design: Studio TOOP, 2013 location: Rotterdam, NL status: built in 2014, Weldam Groenprojecten photo: Hans Clauzing, 2014 Our good friend Gerda is an avid photographer with a special interest in nature photography and butterflies. She also suffers from a lung disease that sometimes leaves her less mobile and able to head out to pursue this passion. A garden to take pictures in, even when you're not up to heading further out into the world. That was the main goal of this garden. With limited means and the use of affordable materials we created a wheel chair friendly garden that offers ample space for both human and wild life.

Imagine taking a nice long soak in the tub. You could suffer worse views than this!
Mid-sized master white tile and ceramic tile porcelain tile, multicolored floor and double-sink claw-foot bathtub photo in Boise with light wood cabinets, marble countertops, white countertops and a freestanding vanity

This family of 5 was quickly out-growing their 1,220sf ranch home on a beautiful corner lot. Rather than adding a 2nd floor, the decision was made to extend the existing ranch plan into the back yard, adding a new 2-car garage below the new space - for a new total of 2,520sf. With a previous addition of a 1-car garage and a small kitchen removed, a large addition was added for Master Bedroom Suite, a 4th bedroom, hall bath, and a completely remodeled living, dining and new Kitchen, open to large new Family Room. The new lower level includes the new Garage and Mudroom. The existing fireplace and chimney remain - with beautifully exposed brick. The homeowners love contemporary design, and finished the home with a gorgeous mix of color, pattern and materials. The project was completed in 2011. Unfortunately, 2 years later, they suffered a massive house fire. The house was then rebuilt again, using the same plans and finishes as the original build, adding only a secondary laundry closet on the main level.

Alloy was truly fortunate to have the opportunity to restore and renovate this 1850’s log cabin at Afton Mountain. No home looks more at home than this cabin in the foothills. The cabin suffered years of decay and an unsympathetic interior renovation so our first step was to work with a local log cabin specialist to correctly restore the structure. We then rebuilt much of the interior to have everything a modern home needs while staying true to the log cabin aesthetic. On all of our projects we carefully research materials and finishes but this one really took that to the next level. We enjoyed the challenge and the chance to show off the impressive craftsmanship of our carpenters. As you approach on the winding path, the log cabin feels like a part of the landscape. And now, when you come inside, you can keep that connected feeling – in comfort.

Here’s an interesting job I completed recently in the town of Lymington which is a lovely costal town within the New Forest and on the west side of the Solent. This Terracotta tiled floor was installed in the kitchen and was suffering from an efflorescence issue due to an ongoing leak which resulted in the salts in the water becoming deposited on the surface of the tiles as the water evaporated leaving a white bloom on the surface. This process is more commonly known as efflorescence and is particularly common in old properties which have no damp proof membrane under the floor and white staining by the cupboards is especially visible in the below photograph. My client was eager to have the problem fixed, and so enlisted Tile Doctor to get the job done. To remove the efflorescence, the Terracotta tiled floor was acid washed using a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which is primarily sold to remove grout smears but is equally effective at removing mineral deposits such as the white salts left behind by efflorescence. The solution was scrubbed into the tiles using a stiff scrubbing brush and was successful at removing the white staining. Naturally it’s not advised to leave acid too long on any surface so the floor was treated in sections and then rinsed off with water and the residue removed using a wet-vacuum. Following this, the floor was power-scrubbed in combination with a diluted solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. Pro-Clean is a versatile cleaner that also contains stripping properties, allowing it to break down and remove old sealers, it also does a nice job getting the grout clean. With the efflorescence treated and the floor now clean I was now happy with the condition of the tiles and give them a final rinse under pressure to ensure the floor was neutralised and any trace of products removed. The Terracotta tiled floor was then left to dry overnight and I came back to seal the floor the next day. To seal the tiles I used three coats of Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra, which provides a robust surface seal, and is recommended for internal floors with the damp issues. Hopefully this quick report has offered some useful advice on how to treat efflorescence which is quite a common problem; naturally if you have further questions Tile Doctor does offer a free advice service so do get in touch. Charles Okwechime Hampshire Tile Doctor

