We kept it simple and open by placing only four wall cabinets. Also, the cabinets leave space at the top for a more open feel. Using foil wall cabinets with engineered veneer base/tall cabinets was a new combination. The client was willing to experiment. Having tile meet the ceiling was also something new for the client. The different textures of the cabinets, countertop and tile contrast and complement each other. The result was a design that has plenty of open work space and simple yet stimulating materials. ***Photo/Design by Will Gowdy for Sunday Kitchen & Bath Rockville, MD 240 314-7011

Island buckwheat with Lippia repens (syn. Phyla nodiflora). Photo and landscape design by Debbie Ballentine, Native Heart Landscapes.
Photo of a landscaping in San Francisco.

**Featured Baltimore Sun's Dream Home** In need of a place to call home in the States, this Australian family with a primary residence in Hong Kong needed a turn-key residence, complete with kitchen utensils and linens. We carefully designed each room with a color scheme that matches its function. The children's room features stimulating primary colors. The kitchen utilized bold blue to inspire creativity. Warm and relaxing tones are used in the living room and bedroom. Assisted by Jenny Wohl of Turner Design Firm

We worked around the style of the bed to stimulate a subtle mood that stands firmly on the thin line between contemporary and minimal. We created custom walnut nightstands that help certify the bed as the rooms throne. By pushing the kitchen walls further to the center of the apartment, we were able to grant the residents with their own personal hallway. Within this hallway we maximized the amount of space available for storing clothes and shoes. The recessed lighting and walnut flooring in the hallway encompasses the essence of a modern day boutique. The walk in closet is merely an extension of the same materials and quality.

This garden stimulates all the senses. The birds especially love it. Photo by Jennifer A. Emmer
Mid-sized asian backyard concrete paver patio fountain photo in San Francisco

This family room was designed to bring in the sun in creating an over-all contemporary familyroom with a relaxed touch. The space draws you in to it's conversations and surrounds you with it's warmth providing a promise for a light stimulating family and friends interaction.

The Jason Alba Playpark is designed as an extension of the client's mission statement: To unite the mind, body, and spirit. Students work in specially designed areas (zones) alongside therapists to support individual needs with sensory-seeking and avoiding tendencies. • Acoustic –Embracing rhythm during vibration and sound therapy can lead to dance: a physical embodiment of emotions created by sound. • Tactile - Sensory exposure is expressed through different textures, colors, and surface temperatures of materials. A tactile wall and pathway allow students to encounter varying surface conditions, strengthening their ability to react to changing conditions encountered every day. • Active – Promoting healthy minds through activity: the active zone encourages the use of adaptive and accessible equipment, social engagement through physical activity, and inspires confidence through play. • Color - Each color evokes different feelings that can calm, soothe, invigorate, and excite. • Nature - A calming space with a greenhouse and sensory gardens establishes a welcoming environment for therapy sessions. Aromatherapy in the gardens stimulate one’s senses engaging in all aspects of therapy through the selection of safe plant materials. • Water –Features such as harvesting, cleaning, and reusing rainwater teach sustainability and permeable surfaces facilitate save play.

The idea of this project was to create a special environment that stimulates all senses in the human body, an environment that is vibrant and most importantly interactive for all ages. We began by searching for the right materials to create a specific feeling of time and space. Placement of the water feature was designed by studying how the customer used their home. The waterfalls and streams connect separate outdoor spaces and accommodate for all views outdoors and indoors. A sense of mystery is designed into every detail in this water feature. The layout of the ponds play accordingly with the sun for excellent reflections, and each rock formation has time designed into it. The environment is inviting, and interactive. Each person that walks out to explore the environment has his or her curiosity rewarded by discovering plant life, trickling streams, and several waterfalls only to be discovered by the inquisitive explorer. Photos by: Linda Oyama Bryan

Mid-sized elegant light wood floor and beige floor bedroom photo in Other with purple walls and no fireplace

This property was developed in the 1950’s with a relatively bare landscape. The rear yard was nothing special, but had some privacy. The owners set out to create mini gardens around the entire house. A koi pond was added first. Over time, plants were added that began creating pockets of spaces that gave each area a room-like feel. With each hole dug, rock was removed from it to install the pond or install a plant. The rock in the ground became the same rock used around the pond and used for stone walls. There is sun, shade, privacy, and the sound of water that stimulates the senses. The latest section of the master plan was to develop a more formal area (seen from the living room) with the diagonal blue stone set into the lawn. A picket fence separates it from a vegetable garden. A new fire pit is nestled among a row of hemlocks and rimmed shrubs. Photo by Daniel Contelmo Jr.

