Category: Coastal Style

Tim Lam enjoys a good design challenge. As an interior designer, he has made them his livelihood. His first residence, a 30-year-old condominium overlooking Lake Ontario at Toronto, presented quite a few hurdles too. For one, mirrored walls screamed “I love the ’80s,” while an equally outdated kitchen and bathroom lacked color and texture. Lam injected the 750-square-foot area with layers of picture patterns and added budget-friendly storage options that saved distance. He oversaw all of the renovations, learning how to take care of new design challenges along the way.

at a Glance
Who lives here: Tim Lam
Location: Harbour Front, Toronto
Size: 750 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bath
That’s intriguing: Lam located the home with the Assistance of Sandra Rinomato and the HGTV series Property Virgins.

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Lam selected neutral colors for the significant pieces in the living room. A spoonful of red comes in the vintage Saarinen Womb Chair. He made the curtains and a few of the throw pillows with fabric from Tonic Living. He credits his style into his late mother, who appreciated everything classic, classy and elegant.

Floral cushions: Mint Fleur Chinoise, Caitlin Wilson Textiles; carpeting: Facet, DwellStudio; coffee table: Caban (currently closed); white side table: Style Garage; wall paint: Wedding White, ICI; trim paint: White Husky, ICI

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

A blue characteristic wall enhances light pouring in from the west windows. Lam and Paul Duguay Restoration reupholstered the couch, a Salvation Army locate, and also the chair, from Queen Street Antiques, with material from Designer Fabrics.

Blue paint: Vista, Para; artwork on blue wall: Suzanne Ernst

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

“It took me a couple of years to figure out what I wanted to do with my closetless bedroom,” Lam says. “Clearly, storage is a key concern in a 750-square-foot condominium, and that I did not need a huge piece of furniture sitting in my bedroom” He made this custom made walnut wall unit and added Ikea pieces.

Pillows, curtains, headboard: Tonic Living; wood device installment: Paul Duguay Restoration

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Organic-looking wallpaper covers the wall opposite the bed.

Dresser: Style Garage

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Lam darkened the palette at the dining area to create an intimate and elegant area. Classic midcentury pieces in rich wood tones create balance.

Background: Maharani, Sariskar, Osborne & Little; carpeting: Alvine Rand, Ikea; chairs: vintage Cherner, eBay

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

A large floor mirror doubles the visual area.

Mirror: HomeSense

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Lam painted the existing cabinetry. The flooring, countertops, backsplash and appliances are all new.

Cabinet door paint: Silver Cloud, ICI; cabinet frame paint: Cielo Blanc, ICI; custom spray: Tim Welsby, Beresford; knobs: Quatrafoil, Rocky Mountain Hardware; carpeting: HomeSense

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

To add another area to his home, Lam maximized his outdoor balcony area. He found the coffee table around the side of the road. Tim Welsby of Beresford spray its own foundation.

Love chair: Loblaws, reupholstered by Wesley Seto Design; fabric: Designer Fabrics; floral pillow fabric: Crystal Lake at Midnight, Robert Allen

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Lam replaced the vanity, mirror, shower and flooring tile in the bath.

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

A number of those leftover ’80s design remains celebrated. A mirror wall at the entrance reflects a combination of classic and midcentury pieces.

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Tim Lam, shown here, says that his second design challenge is sourcing wallpaper because of his hallway.

Show us your condominium makeover!

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Close your eyes and imagine the house of a colour- and – pattern-loving Virginia resident who teaches girls to sew and enjoys thrift shop shopping. Odds are, you just got a fairly accurate picture of Australia native Annabel Wrigley’s house.

Actually, it’s not only her home that fits this warm and creative mold. When her Little Pincushion Studio — through which, yes, she teaches girls how to sew — outgrew the little storage shed on her property, she applied her abilities (with the help of her students) to outfit a new studio space. And of course she couldn’t only leave the storage shed alone. That space got a glowing upgrade, too, as a game and media room for her two kids. Here’s a peek at all three of her eye-opening spaces.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Annabel and Darren Wrigley, son Oliver (age 13), daughter Ruby (11) and puppy Coco
Location: Warrenton, Virginia
Size: 1,800 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

CM Glover

Daughter Ruby created a lot of the artwork on her bedroom wall.

The Japanese lantern was bought for $6 to a trip to New York’s Chinatown; the desk came out of a thrift shop and has been repainted.

Rug: Wayfair; pendant: Maskros, Ikea

CM Glover

Annabel’s husband, Darren, made this built in desk nook for Ruby’s stitching area. Small floating shelves feature undermounted mason jars that save crafting supplies.

Annabel painted the chair, left over from a dining room set, a vibrant green.

CM Glover

French doors from the living area open to a rear patio and an outside seating area.

CM Glover

Hitting up thrift shops, Annabel spent $70 on most of the outdoor furniture, such as a mirrored coffee table and Guatemalan love chair.

CM Glover

“Groupings are a excellent way to fill a blank space,” says Annabel. For the group of art above the sofa, she had original prints enlarged and framed for about $100. The slipcovered sofa was a 50 Craigslist find.

Despite having two young children, Annabel insisted on getting white couches. “White is absolutely the way to go,” she states. Her advice is to be certain that the fabric is washable and the covers are removable. The sofa on the right, beneath the window, is the sole furniture piece she bought new, from Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic. “The best investment I ever made,” she states.

Watch more on practical white slipcovers

CM Glover

CM Glover

An archway into the living area frames a set of green table lamps along with a tree trunk table bought from the Salvation Army.

Red seats: eBay

CM Glover

Also from the living area, a red lamp out of Habitat for Humanity sits atop a record player and a tube radio in the ’50s.

“I have never set a budget for a room,” Annabel states. “I also don’t actually set a limitation on the bits I buy. I shop classic so often that I just come across great pieces at reasonable prices. If I find something that speaks to me, I will buy it.”

CM Glover

The dining area is outfitted with largely secondhand finds. Annabel cites the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, flea markets, auctions and Lucketts as her favorite secondhand shopping resources. And of course the occasional lucky find on the side of the road.

Among the greatest dining area splurges was that the chandelier, located on sale for $500 at Fabric Emporium. The dining room table and crimson chairs were given new updates with paint, along with the acrylic seats came from Craigslist. The ceramic elephant on the table is out of an antiques shop.

