This modern home, near Cedar Lake, built in 1900, was originally a corner store. A massive conversion transformed the home into a spacious, multi-level residence in the 1990’s. However, the home’s lot was unusually steep and overgrown with vegetation. In addition, there were concerns about soil erosion and water intrusion to the house. The homeowners wanted to resolve these issues and create a much more useable outdoor area for family and pets. Castle, in conjunction with Field Outdoor Spaces, designed and built a large deck area in the back yard of the home, which includes a detached screen porch and a bar & grill area under a cedar pergola. The previous, small deck was demolished and the sliding door replaced with a window. A new glass sliding door was inserted along a perpendicular wall to connect the home’s interior kitchen to the backyard oasis. The screen house doors are made from six custom screen panels, attached to a top mount, soft-close track. Inside the screen porch, a patio heater allows the family to enjoy this space much of the year. Concrete was the material chosen for the outdoor countertops, to ensure it lasts several years in Minnesota’s always-changing climate. Trex decking was used throughout, along with red cedar porch, pergola and privacy lattice detailing. The front entry of the home was also updated to include a large, open porch with access to the newly landscaped yard. Cable railings from Loftus Iron add to the contemporary style of the home, including a gate feature at the top of the front steps to contain the family pets when they’re let out into the yard. Tour this project in person, September 28 – 29, during the 2019 Castle Home Tour!

THEME There are two priorities in this room: Hockey (in this case, Washington Capitals hockey) and FUN. FOCUS The room is broken into two main sections (one for kids and one for adults); and divided by authentic hockey boards, complete with yellow kickplates and half-inch plexiglass. Like a true hockey arena, the room pays homage to star players with two fully autographed team jerseys preserved in cases, as well as team logos positioned throughout the room on custom-made pillows, accessories and the floor. The back half of the room is made just for kids. Swings, a dart board, a ball pit, a stage and a hidden playhouse under the stairs ensure fun for all. STORAGE A large storage unit at the rear of the room makes use of an odd-shaped nook, adds support and accommodates large shelves, toys and boxes. Storage space is cleverly placed near the ballpit, and will eventually transition into a full storage area once the pit is no longer needed. The back side of the hockey boards hold two small refrigerators (one for adults and one for kids), as well as the base for the audio system. GROWTH The front half of the room lasts as long as the family’s love for the team. The back half of the room grows with the children, and eventually will provide a useable, wide open space as well as storage. SAFETY A plexiglass wall separates the two main areas of the room, minimizing the noise created by kids playing and hockey fans cheering. It also protects the big screen TV from balls, pucks and other play objects that occasionally fly by. The ballpit door has a double safety lock to ensure supervised use.

Basement finished in preparation for a phase 2 renovation which will include underpinning for an 8ft ceiling. This phase involved making the space comfortable, useable and stylish for the mid-term as the kids play area.

➤ GO TO THE PRODUCT PAGE
❤ GET FREE FABRIC SAMPLES

Cassius D.E.L. has a classic sofa design that, with an easy conversion method provides a versatile queen-sized sofa bed. Cassius’s excess pocket spring mattress and large bed size ensure highest comfort during the day and at night. Its exquisite details of the stitched surfaces combined with upholstered armrests provide an elegant design with maximum lounge comfort satisfying multiple needs for years to come. Do yourselves the favor to add the D.E.L. ottoman to complete the sofa and lounger arrangement, useable as temporary seat or best as comfortable chaise lounge.

This is an example of a mediterranean landscaping in Santa Barbara.

Located on a heritage-lined street in Melbourne’s Williamstown, a young family were seeking a contemporary home with ample room to grow. Benni Trajcevski of Achieve Design Group answered their call, creating the epitome of modern living concealed behind a modest façade. To achieve the long wish list including large indoor and outdoor gathering spaces to entertain family and friends, separate adult and children living and sleeping zones, and a pool suitable for year-round use, Benni has maximised every inch of the block. Seamless transitional spaces link inside with out. This flow between the indoors and outdoors is a key feature of the home, achieved through generous open floor planning and glazing. For example, large hidden sliding doors allow the pool to be closed-off for use in winter; acrylic glass panels link the pool with the sunken lounge, which includes a fire pit for year-round comfort. The inclusion of a courtyard and voids throughout create separate useable zones while maintaining the feeling of spaciousness. Orientated to the north and surrounded with floor to ceiling windows to optimise natural light, the courtyard divides the formal lounge area with the informal living area, while the first floor is divided into four separate wings for privacy and functionality. The interiors are detailed with quality materials and finishes to achieve a sleek and sophisticated aesthetic. Contrasting materials in muted tones, including tiles, steel and lightweight timbers are featured throughout. Corian and a moss green wall are unexpected features.