The original 1920’s cottage was charming, but suffered from a series of additions that marred the exterior and created an awkward floor plan. To renovate this home, the exterior of the original cottage was left largely intact, the previous additions were removed, a garage/bedroom wing was added to the rear, and a glazed breakfast room was added where old and new construction meet. Within the original cottage, several partitions were removed and openings between rooms were widened. The resulting home maintains the intimate feel of the original cottage, while creating the light and airy interior desired by the owner.

Kitchen — Project Description (Bolton, CT) (Full Renovation • Reconfiguration • Architectural Corrections) The original kitchen suffered from spatial imbalance and limited functionality: the right side was visually and physically heavy with cabinetry and appliances, the 135-degree angled walls lacked symmetry due to a missing window on the driveway side, and the small island could only seat two. Circulation was obstructed by a desk positioned in the main traffic flow, and the low French door felt disproportionate in scale compared to the large windows and adjacent two-story Great Room. Major Structural & Functional Improvements Repositioned window on the front elevation to the right, creating a long-desired view to the driveway while freeing space for a centered cooktop and statement hood — visually aligning with the Great Room’s redesigned fireplace focal wall. Installed a new custom sliding door, significantly taller and wider than the original French door. This upgrade enhances natural light, visually opens the kitchen to the deck, and provides unobstructed traffic flow thanks to its sliding operation. New Kitchen Layout & Enhanced Functionality Designed an entirely new layout centered around a 10' double-slab island, providing expansive workspace and a natural gathering zone. Added conversational seating for the whole family, allowing comfortable interaction on all sides of the island. Introduced purpose-designed storage solutions, including pullouts, rollouts, spice towers, tray organizers, and deep drawers to maximize usability. Reallocated the desk area to a dedicated window spot overlooking the backyard, removing it from traffic paths and improving both functionality and comfort. Cabinetry & Architectural Detailing Custom two-tone cabinetry in soft white and a serene blue-green tone reflects the visual language of the adjacent Great Room, creating whole-home cohesion. Installed lit upper glass cabinets along the entire perimeter, balancing vertical proportions and creating an elegant display band throughout the kitchen. A custom range hood was designed and painted to match the base cabinetry, becoming a focal point framed by symmetrical windows. Surfaces, Lighting & Finishes The island features a double-thickness quartz slab with a soft ogee radius for a timeless, furniture-like feel. A full-height, handcrafted aqua subway tile backsplash introduces depth, texture, and a gentle reflective quality. New layered lighting concept, including recessed lights, pendants, task lighting, and integrated cabinet lighting, ensures a warm and functional workspace at any time of day.

What does a roof deck look like when every part of the roof, even areas deemed uninhabitable and structurally weak, is utilized and optimized? This large midcentury home on the edge of Presidio National Park in San Francisco had an incredible location and views. But the original roof deck suffered from poor design detailing that had rendered it a leaking, deteriorating mess. Even worse, the previous owner had covered three roof areas surrounding the deck with river stones, structurally overloading the building and endangering its occupants. We removed the river stones and everything else down to the framing. An expertly detailed drainage and waterproofing system underlies everything above. The deck and access stairs are surfaced with durable and refined porcelain pavers. The guardrail is made from custom stainless steel supports with clear, low-iron, laminated glass spanning between for an unobstructed view. Heated seats make watching the chilly fog roll in through the gate comfy. Planting and greenery surround the deck. The type varies depending on structural conditions- a deep planter sits on top of a structural wall, sedums in shallow soil occupy the strong edges of the surrounding rooftops, and faux grass turf fills out the middle in areas that can’t support the weight of wet soil.

