The Kitchen opens into the Dining Room and Family Room Photos by Gibeon Photography

Photo by Scott Norsworthy

A rare find in Bloomfield Township is new construction. This gem of a custom home not only featured a modern, open floorplan with great flow, it also had an 1,800 sq. ft. unfinished basement. When the homeowners of this beautiful house approached MainStreet Design Build, they understood the value of renovating the accessible, non-livable space—and recognized its unlimited potential. Their vision for their 1,800 sq. ft. finished basement included a lighter, brighter teen entertainment area—a space large enough for pool, ping pong, shuffle board and darts. It was also important to create an area for food and drink that did not look or feel like a bar. Although the basement was completely unfinished, it presented design challenges due to the angled location of the stairwell and existing plumbing. After 4 months of construction, MainStreet Design Build delivered—in spades! Details of this project include a beautiful modern fireplace wall with Peau de Beton concrete paneled tile surround and an oversized limestone mantel and hearth. Clearly a statement piece, this wall also features a Boulevard 60-inch Contemporary Vent-Free Linear Fireplace with reflective glass liner and crushed glass. Opposite the fireplace wall, is a beautiful custom room divider with bar stool seating that separates the living room space from the gaming area. Effectively blending this room in an open floorplan, MainStreet Design Build used Country Oak Wood Plank Vinyl flooring and painted the walls in a Benjamin Moore eggshell finish. The Kitchenette was designed using Dynasty semi-custom cabinetry, specifically a Renner door style with a Battleship Opaque finish; Top Knobs hardware in a brushed satin nickel finish; and beautiful Caesarstone Symphony Grey Quartz countertops. Tastefully coordinated with the rest of the décor is a modern Filament Chandelier in a bronze finish from Restoration Hardware, hung perfectly above the kitchenette table. A new ½ bath was tucked near the stairwell and designed using the same custom cabinetry and countertops as the kitchenette. It was finished in bold blue/gray paint and topped with Symphony Gray Caesarstone. Beautiful 3×12” Elemental Ice glass subway tile and stainless steel wall shelves adorn the back wall creating the illusion of light. Chrome Shades of Light Double Bullet glass wall sconces project from the wall to shed light on the mirror. Kate Benjamin Photography

Lioba Schneider Architekturfotografie

Lioba Schneider Architekturfotografie

The Cape Cod™ is one of the cleanest burning and most efficient large cast iron wood stoves in the world! Revolutionary Hybrid-Fyre™ technology allows this stove to produce just 0.45 grams of emissions per hour and perform at over 80% efficiency, saving you fuel, money and trips to your wood pile. The Cape Cod features elevated craftsmanship, a massive 3 cubic foot firebox and a convection heat exchanger, all wrapped up and presented to you in an elegant package of cast iron beauty and durability. The Cape Cod features the optional GreenStart™ igniter. This push-button ignition system is great for the modern wood burner; just load your wood and push a button! We’ve completely eliminated slow, cracked open door startupsand laboring over fickle newspaper.

Master Bedroom with beautiful chandelier and open space. Tons of windows that all for ample lighting. Two-sided fireplace and seating area with sectional couch.

Two story great room with stone fireplace.

Old World European, Country Cottage. Three separate cottages make up this secluded village over looking a private lake in an old German, English, and French stone villa style. Hand scraped arched trusses, wide width random walnut plank flooring, distressed dark stained raised panel cabinetry, and hand carved moldings make these traditional buildings look like they have been here for 100s of years. Newly built of old materials, and old traditional building methods, including arched planked doors, leathered stone counter tops, stone entry, wrought iron straps, and metal beam straps. The Lake House is the first, a Tudor style cottage with a slate roof, 2 bedrooms, view filled living room open to the dining area, all overlooking the lake. The Carriage Home fills in when the kids come home to visit, and holds the garage for the whole idyllic village. This cottage features 2 bedrooms with on suite baths, a large open kitchen, and an warm, comfortable and inviting great room. All overlooking the lake. The third structure is the Wheel House, running a real wonderful old water wheel, and features a private suite upstairs, and a work space downstairs. All homes are slightly different in materials and color, including a few with old terra cotta roofing. Project Location: Ojai, California. Project designed by Maraya Interior Design. From their beautiful resort town of Ojai, they serve clients in Montecito, Hope Ranch, Malibu and Calabasas, across the tri-county area of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles, south to Hidden Hills. Christopher Painter, contractor

The view of the family room is open to the outdoors and the kitchen area. Bringing in a current gray colored cabinetry, silver gray custom sized sectional with a whimsical circular patterned ottoman and matching throw pillows, along with my custom designed glass and metal rolling coffee table bring uber function for this family home.

John McManus

Showcase Photographers

Brigida González. www.brigidagonzalez.de

This great-room incorporates the living, dining , kitchen as well as access to the back patio. It is the perfect place for entertaining and relaxing. We restored the floors to their original warm tone and used lots of warm neutrals to answer our client’s desire for a more masculine feeling home. A Chinese cabinet and custom-built bookcase help to define an entry hall where one does not exist. We completely remodeled the kitchen and it is now very open and inviting. A Caesarstone counter with an overhang for eating or entertaining allows for three comfortable bar stools for visiting while cooking. Stainless steal appliances and a white apron sink are the only features that still remain. A large contemporary art piece over the new dining banquette brings in a splash of color and rounds out the space. Lots of earth-toned fabrics are part of this overall scheme. The kitchen, dining and living rooms have light cabinetry and walls with accent color in the tile and fireplace stone. The home has lots of added storage for books, art and accessories. In the living room, comfortable upholstered pieces with casual fabrics were created and sit atop a sisal rug, giving the room true California style. For contrast, a dark metal drapery rod above soft white drapery panels covers the new French doors. The doors lead out to the back patio. Photography by Erika Bierman

Paige Green

The new Mt. Vernon Insert with Efficient Energy (E2) technology is the most powerful and efficient insert ever designed by Quadra-Fire. E2 technology helps achieve 87% efficiency—saving money by burning less fuel. Plus E2 technology automatically adjusts the blower to maintain desired room temperatures. A 47 lb hopper and easy-clean cast iron firepot reduce maintenance efforts. And the Mt. Vernon E2 is the only product available with cast iron construction on all major components—proving it’s built to last.

Photography by www.stephanibuchmanphotography.com Interior Design by Christine DeCosta www.decorbychristine.com