A mixture of classic construction and modern European furnishings redefines mountain living in this second home in charming Lahontan in Truckee, California. Designed for an active Bay Area family, this home is relaxed, comfortable and fun.

C.L. Fry Photo - www.clfryphoto.com
Great room - cottage great room idea in Austin

www.paperanter.com
Inspiration for a shabby-chic style dark wood floor dining room remodel in Minneapolis with gray walls

PhotosByHeatherFritz.com
Example of a large transitional light wood floor kitchen/dining room combo design in Atlanta with blue walls

This dining room showcases an elegant chandelier with glamorous crystal detailing, which hangs above a dining table with a chrome base and a round glass top. The dining chairs flaunt different fabrics on the back and seat, both in a silvery gray but with slightly contrasting patterns. Two pastel floral arrangements in jagged glass vases stand on a white wooden sideboard with crystal pulls. The light gray area rug was custom-made.

Joe Fletcher Photography
Dining room - transitional dark wood floor dining room idea in San Francisco with white walls

Example of a mid-sized transitional medium tone wood floor great room design in Portland with white walls, a stone fireplace and a wood stove

THE SETUP Client Background: Our clients, a couple who have transitioned into the empty nest phase, have cherished their home for over three decades without undergoing any significant renovations. With a newfound desire to adapt their living space to better suit their current lifestyle, they’ve embarked on a journey to reimagine their kitchen — the heart of their home. Their aspiration is to cultivate a serene, neutral-toned sanctuary on the first floor that seamlessly merges with their family room, ensuring a harmonious and inviting environment. Design Inspiration: The renovation is inspired by the couple’s penchant for soft, calming neutrals, using their cherished family room and the kitchen’s existing tile flooring as the cornerstone for the color scheme. This approach aims to foster a sense of warmth and tranquility throughout. Design Objectives: Harmonize the kitchen with the family room by adopting a soothing, neutral color scheme, ensuring a seamless flow across the first floor. Enhance kitchen functionality with thoughtfully designed cabinetry, providing a designated place for every item and maximizing storage efficiency. Cultivate an inviting and comfortable atmosphere that reflects the homeowners’ desire for a calm and relaxing space. Design Challenges: The homeowners wish to retain the existing kitchen tile flooring and integrate it into a refreshed, modern design. Accommodating a dining area spacious enough for family visits without compromising the kitchen’s open feel or functional layout. Despite liking the current placement of plumbing and appliances, the homeowners aspire for a more open floor plan to facilitate better movement and interaction. The need to amplify natural light in the kitchen, especially around the sink area, where existing lighting is insufficient. Preserving the half-wall between the kitchen and family room, a feature the homeowners want to keep, while ensuring it complements the new design. THE RENEWED SPACE Design Solutions: By choosing a neutral color palette that complements the existing tile, the design unifies the kitchen with the adjacent spaces. The tile’s grout was cleaned and restored, enhancing the floor’s appearance and integrating it seamlessly with the new kitchen aesthetic. The inclusion of a larger island with seating for two, alongside maintaining a substantial dining table, was achieved by optimizing the spatial layout. This allowed for a sociable yet functional kitchen, accommodating large family gatherings without feeling crowded. Minor adjustments to the kitchen’s layout maintained the preferred locations for plumbing and appliances while introducing an ‘open’ design concept. Strategic modifications, such as angling the pantry wall, improved the flow and accessibility within the space. Replacing the garden window with a broader, standard window significantly increased natural light, transforming the sink area into a bright, welcoming space with enhanced views of the outdoors. The decision to keep the half-wall was ingeniously leveraged to define the dining area while maintaining an open connection to the family room. This feature not only serves as a visual separator but also ties the two spaces together through the shared color scheme and design elements. The homeowners are thrilled with their newly remodeled kitchen, which has become a hub of warmth and hospitality. Hosting a wedding shower and a birthday party, they have shared their renewed space with friends and family, who have been equally enamored. This remodel has not only met their functional and aesthetic desires but has also enriched their home with a fresh sense of serenity and joy. The upstairs part of the home is shaping up nicely. Here’s their newly remodeled primary bathroom.

Attractive living as an architectural experiment: a 136-year-old water tower, a listed building with a spectacular 360-degree panorama view over the City of London. The task, to transform it into a superior residence, initially seemed an absolute impossibility. But when the owners came across architect Mike Collier, they had found a partner who was to make the impossible possible. The tower, which had been empty for decades, underwent radical renovation work and was extended by a four-storey cube containing kitchen, dining and living room - connected by glazed tunnels and a lift shaft. The kitchen, realised by Enclosure Interiors in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, with furniture from LEICHT is the very heart of living in this new building. Shiny white matt-lacquered kitchen fronts (AVANCE-LR), tone-on-tone with the worktops, reflect the light in the room and thus create expanse and openness. The surface of the handle-less kitchen fronts has a horizontal relief embossing; depending on the light incidence, this results in a vitally structured surface. The free-standing preparation isle with its vertical side panels with a seamlessly integrated sink represents the transition between kitchen and living room. The fronts of the floor units facing the dining table were extended to the floor to do away with the plinth typical of most kitchens. Ceiling-high tall units on the wall provide plenty of storage space; the electrical appliances are integrated here invisible to the eye. Floor units on a high plinth which thus appear to be floating form the actual cooking centre within the kitchen, attached to the wall. A range of handle-less wall units concludes the glazed niche at the top. LEICHT international: “Architecture and kitchen” in the centre of London. www.LeichtUSA.com

Design by Lisa puchalla Photo by Angie seckinger Lily Mae Design
Inspiration for a timeless medium tone wood floor dining room remodel in DC Metro with gray walls

Stacy Zarin Goldberg
Mid-sized transitional brown floor and dark wood floor kitchen/dining room combo photo in DC Metro with white walls

Denash Photography
Inspiration for a timeless dark wood floor dining room remodel in St Louis with white walls

Inspiration for a contemporary dining room remodel in Orange County

Enclosed dining room - transitional enclosed dining room idea in Miami with beige walls

This LH 5 table brings this customer's dining room together and looks great.
Large elegant dark wood floor enclosed dining room photo in Bridgeport with blue walls

This Dallas high-rise condominium with a 360-degree view of the city reflects the client’s soft contemporary and transitional taste. Our goal was to create an ambiance of casual sophistication that also conveyed a calm, relaxing environment for the homeowner. We furnished the open floor plan, containing entry, living and dining areas plus three bedrooms. One bedroom featured a multi-purpose setup, as it doubled as a den for her teen son to hang out with his friends. Custom furnishings are unique and were sourced from top quality manufacturers.

A bright and updated breakfast nook with neutral and soft roman shades, an inviting blue wall paint, updated geometric hanging pendant, round wood top table and orange modern chairs. Custom design walnut table flanked by DVR chairs. Laurie Perez Photography

Jeffrey Totaro Photography
Dining room - transitional medium tone wood floor dining room idea in Philadelphia with no fireplace

Rectangular live edge dining table with brown leather dining chairs, rusted steel pendant lights, floor to ceiling espresso-stained wood sliding doors, off-white walls and ceilings and heart pine wood floors in modern farmhouse style home in rural Idaho. Photo by Tory Taglio Photography