Spring Builders. Designed this cozy home in the heart of Austin. The space is very open and welcoming. Warm paint colors, Dorado soapstone countertops, stainless steel appliances and fun back splash make this space very comfortable.

Entertaining doesn’t always happen on the main floor and in this project, the basement was dedicated towards creating a comfortable family room and hang out spot for guests. The wet bar is the perfect spot for preparing drinks for movie or gossip night with friends. With low ceilings and a long window above, we had to get creative with our storage design. The tall far left cabinet houses more glass ware while lower additional drawers house bar ware. Introducing the bar sink in the far right corner offered a long run of prep counter space along the middle section of the wall span. This asymmetrical design is modern and very practical. Photographer: Mike Chajecki

Contemporary kitchen with traditional painted frame and panel cabinets, butcher block island, and precast concrete countertops and backsplash. Modern stainless steel Wolf range and Subzero refrigerator accent traditional touches of cabinetry, farm house sink, stained oak floors, and coffered beam ceiling. Photo by Gregory Dedona

This moody game room boats a massive bar with dark blue walls, blue/grey backsplash tile, open shelving, dark walnut cabinetry, gold hardware and appliances, a built in mini fridge, frame tv, and its own bar counter with gold pendant lighting and leather stools.

Surf themed wet bar off of the game room. Photo: Eric Englehart Boardwalk Builders, Rehoboth Beach, DE www.boardwalkbuilders.com

Residential home bar completely furnished with all the necessary amenities to entertain guest.

Clean, contemporary white oak slab cabinets with a white Chroma Crystal White countertop. Cabinets are set off with sleek stainless steel handles. The appliances are also stainless steel. The diswasher is Bosch, the refridgerator is a Kenmore professional built-in, stainless steel. The hood is stainless and glass from Futuro, Venice model. The double oven is stainless steel from LG. The stainless wine cooler is Uline. the stainless steel built-in microwave is form GE. The irridescent glass back splash that sets off the floating bar cabinet and surrounds window is Vihara Irridescent 1 x 4 glass in Puka. Perfect for entertaining. The floors are Italian ceramic planks that look like hardwood in a driftwood color. Simply gorgeous. Lighting is recessed and kept to a minimum to maintain the crisp clean look the client was striving for. I added a pop of orange and turquoise (not seen in the photos) for pillows on a bench as well as on the accessories. Cabinet fabricator, Mark Klindt ~ www.creativewoodworks.info

www.megmulloy.com

Reclaimed wooden beams are combined with suede limestone and Calcutta marble counters, merging old world charm with contemporary design.

This small bathroom got some special treatment with a yellow onyx 1”x1”mosaic in the tub/shower surround and o the face of the tub (Bain Ultra Basa soaker) that really added a classiness not found in most small condo bathrooms. The look is finished off with a Ronbow cherry wood custom vanity, ceramic sink top and matching medicine cabinet. The plumbing fixtures are all Grohe. The toilet is Toto. And, the most important accessory for a small bathroom, a hotel bar curved shower curtain rod – love them! Photos by Design Build 4U Chicago.

The kitchen footprint is rather large, allowing for extensive cabinetry, a center island in addition to the peninsula, and double ovens.

James F. Wilson / courtesy BUILDER Magazine

We recently completed a beautiful outdoor concrete kitchen countertops. This custom contemporary home was situated on a bay front property in Bridgehampton, NY. The outdoor living area was designed with concrete in mind. The project had several challenges that made this project both difficult and exciting. The kitchen featured two waterfall legs, an integral concrete sink, cast-in stainless steel piers for an upper bar top, and rabbeted panels surrounding the two peninsulas. The architect chose the color Taupe in our Classic Concrete Finish. By casting the concrete countertops in GFRC we were able to reduce weight and keep a heavy 2″ edge profile. The concrete sink was cast directly into the countertops to create a seamless working surface. Prefabricated stainless steel piers were fabricated and cast into the concrete to create the support system for the upper bar top. Unfortunately this was not in place when we snapped some photos. The Rabbeted concrete wall panels were a really slick touch. We had a 3/8 x 3/8 rabbet that followed all the panel perimeters. Small details like that really turn a great project into an exceptional one.

The existing U-shaped kitchen was tucked away in a small corner while the dining table was swimming in a room much too large for its size. The client’s needs and the architecture of the home made it apparent that the perfect design solution for the home was to swap the spaces. The homeowners entertain frequently and wanted the new layout to accommodate a lot of counter seating, a bar/buffet for serving hors d’oeuvres, an island with prep sink, and all new appliances. They had a strong preference that the hood be a focal point and wanted to go beyond a typical white color scheme even though they wanted white cabinets. While moving the kitchen to the dining space gave us a generous amount of real estate to work with, two of the exterior walls are occupied with full-height glass creating a challenge how best to fulfill their wish list. We used one available wall for the needed tall appliances, taking advantage of its height to create the hood as a focal point. We opted for both a peninsula and island instead of one large island in order to maximize the seating requirements and create a barrier when entertaining so guests do not flow directly into the work area of the kitchen. This also made it possible to add a second sink as requested. Lastly, the peninsula sets up a well-defined path to the new dining room without feeling like you are walking through the kitchen. We used the remaining fourth wall for the bar/buffet. Black cabinetry adds strong contrast in several areas of the new kitchen. Wire mesh wall cabinet doors at the bar and gold accents on the hardware, light fixtures, faucets and furniture add further drama to the concept. The focal point is definitely the black hood, looking both dramatic and cohesive at the same time.

Photo: Rien van Rijthoven