Inspiration for an eclectic open concept medium tone wood floor living room remodel in Los Angeles with white walls and a bar

The Tice Residences replace a run-down and aging duplex with two separate, modern, Santa Barbara homes. Although the unique creek-side site (which the client’s original home looked toward across a small ravine) proposed significant challenges, the clients were certain they wanted to live on the lush “Riviera” hillside. The challenges presented were ultimately overcome through a thorough and careful study of site conditions. With an extremely efficient use of space and strategic placement of windows and decks, privacy is maintained while affording expansive views from each home to the creek, downtown Santa Barbara and Pacific Ocean beyond. Both homes appear to have far more openness than their compact lots afford. The solution strikes a balance between enclosure and openness. Walls and landscape elements divide and protect two private domains, and are in turn, carefully penetrated to reveal views. Both homes are variations on one consistent theme: elegant composition of contemporary, “warm” materials; strong roof planes punctuated by vertical masses; and floating decks. The project forms an intimate connection with its setting by using site-excavated stone, terracing landscape planters with native plantings, and utilizing the shade provided by its ancient Riviera Oak trees. 2012 AIA Santa Barbara Chapter Merit Award Jim Bartsch Photography

Andrew Pogue Photography
Trendy open concept dark wood floor living room photo in Austin with white walls, a ribbon fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Photo: Stacy Levin © 2015 Houzz
Deck - contemporary deck idea in Los Angeles

This home remodel is a celebration of curves and light. Starting from humble beginnings as a basic builder ranch style house, the design challenge was maximizing natural light throughout and providing the unique contemporary style the client’s craved. The Entry offers a spectacular first impression and sets the tone with a large skylight and an illuminated curved wall covered in a wavy pattern Porcelanosa tile. The chic entertaining kitchen was designed to celebrate a public lifestyle and plenty of entertaining. Celebrating height with a robust amount of interior architectural details, this dynamic kitchen still gives one that cozy feeling of home sweet home. The large “L” shaped island accommodates 7 for seating. Large pendants over the kitchen table and sink provide additional task lighting and whimsy. The Dekton “puzzle” countertop connection was designed to aid the transition between the two color countertops and is one of the homeowner’s favorite details. The built-in bistro table provides additional seating and flows easily into the Living Room. A curved wall in the Living Room showcases a contemporary linear fireplace and tv which is tucked away in a niche. Placing the fireplace and furniture arrangement at an angle allowed for more natural walkway areas that communicated with the exterior doors and the kitchen working areas. The dining room’s open plan is perfect for small groups and expands easily for larger events. Raising the ceiling created visual interest and bringing the pop of teal from the Kitchen cabinets ties the space together. A built-in buffet provides ample storage and display. The Sitting Room (also called the Piano room for its previous life as such) is adjacent to the Kitchen and allows for easy conversation between chef and guests. It captures the homeowner’s chic sense of style and joie de vivre.

The unique opportunity and challenge for the Joshua Tree project was to enable the architecture to prioritize views. Set in the valley between Mummy and Camelback mountains, two iconic landforms located in Paradise Valley, Arizona, this lot “has it all” regarding views. The challenge was answered with what we refer to as the desert pavilion. This highly penetrated piece of architecture carefully maintains a one-room deep composition. This allows each space to leverage the majestic mountain views. The material palette is executed in a panelized massing composition. The home, spawned from mid-century modern DNA, opens seamlessly to exterior living spaces providing for the ultimate in indoor/outdoor living. Project Details: Architecture: Drewett Works, Scottsdale, AZ // C.P. Drewett, AIA, NCARB // www.drewettworks.com Builder: Bedbrock Developers, Paradise Valley, AZ // http://www.bedbrock.com Interior Designer: Est Est, Scottsdale, AZ // http://www.estestinc.com Photographer: Michael Duerinckx, Phoenix, AZ // www.inckx.com

The family living room/great room embodies rustic mountain luxury, defined by reclaimed wood beams, textured wall planks, and indigenous stone details. Warm amber lighting enhances the natural materials, creating a cozy yet elevated atmosphere for gathering and relaxation. Thoughtfully designed, the space reflects the surrounding beauty of Cashiers while feeling like a true mountain retreat. J,Weiland

Randy Angell, Designer The beautiful estate already had a well-designed backyard by a prominent landscape architect. This included the upper spa area, which we had built for the previous owner. The challenge presented by the new homeowner was to create a seamless design that integrated the new with the existing, remained true to the original architects vision, and created a space to be enjoyed by the family's children, as well as the many business and charity event guests that would be frequenting the home.

