Photo Credits: Vivid Home Real Estate Photography

The family room in this Bloomfield Hills residence was a part of a whole house renovation and addition, completed in 2016. Having spaces that were a staple to traditional family life were very important to the clients, so a warm, inviting family was designed. Centered in this room is a full-masonry, milled stone fireplace with a milled stone hearth and mantle. To help open the space up and pull in more natural light, an arched lantern (transoms) was created. This lantern features wood ceilings and beams, complemented with paneled walls and detailed trim. On both sides of the fireplace are built-in bookshelves and cabinets. The furniture and décor further accentuate the warmth of the room by utilizing earth, blue, and cream tones.

The gray-taupe paint color perfectly compliments the fabric of the seating and shows off the architectural details of the stunning built in cabinets. By painting the back wall of the open bookshelves, these are given depth and interest. The granite fireplace surround is a stunning addition to the built in mantel.

Emily Followill

With over 60 years of excellence in manufacturing and design, Presotto Italia continues to reinvent the relationships between form and function by interpreting the evolving consumer lifestyles, tastes and trends. Today, Presotto is one of Italy’s leading manufacturers of top notch, ultra-modern bedrooms and extraordinary, exclusively-designed living room solutions. Best known for its one-of-a-kind Aqua Bed and Zero Round Bed, Presotto Italia is also the source for innovation and edgy product design which includes countless wall unit collections, wardrobes, walk-in closets, dining rooms and bedrooms.

This home is a bachelor’s dream, but it didn’t start that way. It began with a young man purchasing his first single-family home in Westlake Village. The house was dated from the late 1980s, dark, and closed off. In other words, it felt like a man cave — not a home. It needed a masculine makeover. He turned to his friend, who spoke highly of their experience with us. We had remodeled and designed their home, now known as the “Oak Park Soiree.” The result of this home’s new, open floorplan assured him we could provide the same flow and functionality to his own home. He put his trust in our hands, and the construction began. The entry of our client’s original home had no “wow factor.” As you walked in, you noticed a staircase enclosed by a wall, making the space feel bulky and uninviting. Our team elevated the entry by designing a new modern staircase with a see-through railing. We even took advantage of the area under the stairs by building a wine cellar underneath it… because wine not? Down the hall, the kitchen and family room used to be separated by a wall. The kitchen lacked countertop and storage space, and the family room had a high ceiling open to the second floor. This floorplan didn’t function well with our client’s lifestyle. He wanted one large space that allowed him to entertain family and friends while at the same time, not having to worry about noise traveling upstairs. Our architects crafted a new floorplan to make the kitchen, breakfast nook, and family room flow together as a great room. We removed the obstructing wall and enclosed the high ceiling above the family room by building a new loft space above. The kitchen area of the great room is now the heart of the home! Our client and his guests have plenty of space to gather around the oversized island with additional seating. The walls are surrounded by custom Crystal cabinetry, and the countertops glisten with Vadara quartz, providing ample cooking and storage space. To top it all off, we installed several new appliances, including a built-in fridge and coffee machine, a Miele 48-inch range, and a beautifully designed boxed ventilation hood with brass strapping and contrasting color. There is now an effortless transition from the kitchen to the family room, where your eyes are drawn to the newly centered, linear fireplace surrounded by floating shelves. Its backlighting spotlights the purposefully placed symmetrical décor inside it. Next to this focal point lies a LaCantina bi-fold door leading to the backyard’s sparkling new pool and additional outdoor living space. Not only does the wide door create a seamless transition to the outside, but it also brings an abundance of natural light into the home. Once in need of a masculine makeover, this home’s sexy black and gold finishes paired with additional space for wine and guests to have a good time make it a bachelor’s dream. Photographer: Andrew Orozco

In this beautiful Houston remodel, we took on the exterior AND interior - with a new outdoor kitchen, patio cover and balcony outside and a Mid-Century Modern redesign on the inside: "This project was really unique, not only in the extensive scope of it, but in the number of different elements needing to be coordinated with each other," says Outdoor Homescapes of Houston owner Wayne Franks. "Our entire team really rose to the challenge." OUTSIDE The new outdoor living space includes a 14 x 20-foot patio addition with an outdoor kitchen and balcony. We also extended the roof over the patio between the house and the breezeway (the new section is 26 x 14 feet). On the patio and balcony, we laid about 1,100-square foot of new hardscaping in the place of pea gravel. The new material is a gorgeous, honed-and-filled Nysa travertine tile in a Versailles pattern. We used the same tile for the new pool coping, too. We also added French doors leading to the patio and balcony from a lower bedroom and upper game room, respectively: The outdoor kitchen above features Southern Cream cobblestone facing and a Titanium granite countertop and raised bar. The 8 x 12-foot, L-shaped kitchen island houses an RCS 27-inch grill, plus an RCS ice maker, lowered power burner, fridge and sink. The outdoor ceiling is tongue-and-groove pine boards, done in the Minwax stain "Jacobean." INSIDE Inside, we repainted the entire house from top to bottom, including baseboards, doors, crown molding and cabinets. We also updated the lighting throughout. "Their style before was really non-existent," says Lisha Maxey, senior designer with Outdoor Homescapes and owner of LGH Design Services in Houston. "They did what most families do - got items when they needed them, worrying less about creating a unified style for the home." Other than a new travertine tile floor the client had put in 6 months earlier, the space had never been updated. The drapery had been there for 15 years. And the living room had an enormous leather sectional couch that virtually filled the entire room. In its place, we put all new, Mid-Century Modern furniture from World Market. The drapery fabric and chandelier came from High Fashion Home. All the other new sconces and chandeliers throughout the house came from Pottery Barn and all décor accents from World Market. The couple and their two teenaged sons got bedroom makeovers as well. One of the sons, for instance, started with childish bunk beds and piles of books everywhere. "We gave him a grown-up space he could enjoy well into his high school years," says Lisha. The new bed is also from World Market. We also updated the kitchen by removing all the old wallpaper and window blinds and adding new paint and knobs and pulls for the cabinets. (The family plans to update the backsplash later.) The top handrail on the stairs got a coat of black paint, and we added a console table (from Kirkland's) in the downstairs hallway. In the dining room, we painted the cabinet and mirror frames black and added new drapes, but kept the existing furniture and flooring. "I'm just so pleased with how it turned out - especially Lisha's coordination of all the materials and finishes," says Wayne. "But as a full-service outdoor design team, this is what we do, and our all our great reviews are telling us we're doing it well."

