Photographer: Tom Crane Made of 300, 10-foot steel blades set upright 8 inches apart, the award winning Cor-Ten Cattails Sculptural fence was designed for a home in Berwyn, Pennsylvania as a yard sculpture that also keeps deer out. Made of COR-TEN, a steel alloy that eliminates the need for painting and maintains a rich, dark rust color without corroding, the fence stanchions were cut with a plasma cutter from sheets of the alloy. Each blade stands 8 feet above grade, set in concrete 3 feet below, weighs 80-90 pounds and is 5/8 inch thick. The profile of the blades is an irregular trapezoid with no horizontal connections or supports. Only the gate has two horizontal bars, and each leaf weighs 1200 pounds.

Photo shows the interior of the Japanese Tea House. The four skylights have hand carved overlay screens. The open ceiling shows the beauty of the design. The structure is very sustainable in that the building can be left to age naturally or oiled every few years to retain the wood color. Photo credits: Dan Drobnick

Example of a transitional dark wood floor and brown floor living room design in Charlotte with gray walls, a standard fireplace and a brick fireplace

A dramatic herringbone patterned stone wall will take your breath away. A curbless shower, integrated sink, and modern lighting bring an element of refinement.

Yin Yang, the celebration of opposites. Fire dances above blue glass and reflects in the bowl below. Visitors are warmed up to ten feet away. This portable fire/water feature can hold water within the bowl as a reflecting bowl or cascade over the sides as a fountain.

Koi and a family of frogs live in the pond, and butterflies, finches and other pollinators visit throughout the summer. The gardens received the Penny Jarvis Lovely Garden Award from the CT Federation of Garden Clubs in 2015.

Stephanie Yang
Inspiration for a modern home design remodel in Los Angeles

Crown molding was installed to support and frame custom drapes surrounding each bed, providing a privacy option for these tween girls. Designer - Heather Drew. Photographer - Ansel Olson.

Modern Retreat | Safety Habitat, Perched at Heart. Living in solitude is the lofty ideal of ancient and modern human. The source of Chinese Seclusion Culture is streamed from far away: “As I pick chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, my eyes fall leisurely on the Southern Mountain." A paradise-like life lets innumerable people in longing. Looking at current day, privacy has become the expression of an attitude, a lifestyle choice. The real privacy is not about where one lives, but in the internal, physical and mental fatigue that can be placed in a home. Modern Retreat should be hidden in the heart. For modern people, if one maintains a self-sustaining practice of perseverance, follow morality and good conscience, abstinence, one can also be retained out of a pure world without being in a deep secluded valley . Real privacy is not to hideaway. The most essential element is the freedom of mind and tranquility. If people can do the things they enjoy, they are quite complete in a perfect world of their own. The spiritual world, is self-purification, under certain conditions, as long as their individually initiated. The environmental impact can be changed on their own, and can be found everywhere in the joy of life. In each city, people have a heart over normalized horticultural habitat. Enjoying the quality life does not mean deliberately escaping from the city, across thousands of miles. In the most cosmopolitan cities, it is a bucolic refuge in the midst of a great bustling city. The comfort of a home will expand into the neighbourhood when you meet acquaintances everywhere around where you live. Modern Retreat should be hidden within the city. The architectural design would have an indoor planting garden of choice. People would go to work, but once they are home and close their doors, it is their own private life where they can pretend that they are sitting in the mountain forests. For a Yin Yang disposition, ambition and pursuing righteousness fit together perfectly. One house is one world. “Home” is where we can stop to rest and relax, the place one can return to. For home design, it must go beyond being livable, the concept of the “Happy Home” is advanced to the peaceful realm. To live comfortably and privately at your own home, it is necessary for the modern home to be arranged in a "less is more" philosophy. Home goods should be simple and elegant yet practical, but without losing the taste and style, so that residents of the home can find clear air and quiet freedom. No matter how busy or tiring work is, we will be able to find peace and quiet from your home to heal and release the pressure. Modern Retreat is not the Valley of Orchards, the seclusion is not free, personalized, romantic and the ideal of Walden, but it is conceptual to the peace of mind and family atmosphere.

