Project with interior designer Tara Biller. This bedroom was part of a lower level remodel in the greater Cincinnati area.
Bedroom - mid-sized transitional carpeted and beige floor bedroom idea in Cincinnati with beige walls

The existing kitchen was completely remodeled to create a compact chef's kitchen. The client is a true chef, who teaches cooking classes, and we were able to get a professional grade kitchen in an 11x7 footprint! The Blue Star professional range is the highlight of this small kitchen. The South wall is the exposed brick original to the 1900's home. To compliment the brick, we chose a warm nutmeg stain in cherry cabinets. The countertops are a durable quartz that look like marble but are sturdy enough for this work horse kitchen.

Photo: Rikki Snyder © 2015 Houzz
Example of a cottage home design design in Other

Wall paint: Simply White, Benjamin Moore; bookshelf: DIY Photo: Allie Crafton © 2016 Houzz Design: Annabode + Co
Example of a mid-sized 1960s light wood floor enclosed dining room design in Denver with white walls

Kids study room with yellow walls and gray blue and red accents Photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg Photography
Inspiration for a large transitional gender-neutral brown floor and dark wood floor kids' room remodel in DC Metro with yellow walls

Design Consultant Jeff Doubét is the author of Creating Spanish Style Homes: Before & After – Techniques – Designs – Insights. The 240 page “Design Consultation in a Book” is now available. Please visit SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com for more info. Jeff Doubét specializes in Santa Barbara style home and landscape designs. To learn more info about the variety of custom design services I offer, please visit SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com Jeff Doubét is the Founder of Santa Barbara Home Design - a design studio based in Santa Barbara, California USA.

Studio Apartment. This newly remodeled family home and in law unit in San Anselmo is 4000sf of light and space. The first designer was let go for presenting grey one too many times. My task was to skillfully blend all the color my clients wanted from their mix of Latin, Hispanic and Italian heritage and get it to read successfully. Wow, no easy feat. Clients alway teach us so much. I learned that much more color could work than I ever thought possible.

Jimmy Cohrssen Photography
Example of a mid-sized 1950s gray one-story stucco exterior home design in Los Angeles with a shingle roof

Example of a transitional freestanding desk carpeted home office design in Portland with beige walls

Adrienne DeRosa © 2014 Houzz Inc. Being only a couple of houses away from the shores of Lake Erie, Raymond and Jennifer's house was designed to reflect a coastal state of mind. The couple was in on every aspect of its creation, hammering nails, and raising and finishing walls themselves. "We have a love for East Coast homes, Maine cottages... I also love the South, and Georgia plantations," says Jennifer. "We needed to find a happy medium to incorporate the look and feel for both." While the style of their home embraces aspects of a summer cottage environment, its understated design provides a perfect backdrop for Jennifer's ever-changing decor. Adrienne DeRosa © 2014 Houzz

Huge country kitchen photo in DC Metro with beaded inset cabinets, black cabinets, stainless steel countertops, white backsplash and wood backsplash

Open concept kitchen - mid-sized transitional u-shaped dark wood floor and brown floor open concept kitchen idea in Other with a farmhouse sink, open cabinets, dark wood cabinets, solid surface countertops, gray backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

Photo credit: Scott McDonald @ Hedrich Blessing 7RR-Ecohome: The design objective was to build a house for a couple recently married who both had kids from previous marriages. How to bridge two families together? The design looks forward in terms of how people live today. The home is an experiment in transparency and solid form; removing borders and edges from outside to inside the house, and to really depict “flowing and endless space”. The house floor plan is derived by pushing and pulling the house’s form to maximize the backyard and minimize the public front yard while welcoming the sun in key rooms by rotating the house 45-degrees to true north. The angular form of the house is a result of the family’s program, the zoning rules, the lot’s attributes, and the sun’s path. We wanted to construct a house that is smart and efficient in terms of construction and energy, both in terms of the building and the user. We could tell a story of how the house is built in terms of the constructability, structure and enclosure, with a nod to Japanese wood construction in the method in which the siding is installed and the exposed interior beams are placed in the double height space. We engineered the house to be smart which not only looks modern but acts modern; every aspect of user control is simplified to a digital touch button, whether lights, shades, blinds, HVAC, communication, audio, video, or security. We developed a planning module based on a 6-foot square room size and a 6-foot wide connector called an interstitial space for hallways, bathrooms, stairs and mechanical, which keeps the rooms pure and uncluttered. The house is 6,200 SF of livable space, plus garage and basement gallery for a total of 9,200 SF. A large formal foyer celebrates the entry and opens up to the living, dining, kitchen and family rooms all focused on the rear garden. The east side of the second floor is the Master wing and a center bridge connects it to the kid’s wing on the west. Second floor terraces and sunscreens provide views and shade in this suburban setting. The playful mathematical grid of the house in the x, y and z axis also extends into the layout of the trees and hard-scapes, all centered on a suburban one-acre lot. Many green attributes were designed into the home; Ipe wood sunscreens and window shades block out unwanted solar gain in summer, but allow winter sun in. Patio door and operable windows provide ample opportunity for natural ventilation throughout the open floor plan. Minimal windows on east and west sides to reduce heat loss in winter and unwanted gains in summer. Open floor plan and large window expanse reduces lighting demands and maximizes available daylight. Skylights provide natural light to the basement rooms. Durable, low-maintenance exterior materials include stone, ipe wood siding and decking, and concrete roof pavers. Design is based on a 2' planning grid to minimize construction waste. Basement foundation walls and slab are highly insulated. FSC-certified walnut wood flooring was used. Light colored concrete roof pavers to reduce cooling loads by as much as 15%. 2x6 framing allows for more insulation and energy savings. Super efficient windows have low-E argon gas filled units, and thermally insulated aluminum frames. Permeable brick and stone pavers reduce the site’s storm-water runoff. Countertops use recycled composite materials. Energy-Star rated furnaces and smart thermostats are located throughout the house to minimize duct runs and avoid energy loss. Energy-Star rated boiler that heats up both radiant floors and domestic hot water. Low-flow toilets and plumbing fixtures are used to conserve water usage. No VOC finish options and direct venting fireplaces maintain a high interior air quality. Smart home system controls lighting, HVAC, and shades to better manage energy use. Plumbing runs through interior walls reducing possibilities of heat loss and freezing problems. A large food pantry was placed next to kitchen to reduce trips to the grocery store. Home office reduces need for automobile transit and associated CO2 footprint. Plan allows for aging in place, with guest suite than can become the master suite, with no need to move as family members mature.

