Craftsman Kitchen with custom bronze patina hood and Craftsman tile backspalsh. Barry Toranto Photography
Example of an arts and crafts kitchen design in San Francisco

Richard Herman is in the hospitality business and owns several upscale hotels in Florida and in other states as well as cattle ranches in both Florida and Missouri. Their farm in Ocala is by farm their most unique. The property serves as a 4-H demonstration project for the purpose of children’s education. They have been working with the Academy Prep of St. Pete which is dedicated to inner-city youths that are selected on the basis of need and achievement. Wife Diane spends her time on the farm raising Gypsy Vanners, a diminutive draft horse named after the job they did in Eastern Europe, pulling the wagons (vans) for gypsies that wandered across the continent. On the Ocala farm, there are several mules with a unique profession. Richard had visited the Hearthstone display at a Log & Timber Home Shows at the Orlando Convention Center many years ago. He was impressed that Hearthstone had stayed in touch with him over the years by mailings, invitations to shows, and periodic phone calls. When the time came to start serious consideration of the design of barn, Hearthstone responded promptly and professionally to Richard and Diane’s requests for information and a review of their ideas for their barn, which would serve as the centerpiece for their new farm. They wanted a multipurpose facility that could accommodate an educational environment and a large hall suitable for the fundraising events for his charities. Richard wanted a barn that reflected the look and feel of barns built at the dawn of the 20th century. Besides the rustic chicken houses and vegetable gardens, they have completely renovated a 1020’s era farmhouse to be as historically correct as possible and serves as the entry to the farm. “They very careful to feel us out, get comfortable with our capabilities, and be convinced that we could perform as promised,” said Project Manager John Ricketson of Hearthstone. Design Process There were some initial drawings that gave us a start on the basic shape and size of the barn. From there, it was a process of narrowing down the uses of each area and the spans that could be achieved. The barn was going to have the traditional “board & batten” exterior siding and a metal roof. There is a cantilevered ‘hay hood” on the north gable end above the large sliding barn doors that open into the foyer and horse stalls. The wings house a combination of areas, beginning with the large restrooms to accommodate crowds for events. Other parts of the wings have garage areas for the farm vehicles, feed room, tack room, wash rack, storage, offices, and smaller restrooms. Keeping with the look and feel of the turn of the century, Hearthstone developed a process for giving the timbers a surface texture that mimicked the circular cuts of timbers that had just come out of an old sawmill. This was easier said than done. Randy Giles guided his millwright (Wolfgang) in designing a machine that would do this effectively. The barn was delivered in October of 2014 and was erected over the course of two weeks, thanks to a hardworking crew (Eric Foster) and near-perfect weather. After the Hearthstone crew completed the erection and roof dry-in, it was time for the local carpenters to step up and install some light conventional framing on the gable ends before applying the roof fascia and exterior board & batten siding. Next came the big sliding barn doors, plumbing, electrical, heating, and cooling. Large rustic fixtures were hung from the great hall roof timbers. Exterior The board & batten siding was cypress and allowed to turn color naturally as rain hit it and the sun started working on it with UV rays. This method causes a much grayer look closer to the ground and less so where the roof overhang provides protection. The North end has some large limestone boulders and planters arranged around the pad with tall pampas grass. The planters provide casual seating before events and during outside receptions. The entire area was sodded with lush St. Augustine grass and split rail fences were added to enclose the barn area. The corrugated metal roof was a special order material that immediately rusted after being exposed to moisture. The layer of rust protects the metal from the elements. Interior The board & batten theme was carried throughout most of the interior with the timbers left natural to show off the circular saw texture. All of the tongue & groove decking was shipped in advance to allow the local painter to pre-stain it with a dark brown transparent stain that is a beautiful background to the light color Eastern White Pine timbers. “Everything was unique in this project” said Project Manager John Ricketson. “The setting on a small demonstration farm close to Ocala, the multipurpose design, the circular saw texture on the timbers.” The Hermans are very proud of their farm’s outcome. Richard sent a note to Randy Giles, owner of Hearthstone: “The Barn is fantastic, not a single problem, period. Next month, we have Jo Dee Messina coming in to help with a fundraiser for a local center for abused kids. Folks love the farm, ...... but that barn gets all of the attention. I would encourage you to use me as a reference for your sales team, feel free to extend my cell phone to any prospective purchasers.”

This coastal bedroom floor is ceramic tile designed to look like wood planks. The 8" x 24" tiles were installed with a 1/8" grout joint. While most homeowners request porcelain wood look tiles, these higher quality "red body" ceramic tiles are perfectly suitable for light duty residential floors like bedrooms and bathrooms. The budget for this floor tile project was a good fit with the lower cost ceramic tiles, thereby providing the homeowner with the look of wood and the durability of a tile floor at the right price.

