Inspiration for a coastal dining room remodel in Orange County

photos: Kyle Born
Inspiration for a large eclectic slate floor enclosed kitchen remodel in Philadelphia with a drop-in sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, marble countertops, blue backsplash, ceramic backsplash, white appliances and no island

Completed in 2019, this is a home we completed for client who initially engaged us to remodeled their 100 year old classic craftsman bungalow on Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill. During our initial conversation, it became readily apparent that their program was much larger than a remodel could accomplish and the conversation quickly turned toward the design of a new structure that could accommodate a growing family, a live-in Nanny, a variety of entertainment options and an enclosed garage – all squeezed onto a compact urban corner lot. Project entitlement took almost a year as the house size dictated that we take advantage of several exceptions in Seattle’s complex zoning code. After several meetings with city planning officials, we finally prevailed in our arguments and ultimately designed a 4 story, 3800 sf house on a 2700 sf lot. The finished product is light and airy with a large, open plan and exposed beams on the main level, 5 bedrooms, 4 full bathrooms, 2 powder rooms, 2 fireplaces, 4 climate zones, a huge basement with a home theatre, guest suite, climbing gym, and an underground tavern/wine cellar/man cave. The kitchen has a large island, a walk-in pantry, a small breakfast area and access to a large deck. All of this program is capped by a rooftop deck with expansive views of Seattle’s urban landscape and Lake Union. Unfortunately for our clients, a job relocation to Southern California forced a sale of their dream home a little more than a year after they settled in after a year project. The good news is that in Seattle’s tight housing market, in less than a week they received several full price offers with escalator clauses which allowed them to turn a nice profit on the deal.

We got referred by our clients family member who we've done work for in the past. After getting similar priced bids this client has decided to go with us for a wall removal, Layout re-imagining and kitchen remodel. We started the process, as always, with our in-house designer, landed on an idea which fits their budget and started the process, permits didn't take as long as we anticipated so we managed to squeeze this project in and finished it within the time frame we promised once permits were pulled. Client is overall happy and this is a project we are very proud of.

Like many West Coast cities, Seattle is facing a severe housing shortage at a time when labor and material costs have skyrocketed. Combined with a lack of available dirt, housing vacancy rates stubbornly hover under 5%. A response to this housing perfect storm has been the evolution of a new housing prototype called a detached Auxiliary Dwelling Unit (DADU). This is commonly referred to as a Mother-in-Law (MIL) unit. As the name implies, this is a small, self-contained housing type that allows for additional housing to be built on an existing lot, creating greater density within our urban fabric. Generally thought of as either starter housing or aging-in-place concepts, these are extremely efficient floor plans that squeeze all the basic living functions into a compact space while envisioning the urban fabric as one's living room. In the case of our little DADU, our footprint is 20' x 20' and provides a ground level garage/music studio and an upper level apartment. The misconception of these structure - thanks in large part to the misinformation campaign of the Not-So-Big-House movement - is the smaller translates into cheaper. Since these are essentially small houses, the truth is these are very expensive structures on a cost/sf basis. We conceptualized this structure as inexpensively as we could think of and it still ended up costing more than $400,000 or around $500/sf.

This bright kitchen has been updated with beautiful grey cabinetry, white bead board ceiling and new counter top. Even though it wasn't large in size, storage has been squeeze in every space possible. Check out the spice storage - it takes what could have been wasted space and been made to very extremely functional. The transitional cabinetry, with a shaker door style brings beauty and convenience.

Small transitional vinyl floor kitchen photo in Other with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, quartz countertops, multicolored backsplash, ceramic backsplash, white appliances and no island

The spa is 9' diameter and can seat 8 adults, and as many children as can squeeze into the middle. In the winter, the kids actually use the hot tub as there "pool". Although we have a heater we seldom use it to heat the whole pool as we have very hot summers, and it is a little costly in the winter.

