Entryway - transitional entryway idea in Miami

Transitional two-story gable roof photo in Dallas

Photo: Monica Lee

A breathtaking city, bay and mountain view over take the senses as one enters the regal estate of this Woodside California home. At apx 17,000 square feet the exterior of the home boasts beautiful hand selected stone quarry material, custom blended slate roofing with pre aged copper rain gutters and downspouts. Every inch of the exterior one finds intricate timeless details. As one enters the main foyer a grand marble staircase welcomes them, while an ornate metal with gold-leaf laced railing outlines the staircase. A high performance chef’s kitchen waits at one wing while separate living quarters are down the other. A private elevator in the heart of the home serves as a second means of arriving from floor to floor. The properties vanishing edge pool serves its viewer with breathtaking views while a pool house with separate guest quarters are just feet away. This regal estate boasts a new level of luxurious living built by Markay Johnson Construction. Builder: Markay Johnson Construction visit: www.mjconstruction.com Photographer: Scot Zimmerman

A breathtaking city, bay and mountain view over take the senses as one enters the regal estate of this Woodside California home. At apx 17,000 square feet the exterior of the home boasts beautiful hand selected stone quarry material, custom blended slate roofing with pre aged copper rain gutters and downspouts. Every inch of the exterior one finds intricate timeless details. As one enters the main foyer a grand marble staircase welcomes them, while an ornate metal with gold-leaf laced railing outlines the staircase. A high performance chef’s kitchen waits at one wing while separate living quarters are down the other. A private elevator in the heart of the home serves as a second means of arriving from floor to floor. The properties vanishing edge pool serves its viewer with breathtaking views while a pool house with separate guest quarters are just feet away. This regal estate boasts a new level of luxurious living built by Markay Johnson Construction. Builder: Markay Johnson Construction visit: www.mjconstruction.com Photographer: Scot Zimmerman

A five story curtain wall of green glass and a steel structural frame allow breath-taking views of Seattle across Elliot Bay, lending a signature material to the building + drawing the viewer’s eye upward. Curved steel beams and heavy timber roofs convey the curves of the marine environment just steps away while giving a significant form to the top of the building and the meeting and deck spaces enclosed. A steel “torii” beam and column structure at the top roof deck suggests a gateway, a portal to the east and the wider world, reflecting the owner’s heritage. Interiors of bamboo flooring, light quarter-sawn oak cabinetry and doors, grass cloth, simple modern tile, trim, and fixtures reflect the clean, contemporary lighting.

This meditation bench brings the outside in by featuring a stone as one of the legs to hold up the top, creating a great place to be alone with your thoughts and meditate. This bench is balanced with a hollowed granite leg, ground out by hand with the aid of a diamond drill bit and an angle grinder to provide a more manageable weight. I hand-carved a peek-a-boo opening in the mahogany seat to expose the granite for aesthetic interest while supporting the seat with a custom-fabricated metal bracket underneath for stability. The wooden leg is mortised securely through the top and wedged in place with walnut wedges. The supporting walnut arch spanning from one leg to the underside of the seat is one piece. The arch passes through a mortise in each of the cross braces, which are precisely spaced to provide artistic interest and balance. Each mortise was cut by hand with a mallet and chisel. This silky-smooth bench was built without nails or screws and made from high-quality hardwood, richly-grained African mahogany that begs to be touched. The seat and one leg are African mahogany, and the wedges, arch, and cross braces are walnut. The beautifully placed granite leg is local Colorado granite with natural lichen. The rich reddish-brown mahogany against the subtle soft green color of the lichen provides a sense of stability and harmony. The design inspiration for having the rock poke through the bench top came from an architect friend, who had a granite boulder craned in through the roof of a house and carved into a gas fireplace. The architect’s stories about how challenging the project was to integrate such an organic piece in an otherwise modern home got me thinking about how I could incorporate organic shapes into my furniture. The arch design came from one of my favorite hiking places in the Cascades, a bridge that spans across Multnomah Falls. Since publishing this work, I have been told that the design is stupid as only one person can sit on the bench at a time. Those opinions are the beauty of art, as everyone interprets it differently, and not everyone will get its purpose. However, subconsciously, I think the design spoke well for itself, as its purpose is for one person to be alone and meditate. Its deeper meaning may not be obvious or understood by everyone. However, its design has at least set the stage as only one person can comfortably sit on it at a time. This level of detail is indicative of my work. I try to create a single focal point to catch the viewer’s eye and draw them in. Then, once they get up close to a piece and start interacting with it, they will start to see all the additional details. I like how the bench top is carefully carved so it sits around the stone and how the weight of the stone helps balance the piece. They start to understand how it was built as they see the joinery detail, of how the tenon comes through the top and is wedged in place.

