This picture gives you an idea how the garage, main house, and ADU are arranged on the property. Our goal was to minimize the impact to the backyard, maximize privacy of each living space from one another, maximize light for each building, etc. One way in which we were able to accomplish that was building the ADU slab on grade to keep it as low to the ground as possible and minimize it's solar footprint on the property. Cutting up the roof not only made it more interesting from the house above but also helped with solar footprint. The garage was reduced in length by about 8' to accommodate the ADU. A separate laundry is located just inside the back man-door to the garage for the ADU and for easy washing of outdoor gear. Anna Campbell Photography

Governor's House Study by Lisa Tharp. 2019 Bulfinch Award - Interior Design. Photo by Michael J. Lee
Inspiration for a transitional built-in desk light wood floor and gray floor study room remodel with white walls

Photo courtesy of Dig Plant Co., uploaded with written permission
Photo of a landscaping in Other.

Our client requested a design that reflected their need to renovate their dated bathroom into a transitional floor plan that would provide accessibility and function. The new shower design consists of a pony wall with a glass enclosure that has beautiful details of brushed nickel square glass clamps. The interior shower fittings entail geometric lines that lend a contemporary finish. A curbless shower and linear drain added an extra dimension of accessibility to the plan. In addition, a balance bar above the accessory niche was affixed to the wall for extra stability. The shower area also includes a folding teak wood bench seat that also adds to the comfort of the bathroom as well as to the accessibility factors. Improved lighting was created with LED Damp-location rated recessed lighting. LED sconces were also used to flank the Robern medicine cabinet which created realistic and flattering light. Designer: Marie cairns Contractor: Charles Cairns Photographer: Michael Andrew

Cindy Apple Photography
Small minimalist u-shaped vinyl floor eat-in kitchen photo in Seattle with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, quartzite countertops, gray backsplash, glass tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

Inspiration for a large mediterranean courtyard landscaping in Phoenix.

This custom kitchen is part of an adventuresome project my wife and I embarked upon to create a complete apartment in the basement of our townhouse. We designed a floor plan that creatively and efficiently used all of the 385-square-foot-space, without sacrificing beauty, comfort or function – and all without breaking the bank! To maximize our budget, we did the work ourselves and added everything from thrift store finds to DIY wall art to bring it all together. We designed and built custom kitchen cabinets to maximize every inch of space. The island/bar provides a comfortable eating area as well as lots of extra counter space and storage.

This is a kit from Arke Systems. It is a great system if you have a very small foot print. Portland Stair company
Small minimalist staircase photo in Portland

Photography: Gerardine and Jude Vargas
Patio - 1960s patio idea in Phoenix

One homeowner of a particular model home in the Sun City Roseville development that came with a rather large space for a laundry room, was faced with this dilemma recently. After relocating her washer and dryer into the garage and setting up a make shift office of her own in the laundry room, the homeowner realized that, although she succeeded in turning the space into a somewhat functional work area, it just wasn’t up to par for all of her wants and needs. Hoping to come up some new small home office ideas that would squeeze all of her needs into the tiny space, she decided to seek help from a home organization specialist and sat down with The Closet Doctor. There were several requirements and obstacles that made the development of an office design which satisfied the homeowner particularly difficult. One was the need for two workstations which would have enough desk space for each person to sit comfortably and not be on top of each other. Another obstacle was the new design had to work around a cut-out in the corner of the wall, which contained built-in shelves for the components of a nearby entertainment center. Finally, the designer also had to be sure to incorporate “lots of legal sized filing drawers” into its new design. The Closet Doctor went to work and was able to design a solution that, not only met all of the homeowner’s needs, but was attractive, and within her budget. The new built-in design included two work areas that were spacious and each with its own overhead cabinet, storage drawer, and single letter size file drawer for active projects. In between the two overhead cabinets, additional open shelving allowed for display items as well as space for a small TV in the center. Extra storage and organization space was also put behind doors for a clean and neat look. In addition, in order to maintain as much space as possible, the cabinets on the end and left side wall were made just deep enough to fit legal size lateral file drawers. Finally, the built in component shelves were left open in the corner for easy access, with the desk top passing in front of the space at the same height as one of the shelves, which gave the corner a neat and organized appearance as well. To top it off, low energy under cabinet LED lights with a dimmer switch were installed in order to illuminate the work area. The Client loved the result of her home improvement project, in both the look and functionality of the new design compared to the “temporary setup” she had in place before. With the additional storage space and organization that the new built in office unit provided, the satisfied homeowner was able to achieve the clean and organized look as well as optimum functionality that she preferred.

A Green Cloud Texas sage basks in full sun and reflected heat.
This is an example of a southwestern landscaping in Phoenix.

The owners of this tiny front yard craved an interesting front yard that was colorful, drought tolerant and filled with herbs. We began by tearing out the hillside of junipers and overgrown hollies against the house. We created an interesting bedline, added boulders for visual interest and lots of good garden soil. In the areas for the most drought tolerant plants such as rosemary, lavender and sedums, we further amended to soil to insure extremely well drained soil preferred by these plants. All plant choices are drought tolerant and can tolerate the full sun of this south facing slope. In this early spring photo you see blue phlox in full bloom along the walk leading to front door. In the foreground, fragrant dianthus is just beginning to bloom. Behind the dianthus, fall blooming asters are just beginning to emerge. This is a landscape of 4 season interest. Photographer: Danna Cain, Home & Garden Design, Inc.

The dining area opens to the view a small deck and the pond below via a 9' wide pocked door. Both sides of the dining space can be fully opened to the site. Inspired by local fishing shacks and wharf buildings dotting the coast of Maine, this retreat interweaves large glazed openings with simple taut-skinned New England shingled cottages. This skin is incised to open views to the sea beyond and relies on light steel framing and thin braces to preserve the simple forms eroded toward sweeping views. Eric Reinholdt - Project Architect/Lead Designer with Elliott + Elliott Architecture Photo: Tom Crane Photography, Inc.

Small elegant gray one-story mixed siding gable roof photo in Charleston

This new construction home was a blank slate. Our clients wanted a seating area to enjoy with their family or friends. As the space is quite tiny, we designed a built-in bench with storage below and a fire pit that converts to a table on warmer days. We planted succulents at the base of the fire pit to soften the paving and planted low water but lush planting along the adjacent wall.

Our Town Plans
Farmhouse exterior home photo in Atlanta

Photo: Elaine Musiwa © 2015 Houzz
Living room - contemporary living room idea in New York

Photo of a southwestern landscaping in Phoenix.

Stunning, deep red, new growth from spring until fall accentuates the evergreen leaves of this nandina. Flirt™ holds it's superior red color through the summer, unlike similar varieties. Space 2' apart for groundcover or low hedge. Perfect in mixed beds and containers. Features Feature/Bloom Wine red young foliage spring to fall Evergreen or Deciduous evergreen USDA Zones Hardy to -10°F USDA 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Sunset Zones 3-33 Special Features Year-round interest, easy care, dwarf, water-wise Landscape Use Border, container, firescaping/fire wise, mass planting Exposure Full sun to part shade Bloom Season None Dimension 1-2 ft H x 1.5-2 ft W Growth Rate Slow to moderate Plant Type evergreen About the Collection Brought to you by the authority on Western gardening, the Sunset Western Garden Collection is an exclusive plant collection of top performing plants for the Western Gardener.