Upon entering the great room, the view of the beautiful Minnehaha Creek can be seen in the banks of picture windows. The former great room was traditional and set with dark wood that our homeowners hoped to lighten. We softened everything by taking the existing fireplace out and creating a transitional great stone wall for both the modern simplistic fireplace and the TV. Two seamless bookcases were designed to blend in with all the woodwork on either end of the fireplace and give flexibly to display special and meaningful pieces from our homeowners’ travels. The transitional refreshment of colors and vibe in this room was finished with a bronze Markos flush mount light fixture. Susan Gilmore Photography

Originally designed by Delano and Aldrich in 1917, this building served as carriage house to the William and Dorothy Straight mansion several blocks away on the Upper East Side of New York. With practically no original detail, this relatively humble structure was reconfigured into something more befitting the client’s needs. To convert it for a single family, interior floor plates are carved away to form two elegant double height spaces. The front façade is modified to express the grandness of the new interior. A beautiful new rear garden is formed by the demolition of an overbuilt addition. The entire rear façade was removed and replaced. A full floor was added to the roof, and a newly configured stair core incorporated an elevator. Architecture: DHD Interior Designer: Eve Robinson Associates Photography by Peter Margonelli http://petermargonelli.com

The property was designed to include big bright and open spaces for socialising, working and studying. It also uses eco-friendly technologies that can be easily updated as new innovations become available. Internally, the property has many impressive features including a double heighted ceiling when you walk through the door, with a glazed wall that stretches all the way to the roof. There is also a formal living room, a fantastic open plan family room, kitchen and diner with integrated breakfast bar. From this L shape space you walk through sliding doors onto a stunning terrace. A skylight in the family area increases the light flooding into the property. Upstairs, the light also floods onto the landing through the large glazed wall. Each of the three bedrooms have been designed with vaulted ceilings to make best use of the head height. There is also a study, a family bathroom, master suite with dressing room and ensuite bathroom.

The property was designed to include big bright and open spaces for socialising, working and studying. It also uses eco-friendly technologies that can be easily updated as new innovations become available. Internally, the property has many impressive features including a double heighted ceiling when you walk through the door, with a glazed wall that stretches all the way to the roof. There is also a formal living room, a fantastic open plan family room, kitchen and diner with integrated breakfast bar. From this L shape space you walk through sliding doors onto a stunning terrace. A skylight in the family area increases the light flooding into the property. Upstairs, the light also floods onto the landing through the large glazed wall. Each of the three bedrooms have been designed with vaulted ceilings to make best use of the head height. There is also a study, a family bathroom, master suite with dressing room and ensuite bathroom.

The property was designed to include big bright and open spaces for socialising, working and studying. It also uses eco-friendly technologies that can be easily updated as new innovations become available. Internally, the property has many impressive features including a double heighted ceiling when you walk through the door, with a glazed wall that stretches all the way to the roof. There is also a formal living room, a fantastic open plan family room, kitchen and diner with integrated breakfast bar. From this L shape space you walk through sliding doors onto a stunning terrace. A skylight in the family area increases the light flooding into the property. Upstairs, the light also floods onto the landing through the large glazed wall. Each of the three bedrooms have been designed with vaulted ceilings to make best use of the head height. There is also a study, a family bathroom, master suite with dressing room and ensuite bathroom.

The property was designed to include big bright and open spaces for socialising, working and studying. It also uses eco-friendly technologies that can be easily updated as new innovations become available. Internally, the property has many impressive features including a double heighted ceiling when you walk through the door, with a glazed wall that stretches all the way to the roof. There is also a formal living room, a fantastic open plan family room, kitchen and diner with integrated breakfast bar. From this L shape space you walk through sliding doors onto a stunning terrace. A skylight in the family area increases the light flooding into the property. Upstairs, the light also floods onto the landing through the large glazed wall. Each of the three bedrooms have been designed with vaulted ceilings to make best use of the head height. There is also a study, a family bathroom, master suite with dressing room and ensuite bathroom.