Located on a steep hill above downtown Ventura, this modern Spanish house features panoramic views of town with the ocean and Channel Islands beyond. While the views are amazing from a large front deck, the steep slope presented some constraints on the landscape design. Although the property is about a third-of-an-acre, the only useable and open garden space is a small (about 500 square feet) area to the West of the house. The house sits at the back of the property, and another steep hill on the neighboring property behind is held back by a tall retaining wall, leaving just enough room for a narrow, hardscaped patio in the back yard. Bright plantings along the back of the property delineate the home from the neighboring property, and we chose plantings to help stabilize the soil and further develop the Spanish garden look while creating a lush, inviting feel. Additionally, we added 52 pieces of pottery to soften and add interest to the back garden and patio areas. Succulents, herbs, and California natives fill the pottery along with bright, sweet-smelling, tropical-looking, and climate-appropriate plants. Slope stabilization was paramount for the front hill. Beyond that, finding plants that would thrive on the steep slope was the next obstacle. Finally, the aesthetics could be addressed, and we worked to find plants that meshed with the architecture—blending plants with white and orange to play off the red-tiled roofs and white-plastered walls that are emblematic of the Spanish style of this house as well as the predominate style of the neighborhood. The flattish area to the West was designed with the idea of creating a contemporary take on the parterre garden. Reminiscent of Mediterranean gardens, this vegetable and herb garden substitutes formal hedges with formal Corten steel planters to honor the modern Spanish architecture of the house. The citrus, herbs, and vegetables serve the foodie clients well.

This client wanted to take their unused dining room and turn it into a useable and functional space. Consequently, GOODESIGN turned the space in to a moody lounge area.

Elegant home design photo in Philadelphia

360 Home Tours

Reface or replace? Well, this is a reface. This kitchen is a typical 1980’s honey oak kitchen that has now become outdated. Some alterations to the kitchen were required to make it more useable and comfortable for the home owner. There was an upper corner cabinet that went to the counter top and included a “bread” cupboard. This was removed and replaced with a standard corner cabinet. We also added a waste/recycle station beside the dishwasher and extended the cabinetry around the outside corner to include and tie in a shallow drawer home organization station. The doors were replaced and the finishing was done on site. We also converted the cupboard to the left of the stove into a bank of drawers. New laminate counter tops that look like marble, under cabinet lighting, and back splash bring this kitchen into the 21st century.

Ashley Farrell Landscape Design replaced a dead lawn with a dry creek bed and a small patio with an access path to the back yard. Great example of sustainable landscaping and useable space.

This living room was opened up to the magnificent mountain views outside by adding this huge picture window. Removal and replacement of the old corner fireplace and built-in bancos allowed for more useable space and seating. Now this room can function even better as an entertaining space and the best view in the home for sunsets.

For this Pergola in Northwest DC, we extended the existing structure and upgraded the wood to stained Western Cedar and used Azek in Mahogany. for the deck floor and steps, installed a screen system, and a new polycarbonate roof. The perks of going with this type of roofing material are its impact resistance and thermal insulation compared to glass.

Outdoor flagstone staircase created to replace existing wooden staircase that was no longer useable. Porch was rebuilt to allow stairs to extend to new elevation. Irrigation was adjusted, and small retaining walls built on both sides for water drainage. Low voltage lighting installed at completion of project to highlight the beautiful stone

Starting with a multi-level, splintering old deck that didn’t transition well to the pool area - our goal was to great a more enjoyable and useable space where the homeowners can spend time relaxing & hosting poolside parties. We worked closely with the township to maximize the allowable impervious coverage for the property, which included reconfiguring all the landscaping to allow for more hardscaping. To say this backyard got a facelift is an understatement. Everything got some attention; from staining & sealing the concrete around the pool, tucking away the pool equipment, building an all new porch complete with gorgeous stonework & fireplace. Meeting the needs of the homeowners & surpassing their dreams is one of our favorite things, and with this design – that was exactly the case.

Ashley Farrell Landscape Design
Tuscan patio photo in Santa Barbara

What more can one ask for when there is useable space that can provide storage and lots of it!
Inspiration for a timeless basement remodel in New York

Nestled in the quiet hills of La Habra Heights is this 3 bedroom, 3 bath home with beautiful views. Features include remodeled chef's kitchen with solid cherry cabinets, granite counter tops and over $20,000 in top of the line appliances. Newer Pella triple pane windows with built in mini blinds. Newly remodeled master bath with huge walk in shower. 2 master suites upstairs and 1 bedroom and full bath downstairs. The downstairs bedroom has been converted to an office but can be easily switched back. Large decks all around the house with a built in hot tub and sitting area right off of the family room. This property has too many fruit trees to list and a concrete walk way that takes you all the way up to the top of the hill making your backyard very useable.