Tricia Shay Photography
Mid-sized contemporary gray two-story mixed siding house exterior idea in Milwaukee with a shed roof

Buried eight feet into the solid rock, the master bedroom is the coolest room in the house, maintaining stable temperatures all day and all year long. The retaining wall itself is make with a PISE technique - crushed rock shot against the bank using the tools and techniques of the swimming pool trade. Architect : Juliet Hsu Photo : Mark Luthringer

This gem of a house was built in the 1950s, when its neighborhood undoubtedly felt remote. The university footprint has expanded in the 70 years since, however, and today this home sits on prime real estate—easy biking and reasonable walking distance to campus. When it went up for sale in 2017, it was largely unaltered. Our clients purchased it to renovate and resell, and while we all knew we'd need to add square footage to make it profitable, we also wanted to respect the neighborhood and the house’s own history. Swedes have a word that means “just the right amount”: lagom. It is a guiding philosophy for us at SYH, and especially applied in this renovation. Part of the soul of this house was about living in just the right amount of space. Super sizing wasn’t a thing in 1950s America. So, the solution emerged: keep the original rectangle, but add an L off the back. With no owner to design with and for, SYH created a layout to appeal to the masses. All public spaces are the back of the home--the new addition that extends into the property’s expansive backyard. A den and four smallish bedrooms are atypically located in the front of the house, in the original 1500 square feet. Lagom is behind that choice: conserve space in the rooms where you spend most of your time with your eyes shut. Put money and square footage toward the spaces in which you mostly have your eyes open. In the studio, we started calling this project the Mullet Ranch—business up front, party in the back. The front has a sleek but quiet effect, mimicking its original low-profile architecture street-side. It’s very Hoosier of us to keep appearances modest, we think. But get around to the back, and surprise! lofted ceilings and walls of windows. Gorgeous.

Alise O'Brien
Freestanding bathtub - mid-sized traditional master freestanding bathtub idea in Other with gray cabinets, green walls and recessed-panel cabinets

Contact us for your own custom surfboard shower. Outdoor shower designed and custom made from a real surfboard. Wilco Bos, LLC.
Outdoor patio shower - mid-sized coastal backyard outdoor patio shower idea in Los Angeles with no cover

Bathroom cabinets are about more than storage. In the hands of a Wood-Mode trained designer, they set the mood for your own personal space. Custom vanities, tub surrounds and linen cabinets are only the beginning. See how Wood-Mode bathroom designs turn cabinets into functional art.

Sarah Dorio
Inspiration for a timeless u-shaped open concept kitchen remodel in New York with blue backsplash, subway tile backsplash and an island

Image by 'Ancient Surfaces' Product name: Antique Stone and Marble Bathroom Elements. Contacts: (212) 461-0245 Email: Sales@ancientsurfaces.com Website: www.AncientSurfaces.com Those antique stone elements used in creating the crème de la crème of award winning bathrooms could be used today in rendering your humble bathroom into a magical indoor dreamscape equivalent to having your own exotic travel destination just a few step away from bed. Allow yourself a full body and mind therapy that will let you unwind and escape from life's constraints and worries for an ephemeral period that will feel like an eternity... From our antique marble and stone sinks, specialty reclaimed shower stones, floors and counter vanities, all our stone creations are guaranteed to give your bathroom a unique composition and arcane feel. Our stone elements are considered by many high profile designers and architects a badge of honor that helps them achieve an overall creative design vision for your house.

Main Line Kitchen Design’s unique business model allows our customers to work with the most experienced designers and get the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing. How does Main Line Kitchen Design offer the best designs along with the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing? We are a more modern and cost effective business model. We are a kitchen cabinet dealer and design team that carries the highest quality kitchen cabinetry, is experienced, convenient, and reasonable priced. Our five award winning designers work by appointment only, with pre-qualified customers, and only on complete kitchen renovations. Our designers are some of the most experienced and award winning kitchen designers in the Delaware Valley. We design with and sell 8 nationally distributed cabinet lines. Cabinet pricing is slightly less than major home centers for semi-custom cabinet lines, and significantly less than traditional showrooms for custom cabinet lines. After discussing your kitchen on the phone, first appointments always take place in your home, where we discuss and measure your kitchen. Subsequent appointments usually take place in one of our offices and selection centers where our customers consider and modify 3D designs on flat screen TV’s. We can also bring sample doors and finishes to your home and make design changes on our laptops in 20-20 CAD with you, in your own kitchen. Call today! We can estimate your kitchen project from soup to nuts in a 15 minute phone call and you can find out why we get the best reviews on the internet. We look forward to working with you. As our company tag line says: “The world of kitchen design is changing…”

Lori Hamilton
Kitchen - traditional u-shaped kitchen idea in Miami with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, beige backsplash and white appliances

Our custom homes are built on the Space Coast in Brevard County, FL in the growing communities of Melbourne, FL and Viera, FL. As a custom builder in Brevard County we build custom homes in the communities of Wyndham at Duran, Charolais Estates, Casabella, Fairway Lakes and on your own lot.