www.cmarchitects.com The fishing pond at this project’s home ranch is down a steep slope, some distance from the main compound. To providing shelter from fast-moving storms, a lunch spot, or just a great place for a nap, the owners asked us to design a small fishing cabin. To ensure it blended in to its environment as much as possible, we chose indigenous materials—such as boulders displaced by mining and local reclaimed timbers—to help solidify the connection between the structure and the site. A sod roof seeded with native grasses and resident wildflowers further connects this structure to its surroundings. Now the fishing cabin is the favorite place for teaching the grandkids how to fish, or for a summer afternoon swim, or simply for reading a good book in front of the crackling fireplace.

Michael Biondo Photography
Inspiration for a large transitional beige two-story wood gable roof remodel in New York

Our clients are always teaching us. In this case, our clients had a vision that changed the direction of the design process midstream. Often our clients tell us they have trouble visualizing. This time, we must admit, we had a little trouble visualizing how their big idea was better than what we were planning. And then, it clicked! This young family of five had outgrown their dark and dated kitchen. Food prep, cooking and baking play a large daily role in this home. Pantry storage was overflowing to the point where bulk ingredients, small appliances and other daily necessities were stored in a nearby closet and the laundry room at the end of the house. Counter space was scarce. The kitchen also served as an office area for the husband, who works from home, and a study area for the three school age children. Given some constraints and a fixed budget, our inclination was to work with the existing kitchen to design a much more efficient space, keeping it close to the laundry room/pantry, which could be maximized for convenient storage and access. We would create an organized work area within the kitchen as well. Our clients were happy with the design. Then, out of the blue, they announced that they would like to move the kitchen into the family room space! Our first reaction was to question how this could work being so far from the pantry storage areas, and the other living spaces of the home. The flow seemed as though it would be odd, but we heard them out and allowed some time for the idea to blossom. And blossom, it did. The existing kitchen and eating space became the new study and family room with enlarged windows and an added sliding door bringing their beautiful gardens into clear sight. The pantry dilemma was solved by adding a full wall of tall cabinetry with roll out storage flanking a beautiful fireplace. A large island with waterfall sides provides copious counter space and seating for the whole family. Dark, dated traditional styling of the past kitchen gave way to contemporary high gloss white and warm rosewood elements. The dramatic Dekton Aura backsplash is the icing on the cake! Matt Villano Photography

Kitchen Renovation, concrete countertops, herringbone slate flooring, and open shelving over the sink make the space cozy and functional. Handmade mosaic behind the sink that adds character to the home.

Tea Room designed and built by: Koji Uchida, Wafu Builders
Mid-sized minimalist light wood floor and beige floor family room photo in Seattle with gray walls

www.cmarchitects.com The fishing pond at this project’s home ranch is down a steep slope, some distance from the main compound. To providing shelter from fast-moving storms, a lunch spot, or just a great place for a nap, the owners asked us to design a small fishing cabin. To ensure it blended in to its environment as much as possible, we chose indigenous materials—such as boulders displaced by mining and local reclaimed timbers—to help solidify the connection between the structure and the site. A sod roof seeded with native grasses and resident wildflowers further connects this structure to its surroundings. Now the fishing cabin is the favorite place for teaching the grandkids how to fish, or for a summer afternoon swim, or simply for reading a good book in front of the crackling fireplace.