better homes and gardens furniture rustic gray

Adding Organizational Solutions

New Seabury

We made a custom block for our knives to fit neatly and utensils divided by group keep things neat. Much cheaper than ordering through cabinet company and we could customize any way we wanted.

Milieu Landscaping

Photos by Peter Wodarz Lake Forest, Lake Bluff Backyard Garden
Elegant patio photo in Chicago with a fireplace

KUBE architecture

In the renovation and addition to this home in Falls Church VA, exterior hard-scapes and garden spaces surround the house while the spaces within the home are made larger and are opened up to the forestall views surrounding the home. When walking on the pathway one crosses the many thresholds along the exterior that help to separate and create new intimate garden spaces. Steel, concrete, and wood come together in this intricate walkway system comprised of slatted screen fences, a guiding pergola overhead, and a hard-scaped pathway. The changes in grade, volume, and materiality allow for a dynamic walkway that runs both to the new entry and continues to the rear patio where it then terminates at the patio access of the home. The master bedroom is extruded out over the lower level into the rear of the house and opened up with tall windows all along two sides. A more formal entry space is added at the front with full height glass bringing in lots of light to make for an elegant entry space. Partitions are removed from the interior to create one large space which integrates the new kitchen, living room , and dining room. Full height glass along the rear of the house opens up the views to the rear and brightens up the entire space. A new garage volume is added and bridged together with the existing home creating a new powder room, mudroom, and storage.

stevewoolridge

Fire pit
Inspiration for a rustic landscaping in Charleston with a fire pit.

Signature Kitchens, Inc.

Custom inset cabinets, cherry wood, brick hearth, wood counters, soapstone counter, subway tile backsplash, glass cabinet doors.
Eat-in kitchen - mid-sized traditional l-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen idea in New York with beaded inset cabinets, a farmhouse sink, granite countertops, medium tone wood cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Exterior Worlds Landscaping & Design

The problem this Memorial-Houston homeowner faced was that her sumptuous contemporary home, an austere series of interconnected cubes of various sizes constructed from white stucco, black steel and glass, did not have the proper landscaping frame. It was out of scale. Imagine Robert Motherwell's "Black on White" painting without the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston's generous expanse of white walls surrounding it. It would still be magnificent but somehow...off. Intuitively, the homeowner realized this issue and started interviewing landscape designers. After talking to about 15 different designers, she finally went with one, only to be disappointed with the results. From the across-the-street neighbor, she was then introduced to Exterior Worlds and she hired us to correct the newly-created problems and more fully realize her hopes for the grounds. "It's not unusual for us to come in and deal with a mess. Sometimes a homeowner gets overwhelmed with managing everything. Other times it is like this project where the design misses the mark. Regardless, it is really important to listen for what a prospect or client means and not just what they say," says Jeff Halper, owner of Exterior Worlds. Since the sheer size of the house is so dominating, Exterior Worlds' overall job was to bring the garden up to scale to match the house. Likewise, it was important to stretch the house into the landscape, thereby softening some of its severity. The concept we devised entailed creating an interplay between the landscape and the house by astute placement of the black-and-white colors of the house into the yard using different materials and textures. Strategic plantings of greenery increased the interest, density, height and function of the design. First we installed a pathway of crushed white marble around the perimeter of the house, the white of the path in homage to the house's white facade. At various intervals, 3/8-inch steel-plated metal strips, painted black to echo the bones of the house, were embedded and crisscrossed in the pathway to turn it into a loose maze. Along this metal bunting, we planted succulents whose other-worldly shapes and mild coloration juxtaposed nicely against the hard-edged steel. These plantings included Gulf Coast muhly, a native grass that produces a pink-purple plume when it blooms in the fall. A side benefit to the use of these plants is that they are low maintenance and hardy in Houston's summertime heat. Next we brought in trees for scale. Without them, the impressive architecture becomes imposing. We placed them along the front at either corner of the house. For the left side, we found a multi-trunk live oak in a field, transported it to the property and placed it in a custom-made square of the crushed marble at a slight distance from the house. On the right side where the house makes a 90-degree alcove, we planted a mature mesquite tree. To finish off the front entry, we fashioned the black steel into large squares and planted grass to create islands of green, or giant lawn stepping pads. We echoed this look in the back off the master suite by turning concrete pads of black-stained concrete into stepping pads. We kept the foundational plantings of Japanese yews which add green, earthy mass, something the stark architecture needs for further balance. We contoured Japanese boxwoods into small spheres to enhance the play between shapes and textures. In the large, white planters at the front entrance, we repeated the plantings of succulents and Gulf Coast muhly to reinforce symmetry. Then we built an additional planter in the back out of the black metal, filled it with the crushed white marble and planted a Texas vitex, another hardy choice that adds a touch of color with its purple blooms. To finish off the landscaping, we needed to address the ravine behind the house. We built a retaining wall to contain erosion. Aesthetically, we crafted it so that the wall has a sharp upper edge, a modern motif right where the landscape meets the land.

Colver city midcentury kitchen

Noah Construction & Design

Example of a mid-sized mid-century modern galley porcelain tile and beige floor eat-in kitchen design in Los Angeles with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, quartzite countertops, multicolored backsplash, stainless steel appliances, no island, glass tile backsplash and white countertops

Indie & Co.

Anna Stathaki
Example of a mid-sized danish painted wood floor and beige floor entryway design in London with white walls and a blue front door

Cook Construction

A gem tucked away in San Francisco's Sea Cliff neighborhood, walking into this house is like walking on to the set of a magazine shoot. This comes as no surprise considering the design duo Cook Construction worked with to bring this home to life. Our biggest challenge by far was engineering the impressive centerpiece of the kitchen; a custom-built, solid stone island with a floating cantilever slab. In order to create this effect, an internal welded steel frame was designed to reinforce the floating slab and create a free-standing illusion.

crbs co.

William Kildow
Example of a classic eat-in kitchen design in Chicago with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Wine Closet &Tasting Room in Maryland

Rule4 Building Group

Beautiful wine closet and tasting area including natural stone finishes. A personalized door for the entry to the closet makes the final finishing touch. All design work by Rule4's in house professional home designer, Mark Hendricks. Complete construction management by Brent Hanauer, Rule4 Senior Project Manager. Photos Yerko H. Pallominy, ProArch Photography.

Bohemian Apartment Boys Room

Incorporated

A plywood playhouse structure that doubles as beds complete with climbing wall and chalkboard. Photography by Annie Schlechter
Inspiration for a contemporary kids' bedroom remodel in New York

Benvenuti and Stein

Custom Kitchen Cabinetry White, Benvenuti and Stein
Mid-sized elegant kitchen photo in Chicago with stainless steel appliances, wood countertops, an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, white backsplash and subway tile backsplash