This warm and inviting farmhouse kitchen was built for cooking and entertaining. Wide open spaces, natural wood accents and a beadboard ceiling make this space feel like home, The hand made butcher block countertop adds a touch of charm and function and is a sure conversation starter.

DJK Custom Homes
Inspiration for a large timeless dark wood floor home design remodel in Chicago with beige walls and a dark wood front door

The perfect starter home for a growing family! As a young professional couple, the homeowners were looking for a place to start their lives together. This 4-bedroom, 2-1/2 bath center hall colonial with an eat-in kitchen, formal dinging room, living room and family room, offers the homeowners plenty of room for entertaining as well as space to accommodate future needs. A large back patio with built-in fire pit provides additional entertainment space for large gatherings or intimate get togethers.

This flower inspired bedroom set features elegant curves, contemporary lines and bursts of pink and purple. Whimsical round knobs give it a playful look. Crib transforms to a starter bed. Shelving unit at the base provide ample storage.

design by Pulp Design Studios | http://pulpdesignstudios.com/ Pulp Design Studios helped a young couple achieve a layered, collected and complete look for their starter home while working within a specified budget. Pulp updated the spaces by mixing existing traditional furniture with new transitional pieces and reupholstering key pieces with new bold and modern fabric. The completed home is bright and youthful, but still sophisticated.

This warm and inviting farmhouse kitchen was built for cooking and entertaining. Wide open spaces, natural wood accents and a beadboard ceiling make this space feel like home, The hand made butcher block countertop adds a touch of charm and function and is a sure conversation starter.

This warm and inviting farmhouse kitchen was built for cooking and entertaining. Wide open spaces, natural wood accents and a beadboard ceiling make this space feel like home, The hand made butcher block countertop adds a touch of charm and function and is a sure conversation starter.

  Free ebook, Creating the Ideal Kitchen. DOWNLOAD NOW   Collaborations with builders on new construction is a favorite part of my job. I love seeing a house go up from the blueprints to the end of the build. It is always a journey filled with a thousand decisions, some creative on-the-spot thinking and yes, usually a few stressful moments. This Naperville project was a collaboration with a local builder and architect. The Kitchen Studio collaborated by completing the cabinetry design and final layout for the entire home. Access to the back of the house is through the mudroom which is outfitted with just about every possible storage feature you can think of for a mudroom. For starters, the basics – a locker for each family member. In addition to that, there is an entire cabinet with roll outs devoted just to shoes, one for cleaning supplies and one for extra coats. The room also features a small clean up sink as well as a set of refrigerator drawers making grabbing a Gatorade on the way to soccer practice a piece of cake. If you are building a new home, The Kitchen Studio can offer expert help to make the most of your new construction home. We provide the expertise needed to ensure that you are getting the most of your investment when it comes to cabinetry, design and storage solutions. Give us a call if you would like to find out more! Designed by: Susan Klimala, CKBD Builder: Hampton Homes Photography by: Michael Alan Kaskel For more information on kitchen and bath design ideas go to: www.kitchenstudio-ge.com

KITCHEN GREATROOM ADDITION, Vermont: This 336 sq. ft. addition was the answer to our clients' dream of having a great cooking space and dining area that allowed them to take advantage of the gorgeous meadow/mountain views unique to this site. Originally built as a "starter home" the dwelling was lacking in natural light, and access to the available vista. Being an avid gardener and natural foods cook, our client needed a kitchen upgrade, food preparation space and lots of storage. In the renovation the old kitchen space became a mudroom/laundry room and pantry, providing functionality that was previously unavailable in the small home. The simple shaker cabinets and farmhouse style windows work perfectly with the country setting. The , Viking cooktop, and pop-up vent, corner banquette, and many cabinetry storage units were just a few of the carefully planned features that allowed us to make the best use of the modest space while keeping views free and clear.

