Inspiration for a transitional dark wood floor and brown floor living room remodel in Minneapolis with beige walls, a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

This unique city-home is designed with a center entry, flanked by formal living and dining rooms on either side. An expansive gourmet kitchen / great room spans the rear of the main floor, opening onto a terraced outdoor space comprised of more than 700SF. The home also boasts an open, four-story staircase flooded with natural, southern light, as well as a lower level family room, four bedrooms (including two en-suite) on the second floor, and an additional two bedrooms and study on the third floor. A spacious, 500SF roof deck is accessible from the top of the staircase, providing additional outdoor space for play and entertainment. Due to the location and shape of the site, there is a 2-car, heated garage under the house, providing direct entry from the garage into the lower level mudroom. Two additional off-street parking spots are also provided in the covered driveway leading to the garage. Designed with family living in mind, the home has also been designed for entertaining and to embrace life's creature comforts. Pre-wired with HD Video, Audio and comprehensive low-voltage services, the home is able to accommodate and distribute any low voltage services requested by the homeowner. This home was pre-sold during construction. Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing

Example of a transitional gray tile bathroom design in Houston with white walls

An interior remodel of a 1940’s French Eclectic home includes a new kitchen, breakfast, laundry, and three bathrooms featuring new cabinetry, fixtures, and patterned encaustic tile floors. Complementary in detail and substance to elements original to the house, these spaces are also highly practical and easily maintained, accommodating heavy use by our clients, their kids, and frequent guests. Other rooms, with somewhat “well-loved” woodwork, floors, and plaster are rejuvenated with deeply tinted custom finishes, allowing formality and function to coexist. ChrDAUER: Kristin Mjolsnes, Christian Dauer General Contractor: Saturn Construction Photographer: Eric Rorer

The Kiguchi family moved into their Austin, Texas home in 1994. Built in the 1980’s as part of a neighborhood development, they happily raised their family here but longed for something more contemporary. Once they became empty nesters, they decided it was time for a major remodel. After spending many years visiting Austin AIA Home Tours that highlight contemporary residential architecture, they had a lot of ideas and in 2013 were ready to interview architects and get their renovation underway. The project turned into a major remodel due to an unstable foundation. Architects Ben Arbib and Ed Hughey, of Arbib Hughey Design were hired to solve the structural issue and look for inspiration in the bones of the house, which sat on top of a hillside and was surrounded by great views. Unfortunately, with the old floor plan, the beautiful views were hidden by small windows that were poorly placed. In order to bring more natural light into the house the window sizes and configurations had to be addressed, all while keeping in mind the homeowners desire for a modern look and feel. To achieve a more contemporary and sophisticated front of house, a new entry was designed that included removing a two-story bay window and porch. The entrance of the home also became more integrated with the landscape creating a template for new foliage to be planted. Older exterior materials were updated to incorporate a more muted palette of colors with a metal roof, dark grey siding in the back and white stucco in the front. Deep eaves were added over many of the new large windows for clean lines and sun protection. “Inside it was about opening up the floor plan, expanding the views throughout the house, and updating the material palette to get a modern look that was also warm and inviting,” said Ben from Arbib Hughey Design. “Prior to the remodel, the house had the typical separation of rooms. We removed the walls between them and changed all of the windows to Milgard Thermally Improved Aluminum to connect the inside with the outside. No matter where you are you get nice views and natural light.” The architects wanted to create some drama, which they accomplished with the window placement and opening up the interior floor plan to an open concept approach. Cabinetry was used to help delineate intimate spaces. To add warmth to an all-white living room, white-washed oak wood floors were installed and pine planks were used around the fireplace. The large windows served as artwork bringing the color of nature into the space. An octagon shaped, elevated dining room, (named “the turret”), had a big impact on the design of the house. They architects rounded the corners and added larger window openings overlooking a new sunken garden. The great room was also softened by rounding out the corners and that circular theme continued throughout the house, being picked up in skylight wells and kitchen cabinetry. A staircase leading to a catwalk was added and the result was a two-story window wall that flooded the home with natural light. When asked why Milgard® Thermally Improved Aluminum windows were selected, the architectural team listed many reasons: 1) Aesthetics: “We liked the slim profiles and narrow sightlines. The window frames never get in the way of the view and that was important to us. They also have a very contemporary look that went well with our design.” 2) Options: “We liked that we could get large sliding doors that matched the windows, giving us a very cohesive look and feel throughout the project.” 3) Cost Effective: “Milgard windows are affordable. You get a good product at a good price.” 4) Custom Sizes: “Milgard windows are customizable, which allowed us to get the right window for each location.” Ready to take on your own traditional to modern home remodeling project? Arbib Hughey Design advises, “Work with a good architect. That means picking a team that is creative, communicative, listens well and is responsive. We think it’s important for an architect to listen to their clients and give them something they want, not something the architect thinks they should have. At the same time you want an architect who is willing and able to think outside the box and offer up design options that you may not have considered. Design is about a lot of back and forth, trying out ideas, getting feedback and trying again.” The home was completely transformed into a unique, contemporary house perfectly integrated with its site. Internally the home has a natural flow for the occupants and externally it is integrated with the surroundings taking advantage of great natural light. As a side note, it was highly praised as part of the Austin AIA homes tour.