Ecosystem Ponds are the crown jewel of the Water Feature world. They soon become the centerpiece of your landscape. These low-maintenance, natural-looking water gardens work with Mother Nature, not against her, to stay clean and clear without using chemicals or UV sterilizers or anything artificial. The key is the symbiotic relationship between the Pond Fish, the beneficial bacteria, and the Aquatic Plants. There is no sound in nature quite as relaxing as moving, falling water. It soothes away your stress at the end of a long day and you instantly start to feel more relaxed. Watching the Koi and other Pond Fish gracefully swimming around and nibbling from the underwater rocks and gravel can be almost hypnotizing. A variety of birds come to drink and bathe in the stream and colorful dragonflies flit here and there on mosquito patrol. Water lilies bloom in almost every color you can imagine and you'll soon see that frogs really DO sit on lily pads! Having one of these Ponds in your landscape is like coming home every day to a private vacation retreat right in your own backyard! Texas Ponds and Water Features creates some of the most beautiful and natural looking Ecosystem Ponds and Water Gardens in the Austin and Central Texas area. We also work in the Houston, Southeast Texas area and almost anywhere in between. Working with only natural stone, our specialists craft waterfalls and ponds that look as if they had been carved by the hand of nature. Our two main pond guys have over 27 years of experience between them. We are at the Master level of Certified Aquascape Contractors--among the best in the world at what we do. Contact us today to get started on your own backyard paradise.

Bob Narod
Inspiration for a timeless medium tone wood floor open concept kitchen remodel in DC Metro with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, marble countertops, stainless steel appliances and an island

Because granite is 100% natural, and no two pieces are alike, (even the sample of granite you saw in making your choice will vary somewhat from what is installed in your home), your installed countertop will not have a uniform look, which appeals to some who like the one of a kind nature of the stone. Photo by Chrissy Racho.

1st Place, National Design Award Winning Kitchen. Remodeling in Warwick, NY. From a dark, un-inspiring kitchen (see before photos), to a bright, white, custom kitchen. Dark wood floors, white carrera marble counters, solid wood island-table and much more. Photos - Ken Lauben

Most shades, blinds, shutters or curtains allow some type of light through when they are closed which can be very frustrating, especially if you’re trying to take a nap or enjoying a movie in a home theater. Or with the kids being back in school, it’s sometimes hard to get them to bed early with the evening light shining in the room. We have a solution. That is what blackout window treatments were made for. You can get a variety of products as “blackout”, such as; curtains, shades, blinds, roman shades, honeycomb shades, roller shades, vertical shades, and specialty shades (silhouette, pirouette, luminette). Even certain type of Shutters provide blackout. Blackout window treatments have a variety of benefits than just blocking natural light, which make them a wise choice in any home. At Abda, we have a huge selection of blackout window treatments that block most natural light from entering your window, keeping bedrooms, nurseries and media rooms as dark as you like. With a variety of customizable options, blackout window treatments are available as insulating cellular shades, stylish roller shades and fashionable fabric curtains. Each of these window treatments can be personalized with color and control options perfectly suited to your room and style. We work with clients in the Central Indiana Area. Contact us today to get started on your project. 317-273-8343

This 1910 West Highlands home was so compartmentalized that you couldn't help to notice you were constantly entering a new room every 8-10 feet. There was also a 500 SF addition put on the back of the home to accommodate a living room, 3/4 bath, laundry room and back foyer - 350 SF of that was for the living room. Needless to say, the house needed to be gutted and replanned. Kitchen+Dining+Laundry-Like most of these early 1900's homes, the kitchen was not the heartbeat of the home like they are today. This kitchen was tucked away in the back and smaller than any other social rooms in the house. We knocked out the walls of the dining room to expand and created an open floor plan suitable for any type of gathering. As a nod to the history of the home, we used butcherblock for all the countertops and shelving which was accented by tones of brass, dusty blues and light-warm greys. This room had no storage before so creating ample storage and a variety of storage types was a critical ask for the client. One of my favorite details is the blue crown that draws from one end of the space to the other, accenting a ceiling that was otherwise forgotten. Primary Bath-This did not exist prior to the remodel and the client wanted a more neutral space with strong visual details. We split the walls in half with a datum line that transitions from penny gap molding to the tile in the shower. To provide some more visual drama, we did a chevron tile arrangement on the floor, gridded the shower enclosure for some deep contrast an array of brass and quartz to elevate the finishes. Powder Bath-This is always a fun place to let your vision get out of the box a bit. All the elements were familiar to the space but modernized and more playful. The floor has a wood look tile in a herringbone arrangement, a navy vanity, gold fixtures that are all servants to the star of the room - the blue and white deco wall tile behind the vanity. Full Bath-This was a quirky little bathroom that you'd always keep the door closed when guests are over. Now we have brought the blue tones into the space and accented it with bronze fixtures and a playful southwestern floor tile. Living Room & Office-This room was too big for its own good and now serves multiple purposes. We condensed the space to provide a living area for the whole family plus other guests and left enough room to explain the space with floor cushions. The office was a bonus to the project as it provided privacy to a room that otherwise had none before.

The kitchen is glossy and modern, but off-set by the rough concrete block wall pattern on the interior wall. The block wall is replicated from the existing exterior concrete block wall to bring the outdoor inside. Photo by Elon Schoenholz

Sometimes what you’re looking for is right in your own backyard. This is what our Darien Reno Project homeowners decided as we launched into a full house renovation beginning in 2017. The project lasted about one year and took the home from 2700 to 4000 square feet.