American Clay walls. Polished Concrete floors. Exposed cypress timber framed ceiling. Photos by Matt McCorteney

Wayne Miller Photography

Modern Duplex in the heart of Chelsea hosts a family with a love for art. The open kitchen and dining area reside on the upper level, and overlook the square living room with double-height ceilings, a wall of glass, a half bathroom, and access to the private 711 sq foot out door patio.a double height 19' ceiling in the living room, shows off oil-finished, custom stained, solid oak flooring, Aprilaire temperature sensors with remote thermostat, recessed base moldings and Nanz hardware throughout.Kitchen custom-designed and built Poliform cabinetry, Corian countertops and Miele appliances Photo Credit: Francis Augustine

Joe Kay - Photographer Best Design of 2012 - Houzz.com

Gabberts Design Studio Photography by Jill Greer

Simon Taylor Furniture was commissioned to design a contemporary kitchen and dining space in a Grade II listed Georgian property in Berkshire. Formerly a stately home dating back to 1800, the property had been previously converted into luxury apartments. The owners, a couple with three children, live in the ground floor flat, which has retained its original features throughout. When the property was originally converted, the ground floor drawing room salon had been reconfigured to become the kitchen and the owners wanted to use the same enclosed space, but to bring the look of the room completely up to date as a new contemporary kitchen diner. In direct contrast to the ornate cornicing in the original ceiling, the owners also wanted the new space to have a state of the art industrial style, reminiscent of a professional restaurant kitchen. The challenge for Simon Taylor Furniture was to create a truly sleek kitchen design whilst softening the look of the overall space to both complement the older aspects of the room and to be a comfortable family dining area. For this, they combined three essential materials: brushed stainless steel and glass with stained ask for the accents and also the main dining area. Simon Taylor Furniture designed and manufactured all the tall kitchen cabinetry that houses dry goods and integrated cooling models including an wine climate cabinet, all with brushed stainless steel fronts and handles with either steel or glass-fronted top boxes. To keep the perfect perspective with the four metre high ceiling, these were designed as three metre structures and are all top lit with LED lighting. Overhead cabinets are also brushed steel with glass fronts and all feature LED strip lighting within the interiors. LED spotlighting is used at the base of the overhead cupboards above both the sink and cooking runs. Base units all feature steel fronted doors and drawers, and all have stainless steel handles as well. Between two original floor to ceiling windows to the left of the room is a specially built tall steel double door dresser cabinet with pocket doors at the central section that fold back into recesses to reveal a fully stocked bar and a concealed flatscreen TV. At the centre of the room is a long steel island with a Topus Concrete worktop by Caesarstone; a work surface with a double pencil edge that is featured throughout the kitchen. The island is attached to L-shaped bench seating with pilasters in stained ash for the dining area to complement a bespoke freestanding stained ash dining table, also designed and made by Simon Taylor Furniture. Along the industrial style cooking run, surrounded by stained ash undercounter base cabinets are a range of cooking appliances by Gaggenau. These include a 40cm domino gas hob and a further 40cm domino gas wok which surround a 60cm induction hob with a downdraft extractors. To the left of the surface cooking area is a tall bank of two 76cm Vario ovens in stainless steel and glass. An additional integrated microwave with matching glass-fronted warming drawer by Miele is installed under counter within the island run. Facing the door from the hallway and positioned centrally between the tall steel cabinets is the sink run featuring a stainless steel undermount sink by 1810 Company and a tap by Grohe with an integrated dishwasher by Miele in the units beneath. Directly above is an antique mirror splashback beneath to reflect the natural light in the room, and above that is a stained ash overhead cupboard to accommodate all glasses and stemware. This features four stained glass panels designed by Simon Taylor Furniture, which are inspired by the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany from the Art Nouveau period. The owners wanted the stunning panels to be a feature of the room when they are backlit at night.

A basement living space complete with a kitchenette, wine fridge, and varied height ceiling