Faithful reproduction of concrete blocks that have suffered the bad weather of time. This product is so easy to install and heat resistant. The look of this product is just magnificent. Those around you will undoubtedly remember it.

Home design - traditional home design idea in Philadelphia

Nothing says "home" like a lush, green, manicured lawn. A professionally designed and installed landscape can increase your enjoyment of your home while also increase the resale value of your property. Often times, though, keeping your lawn maintained takes too much time, is too much of a hassle and requires more tools than many homeowners have at their disposal. To keep your lawn healthy and save yourself from the hassle, enlist help from the lawn maintenance professionals at Rick Roberts Lawn Service. Our team has over 20 years of experience providing lawn care services to homeowners throughout Southwest Florida, and we take pride in offering quality results. At Rick Roberts Lawn Service, our residential lawn maintenance contractors provide exceptional quality residential lawn maintenance services at fair pricing. In the event of a hurricane, you can rest assured that our lawn maintenance company can take care of any storm related damages your yard suffers because we have the experience and necessary equipment to provide quick storm recovery lawn maintenance services.

This residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine. Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home. The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living. This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut. Photography by Kevin Kunstadt

This Victorian tiled hallway was one of the most beautiful Victorian floors I have ever had the pleasure to work on. With the wide range of patterns and colours they are available in, it seems no two Victorian tiled floors are exactly the same, and this uniqueness is part of what makes them so appealing to property owners. Unfortunately, this floor had been poorly maintained over the years, even suffering from a few loose and missing tiles. There was a thick coating of dust and dirt soiling its appearance, and the property owner was understandably keen to remedy the situation. Having realised that everyday household cleaners are not likely to achieve great results, she asked me to carry out a full professional restoration, including making some repairs where necessary. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this property was situated in the town of Wyken, which is a few miles outside of Coventry city centre and in fact just down the road from where I live myself! Before making a start on the cleaning process, it was first necessary to re-fix the small number of loose tiles and replace a single missing tile by the radiator. Fortunately, I’ve been working on these types of floors for some time and have built up a good collection of replacement Victorian tiles so I was able to find one that matched in nicely with the rest of the floor without too much problem. To clean the tiles, I began by applying a layer of Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel directly into the floor with a small brush. This product is very similar to the popular Tile Doctor Pro Clean: both are strong alkaline cleaners, strippers and degreasers, with the main difference being that Oxy-Clean comes in a gel form, making it easier to control and therefore ideal for precise cleaning, or for application to vertical surfaces. Like Pro Clean and being an alkaline base it is suitable for use on all types of natural stone and tile. The Oxy-Gel was left to soak into the tiles for around ten minutes before being scrubbed in and then rinsed off carefully with water, I then used a wet vacuum to extract the now soiled cleaning solution off the floor. The next step was to acid wash the floor using Tile Doctor Acid Gel; this served to break down alkaline mineral deposits inherent in the grout along with some excess grout that had been left on the untidily left on tile from installation. It is recommended not to use this product on acid-sensitive soon such as Marble and Limestone as it can cause irreparable etching but its fine on Victorian tiles as long as you don’t leave it on too long. Finally, the floor was given a rinse with clean water to remove any trace of chemicals from the cleaning and to neutralise the area in preparation for sealing. I left the floor for 48 hours to dry before returning to the property to seal the tiles. This allowed plenty of time for the floor to dry completely, which is important as any excess moisture can damage the ability of the sealer to protect against dirt and stains. My choice of sealer for this floor was Tile Doctor High Shine; three coats in total were applied, providing – as the product name suggests – the high shine finish that the customer had requested. The sealer will provide durable surface protection going forward preventing dirt from becoming ingrained into the pores of the tile and ensuring it remains easy to clean and keeping its appearance for some time to come. As a big fan of Victorian tiles, it was a great pleasure to restore this floor, and my customer was certainly pleased too. It’s amazing how far a little professional maintenance can go to improving the appearance of these fantastic types of floor. Mick Gayton Warwickshire Tile Doctor