Beach painting: Theodore Turner

CM Glover

Annabel considers the kitchen in transition, using its original countertops. There’s a Francis Francis espresso maker, and one of Annabel’s found bits hangs above the sink. The signal in the window is that a flea market detect from a trip to Italy.

Dishwasher: LG

CM Glover

This painting about the dining room wall cost more than the $200 maximum Annabel typically sets for Salvation Army items.

CM Glover

This colorful painting of this Washington, D.C., metro sits on a bureau near the entry.

CM Glover

Annabel’s home office, where she does a lot of her writing, such as a soon-to-be printed book on sewing, is stuffed with her usual eclectic mix: a lion bought at Lucketts, a chrome lamp out of a tiny shop in neighboring Culpeper and an Andy Warhol print of Queen Elizabeth bought on eBay.

CM Glover

She recently brought back several of these classic items from a trip to San Francisco and Portland. She’s attracted to colour and layout, and purchases bits regardless of size. They’re all references for a upcoming fabric design project.

CM Glover

When the Wrigleys bought the property, the detached garage was standard of this age, with a dirt floor and also the remains of a roof that was no more keeping out the elements. The couple spent $2,000 renovating the structure to make it more habitable. The budget included building a loft and adding a roof, as well as updating the flooring, insulation and electric and employing a drywall crew for 2 hours.

Before Photo

BEFORE: The shed was once Annabel’sLittle Pincushion Studio, by which she teaches girls how to sew.

CM Glover

AFTER: When she and her students outgrew the space, the detached garage became a media lounge for the kids.

Before Photo

BEFORE: Among the Ikea pendants within the old sewing studio was reused in daughter Ruby’s room when the studio was relocated.

CM Glover

AFTER: The space is currently well ventilated and heated using a little space heater. On the wall is just another thrift shop painting. Acrylic nesting tables have been bought for $5 apiece, too from a thrift shop.

Tree blossom: Home Goods

CM Glover

Darren built the desk, and Annabel upholstered the rear wall using the striped fabric. The blossom is a thrift shop find, while the artwork is by son Oliver. Annabel did the silhouettes.

Rug: Home Goods; bamboo laminate flooring: Home Depot

CM Glover

Annabel and her students decorated the new, larger sewing studio, revealed here; it’s located in downtown Warrenton. Courses range from crochet patterns for boys to the way to sew sensed mushrooms.

In additon to the Pfaff, Bernina and Viking sewing machines employed by the kids for their projects, the new 1,400-square-foot studio (a shared space referred to as Confetti) also houses Annabel’s collection of classic machines, classic fabrics, textiles and course projects from students. “It’s controlled chaos — always,” she states.

CM Glover

A number of the same decorating principles found from the Wrigley house will also be at play in the studio — white couches, colorful patterns and DIY art. Everything on the walls is handmade.

From the parents’ waiting place (shown here), the pillow on the sofa is part of a course project. Annabel found the white chair in the Salvation Army. When she brought it back, she couldn’t follow through with her first plan to have the kids paint grafitti on it. Instead, she used fabric paint to create a heart pattern.

CM Glover

Annabel, revealed here, says her next major project is that the kitchen in her home.

See more photos of this creative home | please reveal your house!

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Most of us have that one hipster friend using a style that’s easily way more creative than our own. However, without spending our time and money at thrift shops, taking art classes or magically bending the space-time continuum to return and create our parents have cool furniture which we may now inherit, what can we do to make our houses look cool?

After sifting through heaps of houses, I’ve landed 23 spaces with cool design methods which everyone can benefit from.

Laura Garner

Laura Garner

Choose sensibly. A couple of well-chosen bits can oftentimes create a bigger design statement than attempting to force harmony among all your belongings. Montreal couple Marie-Laurence Tailleur Tremblay and Johan Högdahl are cautious to hold off buying any supplying unless they both know it is the ideal piece. “I know it when I see it,” Tailleur Tremblay states. “If I find something that I love, I won’t think twice about it.”

Watch more: Vintage Cool Style to get a Montreal Apartment

Lucy Call

Lucy Call

Kick it old. The older, more beat up and from date a bit is, the more hipster possible is available. Fashion boutique co-owner Ian Wade and freelancer programmer David Kamp mix a reclaimed wood dining room table, midcentury modern furnishings and DIY approaches — such as repurposing an old ladder as bookshelves — to create a potent recipe for hip decor. “My decorating style is one which adheres to usefulness,” Wade says. “I really don’t like clutter, and I don’t like things to be there with no real function.”

Watch more: Eclectic Repurposing Fits First-Time Homeowners in Utah

Jeff Jones Snap It Photography

Jeff Jones Snap It Photography

Go retro. Josh and Veralynn Kaiser, daughter Saoirse and puppy Calvin of Toledo, Ohio, have one keyword you’ll need to know before embarking on a hipster overhaul: retro. Checkerboard floors, ’50s-diner-inspired furniture and also a repurposed picket fence all nail the hipster profile. “Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong age,” Veralynn states.

Watch more: Retro Fun Brings an Ohio Home to Life

Lucy Call

Lucy Call

Buy industrial. Any space that was a former industrial something is the perfect hipster haven. That is why communications pupil Spencer Steed and his fiancée, Alex Tovey, a college admissions adviser, shack up in an old automobile garage.

Additionally, consider leaving things unfinished for a carefully orchestrated “Who cares?” look. “The appeal of living in an old automobile garage and designing with that aesthetic in mind was different and fun,” Steed says. “We likely won’t ever reside someplace quite enjoy this space again. It is our first place living together, which we’ll always remember.”

Watch more: From Deadly Space to Hip Home in a Converted Utah Garage

Lindsay von Hagel

Lindsay von Hagel

Display everything. Framing is not only for family photographs. Use small, big and medium frames to mix up everything from landmark photographs, old-timey portraits, little modern artwork pieces and collectibles. Then create a graphic wall along with other items and shelving. This VW-van-driving family paired their wall using Victorian-style chairs to get a winning mix.

Watch more: Swanky Vintage Style in Texas

Jeff Jones Snap It Photography

Jeff Jones Snap It Photography

Get a cool pet and paint a portrait. Danielle Herrera painted a number of the artworks inside her family’s home, for example, portrait of the pet parakeet, creating an eclectic, indie-art-gallery vibe.