This home remodel is a celebration of curves and light. Starting from humble beginnings as a basic builder ranch style house, the design challenge was maximizing natural light throughout and providing the unique contemporary style the client’s craved. The Entry offers a spectacular first impression and sets the tone with a large skylight and an illuminated curved wall covered in a wavy pattern Porcelanosa tile. The chic entertaining kitchen was designed to celebrate a public lifestyle and plenty of entertaining. Celebrating height with a robust amount of interior architectural details, this dynamic kitchen still gives one that cozy feeling of home sweet home. The large “L” shaped island accommodates 7 for seating. Large pendants over the kitchen table and sink provide additional task lighting and whimsy. The Dekton “puzzle” countertop connection was designed to aid the transition between the two color countertops and is one of the homeowner’s favorite details. The built-in bistro table provides additional seating and flows easily into the Living Room. A curved wall in the Living Room showcases a contemporary linear fireplace and tv which is tucked away in a niche. Placing the fireplace and furniture arrangement at an angle allowed for more natural walkway areas that communicated with the exterior doors and the kitchen working areas. The dining room’s open plan is perfect for small groups and expands easily for larger events. Raising the ceiling created visual interest and bringing the pop of teal from the Kitchen cabinets ties the space together. A built-in buffet provides ample storage and display. The Sitting Room (also called the Piano room for its previous life as such) is adjacent to the Kitchen and allows for easy conversation between chef and guests. It captures the homeowner’s chic sense of style and joie de vivre.

AquaTerra Outdoors was hired to bring life to the outdoors of the new home. When it came time to design the space we were challenged with the tight space of the backyard. We worked through the concepts and we were able to incorporate a new pool with spa, custom water feature wall, Ipe wood deck, outdoor kitchen, custom steel and Ipe wood shade arbor and fire pit. We also designed and installed all the landscaping including the custom steel planter. Photography: Wade Griffith

New skylights are double insulated with safety glass. The challenge was the technical work required to install a vaulted skylight. All new trims, baseboards and doors in the redone living room. All new, modern lighting was installed. Heated du chateau flooring was added. Bruce Damonte Photography

For a family who believes fitness is not only an essential part of life but also a fun opportunity for the whole family to connect, build and achieve greatness together there is nothing better than a custom designed obstacle course right in your back yard. THEME The theme of this half mile trail through the woods is evident in the fun, creative and all-inclusive obstacles hidden in the natural flow of the land around this amazing family home. The course was created with adults and children, advanced and beginner athletes, competitive and entertaining events all accounted for. Each of the 13 obstacles was designed to be challenging no matter the size, skill or ability of the athlete lucky enough to run the course. FOCUS The focus for this family was to create an outdoor adventure that could be an athletic, social and personal outlet for their entire family while maintaining the natural beauty of the landscape and without altering the sweeping views from the home. The large scale of the challenging obstacles is camouflaged within the landscape using the rolling hills and mature trees as a natural curtain in every season. The beauty of the course does not diminish the functional and demanding nature of the obstacles which are designed to focus on multiple strength, agility, and cardio fitness abilities and intensities. STORAGE The start of the trail includes a raised training area offering a dedicated space clear from the ground to place bags, mats and other equipment used during the run. A small all-terrain storage cart was provided for use with 6 yoga mats, 3 medicine balls of various weights, rings, sprinting cones, and a large digital timer to record laps. GROWTH The course was designed to provide an athletic and fun challenge for children, teens and adults no matter their experience or athletic prowess. This course offers competitive athletes a challenge and budding athletes an opportunity to experience and ignite their passion for physical activity. Initially the concept for the course was focused on the youngest of the family however as the design grew so did the obstacles and now it is a true family experience that will meet their adapting needs for years. Each obstacle is paired with an instructional sign directing the runners in proper use of the obstacle, adaptations for skill levels and tips on form. These signs are all customized for this course and are printed on metal to ensure they last for many years. SAFETY Safety is crucial for all physical activity and an obstacle course of this scale presents unique safety concerns. Children should always be supervised when participating in an adventure on the course however additional care was paid to details on the course to ensure everyone has a great time. All of the course obstacles have been created with pressure treated lumber that will withstand the seasonal poundings. All footer pilings that support obstacles have been placed into the ground between 3 to 4 feet (.9 to 1.2 meters) and each piling has 2 to 3 bags of concrete (totaling over 90 bags used throughout the course) ensuring stability of the structure and safety of the participants. Additionally, all obstacle lumber has been given rounded corners and sanded down offering less splintering and more time for everyone to enjoy the course. This athletic and charismatic family strives to incorporate a healthy active lifestyle into their daily life and this obstacle course offers their family an opportunity to strengthen themselves and host some memorable and active events at their amazing home.

