We love the library look for a dining area. Floating bookshelves keep the room open while providing ample space to display books, photographs, and objects. The dining chairs are the Bacco chairs from DWR. Photo: Amy Bartlam

Olbrich Botanical Gardens, in Madison, Wisconsin

Inspiration for a rustic brown one-story wood gable roof remodel in Seattle

Faced with extensive water damage to their home, the Patel’s turned to Cantoni designer Andrea Petor to infuse new life into their family’s beloved weekend retreat in Montgomery, Texas. Balancing the client’s minimalist wants with their love of hosting, Andrea created a cohesive design to accommodate their frequent guests and large extended family. Beginning with the kitchen remodel, Andrea worked with the Patel’s to identify the best layout for the space, understanding it would be used regularly for entertaining. To maximize storage space, Andrea designed custom floor to ceiling cabinetry finished in high gloss white lacquer. She selected Miele optic white appliances to enhance the sleek design. Andrea had a custom dining table built into the island to provide ample seating and ensure the entire family could enjoy meals together. The kitchen’s monochromatic color palette was carried throughout the interiors allowing the home’s beautiful waterfront views to take center stage. Adding richness and texture to each room, Andrea selected sculptural, modern furnishings to complete the space and bring the Patel’s vision to life.

Large kitchen remodel transformed the space in keeping with the farmhouse style of the home, adding a large working and seating island with undermount copper sink. A large cabinet bank now links the kitchen and adjoining dining space. Photo: Timothy Manning www.manningmagic.com

Example of a trendy kitchen design in New York

This is an organic Lime Wash done with a true lime wash product as opposed to a brick mortar or concrete that is often seen on new houses. This product can be applied as a solid coating making the surface completely white, or can be applied and "washed off" in many artistic ways, as seen here. If you hate your brick or just want something unique this is a great option! Photo credit: Jeff Murrey

copper hood, gray kitchen, stone tile
Example of a mid-sized transitional medium tone wood floor and brown floor kitchen design in Chicago with an undermount sink, gray cabinets, solid surface countertops, mosaic tile backsplash, an island, gray countertops, beaded inset cabinets, gray backsplash and paneled appliances

Link-a-sink copper sink. Santa Cecilia granite. Avoid the Watermark Designs faucets like the plague: Wall mounted vanity faucet was loose. They shipped a replacement cartridge free of charge but took 4 weeks. Delta sent one for another bathroom and was received within a few days free of charge. Mirror lacked instructions on how to put it up. When the mirror slipped, we tightened the 3mm set screws that press against the glass. The glass cracked. They said we tightened the screws too much. Well otherwise the glass slipped down. No torque spec. Additionally they blamed us for not installing the protective felt that did NOT come with the mirror. No mention of the felt in the instructions....in fact, no mention of the word "mirror" is in the instructions on how to put it up. They have since changed their instructions so why did they blame me? They finally supplied a replacement mirror but took 10 weeks (!!!) and countless phone calls. They actually sent the mechanical engineering drawings with dimensions to me for the mirror holder. I was able to identify 13 *very* basic design flaws. Hand shower tilts down by its own weight. They have a set screw to provide friction that presses against the threads of another screw. Horrible design likely to fail multiple times over the course of ownership. Toilet paper holder has two pieces held together by a machine screw. Threads came stripped probably due to incorrect/short screw. Fortunately a large screw held it together. Shower faucets have the cover plates attach by screwing a piece into an adapter that screws into yet another adapter that screws into the valve. Of course they all spin when you tighten them and you are supposed to set one of the inner adapters to within a millimeter of the outer trim. Horrible design. Instructions for setting the depth of the shower faucet are extremely misleading (product lines and finishes using multiple codes and overlapping codes, poor part numbering scheme) to the contractors and do not follow GMP resulting in the wrong depth set by the contractor. Finishes are beautiful but not all the pieces match. Multiple phone calls to customer service promise return phone calls that never happen. Although if it weren't for one person, A.S., I would have returned everything. Thank you A.S. No parts breakdown on any items so if you need something, you need to call them....and then wait 8-10 weeks as nothing is stocked. I spent thousands of dollars expecting top of the line faucets. I feel like I got raped.

We used: Custom cherry cabinetry in Arts & Crafts Shaker style by Kabinart in Boulder and Espresso stains. Liberty Hardware Venetian bronze 1-1/2" cabinet knobs. KitchenAid Architect II Series 22 CF counter-depth French door refrigerator. KitchenAid Architect Series II 27" convection single wall oven. KitchenAid 36" 6-burner dual fuel freestanding commercial-style range. KitchenAid Architect II Series 24" dishwasher. Sharp Insight Pro Series 24" built-in microwave drawer (Model #KB6524PS). Crystorama Solaris 12" wide pendant lights in English bronze. Granite countertops in Brown Fantasy. 3"x6" polished marble backsplash. Paint colors: Walls: Glidden Silver Cloud 30YY 63/024 Ceilings/Trims/Doors: Glidden Swan White GLC23 Robert B. Narod Photography

Gorgeous master bath with dramatic retro "wave" tile. Peak Photography
Example of a 1950s bathroom design in Los Angeles

Engineered cedar siding creates beautiful gray-blue tones at the exterior of the home, while adding a textural element to activate the simple exterior design.