Example of a trendy living room design in Other

Example of a beach style home theater design in New York

Kitchen - transitional kitchen idea in Charlotte

Encounters with entirely unique art objects are always deeply memorable, subconsciously elevating a viewer’s experience in ways that often continue to delight long after first exposure. Such is the effect of this extraordinary Persian Bakshaish rug that will fascinate every dinner guest, including the most seasoned antique carpet connoisseurs, with its totally unexpected, yet profoundly harmonious allover design. Virtuoso abrash allows carefully selected warm reds and an astonishing diversity of prized mid-tone blues to advance and recede with continually changing intensity. Archetypal latchhook and cloudband contours recall the very earliest East Asian symbolism, yet sit extremely well with delicately carved angels and European tapestry, providing this residence with another tableau where connoisseur level carpets seamlessly enrich their eclectic surroundings.

A five story curtain wall of green glass and a steel structural frame allow breath-taking views of Seattle across Elliot Bay, lending a signature material to the building + drawing the viewer’s eye upward. Curved steel beams and heavy timber roofs convey the curves of the marine environment just steps away while giving a significant form to the top of the building and the meeting and deck spaces enclosed. A steel “torii” beam and column structure at the top roof deck suggests a gateway, a portal to the east and the wider world, reflecting the owner’s heritage. Interiors of bamboo flooring, light quarter-sawn oak cabinetry and doors, grass cloth, simple modern tile, trim, and fixtures reflect the clean, contemporary lighting.

Ken Vaughan
Elegant carpeted and multicolored floor home theater photo in Dallas with black walls and a projector screen

Bliss Garden Design
Photo of a contemporary landscaping in Seattle.

A five story curtain wall of green glass and a steel structural frame allow breath-taking views of Seattle across Elliot Bay, lending a signature material to the building + drawing the viewer’s eye upward. Curved steel beams and heavy timber roofs convey the curves of the marine environment just steps away while giving a significant form to the top of the building and the meeting and deck spaces enclosed. A steel “torii” beam and column structure at the top roof deck suggests a gateway, a portal to the east and the wider world, reflecting the owner’s heritage. Interiors of bamboo flooring, light quarter-sawn oak cabinetry and doors, grass cloth, simple modern tile, trim, and fixtures reflect the clean, contemporary lighting.

The customers desired a secluded environment for retreat at the end of a long workday. The project began with stone selection. We desired an organic stone that would age beautifully over time, and shape the walls and features of the space. Our team faced major logistics challenges throughout the project. The wooded property sloped away from the house dramatically making difficulty bringing in large materials and machinery needed to complete the job. Tree protection and a temporary road were constructed for the duration of the project. Stone placement was key to success for this project. We hand-selected each boulder for the project and assembled the stones by similar grain patterns and colors to create authenticity. The idea was to give the illusion that these natural limestone formations existed on the property before the home and landscaping was created adding a great mystery to the overall feature. The viewer is surrounded by large stone walls with cascades of water that have shaped the stone over time. The viewer is given the illusion that the source of water comes from the distance of the property and cascades into a secluded area. We designed an underground cistern to hold rain water run-off allowing the water feature to naturally filter the water for re-use. The pump system is run on a Variable Frequency Drive for programmable automation, allowing the customer to run the waterfall at different flow rates at different times of day allowing for operation cost savings, and low energy consumption. Linda Oyama Bryan

Inspiration for a contemporary galley eat-in kitchen remodel in Seattle with a farmhouse sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, granite countertops, metallic backsplash, ceramic backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Double doors allow viewers to leave the theater without letting sound out or letting light in. The theater is under the garage and is encased in concrete walls as well. With the double doors it is essentially sound proof. Viewers can crank the base without annoying others in the house trying to have a conversation.

Photo by Jay Sifford
This is an example of an eclectic landscaping in Charlotte.