Das richtige Bild zu finden ist zumeist einfacher als es gekonnt in Szene zu setzen. Der Bilderrahmen aus dem Hause Moebe macht es einem in dieser Hinsicht aber sehr einfach, ganz nach dem Motto des Designlabels aus Kopenhagen “keep things simple”. Bestehend aus zwei Plexiglasplatten und vier filigranen Leisten aus hellem Eichenholz überzeugt FRAME mit Einfachheit und Übersichtlichkeit. Die einzelnen Elemente zusammensteckend, komplettiert diese ein schwarzes, den gesamten Rahmen umlaufendes Gummiband, welches gleichzeitig als Aufhängung dient. Einen stärkeren Kontrast bietet FRAME mit direkten Vergleich zur Ausführung aus Holz mit schwarzen Rahmenteilen aus Alumnium. Dem eigenen Ausstellungsstück kommt der zurückhaltende Charakter FRAMEs in jedem Fall zugute. Ob ein Bild, getrocknete, florale Elemente oder andere flache Kunstwerke das Innere des Holzrahmens zieren, ist der eigenen Fantasie überlassen. Die freie, unberührte und zudem durchsichtige Glasfläche lädt von Beginn zum eigenen kreativen Schaffen ein. Erhältlich in vier verschiedenen Größen, entsprechen die angegebenen Maße des Bilderrahmens den jeweiligen DIN-Formaten A2, A3, A4 und A5. Für eine Präsentation im Stil eines Passepartouts ist ein Bild mit geringeren Abmaßen zu wählen. Im Bilderrahmenformat A4 eignet sich beispielsweise ein A5 Print, eine Postkarte ziert den kleinsten der angebotenen Rahmen FRAME. Besonders reizend ist dabei die bestehende transparente Freifläche, die dem Ausstellungsstück zusätzlichen Raum gibt und einen nahezu schwebenden Charakter verleiht. Mittels des beiliegendes Bandes leicht an der Wand zu befestigen, überzeugt das Designerstück von Moebe zweifelsfrei in puncto Design, Funktionalität und Individualität - eine wahre Bereicherung für das eigene Zuhause.

Ray Guansing

Chuck Williams & John Paul Key

The soaring fireplace anchors the end of this Great Room and creates a stunning focal point. The built in shelves flanking the fireplace will house the tv on the right side while the left has adjustable shelves for books and accessories.

Davenport Contracting renovated this 6355 square foot shoreline colonial in a private association in Old Greenwich CT (with 5 bedrooms and 7 baths). The home has water views of Long Island Sound from an outdoor covered flagstone patio with fireplace. The family room featured in this photo sports the uniquely contemporary, fresh, & clean redesign reflected throughout the house. The home has 5 Fireplaces (such as stone fireplace in the family room ) , large generous rooms, and formal details like the coffered ceilings and french doors pictured here.

Photography by Bernard Russo

The Renovation of this home held a host of issues to resolve. The original fireplace was awkward and the ceiling was very complex. The original fireplace concept was designed to use a 3-sided fireplace to divide two rooms which became the focal point of the Great Room. For this particular floor plan since the Great Room was open to the rest of the main floor a sectional was the perfect choice to ground the space. It did just that! Although it is an open concept the floor plan creates a comfortable cozy space. Photography by Carlson Productions, LLC

Larina Kase Interior Design

A view from the entryway to the living room. The pop of color from the high back swivel chairs brings your eye directly to this living room. The two white consoles coupled with the white lamps, white pot, and white glossy mantle brighten up the room, while the tree makes the space feel fresh.

This property sold for full asking price before it hit the market. The first buyer fell in love with it! If you are selling your home or would like to revamp the one you are living in, give us a call for a consultation. We work with home sellers and owners, house flippers, investors, realtors, hotels, tv shows and property owners. 514-222-5553