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The new owners of this three-bedroom Regency-style apartment in Cheltenham, England, loved its location close to their daughter’s school, but its sleek, modern features not so much. “They prefer period style and classic looks,” says Angela Colley of GeorgieRose Interior Design.
One of the homeowners had contacted the designer as she liked the look of her previous projects, which blend soft, earthy colors and classic style. She asked Colley to design a kitchen, dining area and living space in the home’s one large public room. “There was a lot to fit in, so it was about keeping it light and bright so it didn’t overpower,” Colley says.
The starting point for the kitchen was a paint sample of a pinkish-brown shade. “I just took a shine to the color,” she says. “I wasn’t sure [the owner] would like my suggestion, but she absolutely loved it.”
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Designer Christy Mancera envisioned a fairy tale when pulling together the look for a Nevada bathroom shared by two young girls. “We wanted to make this bathroom a sweet dream space for these little girls,” she says. Butterfly wallpaper, a pale pink vanity, scallop motifs and bow-shaped drawer pulls are a few key pieces that pull together the delightful room.
“After” photos by Kristin Elizabeth Studio
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of six
Location: Henderson, Nevada
Size: 50 square feet (4.7 square meters)
Design-build firm: Cera Construction
Before: The existing bathroom was functional but the plain look was far from inspired.
After: The bathroom’s 5-by-10-foot footprint remained the same. The room has a door on either end of the vanity. Each door leads to one of the girls’ bedrooms.
One of the first ideas Mancera presented the girls’ mother with was a light pink double vanity with a scalloped edge along the bottom. This custom touch was a motif she carried through on other elements in the room.
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“This was the first time I’d tried using a scalloped edge along a toekick,” Mancera says. “At first I designed a fuller scallop, but we wound up lifting it up a bit so that if something rolled underneath the sink, my clients would be able to retrieve it.”
Mancera and the rest of the design-build team used Houzz Pro software during the entire process, from the beginning of the design phase until construction was complete. “It helped us keep all the communication between the clients and all the team members organized and efficient,” Mancera says.
See why you should hire a professional who uses Houzz Pro software
Mancera searched high and low to find just the right sinks. These have edges with a scalloped look. “They are Victorian-style sinks,” she says. “They really helped to pull in the fairy-tale feel.”
The faucets and handles have simple silhouettes, which keeps them from distracting from the scalloped motif. The finish is brushed brass.
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“The butterflies and flowers on the wallpaper make these such happy walls,” Mancera says. She plucked a pink hue from the pattern and had the vanity painted to match.
The mirror is a simple sheet mirror. However, Mancera elevated the look by creating a frame with brass Schluter strips, which are commonly used to edge tile.
Across from the vanity is a toilet on the left (not shown) and a tub-shower on the right. Mancera presented her clients with a scrumptious pink glazed ceramic wall tile. The subtle variation in pink tones works beautifully with the wallpaper, and the white grout picks up on the white background of the wallpaper. “We used a vertical grid composition to minimize the impact of the pattern,” the designer says.
The existing tub and window were in fine shape, so Mancera worked them into her design. Other ways she helped stay on budget were by using porcelain countertops instead of natural stone, using luxury vinyl tile flooring instead of hardwood and using a sheet mirror instead of two separate vanity mirrors. The latter move also meant the wall over the vanity didn’t need to be wallpapered.
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This home in Northampton, England, had a kitchen with an adjoining dining area and a living room in a conservatory, but it felt gloomy and cramped. The owner, who lives here with her two sons, found interior designer Eleni Fantis on Houzz and asked her to rethink the design. “[The owner] wanted a real family space, with defined areas, but where they could all gather, cook, entertain and enjoy being together,” Fantis says.
Before Photo
Photos by Beth Saunders Photography
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A woman with two sons
Location: Northampton, England
Size: About 120 square feet (11 square meters); 12 by 10 feet
Designers: Eleni Fantis of Omorfia Interior Design (interior design) and Ezra Kerr of Jikoni Interiors (kitchen design)
Before: The original kitchen was put in when the house was built. While there was plenty of storage, the arrangement made the area feel cramped.