Watch more: Quirky Art and Oddities Intrigue within an Ohio Lease

Lindsay von Hagel

Lindsay von Hagel

Add decorations and toys. Brian Gibb and his wife proudly exhibit a limited-edition toy collection in their home, such as these characters, which were created by Gibb to portray himself and his wife.

Additionally, they have a chandelier within their chicken coop. Enough said.

Watch more: Toys and Art Make Merry in a Texas Home

Madison Modern Home

Madison Modern Home

Find the proper words. Slightly provocative signs within an oversize font provide a hint of casual hipsterness, as in Angel Quintana’s home.

Watch more: Bohemian Elegance in a Little Space

Rikki Snyder

Rikki Snyder

Get a cat. The accession of a cat immediately raises your hipster intelligence capacity (HIP) with a factor of 3. However, you have to consider the way the cat’s color will fit in with your decor. Here, Caitlin Mociun and cat Judas perfectly complement the monochromatic, minimalist space.

Watch more: Eclectic, Minimalist Brooklyn Apartment

Alex Amend Photography

Alex Amend Photography

Blow it up. Oversize black and white photographs of hot landmarks create a stunning focal point that states two things: You are creative and you’re well traveled.

“I love Paris and Rome and nearly moved to Paris before deciding on San Francisco,” states Jason Galloway, shown here on the right. “It could be better to be in love with Paris than reside there, I guess.” Concerning the mural, he states, “I believe it really defines our space. The Eiffel Tower steel beams amidst trees and old buildings is my design.”

Welcome to hipsterdom.
Watch more: Comfortably Modern in San Francisco

Emily Campbell

Emily Campbell

Chill out. Kicking back is exactly what a hipster home is all about. So you can never have enough cushions, blankets, rugs and beanbags. (A hookah is discretionary.)

Watch more: Ultimate Live-Work Space Adapts to the Needs of the Day

Sarah Greenman

Sarah Greenman

Show people what you love. The type of music you enjoy speaks volumes about your character. Dallas couple and avid music lovers Joseph Rogers and Felix Lopez show some of their favorite recordings to add a dash of character to their living space.

Watch more: Eclectic Coziness in a Dallas Studio

Heather Merenda

Heather Merenda

Go highbrow. By all means, hang whatever art you desire. However, every home should have a minumum of one art piece that reflects a hint of elegant taste. Sandra Zovko and Simon Woodcock added a wall screen of Helmut Newton photographs.

Watch more: Vintage Charm in Vancouver

Becki Peckham

Becki Peckham

Be cool as a household. A glowing and well-organized playroom is a hallmark of a hipster home. And this Canadian household understands a thing or two about being hip. Eight-year-old Brennen has skulls on his sweater, so therefore he is cooler than you by default. So is their greyhound, Rumble, who has a skull-print collar.

Watch more: Universal Design Makes an 8-Year-Old texture at Home

Theresa Fine

Theresa Fine

Be sociable. Where’s the TV, you ask? Not only in this living area. Noelani Zervas, such as most hipsters, opts for much more social areas, where hanging with friends and participating in conversation trumps staring at a flat-screen all evening.

Watch more: Antiques Mingle With Modern Style in a 1920s Tudor

Sarah Greenman

Sarah Greenman

Mix it up. “I think for us the largest challenge is avoiding this generic impression on a tight budget,” states Rebecca Tourino Collinsworth. “Nobody wants to feel like a McFamily in a McNeighborhood.” Her layout success stems from blending hand-me-down bits and original art so everything is not matchy-matchy.

Watch more: Deadly Character in 1,000 Square Feet

Lauren Mikus

Lauren Mikus

Add yarn cupcakes. Show me a knitted dessert item and I will show you a hipster’s home. “From the minute you walk in to my home, you can sense my adoration for cupcakes,” states Denver resident Caylin Engle. “I have gathered quite the collection through the last few years and love showing them in miscellaneous nooks.”

Watch more: Color and Cupcakes in a Denver Loft

Sara Bates

Sara Bates

Expose that brick. Gritty, raw elements balanced with comfy, lighter accents create a exceptional style blend. Philadelphia couple Percy Bright and Tara Mangini removed a large cabinet system in their bedroom, revealing a brick wall using cracked plaster. Instead of plastering over the wall, they must work with a chisel.

Watch more: DIY Efforts Transform a South Philly Row House

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Be a kid. Sometimes being stylish is as straightforward as celebrating your childhood. Laura Lee Gulledge channels her inner child within her Brooklyn, New York, flat, complete with a tiny Alice in Wonderland–recalling doorway. “Everything in my flat is inspirational. It’s fine, because writing can sometimes feel like a solitary endeavor. When I’m here I’m surrounded by imagination,” she says.

Watch more: The Antidote to Dreariness, in One Little Brooklyn Apartment

Lauren Mikus

Lauren Mikus

Keep it in your family. Comedian Adam Cayton-Holland attributes what he cals his “tenured professor’s workplace” style mainly to family heirlooms and his father’s library in the house they grew up in. “My father had only festooned the area with treasures — Indian arrowheads, old flashes, garudas from Indonesia, Persian carpets, old bulbs,” Cayton-Holland states. “It’s very diverse, but everything has the sense of being a treasure. I’ve always wanted to emulate ‘the library’ in the living room”

Watch more: Travel Treasures Personalize a Denver Comedian’s Home

Corynne Pless

Corynne Pless

Can it yourself. The easiest way to have a space that truly reflects who you are is to design it yourself with custom-made bits. That is Kate Roebuck’s philosophy. She spiffed up her and her husband’s lease in Mississippi with various textiles that she made herself.

“With almost any rental you have to be imaginative to cover exactly what you don’t want anyone else to see,” Roebuck says. “You can slap pattern and something sparkly on anything, and it is immediately better”

Watch more: Artful Character Colors a Textile Designer’s Home

Cynthia Lynn Photography

Cynthia Lynn Photography

Don’t overdo it. “Don’t rush into all your renovations all at one time,” says Chicago resident Susie Daly. “Spend a good deal of time thinking about different styles, layouts, colours — you just get one opportunity with a great deal of renovations you’re going to do, so make sure that you’re going to appreciate it.”

Watch more: Color and Vintage Style Jazz Up Tradition in Chicago

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Chris A Dorsey Photography

Surround yourself with you. Don’t be afraid of embracing the things you treasure. Displaying knickknacks that remind you of an awesome holiday or a dear friend will make you much happier. That is what New Yorker Amanda Barlow does in her home using “things that really reflect me and create the space a bit more personal,” she states. “I feel like this is the weakest space in New York.”