The meat run has fairly good counter space on both sides of the D-sink. Note the angled base cabinets at the far end of both counter runs, squeezing out a bit more counter and storage while gently directing traffic from the corner entry. Photo credit: Derek Jones

Walkway from the front door, through the kitchen, and into the living room. A Chamberlain fridge, bamboo countertops, dutch front door, porcelain farmhouse sink and countertop extension (cover on), Bosch 800 series stainless steel dishwasher, and a Force10 galley range oven broiler and hood (made in Vancouver BC!). You can also see the Douglas Fir flooring with exposed copper radiant heat, and space efficient magnetic spice jars.

This beautiful home is an example of what can be achieved on a small lot. Interactive Construction was able to provide these homeowners with a Passive House that fit perfectly into their heritage neighbourhood, onto their narrow lot, and with their personalities. There are huge energy savings built into the design of this home. In keeping with Passive House principles, the house is insulated everywhere to minimize heat loss meaning this house doesn’t require a conventional heat source. There is an extremely efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system that quietly manages airflow throughout the building and takes the heat from showers and cooking before expelling cool, filtered air. Triple glazed windows cut down on heat loss and are almost all openable to aid in cooling instead of a costly air conditioner. Environmental considerations in this build go beyond energy savings. The decision to use prefabricated wall panels and roof trusses to cut down on waste and aid in site storage of lumber. This house’s innovation comes from it being a modern design passive house that it somehow fits very well in a neighbourhood filled with heritage houses. We managed to squeeze a lot of house onto a postage sized lot and still have it feel roomy inside and in the yard. And check out those funky stairs! What the homeowners had to say: Despite the huge and unforeseen challenges of building safely and efficiently during the 2020 Covid pandemic, especially on a very narrow lot, Interactive's exceptional crew and their team of skilled subcontractors delivered our dream house.

Talk about your small spaces. In this case we had to squeeze a full bath into a powder room-sized room of only 5’ x 7’. The ceiling height also comes into play sloping downward from 90” to 71” under the roof of a second floor dormer in this Cape-style home. We stripped the room bare and scrutinized how we could minimize the visual impact of each necessary bathroom utility. The bathroom was transitioning along with its occupant from young boy to teenager. The existing bathtub and shower curtain by far took up the most visual space within the room. Eliminating the tub and introducing a curbless shower with sliding glass shower doors greatly enlarged the room. Now that the floor seamlessly flows through out the room it magically feels larger. We further enhanced this concept with a floating vanity. Although a bit smaller than before, it along with the new wall-mounted medicine cabinet sufficiently handles all storage needs. We chose a comfort height toilet with a short tank so that we could extend the wood countertop completely across the sink wall. The longer countertop creates opportunity for decorative effects while creating the illusion of a larger space. Floating shelves to the right of the vanity house more nooks for storage and hide a pop-out electrical outlet. The clefted slate target wall in the shower sets up the modern yet rustic aesthetic of this bathroom, further enhanced by a chipped high gloss stone floor and wire brushed wood countertop. I think it is the style and placement of the wall sconces (rated for wet environments) that really make this space unique. White ceiling tile keeps the shower area functional while allowing us to extend the white along the rest of the ceiling and partially down the sink wall – again a room-expanding trick. This is a small room that makes a big splash!

Originally squeezed into the far end of the apartment, Clifton moved the kitchen closer to the middle, creating a semi-open space, which flows into the living area but is separated from the entrance corridor by a floor-to-ceiling cabinet that can be opened from both sides.

We got referred by our clients family member who we've done work for in the past. After getting similar priced bids this client has decided to go with us for a wall removal, Layout re-imagining and kitchen remodel. We started the process, as always, with our in-house designer, landed on an idea which fits their budget and started the process, permits didn't take as long as we anticipated so we managed to squeeze this project in and finished it within the time frame we promised once permits were pulled. Client is overall happy and this is a project we are very proud of.

This bright and cheery cream and white bathroom features bow-front custom cabinets, unique paneling and built-in medicine cabinets. The extra-deep tub allows for in a serene space with a lovely view. The shower (hidden from view) doubles as a steam room.