Fantis wanted to use a kitchen company that would make the most of the space. Enter kitchen designer Ezra Kerr.
Fantis’ solution to the dark area was to create a flow of light and space, while Kerr cleverly turned the kitchen into a cozy but high-functioning room.
The kitchen is the heart of the space and it was important that this was somewhere the owner could feel relaxed and enjoy making food, entertaining and teaching her boys to cook.
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The new design removed the bank of cabinets on the right, widening the room, but this meant Kerr needed to find a way to fit plenty of storage into the new layout.
Luckily, there’s a utility room through the door opposite the sink, so he didn’t need to find space for laundry appliances.
He made more use of the short wall with a full-height pantry cabinet — one of the owner’s key requests — a refrigerator and cabinets above and below the combination and standard ovens.
Kerr stopped short of the ceiling for a maximum sense of space. “Having units to the ceiling makes a room look smaller — when you can’t see the wall above, it closes everything in — so we left a gap,” he says.
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In the corner, Kerr retained the base and wall cabinet arrangement to add some extra countertop space — a spot that serves as a good breakfast station.
The white doors are vinyl-wrapped, making them robust, and the white countertop is durable quartz. Kerr went with a curved ceramic sink to add interest.
Fantis chose pretty pink and blue tiles for the backsplash. “[The owner] didn’t really have any pattern in her home, so I wanted to incorporate some delicate patterns so as not to overwhelm her,” she says.
Kitchen cabinet paint: Satin White and Richmond Denim, Jikoni Interiors
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As there was now no room on the ovens wall for a cooktop, Kerr came up with a neat solution — an angled peninsula.
“Usually, the [cooktop] would go on the back wall, but because there was no space, that was the only way we could do it. You could have had a [standard] peninsula, but we tried to make it a bit more special. It makes the kitchen feel cozy and works really well in the space.”
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There was originally a wall cabinet in this corner to the right, but Kerr swapped it for open oak shelves. “We didn’t want to block out any light, so it’s better if the look feels open,” he says.
The wood-look luxury vinyl tile flooring pairs well with the oak shelves, and looks and feels warmer than the original tiles.
The other side of the peninsula is curved, which not only gives it a softer feel, it also adds countertop space and makes it more sociable.
“[The owner] wanted us to fit in as many seats as we could,” Kerr says. “We created the circular shape so you can have people sitting round being sociable without all sitting in a line.” This section of countertop is oak, giving it the feel of a table.
The induction cooktop has a downdraft ventilation system that vents out through the wall. “An extractor hanging from the ceiling would have blocked the room,” Kerr says.
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Kerr has tucked a wine fridge and another cabinet into the peninsula unit. Neither is obvious from the living area, but they help maximize the storage.
An upholstered bench offers an additional seating spot when guests are over.
Before Photo
Before: Originally, the dining area was in the small room to the left and the living area was in a conservatory to the right.
After: Fantis had most of the wall between the two spaces removed. She sited the seating area near the French windows and moved the dining area into the conservatory.
Light can now circulate between the spaces, making them feel brighter and bigger.
The large armchair between the living room and kitchen is key to the color scheme. “The floral fabric was actually the beginning of the whole design, and is a printed velvet,” Fantis says. “[The owner] loved it so much, I persuaded the supplier to sell me additional [fabric], which we then used for some of the blinds.”
The original dark red curtains have been swapped for these pale blue ones, which fit with the fresh, light color scheme and are less dominating.
Before Photo
The conservatory roof had been badly lined in the past, so Fantis had that replaced.
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When this Canadian family started to outgrow its home, the last thing it wanted to do was leave behind its beloved neighborhood in Victoria, British Columbia. “This is a fantastic neighborhood that’s walkable to shops, restaurants and the beach,” Robbyn McDonald of MAC Reno Design Build says. “We finished the attic to create space for a primary suite and living room. They’d never had an en suite bathroom before, so they were really excited.” The new, light-filled bathroom is a fresh take on midcentury modern style.