Step 5: Easy-to-Install Flooring: Like the wall tiles, the flooring was in pretty solid shape but far from stylish. So with the help of a gorgeous line of linoleum tiles I gave the bathroom floor a major upgrade. There are some really huge advantages to working with linoleum. For starters, installing it is super easy, and you need only a utility knife to cut it and a little contact cement to hold it in place. Photo by Manuel Rodriguez

Simplicity infused with style, our Auxon Cage Coffee Table is a great conversation starter. Psst! Tell your friends where you got it from. Create good conversations and memories around our round table; we are a fan of puns and everything stylish. Bring home the Auxon cage coffee table to add character to your space and let it witness your precious memories, shared over a cup of coffee! Handmade from metal and natural mango wood, this industrial cage table is durable, artfully crafted and one of our most beautiful pieces. Time to take out the drab and add the fab!

This under-stair wine cellar presented several design challenges. Chief amongst which: how to avoid making this cramped, dark space feel like an afterthought compared to the grandeur of the rest of the home. The design team at Architectural Plastics quickly came up with a solution. A series of stepped height, clear acrylic wine racks offered maximum storage for the multi-level ceiling. Light was then added by cladding the walls in floor-to-ceiling LED panels to make the space a focal point and conversation starter. Image copyright: Miranda Estes Photography

For their first starter home, our clients desired an open-plan concept with warm rich tones and industrial styling. They also needed the space to be uncluttered but still furnished with personal mementos collected during their travels. They appreciate how the wood stands out combined with light and dark grey tones and rough industrial textures. Mission accomplished! Materials used: Sherwin Williams paint, Walnut and iron dining table and shelving unit (bar), upholstered dining chairs with whimsical fabrics, concrete and wood industrial-style lighting.

Removed the original roof and replaced with the CertainTeed Integrity Roofing System including CertainTeed Landmark PRO lifetime shingles with high def color and depth, CertainTeed DiamondDeck synthetic underlayment, CertainTeed WinterGuard ice and water shield, CertainTeed ridgevent, CertainTeed hip and ridge cap, CertainTeed Starter, and F4.5 drip edge

Built in Buckingham Pa, this fireplace features a herringbone patterned firebox, massive 1,000lb natural flagstone mantle, and fully adjustable and dimmable recessed lights built into the radial cut hearth. This fireplace draws perfectly due to its design with a smoke chamber, smoke shelf and terra-cotta flue. The patio is irregular wet laid mountain fieldstone and the side pictures feature lilac colored flagstone borders with rainbow stone inlays. This fireplace also features a Dante valve gas log lighter so you never have to fuss with starter logs or paper.

We all know that traditional housing floor plans are changing to maximize smaller footprints. The result is a more open layout. This preference, often seen in “loft” design where warehouse space is converted to living spaces – without many walls and with an eye on the interestingly industrial finishes of the existing space. But this same concept applies to new home construction for starters or down-sizing to smaller homes and is definitely applicable in remodels of existing traditionally compartmentalized plans. Read more and see before and after pictures at the above referenced website.

Stylist Alex thinks black-and-white artworks are perfect starter pieces for gallery-wall newbies because you can work in both vintage and contemporary photos and paintings, and the resulting mix looks timeless and insanely sophisticated. Photo by Nicole LaMotte

This warm and inviting farmhouse kitchen was built for cooking and entertaining. Wide open spaces, natural wood accents and a beadboard ceiling make this space feel like home, The hand made butcher block countertop adds a touch of charm and function and is a sure conversation starter.

This “Arizona Inspired” home draws on some of the couples’ favorite desert inspirations. The architecture honors the Wrightian design of The Arizona Biltmore, the courtyard raised planter beds feature labeled specimen cactus in the style of the Desert Botanical Gardens, and the expansive backyard offers a resort-style pool and cabana with plenty of entertainment space. Additional focal areas of landscape design include an outdoor living room in the front courtyard with custom steel fire trough, a shallow negative-edge fountain, and a rare “nurse tree” that was salvaged from a nearby site, sits in the corner of the courtyard – a unique conversation starter. The wash that runs on either side of the museum-glass hallway is filled with aloes, agaves and cactus. On the far end of the lot, a fire pit surrounded by desert planting offers stunning views both day and night of the Praying Monk rock formation on Camelback Mountain. Project Details: Landscape Architect: Greey|Pickett Architect: Higgins Architects Builder: GM Hunt Builders Landscape Contractor: Benhart Landscaping Interior Designer: Kitchell Brusnighan Interior Design Photography: Ian Denker