Watch more: Color and Pattern Create a Manhattan Apartment Sing

Your turn: Show us your hipster pad!

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The term “modern” provokes such strong reactions in the world of residential architecture. Some people might envision wonderful homes of steel and glass with flowing floor plans; others may imagine houses that feel like woods.

Strong opinions abound about modern structure, as they do regarding the wide variety of other architectural styles.

The construction zone, ltd..

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the term “modern” as “Of, relating to, or characteristic of the present or the immediate past.” Additional dictionaries include, “as opposed to the distant past” into the end of this definition.

What exactly represents present and immediate past (within the scope of modern) or distant past (beyond the scope of modern)? The answer is not measured in years but in advancements of technology and building methods that create lifestyle changes. For example, Native Americans constructed with rock and adobe since that was the technology that was available. Yet, because the industrial revolution, continuous technological advances have led to constant lifestyle changes, impacting modern design.

Modern is about today — what’s current — not the past. Contemporary structure is a picture, like a photograph, that timelessly represents the gift.

How can modern structure represent its time?

Spry Architecture

Spatially

Our lives today are considerably different than the lives of 50 years ago, let alone the lives from 100 or 200 years ago. Architecture must represent the way we live today, not the way we lived hundreds of years ago. Recall parlors? Not many would. All these were sitting rooms common a hundred years ago where guests were greeted. Our lifestyle changed, and parlors were weeded out.

The picture shown here is a modern floor plan. Note the excellent room — kitchen, dining room and living room all in one area. No formal dining room, no excess fat. Trim. Lean.

Materials and Technologies

Five hundred years ago, Native Americans constructed with adobe and Europeans constructed with rock. Homes had thick walls, small and deep-set windows, and little interior rooms. Technologies like steel later allowed substantial expanses of space and massive expanses of glass.

This photograph shows Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House. Finished 62 years ago, the Farnsworth House is a terrific example of how modern materials in the 1950s, for example steel, influenced modern design. The Farnsworth home is characteristic of its present, our immediate past, and is still considered modern for today.

Aluminum permitted for large expanses of cheap operable glass. The Case Study House was created while we figured out the way to execute postwar technology.

This photograph shows a Case Study Home made by Charles and Ray Eames: spacious interior spaces; spacious expanses of glass.

Sutton Suzuki Architects

Using steel permitted a link to the outdoors in the interior that wasn’t previously possible.

Ainslie-Davis Construction

Engineered lumber and structural steel enable massive expanses of unencumbered space.

Arkin Tilt Architects

Nowadays, with energy-efficiency concerns, substances like structural insulated panels (SIPs) are significant together with new procedures of prefabricated construction. Homes can be constructed in factories, decreasing waste and the various inefficiencies of additional building practices.

This job employs many modern energy-efficient solutions, such as solar panels, SIPs and straw bale to weave together a modern home.

Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects

Preventing Trends

a couple of years before, a magazine dedicated an whole issue to Tuscan architecture. The difficulty was, the style supposed to be Tuscan was only a normal home wrapped in a skin that was weathered. For six months my telephone rang with potential customers asking for Tuscan architecture.

True architecture from Tuscany represents its place and environment. Tuscany has an ecology and easily available materials and stones. Tuscany has a history and a context. It makes sense to look a house in the Sonoran Desert.

Here is a modern courtyard similar to the wonderful courtyards of authentic Tuscan architecture, demonstrating that one can apply principles of good design, irrespective of how ancient the structure might be, in a modern context.

Authenticity

Avoiding trends gives modern structure an authenticity which other fashions lack. Like I mentioned earlier, it makes sense to design even a home that is pueblo, or a Tuscan home in the Sonoran Desert given that our technology is so different than what was available.

Ayn Rand’s most important character in The Fountainhead, architect Howard Roark, said it well: “A house can have integrity, exactly like a man; and as rarely.” Because they lack authenticity homes lack integrity.

This entrance is simple, clean and genuine. Nothing is unnecessary.

Pllc, Beley Design

This endeavor expresses its construction in a fair and rhythmic way.

Steinbomer, Bramwell & Vrazel Architects

A modern home should represent the way we live. It should reflect current construction techniques and materials. It should have integrity by preventing tendencies. Contemporary architecture provides an opportunity for an beauty, not by copying another fashion from place or another time, but by contemplating the present and, with creativity, developing a fresh aesthetic.

That is modern.

Connected: Are Your Way : What Makes Architecture Successful

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A limited budget meant that there were no significant renovations within this Texas home’s future. However, Steve and Kori Wydman knew they could still freshen up their family’s house. “You can completely change an atmosphere of a home just by upgrading the paint colors and buying special furniture, accessories and rugs,” says Kori.

An assortment of hand-me-downs, great garage sale finds and repurposed antiques helped the couple transform their 1963 ranch home into a special area all their own.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Steve and Kori Wydman, sons Jonah and Finn, and cats Jeff and Pursie
Location: Richardson, Texas
Size: 2,200 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths

Kara Weik

Kori used two different nightstands from the master bedroom to mix things up. “I really have no rules when mixing and matching, but I attempt to choose pieces which are different enough so it is obvious the mismatch was deliberate,” she says.

Bed, nightstand: Weir’s; sconces: Nicole’s Estate Resale; bedding: Pottery Barn; artwork: Home Goods; carpeting: Pottery Barn/Williams Sonoma socket; paint: Throne, Ralph Lauren Home

Kara Weik

In the corner of the bedroom, another garage sale locate creates a natural segue to the master bathroom and a seating area. Since the family chose not to renovate, they put extra thought into every buy for their home. “Even tiny details like replacing cupboard pulls make a big difference in upgrading the appearance,” says Kori. The household replaced almost all the house’s unique hardware.

Art: Happy Days Antiques, Breckenridge, West Texas

Kara Weik

Framed pages from the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are decorate the wall of Finn’s bedroom, along with a sweet side table from Furniture Farm fits in perfectly with its fresh coat of paint. “Our youngest son, Finn, enjoys to play in his room. One of his favourite things to do is sit in the blue seat under his canopy and look in his books,” says Kori.

Canopy: Ikea; Paint: Home Goods; paint: Glass Bead, Sherwin-Williams

Kara Weik

Kori provides this information to other bargain hunters: “Try envisioning things in a beautiful room. Have a look at the lines of furniture, and if you love it, then you may always refinish and reupholster it.” She found these blue chairs for Finn’s room in a garage sale.