John Magnoski Photography Builder: John Kraemer & Sons
Example of a large arts and crafts beige two-story vinyl exterior home design in Minneapolis with a hip roof

Living room - transitional open concept living room idea in Chicago with yellow walls

Inspiration for a transitional formal living room remodel in San Francisco with a standard fireplace

Elegant formal and open concept dark wood floor living room photo in Minneapolis with white walls, a standard fireplace, a tile fireplace and no tv

Felix Sanchez (www.felixsanchez.com)
Bathroom - huge victorian master white tile dark wood floor and brown floor bathroom idea in Houston with a hinged shower door

library and reading area build into and under stairway.
Example of a farmhouse wooden u-shaped open staircase design in San Francisco

Example of a tuscan beige floor living room design in Los Angeles with brown walls, a standard fireplace and no tv

Photo by Grey Crawford
Small beach style beige one-story exterior home photo in Orange County with a hip roof

Photography by Emily Redfield, Styled by Charlotte Safavi, and Wonderful overhead light by Bright on Presidio
Elegant u-shaped dark wood floor eat-in kitchen photo in DC Metro with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, stainless steel appliances and no island

Photograper: Jim Westphalen
Inspiration for a large victorian gray two-story wood exterior home remodel in Burlington

To create an elegant, light-filled look, Suzanne painted the walls and cabinetry the same creamy white and then continued the less-is-more palette with white marble countertops, a white tile backsplash, and linen barstools. Suzanne worked with Matthew Quinn of Design Galleria to create new cabinetry while retaining the kitchen's original layout. "We strengthened the room's architectural envelope," she says. "Once that's in place, a room requires less decorating." Together, they designed Shaker-style cabinets topped with weighty molding and a handsome island with dining table-like legs. Photo by Erica George Dines for Southern Living

design by: Muratore Photography by: Scott Hargis
Trendy living room photo in San Francisco with a concealed tv

Photography by Patrick Ray With a footprint of just 450 square feet, this micro residence embodies minimalism and elegance through efficiency. Particular attention was paid to creating spaces that support multiple functions as well as innovative storage solutions. A mezzanine-level sleeping space looks down over the multi-use kitchen/living/dining space as well out to multiple view corridors on the site. To create a expansive feel, the lower living space utilizes a bifold door to maximize indoor-outdoor connectivity, opening to the patio, endless lap pool, and Boulder open space beyond. The home sits on a ¾ acre lot within the city limits and has over 100 trees, shrubs and grasses, providing privacy and meditation space. This compact home contains a fully-equipped kitchen, ¾ bath, office, sleeping loft and a subgrade storage area as well as detached carport.

Inspiration for a mid-sized timeless master bedroom remodel in Cincinnati with gray walls and no fireplace