When designing joining rooms, or whole houses, we at Lila Ray Designs understand the necessity of unification. This traditional living room is connected to the dining room, as well as the foyer, and family room. When we design, we do not simply reflect the same aesthetic and push it throughout every space. We embrace elements and create a harmony of visual stimulation.

Upon acquiring the property, the homeowner faced a compact backyard dominated by a neglected lawn that offered little usability. The ambition was not only to enhance the outdoor space's utility but to inject it with vibrant aesthetics and dynamism through the hardscape. To bring this vision to life, we embraced a palette of colorful materials, choosing multicolored concrete, pavers, and tiles that introduce a playful yet sophisticated charm. Further creativity was applied in the design through the use of curvy lines that flow organically throughout the space, leading the eye and inviting movement. Beach rocks were thoughtfully embedded into decorative bands, adding a tactile and visual texture that complements the curvilinear approach. This strategic combination of color, texture, and form transformed the backyard into a visually stimulating and highly functional outdoor living area.

The mammoth phalanxes of white-brick apartment houses that proliferated in the 1960s occupy an architectural purgatory; generic, with boxy interiors devoid of detail, many aren’t even interesting enough to excite a raised eyebrow. Our solution for this exemplar near Astor Place, which fortunately was blessed with premium skyline views, was to relieve the interior ordinariness by stimulating the senses with tactile variety. Axis Mundi created a complexly layered textural palette that injects visual adrenaline into the architectural envelope: a television set into a waxed steel panel topped by clerestory windows with a built-in planter for grasses; wenge wood walls rising from richly figured walnut floors; white subway tile surrounding a subtly colored penny-tile mosaic tub and wall; in the kitchen, Venetian plaster, steel, stone and wood mix harmoniously as a surprisingly spiced exotic concoction. The interiors exude a confident masculinity that challenges the complacency of bland, white-box living. Project Team: John Beckmann and Esther Sperber | Studio ST Photography: Andrew Garn Contractor: John Marsh © Axis Mundi Design LLC

This homeowner’s outdoor living area was redesigned to add some elegant characteristics. In order to do this, various materials were used. The retaining walls found along the property were made from PA Fieldstone Wallstone. The textures and various colors found throughout this stone easily enhance the outdoor area and offer visual stimulation. Ashler pattern brownstone was used throughout the patio, creating a clean and polished look. This patio surrounded a beautiful swimming pool that was aligned with brownstone caps along the border.The materials that were used in this landscape exterior created a relaxing and enjoyable space, perfect for the family.

Contemporary walnut and paint kitchen with terrazzo style countertops. Pocketing doors hide a wonderful "stimulant center" - caffeine in the morning, alcohol in the evening!

Example of a mid-sized trendy brown three-story wood house exterior design in Salt Lake City with a hip roof and a metal roof

Kids' spaces are vibrant and imaginative environments crafted to cater to the unique needs and creativity of children. Whether it's a playroom, bedroom, or study area, these spaces prioritize a playful and safe atmosphere. Bright colors, whimsical decor, and themed elements contribute to a visually stimulating environment that sparks a child's imagination. Functional furniture, such as storage bins and child-sized desks, fosters organization and independence. Interactive elements like chalkboard walls, educational toys, and comfortable seating create a dynamic and engaging setting for learning and play. Kids' spaces are carefully designed to evolve with a child's interests, providing a nurturing backdrop for their growth and development.