School settings require students to maintain concentration and sit still for long periods of time throughout the day. Needless to say, that can be tough not only for teenagers but adults as well. Harnessing sheer roller shades to cover classroom windows helps ensure sunlight doesn’t become a hindrance in the path of education, but a facilitator of better learning. By diffusing sunlight that enters the classrooms, students don’t suffer the negative cognitive impact of harsh glare that’s strainful on the eyes. Instead, they enjoy the benefits sunlight plays in maintaining alertness and attentiveness. Classroom window shades that provide better privacy also help to keep outside distractions from interfering with the lessons, keeping students focused on the subject at hand. The right use of colorful roller shades can also complement sensory cues for focus created by the classroom environment. Talk to Master Blinds’ design team to see what roller shades can offer your classroom spaces. Get in touch with us at 877-708-5883 to schedule a free in-person consultation with no obligation for more details!

Gramercy kitchen cabinets from the Forevermark collection are truly incredible. These kitchen cabinets have raised panels with an astonishing crisp. These designs are timeless and highly versatile. These cabinet designs are limitless and the only limitation you suffer is in your imagination. Forever Gramercy kitchen cabinets have raised panels, intriguing dovetail drawers boxes, full extension glides, and soft closure hardware. White Gramercy kitchen cabinets with soft doors and drawers add elegance and comfort to your kitchen. If you are planning for a kitchen remodel, you may also try Ice white shaker cabinets from Forevermark.

Nothing says "home" like a lush, green, manicured lawn. A professionally designed and installed landscape can increase your enjoyment of your home while also increase the resale value of your property. Often times, though, keeping your lawn maintained takes too much time, is too much of a hassle and requires more tools than many homeowners have at their disposal. To keep your lawn healthy and save yourself from the hassle, enlist help from the lawn maintenance professionals at Rick Roberts Lawn Service. Our team has over 20 years of experience providing lawn care services to homeowners throughout Southwest Florida, and we take pride in offering quality results. At Rick Roberts Lawn Service, our residential lawn maintenance contractors provide exceptional quality residential lawn maintenance services at fair pricing. In the event of a hurricane, you can rest assured that our lawn maintenance company can take care of any storm related damages your yard suffers because we have the experience and necessary equipment to provide quick storm recovery lawn maintenance services.

We recently completed a spectacularly beautiful sunroom for Richard and Cynthia. We worked previously with Cynthia on her business and because of our relationship, she felt comfortable asking us to build their Corvallis sunroom. The inspiration for this project came from the desire to have the ambiance of an outdoor hot tub, but without Corvallis’ cold wet weather. The sunroom adds a warm, bright 325 square feet just outside their kitchen and living room. This is the perfect addition if you are suffering from Corvallis’ cloud cover. The vibrant hues of the stained and finished Douglas fir glulam beams complement the beauty of the outdoors. These beams support the glass roof. In addition, the sunroom includes two operable skylights, a nine foot wide bifold door, a full glass roof system and full glass walls. Westview Sunrooms (the manufacturer) has a number of other beautiful ideas on their site: http://www.westviewproducts.com/pictures.html We would love the opportunity to build for you.

This customer spent over 40 years building and renovating his home. In his younger days, he was an amazing building and craftsman. Recently, he suffered a stroke and lost the ability to build. He wants to leave his home to his daughter, so he planned one last renovation project. For this project, he wanted to choose a renovation company that could build a kitchen as well as he could. Luckily, he chose Wood Front Kitchens. He was thrilled with the result. He loved that we were able to keep storage features he had built in his previous cabinets and transfer them to the new cabinets. This homeowner chose shaker-style oak cabinets stained in Michels. He chose Amerock Conrad Square hardware in oil-rubbed bronze to give his rustic cabinets an industrial feel. He and his daughter are both pleased with the results, and with their huge increase in storage space.