Crib, changing table: Babies ‘R Us; Shade: Pottery Barn Teen

Kara Weik

Both boys’ bedrooms are outfitted with cheap storage units from Ikea. Kori made this side table for Jonah’s room out of an Ikea bar stool and a glass top.

Low table: West Elm; drawers: Ikea; seat: Herman Miller Eames Chair; doll: Blabla

Kara Weik

“Steve and I got engaged in Keuka Lake, and since Jonah is our first child, we really wanted to go with a nautical motif for his room,” Kori says. “The boys love to push cars on the white table in this room”

Bed: Crate & Barrel; pillows, oars: Home Goods; seat: Ethan Allen, circa 1970; paint: Softer Tan, Sherwin Williams

Kara Weik

Kori and the boys discuss this secondary bathroom, whichfeatures all of the first millwork and tile. New hardware, paint and accessories gave the space a fresh upgrade.

Mirror: Home Goods

Kara Weik

For your Wydmans, beauty is everywhere — in their neighbor’s trash, which is where Kori found this unique seat.

Mirror: Home Goods; lamp: Target

Kara Weik

The painting above the dining table to the right would be a unique wedding present from a friend depicting Keuka Lake, where Steve suggested.

Coffee table: Weir’s; fireplace mirror: Home Goods; fireplace screen: Pottery Barn; table lamp: Chapman, prototype for the Hotel Del Coronado; paint: Crystal Chandelier, Ralph Lauren Home (no longer available); artwork: Soho Art

Kara Weik

Original to the house, the built-in bookshelves home all Kori’s old inside layout textbooks from her days as a residential and hospitality designer.

Kara Weik

Kori created the framed art that hangs above the dining room console — yet another garage sale find. “My grandma used to have a painting in her house that I loved, and that’s where I got the inspiration for the art of acrobats,” she says.

Chandelier: Home Depot; dining place: present from mother-in-law; Paint: Heraldic Ivory, Sherwin-Williams

Kara Weik

While browsing classic pieces at Again & Again, Kori spotted a guy with two velvet armchairs secured to the top of his vehicle. “He ended up selling them to me for $60 each. After refinishing and reupholstering them, they are now my favorite bits,” she says. The couple replaced the existing rug with wall-to-wall sisal inside this living room to match the ’60s-style house.

Kara Weik

The couple wanted to bring something meaningful back from a trip to Italy together but didn’t have the funds for new art at the time. Kori purchased these postcards, reprints of watercolors the couple enjoys, for 50 cents each.

Sofa: Urban Home by Cisco; seat, coffee table: Terence Conran’s Storehouse (currently closed); side table: Target; lamp: Jeff Hamlin Estate Sale; couch pillows: prototype for The Ritz Carlton Maui, fabric by Clarence House

Kara Weik

Kori remains true to her favourite designer, Terence Conran, that abides by easy and functional design philosophies. Kori considers a fresh coat of paint is one of the simplest ways to transform a space, and she used a fresh white to paint the house’s previously brown wood paneling.

Kara Weik

A kitchen renovation is adjacent on the couple’s list of house design projects, with a Viking stove and stove at the top of the want list. “We’d also like to place French doors from our kitchen and construct an outdoor fireplace and terrace,” Kori says.

Chairs: Furniture Farm

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After seeing Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson’s most up-to-date film invention, I found myself with a nostalgic yearning for a summer camp adventure that I never had. It didn’t help that Camp Yawgoog, where much of the film was shot, is the exact same camp that my Eagle Scout husband moved to as a boy.

While I can’t call up memories of summers in a picturesque New England lakeside camp, I will let its style inspire my home and adventures. Here are 14 ways to liven up your home (or campsite) with rugged Scout-inspired finds and optimistic mid-’60s style.

Landing Design

Stock up on camp blankets. These classic striped wool blankets can be utilised in so many ways that you will never have too many. Use them as bedspreads, throw them in the car for picnics and camping trips, or keep them to warm cold guests when you sponsor dinner al fresco.

And if you’re feeling especially crafty, stitch a fresh cover to provide an old armchair a fresh look.

Bluetime Collaborative

Display where the Scoutmaster sleeps. For a slightly more luxurious than normal spin on sleeping in the excellent outdoors, I really like the idea of building a screened shield just steps from the backdoor.

You can enjoy the sounds and sights of character, minus the ribbons and tent installment drama.

The Land of Nod

Camp Throw Pillow, Racoon – $29

Enjoy your woodland buddies. Equally fitting on the couch in your home or the built-in chair of your vintage Airstream, this tiny fellow brings campy cheer wherever he goes.

Birds are used so much in decor in recent years that it’s only fair to provide the raccoons, squirrels and other fuzzy creatures their particular turn into the limelight.

Etsy

Personalize a Postcard Pillow by Olive Handmade – $36

Send a postcard. Personalize this postcard cushion with text transcribed from an old post, or compose a new message for someone you love. In any event this handmade accent is sure to put in a heartfelt note to your home.

Tamar Schechner/Nest Pretty Things Inc

Insert a dash of flower power. The vibrant, optimistic floral prints of ’60s bedding can frequently be utilized for a few bucks at thrift shops and yard sales. A little goes a long way, so consider including a couple of pillowcases instead of an entire set of sheets.

Re-cover seats with fun prints. Another fantastic use for your vintage ’60s fabric finds would be to refresh a set of dining chairs. It’s fine to mix up the prints and colors; picking patterns of a comparable scale is going to keep the look cohesive.

Collect vintage paintings. Thrift shops, yard sales and internet sites like eBay are full of one-of-a-kind original paintings by amateur artists. Masterpieces they are not, but they have their own distinct charm and if collected can make a superb statement wall. Consider picking a subject (pictures, mountain scenes etc.) or time period theme to concentrate your collection.

GPPhotographers

Source enamelware to your camp kitchen. There’s something amazingly cheerful about the sight of a classic blue-speckled enamel coffeepot on the stovetop. Enamelware may be a conventional area of the camp kit (and it’s still fun to deliver it camping), but it functions equally well in the kitchen. Try your local Army surplus or outdoor store for inexpensive enamelware.

