Inspiration for a timeless medium tone wood floor and brown floor foyer remodel in Minneapolis with white walls and a medium wood front door

They said it could not be done. An impossible tight squeeze for a lap pool. Fitting this lap pool between the existing home and the small area of woods and slope took careful planning and execution. © Garden Gate Landscaping, Inc./Charles W. Bowers

Before photo of previous poorly designed remodel. whirlpool tub squeezed into this space and closed off by the pivot door creating a terribly claustrophobic space

This little spice drawer was a nifty solution for a squeezed space that was too small for standard drawer slides.

This laundry room serves multiple uses, including designated drawers and plenty of counters for crafts and wrapping projects, and a walk out to an outdoor potting area with a custom zinc top. Photography: Pam Singleton

Photographer: Jay Goodrich This 2800 sf single-family home was completed in 2009. The clients desired an intimate, yet dynamic family residence that reflected the beauty of the site and the lifestyle of the San Juan Islands. The house was built to be both a place to gather for large dinners with friends and family as well as a cozy home for the couple when they are there alone. The project is located on a stunning, but cripplingly-restricted site overlooking Griffin Bay on San Juan Island. The most practical area to build was exactly where three beautiful old growth trees had already chosen to live. A prior architect, in a prior design, had proposed chopping them down and building right in the middle of the site. From our perspective, the trees were an important essence of the site and respectfully had to be preserved. As a result we squeezed the programmatic requirements, kept the clients on a square foot restriction and pressed tight against property setbacks. The delineate concept is a stone wall that sweeps from the parking to the entry, through the house and out the other side, terminating in a hook that nestles the master shower. This is the symbolic and functional shield between the public road and the private living spaces of the home owners. All the primary living spaces and the master suite are on the water side, the remaining rooms are tucked into the hill on the road side of the wall. Off-setting the solid massing of the stone walls is a pavilion which grabs the views and the light to the south, east and west. Built in a position to be hammered by the winter storms the pavilion, while light and airy in appearance and feeling, is constructed of glass, steel, stout wood timbers and doors with a stone roof and a slate floor. The glass pavilion is anchored by two concrete panel chimneys; the windows are steel framed and the exterior skin is of powder coated steel sheathing.

A tiny outdoor space was made to feel larger by replacing the lawn with paved paths and a courtyard. New steps replaced a sloping path to the front door. This home now has great street appeal and the courtyard provides a pretty flower filled living space throughout the year. There is even a small vegetable box squeezed in.

Before photo of previous poorly designed remodel. whirlpool tub squeezed into this space and closed off by the pivot door creating a terribly claustrophobic space

Example of a bedroom beach style gender-neutral carpeted and blue floor kids' bedroom design in Portland Maine with gray walls

Floating grove design vanity, installed with in Brampton. Clean lines, warm tone, built to the exact width of this bathroom — not a catalogue size squeezed into the space.

Patrick Oden
Example of a small country master dark wood floor bedroom design with beige walls

This is a small bar we squeezed between two french doors.
Home bar - traditional home bar idea in St Louis

  Download our free ebook, Creating the Ideal Kitchen. DOWNLOAD NOW   The homeowners came to us looking to update the kitchen in their historic 1897 home. The home had gone through an extensive renovation several years earlier that added a master bedroom suite and updates to the front façade. The kitchen however was not part of that update and a prior 1990’s update had left much to be desired. The client is an avid cook, and it was just not very functional for the family. The original kitchen was very choppy and included a large eat in area that took up more than its fair share of the space. On the wish list was a place where the family could comfortably congregate, that was easy and to cook in, that feels lived in and in check with the rest of the home’s décor. They also wanted a space that was not cluttered and dark – a happy, light and airy room. A small powder room off the space also needed some attention so we set out to include that in the remodel as well. See that arch in the neighboring dining room? The homeowner really wanted to make the opening to the dining room an arch to match, so we incorporated that into the design. Another unfortunate eyesore was the state of the ceiling and soffits. Turns out it was just a series of shortcuts from the prior renovation, and we were surprised and delighted that we were easily able to flatten out almost the entire ceiling with a couple of little reworks. Other changes we made were to add new windows that were appropriate to the new design, which included moving the sink window over slightly to give the work zone more breathing room. We also adjusted the height of the windows in what was previously the eat-in area that were too low for a countertop to work. We tried to keep an old island in the plan since it was a well-loved vintage find, but the tradeoff for the function of the new island was not worth it in the end. We hope the old found a new home, perhaps as a potting table. Designed by: Susan Klimala, CKD, CBD Photography by: Michael Kaskel For more information on kitchen and bath design ideas go to: www.kitchenstudio-ge.com

Study room - cottage built-in desk light wood floor and beige floor study room idea in Minneapolis with white walls and no fireplace

This cabinet under the peninsula is perfect storage for drinks and narrow platters. Given the limited storage in the kitchen, the owner makes the most of the space.

Benjamin Benschneider A Seattle family was expecting their third child and hoping to find space for an additional bedroom within their existing one-story home. A small second floor addition was considered but the cost and disruption to the family living space presented serious drawbacks. A new detached garage and DADU (Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit), to be located in the backyard, was proposed to free up the existing basement garage for the new bedroom. The new building is modest and simple, designed with a scale and character to complement the existing house and neighborhood.

The Guest Bath was essentially in its original state with vintage yellow tile and a cast iron tub. The small vanity had been previously replaced but was squeezed between three walls.

Inspiration for a rustic brown one-story wood gable roof remodel in Seattle

A sideyard front door entry in Playa del Rey. This space was 5' wide but we managed to squeeze in a custom fence, 3' wide sidewalk, and a planter/fountain as you approach the front door.