Tim & Elissa have a beautiful home in the most desirable Wyomissing neighborhood. Broad sidewalks under stately oaks, with nearby parks makes it a perfect place to raise a growing family. But their 2-bedroom mid-century rancher was becoming a squeeze. They asked Spring Creek Design to come up with a cost-effective solution to their space problem, while also tackling some of the home’s aged infrastructure. Design Criteria: - Increase living space by adding a new 2nd storey Master Suite. - Enhance livability with an open floorplan on the first floor. - Improve the connection to the outdoors. - Update basics systems with new windows, HVAC and insulation. - Update interior with paint & refinished floors. Special Features: - Bright, mid-century modern design is true to the home’s vintage. - Custom steel cable railings at both stairways. - New open plan creates strong connections between kitchen, living room, dining room and deck. - High-performance Pella windows throughout, including a new triple-panel slider to the deck.

Completed in 2019, this is a home we completed for client who initially engaged us to remodeled their 100 year old classic craftsman bungalow on Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill. During our initial conversation, it became readily apparent that their program was much larger than a remodel could accomplish and the conversation quickly turned toward the design of a new structure that could accommodate a growing family, a live-in Nanny, a variety of entertainment options and an enclosed garage – all squeezed onto a compact urban corner lot. Project entitlement took almost a year as the house size dictated that we take advantage of several exceptions in Seattle’s complex zoning code. After several meetings with city planning officials, we finally prevailed in our arguments and ultimately designed a 4 story, 3800 sf house on a 2700 sf lot. The finished product is light and airy with a large, open plan and exposed beams on the main level, 5 bedrooms, 4 full bathrooms, 2 powder rooms, 2 fireplaces, 4 climate zones, a huge basement with a home theatre, guest suite, climbing gym, and an underground tavern/wine cellar/man cave. The kitchen has a large island, a walk-in pantry, a small breakfast area and access to a large deck. All of this program is capped by a rooftop deck with expansive views of Seattle’s urban landscape and Lake Union. Unfortunately for our clients, a job relocation to Southern California forced a sale of their dream home a little more than a year after they settled in after a year project. The good news is that in Seattle’s tight housing market, in less than a week they received several full price offers with escalator clauses which allowed them to turn a nice profit on the deal.

Example of a mid-sized classic master multicolored tile ceramic tile bathroom design in Nashville with a drop-in sink, raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, laminate countertops, a one-piece toilet and green walls

Designed by Jen Denham of Reico Kitchen & Bath in White Plains MD in collaboration with Personal Touch Installation, this transitional bathroom features Merillat Basics cabinets in the Collins door style with a Cotton finish. The vanity countertops are Steel Gray Granite Leathered. The bathroom includes Kohler fixtures, Gaya Onyx Blue Wavy 12x24 (shower wall tiles), Glazzio Martine Blue NWG-793 (accent tiles) and Arpa Expo Wood Multicolor 5x32 Planks (flooring tiles). “It was a strangely laid out bathroom, with a large garden tub that was never used. The clients wanted to expand the shower as much as possible, keeping in mind of the window hampering our ability to expand the shower length wise,” said Jen. “We made the shower look as large as possible with the space we had by taking tile to the ceiling and creating two waterfall accents to bring the blue from the floor into the shower. The clients wanted to create a more spa like feel with the pebble tile flooring and Kohler Hydrorail Shower column. We also worked in a knee wall with glass panel to keep the space feeling more open and worked in a small corner bench as well.” “We tried to create as much storage and function as possible. We were able to design a window bench, make up area, and squeeze in a tall pantry cabinet for more storage. They really liked the gray/blue color scheme that is present in the rest of the house so we tried to tie that in as best we could to make the primary bath gel with the look of the rest of the house,” said Jen. “We had a vision of what we wanted our bathroom to look like and they made it happen. It turned out beautiful and everyone was so wonderful to work with,” said the clients. Photos courtesy of BTW Images LLC.