Kitchen - mid-sized traditional kitchen idea in Indianapolis with flat-panel cabinets, brown cabinets, tile countertops, gray backsplash, limestone backsplash and black appliances

Hallway - coastal hallway idea in Houston

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/90342803/_trid=silc/list/houzz-tour-a-stylish-place-of-her-own

Photo: Margot Hartford © 2016 Houzz
Living room photo in San Francisco

This project combines two existing studio apartments into a compact 800 sqft. live/work space for a young professional couple in the heart of Chelsea, New York. The design required some creative space planning to meet the Owner’s requested program for an open plan solution with a private master bedroom suite and separate study that also allowed for entertaining small parties, including the ability to provide a sleeping space for guests. The solution was to identify areas of overlap within the program that could be addressed with dual-function custom millwork pieces. A bar-stool counter at the open kitchen folds out to become a bench and dining table for formal entertaining. A custom desk folds down with a murphy bed to convert a private study into a guest bedroom area. A series of pocket door connecting the spaces provide both privacy to the master bedroom area when closed, and the option for a completely open layout when opened. A carefully selected material palette brings a warm, tranquil feel to the space. Reclaimed teak floors run seamlessly through the main spaces to accentuate the open layout. Warm gray lacquered millwork, Centaurus granite slabs, and custom oxidized stainless steel details, give an elegant counterpoint to the natural teak floors. The master bedroom suite and study feature custom Afromosia millwork. The bathrooms are finished with cool toned ceramic tile, custom Afromosia vanities, and minimalist chrome fixtures. Custom LED lighting provides dynamic, energy efficient illumination throughout. Photography: Mikiko Kikuyama

Contemporary courtyard garden
Design ideas for a small contemporary shade courtyard concrete paver landscaping in Orange County.

Large elegant detached guesthouse photo in San Francisco

Largest pot: Mammey croton fronted by Sedum ‘Star’ Smaller pots: Sanseveria ‘Flame’ See over 1000 photos of Palm Beach landscapes and container gardens suitable for south Florida on her web site, pamela-crawford.com. Pamela designs and installs landscapes throughout Palm Beach County, FL, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, the town of Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Wellington. Learn how to design and plant container gardens from Pamela's book, 'Easy Container Gardens.' See a free, 24-page sample of the book at www.pamela-crawford.com in the 'Books' section. Photo by Joe McBroom.

Brian Thomas Jones
Mid-sized trendy galley concrete floor and gray floor open concept kitchen photo in Los Angeles with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, quartzite countertops, white backsplash, stone slab backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Entryway - transitional entryway idea in Dallas

Our client wanted a unique, modern space that would pay tribute to the industrial history of the original factory building, yet remain an inviting space for entertaining, socialising and cooking. This project focused on designing an aesthetically pleasing, functional kitchen that complemented the industrial style of the building. The kitchen space needed to be impressive in its own right, without taking away from the main features of the open-plan living area. Every facet of the kitchen, from the smallest tile to the largest appliance was carefully considered. A combination of creative design and flawless joinery made it possible to use diverse materials such as stainless steel, reclaimed timbers, marble and reflective surfaces alongside integrated state-of-the-art appliances created an urbane, inner-city space suitable for large-scale entertaining or relaxing.

Nantucket Architectural Photography
Inspiration for a large coastal porch remodel in Boston with decking and a roof extension

Greg Premru Photography, Inc.
Dining room - country dining room idea in Boston with a standard fireplace and a tile fireplace

Photo: Lucy Call © 2015 Houzz
Exterior home idea in Salt Lake City

Design ideas for a landscaping in San Francisco.

This 1910 West Highlands home was so compartmentalized that you couldn't help to notice you were constantly entering a new room every 8-10 feet. There was also a 500 SF addition put on the back of the home to accommodate a living room, 3/4 bath, laundry room and back foyer - 350 SF of that was for the living room. Needless to say, the house needed to be gutted and replanned. Kitchen+Dining+Laundry-Like most of these early 1900's homes, the kitchen was not the heartbeat of the home like they are today. This kitchen was tucked away in the back and smaller than any other social rooms in the house. We knocked out the walls of the dining room to expand and created an open floor plan suitable for any type of gathering. As a nod to the history of the home, we used butcherblock for all the countertops and shelving which was accented by tones of brass, dusty blues and light-warm greys. This room had no storage before so creating ample storage and a variety of storage types was a critical ask for the client. One of my favorite details is the blue crown that draws from one end of the space to the other, accenting a ceiling that was otherwise forgotten. Primary Bath-This did not exist prior to the remodel and the client wanted a more neutral space with strong visual details. We split the walls in half with a datum line that transitions from penny gap molding to the tile in the shower. To provide some more visual drama, we did a chevron tile arrangement on the floor, gridded the shower enclosure for some deep contrast an array of brass and quartz to elevate the finishes. Powder Bath-This is always a fun place to let your vision get out of the box a bit. All the elements were familiar to the space but modernized and more playful. The floor has a wood look tile in a herringbone arrangement, a navy vanity, gold fixtures that are all servants to the star of the room - the blue and white deco wall tile behind the vanity. Full Bath-This was a quirky little bathroom that you'd always keep the door closed when guests are over. Now we have brought the blue tones into the space and accented it with bronze fixtures and a playful southwestern floor tile. Living Room & Office-This room was too big for its own good and now serves multiple purposes. We condensed the space to provide a living area for the whole family plus other guests and left enough room to explain the space with floor cushions. The office was a bonus to the project as it provided privacy to a room that otherwise had none before.