the raised beam of the water feature wall. The main water feature is comprised of five custom made stainless steel scuppers, supplied by a dedicated booster pump. Colored concrete stepper pads lead to the 'Ipe' wood deck at the far end of the pool. The placement of this wood deck allowed us to minimize our use of retaining walls on the Northeast end of the yard, since it drops off over three feet below the elevation of the pool beam. One of the most unique features on this project has to be the structure over the dining area. With a unique combination of steel and wood, the clean modern aesthetic of this structure creates a visual stamp in the space that standard structure could not accomplish. 4" steel posts, painted charcoal grey, are set on an angle, 4' into the bedrock, to anchor the structure. Steel I-beams painted in green-yellow color--aptly called "frolic"--act as the base to the hefty cedar rafters of the roof structure, which has a slight pitch toward the rear. A hidden gutter on the back of the roof sends water down a copper rain chain, and into the drainage system. The backdrop for both this dining area , as well as the living area, is the horizontal screen panel, created with alternating sizes of cedar planks, stained to a calm hue of dove grey.

Stepping stones in a minimal gravel paved area lead past two lounge chairs to the intimate dining area. The herringbone-patterned limestone patio dissipates into a lush planting bed filled with loose swaths of shade-loving perennials and seasonal bulbs. Beech hedging, and formal clipped evergreens, surround the space and provide privacy, structure and winter interest to the garden. On axis to the main interior living space of the home, the fountain, is the focal point of the garden. A limestone water wall featuring an engraved pattern of fallen Honey Locust leaves nods to the centrally located mature Honey Locust tree that anchors the garden. Water, flowing down the wall, falls a short distance into a pool with a submerged limestone panel. The light noise of the falling water helps soften the sounds of the bustling downtown neighbourhood, creating a tranquil back drop for living and entertaining.

A small backyard and sloped front yard in the Washington Park area had some unique challenges, especially in terms of creating an inviting space for entertaining and relaxing in the backyard. Retaining walls in the front, complete with young perennials that will quickly grow to create a lush, multi-textured frame around the house, immediately create subtle lines and visual interest in front. The beautifully hardscaped backyard creates outdoor rooms, ideal for entertaining outside and making the most of a limited space. This fresh and new landscape will mature beautifully as the perennials continue to grow! Photo by Bryan Kopp

A small backyard and sloped front yard in the Washington Park area had some unique challenges, especially in terms of creating an inviting space for entertaining and relaxing in the backyard. Retaining walls in the front, complete with young perennials that will quickly grow to create a lush, multi-textured frame around the house, immediately create subtle lines and visual interest in front. The beautifully hardscaped backyard creates outdoor rooms, ideal for entertaining outside and making the most of a limited space. This fresh and new landscape will mature beautifully as the perennials continue to grow! Photo by Bryan Kopp

A small backyard and sloped front yard in the Washington Park area had some unique challenges, especially in terms of creating an inviting space for entertaining and relaxing in the backyard. Retaining walls in the front, complete with young perennials that will quickly grow to create a lush, multi-textured frame around the house, immediately create subtle lines and visual interest in front. The beautifully hardscaped backyard creates outdoor rooms, ideal for entertaining outside and making the most of a limited space. This fresh and new landscape will mature beautifully as the perennials continue to grow! Photo by Bryan Kopp

This compact backyard is low maintenance with its flagstone patio and lawn of artificial turf. The small plunge pool has bullnose limestone coping which contrasts beautifully with the premium Pebble Tec glass beads interior. With a built-in BBQ, dining table for 10 and sumptuous lounge area, summers here are perfect! (16 x 16 custom rectangular)

Photo by Emily Kennedy Photo
Powder room - small cottage light wood floor and beige floor powder room idea in Chicago with open cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a two-piece toilet, white walls, a vessel sink, wood countertops and brown countertops