Landing Design

Use picnic tables to feed a crowd. If your summer kitchen seems to be crowded with children and visitors more frequently than normal, try including a picnic table for easier meals. If you have the room, put it directly in the kitchen if not, then it functions on the deck or patio just as well.

Etsy

Vintage Folding Camp Stool by Pine and Main – $24

Use camp furniture inside or out. Classic camp folding furniture of an older vintage (believe wood frame, not plastic) adds a rustic-chic notice to interiors, and can be folded up and toted along when the mood strikes to hit on the street.

Build your own low-key backyard fire pit. Sleek, contemporary fire bowls have their place, but if you would like to re-create the disposition of camp in home, a rustic fire pit is what you want. Straightforward wood planks placed on logs make an easy seating place where friends can hang out and roast marshmallows.

How to Produce a Stacked Stone Fire Pit

Live it up in an Airstream. These retro trailers have a cult following with good reason. Their sleek lines and streamlined interiors and the mystique of life on the street are an irresistible combination. Take on the street, then park it in the garden the remainder of the time for use as quarters.

See tiki decor ideas from this vintage Airstream

Landing Design

Embrace rec room style. Painted flooring, framed posters and a ping-pong table are all you have to brighten up a cellar, a spare room or a garage. Stock a cooler with drinks and a cupboard with board games and puzzles for entertainment old-school fashion.

Seattle Staged to Sell and Design LLC

Locate a lake near you. Simply because you can’t go to summer camp doesn’t mean you can’t still encounter something like it. And let us face it, visiting a lake as an adult is bound to be a much more pleasant experience than the fact of camp if you’re a child. Enjoy it!

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Geometric shapes are the best refusal of this organic and natural shapes we would love to live together — that is why incorporating some sharp-edged kind to your own room is an excellent way to keep things interesting. Many of the new wire kinds act as a frame to the negative distance which exists beyond the piece. Here are some hot examples of present geometric shapes which change even traditional rooms with curious contradiction.

Plushpod

Farmhouse Chair – $450

A new spin on the traditional Bertoia chair, this design by Bend Seating from on-trend neon would be beautiful paired with a rustic crop table.

Croma Design Inc

A restricted, neutral palette enables the sketched character of the light fixture to pop up.

Anthony Baratta LLC

Within this area, the contrast between the soft curvature of the ottomans and the jagged edges of the carpet is echoed in the artwork and the throw pillows.

Etsy

Modern Mobile Himmeli No. 8 by AM Radio – $155

Mobiles are making a comeback in a big way, and this time they’re taking on a wire-frame kind that frames adverse distance and changes from every angle.

1stdibs

Hubert le Gall Polyedres Chandelier

In brass, this chandelier is complicated and edgy at once.

More ways to get brass into your home

Popham Design

Popham Design

Tiles have been observing geometric patterns for more than a century. This modern take plays wonderfully with the traditional claw-foot tub and the base sink.

Modern Pendant Lighting – $800

Keep it refined and simple in black to put in a large graphic punch to your room.

An icon in light design, the Lindsey Adelman chandelier is at once organic and graphic, and because of this it satisfies any style of space — so long as it is gutsy!

More about Lindsey Adelman’s fixtures

Todd Selby

This chandelier is a wire-frame miracle in a traditional form. It appears electronic and elegant, and at home in this ornate Victorian bathtub.

More Clash Courses:
Layout Comes Outside to Play

Pile High, Lean Low

Personalize Your Bathroom

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Root beer, bananas, vino, ammo … classic wooden crates have held onto all of it at one time or another. These enchanting boxes have to live another life. Not only do they make useful storage vessels, but their aged wood, faded painted logos and old nails add a exceptional patina and character to a room. Vintage crates are easy to find at flea markets and antiques malls, in addition to online; I did a quick Etsy search today and found small crates starting at under $10. See if any of these clever applications for classic crates hit your fancy.

Annie McElwain Photography

Utilization: Wall-mounted shelves
Result: A unique composition that can display your collectibles in an organized way.
Hint: Start with a direct line throughout the top of your arrangement and line the crates together it. A uniform look is lent by maintaining about the exact same amount of distance between crates.

Watch more classic crate shelves

Utilization: Vertical backyard construction
Result: A conversation starter that holds succulents in a sudden way. This endeavor is by Renee Garner.

Dreamy Whites

Utilization: Side table filled with character and history
Effect: only the ideal dollop of crusty patina within an otherwise white and clean shabby chic area.
Hint: If the cage is irregular, use felt pads (the sort that protect floors from scratchy table legs) to level it.

Erika Bierman Photography

Utilization: Stacked shelves
Effect: Tall storage that’s even more intriguing if not perfectly calibrated.
Hint: If you’ve got more than a couple of crates on your heap, nail them together for safety. You do not want a tower of heavy boxes and crates to collapse on anyone.

Splendid Willow

Utilization: Rolling storage crate
Effect: A useful and attractive way to store everything from cleaning supplies.

Learn how to make one of them yourself

Not handy? Purchase one already made

It’s The Little Things…

Utilization: Collection screen
Effect: The segments from old soda crates offer a grid of compartments for shells, teacups, photographs or whatever else you want to display.

The Virginia House

Utilization: somewhere to stash extra cushions
Result: Really, you can throw anything in crates like these and store them outside in plain sight; their wood, painted logos and old nails bring age.

Jeanette Lunde

Utilization: Tabletop bookshelf
Effect: A portable way to store your books, magazines and records.
Bonus: The crate on top can round up three beautiful vintage glass bottle vases.

Rikki Snyder

Utilization: Nightstand
Result: A bedside table that will hide that heap of magazines, a flashlight, your journal and anything else you prefer to have local.

Utilization: Candleholder
Result: I love when one multipurpose wonder and yet another one get married, in this case mason jars and classic crates.

Ira Lippke

Utilization: Vintage-modern kitchen storage
Effect: A great way to corral smaller kitchen items to get a uniform look on open shelves.

More:
Helpful Catch-Alls Keep Clutter at Bay
Creative Collector: Vintage Vessels
Make a Rolling Vintage Storage Crate

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Eight decades back on a whim, Jeff Olde visited an open house on a fairly elm-lined street he’d long admired. “I walked in the front door and was immediately taken with all the two-story entry hall with a sweeping staircase,” says Olde, a TV network executive. Then he called husband Alan Uphold who, without visiting the house, agreed to put in an offer. In just two hours the couple, who weren’t even trying to find a new home, found a new home, sold their current house and bought a new one. “It was only meant to be,” Olde says. “The home type of claimed us and we claimed it.”