Creation of a new master bathroom, kids’ bathroom, toilet room and a WIC from a mid. size bathroom was a challenge but the results were amazing. The master bathroom has a huge 5.5'x6' shower with his/hers shower heads. The main wall of the shower is made from 2 book matched porcelain slabs, the rest of the walls are made from Thasos marble tile and the floors are slate stone. The vanity is a double sink custom made with distress wood stain finish and its almost 10' long. The vanity countertop and backsplash are made from the same porcelain slab that was used on the shower wall. The two pocket doors on the opposite wall from the vanity hide the WIC and the water closet where a $6k toilet/bidet unit is warmed up and ready for her owner at any given moment. Notice also the huge 100" mirror with built-in LED light, it is a great tool to make the relatively narrow bathroom to look twice its size.

Location: Denver, CO, USA THE CHALLENGE: Create a unique and inventive space that supported the client’s beloved art collection. THE SOLUTION: A neutral color palette, with textural interest is used throughout the home to serve as supporting elements to the artwork. Natural finishes were added to contrast the homes existing modern aesthetic, creating a warm, rustic, yet progressive home. Dado Interior Design DAVID LAUER PHOTOGRAPHY

The narrow site challenged the design team to create a modern home that blended within its surroundings and maximized its views of the lake. All of the modern elements intertwine and weave together framing the view while drawing the lake up to the porch and finally connecting to the sky. ©Shoot2Sell Photography

Situated at the top of the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Park in Danville, this mid-century modern hilltop home had great architectural features, but needed a kitchen update that spoke to the design style of the rest of the house. We would have to say this project was one of our most challenging when it came to blending the mid-century style of the house with a more eclectic and modern look that the clients were drawn to. But who doesn't love a good challenge? We removed the builder-grade cabinetry put in by a previous owner and took down a wall to open up the kitchen to the rest of the great room. The kitchen features a custom designed hood as well as custom cabinetry with an intricate beaded details that sets it apart from all of our other cabinetry designs. The pop of blue paired with the dark walnut creates an eye catching contrast. Ridgecrest also designed and fabricated solid steel wall cabinetry to store countertop appliances and display dishes and glasses. The copper accents on the range and faucets bring the design full circle and finish this gorgeous one-of-a-kind-kitchen off nicely.

White oak flooring, walnut cabinetry, white quartzite countertops, stainless appliances, white inset wall cabinets
Open concept kitchen - large scandinavian u-shaped light wood floor open concept kitchen idea in Denver with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, quartzite countertops, white backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and white countertops

Photo: Lucy Call © 2014 Houzz
Kitchen - contemporary kitchen idea in Salt Lake City

Who said that a Burbank bungalow home needs to be doll and old fashioned. In this Burbank remodeling project we took this 1200sq. bungalow home and turned it to a wonderful mixture of European modern kitchen space and calm transitional modern farmhouse furniture and flooring. The kitchen was a true challenge since space was a rare commodity, but with the right layout storage and work space became abundant. A floating 5' long sitting area was constructed and even the back face of the cabinets was used for wine racks. Exterior was updated as well with new black windows, new stucco over layer and new light fixtures all around. both bedrooms were fitted with huge 10' sliding doors overlooking the green backyard.