Photos by Dasha Armstrong Photography
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A young family
Location: Victoria, British Columbia
Size: 118 square feet (11 square meters)
Designer-builder: MAC Reno Design Build
The new bathroom includes a double vanity, a generous shower stall, a freestanding bathtub and a private toilet alcove behind the plumbing wall in the shower. The shower has a long bench with a handheld shower wand above it. The shower stall is curbless, so the floor slopes imperceptibly to direct water to a linear drain next to the bench.
To increase the attic space, the firm removed the home’s existing hipped pyramid roof. It framed the walls a few feet higher, then added a new cross-gable roof.
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“The jumping-off point for the room was the clients’ wooden towel stand,” McDonald says. “We echoed it in the vertical-grain walnut floating double vanity.” The vanity sets a midcentury-modern-inspired tone, emphasized by brushed gold fixtures.
Simple mirrors with rounded edges maintain the clean look. The room has a lot of straight lines, so the subtle curves of the mirror frames add softness.
The vanity has three large drawers in the center for efficient storage. There’s motion-activated lighting under the vanity. This makes navigating to the toilet alcove easy at night without turning on a bright light.
The countertop is a porcelain slab that looks like marble. The designers used the same porcelain on the shower bench. The bench is heated and serves as a toasty seat in the shower.
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The flooring is also porcelain, composed of large-format tiles. The open door offers a glimpse into the primary bedroom. Heated floors keep the bathroom nice and warm.
The shower has a partial enclosure, which keeps the water inside. Tight insulation and energy-efficient glass on the windows and skylight help prevent drafts.
One of the challenges in an attic renovation is addressing lower ceilings. Placing the tub beneath the sloped ceiling and adding the skylight was a good layout strategy here. It’s easy to get in and out of the tub without hitting the ceiling.
“The vaulted ceiling added height and visual interest, creating a cozy and inviting tub area,” McDonald says. “Positioning the skylight above the tub brought natural light throughout the room, reducing reliance on artificial lighting.”
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Midcentury modern style also inspired the sumptuous green tiles in the shower. Their vertical composition nods to the era. The tiles are glossy, with 3D beveled edges — a fresh update on the style. Tiles from the era would have been flat, while these have a lot of dimensionality.
Shower tile: Flauti in Sage Gloss, Ceramic Tileworks
The tucked-away toilet area behind the shower wall has privacy and light from a window. The green tiles and brushed gold accessories keep the space cohesive with the rest of the bathroom.
“High-quality materials and precise construction techniques ensured the bathroom met industry best practices for sustainability, water conservation and performance,” McDonald says. These include:
Updated plumbing and mechanical systemsWater-conserving shower fixtures Low-E energy-efficient windows that create a tight envelopeHeated flooring that provides even, energy-efficient heatLED lightingPlenty of natural light to reduce use of artificial lighting
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3. Decide if You Need a Screen
If you regularly follow an online class or tutorial, you’ll need an internet connection and easily accessible TV to watch as you work out. A wall-mounted TV might be easier to view than a wobbly laptop screen, so if you can create your workout zone near a TV, it should make life easier.
You might need to clear a space in the living room for this, so storage will be extra important here, to make sure you can unpack and repack your gear easily. If you aren’t able to find space near an existing TV, consider setting up a way to elevate your laptop, so you aren’t trying to squint at it on the floor.
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The curved vanity edges were part of a careful balance. “I think carefully about balance in every design — shapes, temperature and color,” Dai says. “In here, it was a balance of straight lines and curves, a balance of cold terrazzo and warm wood and a balance of a soft concrete floor tile and glossy glass wall tiles.”
The globe sconces also add round shapes to this wall, playing off the strong rectilinear grid of glass tiles behind them. Instead of using mirrored medicine cabinets, Dai designed recessed oak shelving for storage. “This comes back to balance,” she says. “The wood adds warmth to balance out the coolness of the glass tiles.”