Beyond the front entrance, however, the very best aspect of this house was that entry hall. “The remainder of this was mostly a wreck,” he says. “It was remodeled from the ’60s or ’70s and needed a whole lot of work”

in a Glance
Who lives here: Jeff Olde, Alan Uphold and puppy Bailey
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 3,900 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths
That is intriguing: The house features over 40 authentic Spanish light fixtures.

Brenda Olde

This open area functions as a passageway along with an intersection involving the family room, the living area and the kitchen. It’s also a library, anchored with a large custom painted glass window. “It had been made by an old family business in Pasadena called Judson Studios, that has been producing stained glass windows for a hundred decades,” Olde says. “I took a picture of a crest from a different home and had them replicate it. I really like it. I look at it every day, and it warms up the home”

Olde believes the light to be artwork. “I actually wanted an authentic, amazing, old-world intimate appearance and feel to the home, and a lot of this comes through the light,” he says. Not one original fixture was retained, so everything had to be substituted. “It was nearly as pricey as the building, but they make the home.”

In total, the couple additional 12 antique chandeliers and 32 sconces, a mixture of antiques and reproductions. Many of the fixtures came out of nearby Ray’s Hardware.

The initial two light fixtures they added were fitting chandeliers found in an antiques store in Pasadena, California. “We bought these amazing yet heavy fixtures before we started building because we loved them so much,” Olde says. “We ended up nearly building certain rooms around these two light fixtures, which inspired the chambers” One hangs here from the library, and the other is at the kitchen pulling the two spaces together.

Brenda Olde

The entryway staircase convinced Olde to purchase the house. Shortly afterwards, he and Uphold decided to restore it to honor the house’s architectural roots. Their vision was for the home to stream from the kitchen throughout the library and the family room outside into the terrace and the pool, along with light as the central function of art.

They lived in the home for six months prior to hiring architect David Serrurier and builder Terry Richardson to assist with renovations. “It was good to have that time residing in it before we began building, because we actually got a feeling of how we would utilize the chambers,” Olde says.

Brenda Olde

The couple wanted to restore each room to what they believed was the first layout. “We took our hints from the few rooms on the primary floor that hadn’t been altered,” Olde says. “They were characterized by thick plaster walls that were extra deep in the passageways. So we adopted that thick type of castlelike character into all of the chambers to create this beefy Spanish look I like.” Most rooms were gutted down to the studs and rebuilt with this particular design aesthetic.

One of their biggest design dilemmas was hoping to make sense of this 1960s addition, which generated a huge, long room, “just like a giant bowling alley,” says Olde. Their solution was to divide the distance in two, making a living space in the front and also a family area in back.

Brenda Olde

These two red tufted leather salon chairs from Olde’s favourite furniture store, Mortise and Tenon, were the very first purchase for your home. “They make such a statement, and I am in the process of discovering the bits that move around them. I really like the hunt. I wake up at 3 a.m. considering what might move there, which compels Alan insane by the way”

As the couple adds new furniture and fireplace tile, they are redesigning the living space more for beauty than for comfort. “I need it to be a great visual, even when we do not go in it, because you see it so prominently from the chambers we do live in. I just enjoy its pure visual beauty,” Olde says.

Brenda Olde

This baby grand piano, a birthday gift to Uphold, is the centerpiece of the living area. Olde says, “Nothing makes me happier than to have a glass of wine and sit with the puppy and listen to him play and sing. Those are some of my favourite times together and the way we mostly enjoy that space, only the three people with songs.”

Brenda Olde

The family room includes lots of casual seating, warm carpeting and a entertainment centre.

Sectional: Pampa Furniture

Brenda Olde

The dining area, which is adjacent to the entry along with also the kitchen, sets the palette and tone. Olde retained each of the walls the exact same neutral colour to create visual continuity. He says, “I liked it all just flowed together, so I painted it very creamy and neutral to create a light, open and free-flowing space. I wanted the light, tilework and furnishing details to actually pop.” He maintained the old reclaimed tile and dark wood for several of the flooring and ceiling beams. The one distinct color accent is a brilliant deep reddish.

Brenda Olde

Although lighting and materials were chosen to honor the heritage of a Spanish colonial, some concessions were made to the ground plan. “We opened up the kitchen so that it was just one large area in the middle of the home. This is not standard of Spanish design, but I needed the home to be livable from how we like to enjoy our own lives, which can be free and open.” Here is actually the view in the kitchen island.

Brenda Olde

The original plan for your kitchen was to go with bright, clean and traditional 1920s tiles. At the 11th hour, on a business trip, Olde discovered a wine cellar in Lake Como, Italy. He loved it so much, he immediately changed the kitchen plans to produce their own variant. The kitchen is now adorned into the ceiling with limestone tiles and black painted cabinetry.

Brenda Olde

“I found old reclaimed red floor tiles in Spain, this great putty-colored tile from Morocco to the walls and this awesome limestone for the countertops,” Olde says. The laundry and utility room off the kitchen is clad in the identical aesthetic. When asked about the kitchen appliances, Olde replies, “You mean in this area where the wine resides?”

All appliances: Viking

Brenda Olde

The master bedroom suite includes a balcony overlooking the yard. Much of the home’s art was discovered in Revival Antiques and the Rose Bowl Flea Market at Pasadena.

Window remedies: Restoration Hardware

Brenda Olde

The third upstairs bedroom comprises a attached en suite bathroom. The afternoon light flows in through French doors, and a balcony overlooks the front yard.

Window remedies: Restoration Hardware

Brenda Olde

The creamy palette is consistent throughout the home.

Brenda Olde

The second upstairs bedroom.

Window remedies: Restoration Hardware

Brenda Olde

Three decades ago the couple put in a pool and landscaping to create an inviting private backyard, which has been the highlight of their home. A spa featuring Moroccan tiles doubles as a fountain. The bathtub separates the seating area from the outdoor dining room.

Brenda Olde

“We live in our family room and rear patio with fire pit. We hardly leave during the evenings, and we find lots of company constantly needing to come lounge by the pool with margaritas,” Olde says.

Brenda Olde

The home flows out of the kitchen throughout the library along with the living room into the terrace and the pool.

Brenda Olde

Uphold from the backyard with Bailey.