The owners of this kitchen had spent the money to upgrade the finishes in their kitchen upon building the home 12 years ago, but after living in the space for several years they realized how nonfunctional the layout really was. The (then) two preschool aged children had grown into busy, hungry teenagers with many friends who also liked to hang out at the house. So the family needed a more functional kitchen with better traffic flow, space for daily activities revolving around the kitchen at different times of day, and a kitchen that could accommodate cooking for and serving large groups. Furthermore, the dark, traditional finishes no longer reflected the homeowners’ style. They requested a brighter, more relaxed, coastal style that reflected their love of the seaside cities they like to visit. Originally, the kitchen was U-shaped with a narrow island in the middle. The island created narrow aisles that bottle-necked at the dishwasher, refrigerator, and cooktop areas. There was a pass-through from the foyer into the kitchen, but the owners never liked that the pass-through was also located so close to the powder room. The awkward proximity was unappealing and made guests feel uncomfortable. The kitchen’s storage was made up of lots of narrow cabinets, apothecary drawers, clipped corner units, and very few drawers. It lacked useful storage for the larger items the family used on a daily basis. And the kitchen’s only pantry was small closet that had only builder-grade, narrow shelving with no illumination to be able to see the contents inside. Overall, the kitchen’s lighting plan was poorly executed. Only six recessed cans illuminated the entire kitchen and nook areas. The under cabinet lighting was not evenly distributed either. In fact, the builder had mis-placed the under cabinet lighting around the decorative pilasters which made for choppy, dark cubbies. Further, the builder didn’t include any lighting over the sink or the bar area, which meant whoever was doing the dishes was always in their own shadow. That, coupled with the steep overhang of the game room above made the bar area feel like a dim, cavernous space that wasn’t inviting or task oriented. The kitchen looked out into the main living space, but the raised bar and a narrow wall (which held the only large cabinet in the kitchen) created more of a barrier than a relationship to the living room or breakfast nook. In fact, one couldn’t even see the breakfast nook from the cooktop or sink areas due to its orientation. The raised bar top was too narrow to comfortably sit to either dine at or chat from due to the lack of knee space. The the homeowners confided that the kitchen felt more like a dark, dirty prison than place where the family, or their guests, wanted to gather and commune. The clients' needs and desires were: ➢ to create a kitchen that would be a space the family loved to be in; to relate to the adjacent spaces all around, and to have better flow for entertaining large groups ➢ to remove the walls between the breakfast nook and living area and to be able to utilize the natural light from the windows in both those areas ➢ to incorporate a functional chopping block for prepping fresh food for home cooked meals, an island with a large sink and drain board, 2 pull out trash cans, and seating for at least the 2 teens to eat or do homework ➢ to design a kitchen and breakfast nook with an airy, coastal, relaxed vibe that blended with the rest of the house's coastal theme ➢ to integrate a layered lighting plan which would include ample general illumination, specific task lighting, decorative lighting, and lots of illuminated storage ➢ to design a kitchen with not only more storage for all the husband’s kitchen gadgets and collection of oils and spices, but smart storage, including a coffee/breakfast bar and a place to store and conceal the toaster oven and microwave ➢ to find a way to utilize the large open space between the kitchen, pantry area, and breakfast nook Twelve Stones Designs achieved the owner's goals by: ➢ removing the walls between the kitchen and living room to allow the natural light to filter in from the adjacent rooms and to create a connection between the kitchen, nook, and living spaces for a sense of unity and communion ➢ removing the existing pantry and designing 3 large pantry style cabinets with LED tape lights and rollout drawers to house lots of kitchen appliances, gadgets, and tons of groceries. We also took the cabinets all the way up to the 9’ ceiling for additional storage for seasonal items and bulk storage. ➢ designing 2 islands - 1 with a gorgeous black walnut chopping block that houses a drawer for chopping and carving knives and a custom double pull out trash unit for point of use utilization - and 1 that houses the dishwasher, a large Blanco Gourmet sink with integrated drain board, woven baskets for fresh root vegetables and kitchen towels, plenty of drawer storage for kitchen items, and bar seating for up to 4 diners. ➢ closing off the space between the kitchen and the powder room to create a beautiful new private alcove for the powder room as well as adding some decorative storage. This also gave us space to include more tall storage near the new range for precision placement of the husband’s extensive oil and spice collection as well as a location for a combo-steam oven the wife wanted for baking and cooking healthy meals. The project is enhanced functionally by: ➢ incorporated USB and standard receptacles for the kids’ laptops and phone charging in the large island ➢ designing the small island to include additional open shelving for items used on a daily basis such as a variety of bowls, plates, and colanders. This set up also works well for the husband who prefers to “plate” his dinners in restaurant-style fashion before presenting them to the table. ➢ the integration of specific storage units, such as double stacked cutlery drawers, a custom spice pull-out, a Kuerig coffee and tea pod drawer, and custom double stacked utensil drawers ➢ moving the refrigerator to the old oven location - this eliminated the bottle neck as well as created a better relationship to the eating table. It also utilizes the floor space between the pantry, nook, and kitchen ➢ creating a banquet style breakfast nook - this