The balance also lets certain elements play leading roles while others are supporting players. Here, the terrazzo countertop and patterned floor are the stars. “I went with matte white faucets because I thought a metal finish would be a distraction,” Dai says. “These are quiet and they add a very cute pop of modern-day design.”
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This article was originally published by a www.houzz.com . Read the Original article here. .
The curved vanity edges were part of a careful balance. “I think carefully about balance in every design — shapes, temperature and color,” Dai says. “In here, it was a balance of straight lines and curves, a balance of cold terrazzo and warm wood and a balance of a soft concrete floor tile and glossy glass wall tiles.”
The globe sconces also add round shapes to this wall, playing off the strong rectilinear grid of glass tiles behind them. Instead of using mirrored medicine cabinets, Dai designed recessed oak shelving for storage. “This comes back to balance,” she says. “The wood adds warmth to balance out the coolness of the glass tiles.”
The balance also lets certain elements play leading roles while others are supporting players. Here, the terrazzo countertop and patterned floor are the stars. “I went with matte white faucets because I thought a metal finish would be a distraction,” Dai says. “These are quiet and they add a very cute pop of modern-day design.”
Shop for a bathroom mirror
This article was originally published by a www.houzz.com . Read the Original article here. .
After: The kitchen went from cramped and dark to open, light and bright with improved lighting and the removal of the dropped soffits and the wall separating the space from the dining area. Jamentz also had her team remove the space-hogging peninsula and replace it with a multifunctional 10-foot island. New cream-colored quartz countertops and custom white oak cabinets with ribbed panels also lighten the look and add textural interest.
The counter stools in synthetic rattan bring in some texture and the dark legs echo the cabinet hardware color. Jamentz reupholstered the counter stools in a faux leather to work with the room palette.
Her team wove in new engineered hardwood flooring for an exact match with the existing floor. “It took the flooring subcontractor quite a while to find the exact match, but luckily he did, and it is nearly impossible to detect where the old floor meets the new,” Jamentz says.
“Aesthetically engineered hardwood flooring is a wonderful choice for kitchen floors, as there is a wide variety of wood species and stain colors to choose from, and it is much softer to stand on when cooking or doing the dishes than a hard surface such as porcelain tile,” she says. “That said, if you have a very active household with pets and kids, preengineered floors might not be the best choice because it can scratch easily.”
Jamentz focused on wellness by helping improve air quality and refrigeration and adding healthy steam cooking. “In this project, our solution was to create a wellness-centric kitchen that provides the opportunity to cook nutritious meals, feel more energetic due to increased daylight, enjoy filtered water on demand, breathe cleaner indoor air, entertain with ease, recycle and compost effortlessly and feel organized through personalized storage solutions,” she says.
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This Seattle-area family enjoyed daily casual meals and cooking together. But as the family grew to six, the kitchen seemed to be bursting at the seams. So the homeowners hired interior designer Harmony Weihs to figure out how to enlarge their kitchen, update other spaces and improve the flow throughout their home. Weihs proposed an addition that would double the size of the kitchen and extend the dining room a few feet to accommodate more family members when they gather.
Beyond the space planning, she helped the owners balance the light-filled kitchen they craved with the cozy cottage feel they love. Within the mostly white palette, she added copper accents, a large blue range, a limestone plaster vent hood, wood beams and honed countertops to create a more casual, European-inspired vibe in the room.
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If you have decorative period details in your living room, such as ornately carved cornices, ceiling roses or baseboards, painting these the same color as the walls and ceiling can actually help to highlight them. By taking away the distraction of an abrupt change of color, you’re allowing the texture and detail to shine instead, as demonstrated in this Victorian living room by Born & Bred Studio.
Here, the walls, baseboards, cornices, window frame and wooden shutters have all been drenched in a muted sage green. Adding a large reflective mirror helps to maximize the natural light flowing into the room, allowing light and shadow to play across the surfaces, picking out the details.
How to Confidently Choose Colors for Your Home