Modern Retreat | Safety Habitat, Perched at Heart. Living in solitude is the lofty ideal of ancient and modern human. The source of Chinese Seclusion Culture is streamed from far away: “As I pick chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, my eyes fall leisurely on the Southern Mountain." A paradise-like life lets innumerable people in longing. Looking at current day, privacy has become the expression of an attitude, a lifestyle choice. The real privacy is not about where one lives, but in the internal, physical and mental fatigue that can be placed in a home. Modern Retreat should be hidden in the heart. For modern people, if one maintains a self-sustaining practice of perseverance, follow morality and good conscience, abstinence, one can also be retained out of a pure world without being in a deep secluded valley . Real privacy is not to hideaway. The most essential element is the freedom of mind and tranquility. If people can do the things they enjoy, they are quite complete in a perfect world of their own. The spiritual world, is self-purification, under certain conditions, as long as their individually initiated. The environmental impact can be changed on their own, and can be found everywhere in the joy of life. In each city, people have a heart over normalized horticultural habitat. Enjoying the quality life does not mean deliberately escaping from the city, across thousands of miles. In the most cosmopolitan cities, it is a bucolic refuge in the midst of a great bustling city. The comfort of a home will expand into the neighbourhood when you meet acquaintances everywhere around where you live. Modern Retreat should be hidden within the city. The architectural design would have an indoor planting garden of choice. People would go to work, but once they are home and close their doors, it is their own private life where they can pretend that they are sitting in the mountain forests. For a Yin Yang disposition, ambition and pursuing righteousness fit together perfectly. One house is one world. “Home” is where we can stop to rest and relax, the place one can return to. For home design, it must go beyond being livable, the concept of the “Happy Home” is advanced to the peaceful realm. To live comfortably and privately at your own home, it is necessary for the modern home to be arranged in a "less is more" philosophy. Home goods should be simple and elegant yet practical, but without losing the taste and style, so that residents of the home can find clear air and quiet freedom. No matter how busy or tiring work is, we will be able to find peace and quiet from your home to heal and release the pressure. Modern Retreat is not the Valley of Orchards, the seclusion is not free, personalized, romantic and the ideal of Walden, but it is conceptual to the peace of mind and family atmosphere.

White subway tile, wall to wall mirror, strategic lighting and a fun repurposed green vanity with yin yang sink make this basement powder room feel bright and cheery. Photo credit Cathy Zaeske

… with a glimpse of the Living. Photographer: Beton Brut

Example of a trendy living room design in Toronto

This is large format Ames Tile metallic series bronze, 24"by48" glazed porcelain tile. The fireplace is my montigo. Nestled into the trees, the simple forms of this home seem one with nature. Designed to collect rainwater and exhaust the home’s warm air in the summer, the double-incline roof is defined by exposed beams of beautiful Douglas fir. The Original plan was designed with a growing family in mind, but also works well for this client’s destination location and entertaining guests. The 3 bedroom, 3 bath home features en suite bedrooms on both floors. In the great room, an operable wall of glass opens the house onto a shaded deck, with spectacular views of Center Bay on Gambier Island. Above - the peninsula sitting area is the perfect tree-fort getaway, for conversation and relaxing. Open to the fireplace below and the trees beyond, it is an ideal go-away place to inspire and be inspired.

advertisement A Pure White California Beach Cottage Designer Carolyn Espley-Miller decorated her Carpinteria, California, beach house with white walls, slipcovered seating, and antiques to create a tranquil and serene space. Get more decorating ideas for coastal homes . By Lisa Cregan 10 of 20 advertisement Lisa Cregan: Your house makes me feel as if I'm inside the crest of a whitecap. It's such a fresh look — not the usual for a California beach house. Carolyn Espley-Miller: It's really more Atlantic Ocean than Pacific Ocean. You'll have to explain that to me. I tried to evoke a sort of "Bretonesque" mood. I really love the feel and look of Brittany, the gray-blues and the rough, briny textures, like a fishing boat that's been knocked about in the sea, all peeling paint, pocked by sand and wind. That's the texture I was going for with all the antiques. All those rough things against the white are wonderful, like yin and yang. There are some serious masculine elements here, like this living room fireplace. Things can't be too dainty when you use this much white, or it'll look way too sweet. I had to ground it with grays and browns and blacks and big textured pieces. I wanted light and white, but not where everything looked like it could just up and float away. Did you paint all the rooms and woodwork the same color white? Almost all the rooms and all the hallways are Benjamin Moore 's White Heron, a nice, soft white, not glaring, not too bright. The kitchen and master bath are a seafoam color, Silver Sage by Restoration Hardware . You can't obsess about matching your whites; they're going to change with the light anyway. I'm kind of a white floozy. For me it's any white in a storm. I guess you can't obsess about white furniture, either — not when you have a husband and two sons. Let's just say I'd never have done white if they weren't slipcovers. They come off and on a lot. But stains don't set if someone fesses up fast and we can get it out quick. Were all the

Richard Whitbread
Example of a trendy black tile and ceramic tile ceramic tile bathroom design in Melbourne with a wall-mount sink and black walls

Eclectic guest medium tone wood floor bedroom photo in Melbourne with a standard fireplace, white walls and a stone fireplace

Yin & Yang direction is approached with defining separate his and her areas for daily funcions for bathing, shaving, make-up. The design originated from the toilet are that allowed the clients a private exterior view, that is tucked away at the back of the bathroom. Custom floating canopies, flush, recessed Robern medicine cabinets and personal appointments make this over 350 square foot bath a living treasure... Photography: Alan Gilbert