German Embassy in Pristina - Kosovo, contracted the architecture office “Ferizi + Ferizi Architects” to plan and implement an Annex Office building for their purposes. As detached part of this building is designed the waiting area, as alone standing structure. This Office Building is constructed by assembling of Eight used office containers that were delivered on trucks and set up after only a few hours on the basis of the LEGO principle, according to the planning on strip foundations. By removing the flexible exterior wall panels, a large room of 115 m² was created, with the counter wall as a room partition between two office spaces, each with seven workstations as well as three counters for agents on one side and a room for visitors on the other side. With this system, room solutions can be easily implemented in all dimensions. The container, seen as a geometric shape, is a simple, octagonal, solid box. The standardized perfection of its dimensions is striking: 2.44 meters wide, 2.59 meters high and 6.06 meters or 12.19 meters long. Since its introduction in 1956 by the American transport entrepreneur Malcom McLean, the container has become a standardized transport module worldwide, whether on ships, trucks or construction sites. The shipping containers have additionally revolutionized the transport industry, pushed the globalization noticeably, and thus directly or indirectly influenced all our lives. But after only a few years, when the first overseas containers wore out, many engineers recognized the positive properties of used shipping containers for building houses, especially since they are robust, flexible, multifunctional and second-hand relatively inexpensive to purchase. The time has long passed by to treat containers exclusively as transport objects. As a "measure of all things", containers can hardly be ignored in construction. Their use is no longer limited to temporary use since school containers, information containers, office containers or entire residential buildings are now part of our everyday life in the construction industry. However, current examples of the container architecture prove that even the most demanding solutions for container building are feasible. For their specific aesthetic and spatial qualities, containers also serve as design parameters for the development of new forms of architecture and urbanity. The office building as an extension of the visa section, characterized by modern materials and contemporary aesthetics has been designed and built mainly as a low-energy building. Extensive insulation to achieve a comfortable and sustainable constant temperature in the interior, high window quality and low energy consumption make the building energy-efficient. The sophisticated lighting technology, networks, heating systems and air-conditioning systems are also components of this equipment. It creates an overall harmonic picture and guarantees the highest standard in sustainable construction, taking into consideration the fact that environmentally friendly recycling and reutilization have become an increasingly important issue in our society. West and East side of the wooden facade is compact and has few openings, while the southern facade is completely open with lot of glass. Its spatial openness ensures a transparent, friendly work environment, which allows a lot of light into the space. This openness allows an uninterrupted, pleasant and close-to-nature view from interior spaces into the beautiful garden. During the installation of sophisticated light sources in the garden, emphasis was not only put on functionality and security, but also on the beauty of the garden shown through the illumination in the evening. Large, horizontal white “brisole” serve as external sun protection systems, mounted on the canopies of the entrance areas of the modular construction and the enclosure, adeptly cast shade on these areas and at the same time shape the entire architectural language. While on one hand, the two quadratic ledges suspended in the air, are docked with steel stairs and match the wooden façade, lead the staff to their office space, the artful modern interior, on the other hand, perfectly unites the functionality, innovative technology, culture and positive effects on the employees' efficiency and wellbeing. A lot of white, interjected by warm wooden and colored accents, determines the ambience. In the case of the lighting solution, the mainly linear ceiling lighting is used as the overlapping design element both for the offices of the visa section as well as for the counters and the waiting area for the visitors. They underline the puristic design in order to create a pleasant light for a desired general illumination and ensure optimal light conditions without causing disturbing reflections on the computer screens. In addition, precisely positioned pendant luminaires are installed at the workstations, which ensure pleasant room brightness. In the entrance area, the harmonic and uniform lighting effect from the ground highlights the integration of photography and architecture. Photographs of landscapes, people, places, expressing unforgettable, impressive moments and memories have been lovingly engraved on 8 x 8cm square oak blocks. The idea of an effective, impressive environment that stimulates and inspires the work was the premiss on which the whole design concept was based. Consequently, the modular construction was no longer viewed through its history of utilization and scars, but rather as a structure of work ambiance, art and elegance. FERIZI + FERIZI Architects Photo: Arben Llapashtica

**Featured Baltimore Sun's Dream Home** In need of a place to call home in the States, this Australian family with a primary residence in Hong Kong needed a turn-key residence, complete with kitchen utensils and linens. We carefully designed each room with a color scheme that matches its function. The children's room features stimulating primary colors. The kitchen utilized bold blue to inspire creativity. Warm and relaxing tones are used in the living room and bedroom. Assisted by Jenny Wohl of Turner Design Firm