ADA friendly bathroom complete with a custom, curbless shower, an expanded water closet with 90 degree pocket doors, grab bars, and small cleaning station.

Taupes and Grays are the colors incorporated in this design. The original kitchen was a good size but did not have the functionality of the new kitchen. It was dated and a large number of appliances did not functon as intended. The designer opened up the kitchen with mirrors and relocation of the island.

The Pros and Cons of Fix and Flip Real Estate Investment Last week, we covered The Pros and Cons of Buy and Hold Real Estate Investment for rental property investors. This week, we want to talk about the other most common type of real estate investment: “fix and flip.” The Appeal of House Flipping We all love the house flipping shows on HGTV and other reality channels. They’re great and they make the prospect of buying, renovating and flipping homes for big profits seem super sexy and fun. However, any experienced real estate investor will tell you it’s not quite as easy as they make it look. There’s a lot of work that goes into a successful fix and flip investment. The basic premise of a fix and flip investment is pretty simple. You buy a property, usually one that needs some work and is available at a great price. You renovate the property, making the necessary repairs and upgrades to maximize its resale value. Then, you sell the property on the open market for the highest possible price. You get in and out as quickly as possible. Full-time flippers will move from property to property or will have multiple properties being worked on at the same time. Rather than the “buy and hold” strategy where you keep the house while earning rental income and equity over time, you are looking for the quick sale to earn your profits. If you are going to explore house flipping—whether as a full-time career or just a side hustle—you will want to know exactly what you are getting into. That is why we are going to cover the pros and cons of fix and flip real estate investment in this article. The Pros of Fix and Flip Here are some of the pros of fix and flip investing: Faster Return on Investment—The biggest appeal of fix and flip investing is that it gives you a quicker return on investment. Buy and hold will take you longer to see your ROI. House flipping allows you to see your full profit (hopefully) as soon as the house sells. The average house flip for an experienced investor is around six months. It may take longer for a first-timer who is just learning how to do certain things. Fairly Safe Investment—As long as you do all your projections and calculations carefully and avoid any major problems along the way, house flipping is a relatively safe investment strategy compared to something as turbulent as the stock market. Real estate markets are generally predictable and the short time frame of a flip helps you avoid losses if the property happens to depreciate over a longer period of time. Exciting—There is a reason why there are so many reality shows based around flipping and none based on buy and hold investing. It’s an exciting process to buy a home, gut it and completely renovate it. Then, you get the ultimate reward of selling it and collecting the profits—as long as you do things right. The Cons of Fix and Flip Here are some of the cons of fix and flip investing: Upfront Expenses—A house flip will require a lot of upfront expenses. We’re not only talking about financing the house itself, but all the renovation costs and other expenses involved in the flip. You are laying out all that money at the beginning and only seeing your returns when the property sells. This can create cash flow issues and stress if you fall being schedule or go above your initial budget. Taxes—House flips will usually create dramatic swings in income year over year, and that can increase your tax bill. You have to pace things correctly to take advantage of specific capital gains tax rules. Capital gains taxes are higher on any property owned less than a year, so you have to find that balance of how long you own any specific investment properties and how long it takes to complete the renovation and sale. Before you get too deep into fix and flip investing, you will want to talk with your tax advisor to make sure you have the right plan in place. Surprises—All real estate investment is susceptible to surprises. You don’t always know what lies behind the walls until you start the renovation process. You cannot plan for everything as a real estate investor, but you have to be prepared for anything. It is a good idea to add some wiggle room in your budget and overestimate your renovation expenses/timeline to cover any surprises that may come up. These are some of the biggest pros and cons of fix and flip real estate investment. Of course, there are other things you need to know as an investor, so be sure and do your homework in order to get the most out of your investment portfolio. Both fix and flip and buy and hold strategies can be highly lucrative if you do things right. There are no wrong answers, but there are wrong ways of doing things if you truly want to be successful in this field. If you are looking for great investment properties to fix and flip, join the exclusive PropertyLark home buyers’ network. If you qualify, you’ll have access to our exclusive off-market deals and analytics tools that will help you identify the best investments and get the highest possible ROI. Fill out the contact form and questionnaire on the PropertyLark buyer’s site to apply!

Two Birds Photography
Kids' room - transitional kids' room idea in Chicago

Transitional dark wood floor living room photo in Atlanta with beige walls

This stained glass window was created as part of our signature Aspen Stained Glass line. These windows look beautiful in cottage style or contemporary homes and are a great way for outdoor enthusiasts to celebrate their love of nature. The textured appearance of the glass provides the homeowners with a high level of privacy and comfort.

Custom Surface Solutions (www.css-tile.com) - Owner Craig Thompson (512) 430-1215. This project shows the remodel of a small 1950's vintage home master bathroom. 8"" x 18" Calcutta gold marble tile was used on the shower walls and floor wall base and ceramic gray penny tile on the floor. Shower includes curbless pan / floor, dual shower boxes, frameless glass slider, trough duel fixture sink and chrome fixtures.