Brenda Olde

This exterior exudes warmth, comfort and beauty. A tiled terrace and greenery create an inviting first impression. “When they built the area back in the 1920s they had planned to bring a street in the back. But they changed the plans and gave all of the extra yard space to the houses on this road, so the whole lot was incredibly deep for Los Angeles,” Olde says. “We had a very big canvas that I believed we could really not merely restore, but also make better than the first. Due to the critical Historic Preservation Zone designation, the area has been shielded and frozen in time.”

Olde and Uphold love their neighborhood and the Grove is within walking distance, offering outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment. “Beverly Boulevard is just a short stroll into the north, and La Brea into the east has an entire series of restaurants and companies,” Uphold says.

Brenda Olde

Olde was attracted to old Spanish houses by the film Sunset Boulevard. “The character lived in this wonderful Spanish mansion, and I recall thinking as a young boy, ‘I wish to live there,'” he says. A self-described frustrated architect, Olde says he has obsessed over houses his entire life. “l will drive down a road and see a home I need to see and I only need to go knock on the door and see if they will allow me to take a look. As a kid, I actually used to do so — I’d ask them if I could use their toilet,” he says.

Olde pored over books of antique Spanish homes to aid with the recovery. The novels Classic California and Colonial California were his bibles. “I studied every photograph for layout ideas, a lot of that I’d replicated”

Brenda Olde

Olde crouches from the entryway. The following home project is completing the living space and enhancing the three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Olde says, “Our canvas is still lovingly painted. I believe I was inspired to create a mood, and I need the home to shine and draw you in.”

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Marsha Donaldson and Bill Ferris remodeled their home to look and function like any other modern home, but the actual beauty of this new design lies in the subtle details. The couple’s space-efficient design options also make the house fully accessible to Ferris, who has lived the last 38 years in a wheelchair.

The couple worked with designer and former rehab nurse Susan Duncan of ABCs of Access, Seattle interior designer Piper Lauri Salogga and Guy DiRe of Chieftain Construction. The team carefully considered space, height and more, and the result is a house layout that works comfortably for both Ferris and Donaldson.

at a Glance
Who lives here: Marsha Donaldson, Bill Ferris and their puppy, Sadie
Location: Hawthorne Hills neighborhood of Seattle
Size: 1,350 square feet; two bedrooms, 2 baths

Louise Lakier

The first change they made was adding a wooden access ramp. They then replaced it with this specific concrete ramp that blends to the landscaping, resembling low terrace walls. The extra width of the top leg allows for a tiny front porch.

Louise Lakier

A subtle detail provides convenience, ease, and efficiency in motion: A doorway pull found right above the mail slot enables Ferris to maintain his sanity as he slides out the doorway, without needing to reach back awkwardly to pull the door shut.

Louise Lakier

The low concrete ramp wall mixes into and is hidden by lush plantings. Mary Kay Swanson and Niko Stoll of Box of Rain Landscape designed the front yard.

Louise Lakier

Both Donaldson and Ferris admire the elegance and simplicity of celebrity Maya Lin’s designs. Working together with Salogga they achieved a house layout and colour scheme with minimal furniture plus a modern, uncluttered feel.

The two like entertaining and are currently brainstorming ideas on the best way best to enlarge their dining room area.

Louise Lakier

The kitchen includes functional pullout cutting boards. While useful, they are also able to get in the way when both of these are cooking and vying for space. The area under the sink is spacious so Ferris can perform dishes facing forward rather than sideways. The windowsill was lowered so that he can enjoy the outside scenery.

Donaldson is the primary chef, so the countertops were kept in standard height. The items usually found under a sink, such as the recycling and garbage bins, live in a pullout cabinet beside the sink. The breakfast corner table is handily cantilevered to get rid of the cumbersome banging of glider and knees on the table legs.

Louise Lakier

The upper cabinets are somewhat lower than usual so Ferris can reach both lower shelves. The toe cries are 9 inches high, allowing for a 60-inch twist clearance so Ferris can move freely round the kitchen with no backing in and out. Standard toe cries are 4-5 inches high. DiRe came up with the innovative gate that slides supporting the cabinetry when the couple’s dog, Sadie, has access to the kitchen. The floors are Marmoleum.

Louise Lakier

The bathrooms are spacious, and the sinks are cantilevered for full wheelchair accessibility. The extra-wide space also includes sliding doors for clearance and space efficiency.

Louise Lakier

The furniture layout is stored open in the living space, leaving plenty of space for Ferris to get around. A sensible decision was made to leave out a coffee table.

Louise Lakier

The first home was under 900 square feet. The few extended the house to the garden, creating a bedroom large enough to enable Ferris to possess turnaround space on both sides of the bed.

“Our-light filled, spacious master bedroom is my favorite place in the home,” Donaldson says. “With easy access to the deck, the landscaping allows us to leave our windows open while still maintaining our solitude.” The expansive windows also them to enjoy a crystal clear view of the backyard.

Louise Lakier

The sink in the master bath is reduced and cantilevered so Ferris could have full access. The toilet cabinets (not shown) pull out for easy accessibility from the sides.

Louise Lakier

The bathtub is curbless and fully accessible. The few considered installing glass partition walls but determined that a curtain and rod would offer the most flexibility.

Louise Lakier

The prior master bedroom is currently the workplace and also serves as the guest space. The couple opted for a Murphy bed (pictured available) for optimized space efficiency. From the cupboard near the bed, a table lamp is stored underneath a pullout table. The cupboard (not shown) is split between workplace storage and cupboard space for visiting guests.

Louise Lakier

Donaldson says, “We both believe in the maxim ‘Less is more’ and combined with that, ‘Less is calming.'” In line with that, the pull-down bed neatly tucks away to the wall cupboard, along with the couple discuss a cantilevered desk.

Louise Lakier

A golden chain tree in full bloom frames the Trex deck. DiRe sloped the deck to get a smooth transition out in the kitchen. The couple decided on steps down to the lawn for better clearance inside the backyard, so Ferris accesses the space from across the side.

Louise Lakier

It was hard for Ferris to use the backyard with its first grass and planter beds. Box of Rain Landscaping installed and designed the stone pavers, sloping them suitably so Ferris could access the lawn. The pavers extend into both sides gates, so that he has full use of the scenic lawn.

Louise Lakier

Ferris, Donaldson and Sadie in their own backyard garden.

Is your home designed with access in mind? Show us your house and it could be featured on .

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