banquette seating not only doubles the amount of seating for large gatherings but it better utilizes the odd space between the kitchen and the previous nook area. It also helps to create a distinct pathway from the mudroom room through the pantry area, kitchen, nook, and living room. ➢ the coffee/breakfast bar area which includes the perfect location for the concealed microwave and toaster oven, convenient storage for the coffee pods and tea accoutrements. Roll-out drawers below also house the smoothie maker, hot water kettle, and a plethora of smoothie-making ingredients such as protein powders, smoothie additives, etc. Furthermore, the drawers below the Keurig house measuring utensil, cutlery, baking supplies and tupperware storage. ➢ incorporating lots of wide drawers and pullouts to accommodate large cookware. ➢ utilizing as much vertical space as possible by building storage to the ceiling which accommodates the family’s abundant amount of serving platters, baking sheets, bakeware, casserole dishes, and additional cutting boards. The project is enhanced aesthetically by: ➢ new 5-piece Versailles pattern porcelain tile that now seamlessly joins the entire down stairs area together creating a bright, cohesiveness feeling instead of choppy separated spaces - it also adds a coastal feeling ➢ designing a cabinet to conceal the microwave and toaster oven ➢ the coastal influenced light fixtures over the nook table and island ➢ the sandy colors of the Langdon Cambria countertops. The swirling pattern and sparkling quartz pieces remind the homeowner of black-and-tan sandy beaches ➢ the striped banquet seating whose creamy white background and blue-green stripes were the inspiration for the cabinet and wall colors. ➢ All the interior doors were painted black to coordinate with the blacks and grays in the backsplash tile and countertop. This also adds a hint of tailored formality to an otherwise casual space. ➢ the use of WAC's Oculux small aperture LED units for the overhead lighting complimented with Diode LED strips for task lighting under the cabinets and inside the pantry and glass wall cabinets. All of the lighting applications are on separate dimmer switches. Innovative uses of materials or construction methods by Realty Restoration LLC: ➢ Each 1-1/2” x 3” block of reclaimed end-grain black walnut that makes up the center island chopping block was hand milled and built in the shop. It was designed to look substantial and proportional to the surrounding elements, executed by creating the 4 inch tall top with a solid wood chamfered edge band. ➢ The metal doors on either side of the vent hood were also custom designed for this project and built in the Realty Restoration LLC shop. They are made 1x2, 11-gauge mild steel with ribbed glass. Weighing 60 lbs a piece, heavy duty cabinet hinges were added to support the weight of the door and keep them from sagging. ➢ Under-cabinet receptacles were added along the range wall in order to have a clean, uninterrupted backsplash. Design obstacles to overcome: ➢ Because we were removing the demising walls between the kitchen and living room, we had to find a way to plumb and vent the new island. We did this by tunneling through the slab (the slab had post tension cables which prevented us from just trenching) to run a new wet vent through a nearby structural wall. We pulled the existing hot and cold lines between upper floor joists and ran them down the structural wall as well and up through a conduit in the tunnel. ➢ Since we were converting from wall overs to a gas range it allowed us to utilize the 220 feed for the wall ovens to provide a new sub panel for all the new kitchen circuits ➢ Due to framing deficiencies inherited from the original build there was a 1-1/2” differential in the floor-to-ceiling height over a 20 foot span; by utilizing the process of cutting and furring coupled with the crown moulding details on the cabinet elevations we were able to mask the problem and provide seamless transitions between the cabinet components. Evidence of superior craftsmanship: ➢ uniquely designed, one-of-a-kind metal “X” end panels on the large island. The end panels were custom made in the Realty Restoration LLC shop and fitted to the exact dimensions of the island. The welding seams are completely indistinguishable - the posts look like they are cut from a single sheet of metal ➢ square metal posts on the small island were also custom made and designed to compliment and carry through the metal element s throughout the kitchen ➢ the beautiful, oversized end panels on the pantry cabinets which give the breakfast nook a tailored look ➢ integrating a large format 5 piece Versailles tile pattern to seamlessly flow from the existing spaces into the new kitchen space ➢ By constructing a custom cabinet that jogged around a corner we could not remodel (housing the entry way coat closet) we were able to camouflage the adjacent wall offset within the upper and lower cabinets. By designing around the existing jog in the structural walls we accomplished a few things: we were able to find the space to house, and hide, the microwave and toaster oven yet still have a clean cohesive appearance from the kitchen side. Additionally, the owners were able to keep their much needed coat closet and we didn’t have to increase the budget with unnecessary structural work.

Ken Gutmaker

Overview Whole house refurbishment, double storey wrap around extension and large loft conversion. The Brief Create a WOW factor space, add glamour and fun and give the house a street side and garden side, both different. Our Solution This project was exciting from the start, the client wanted to entertain in a WOW factor space, have a panoramic view of the garden (which was to be landscaped), add bedrooms and a great master suite. We had some key elements to introduce such as an aquarium separating two rooms; double height spaces and a gloss kitchen, all of which manifest themselves in the completed scheme. Architecture is a process taking a schedule of areas, some key desires and needs, mixing the functionality and creating space. New spaces transform a house making it more valuable, giving it kerb appeal and making it feel like a different building. All of which happened at Ailsa Road.

Bright Idea Photography