If variety is the spice of life, interior design is one spicy profession! From transitional and traditional to contemporary and eclectic, no two design projects are ever the same. Change keeps us on our toes, but also makes us love our job all the more.
Recently, we selected all the finishes for a new construction, American Craftsman-style home that embraces all the ideals of the style: to live simply, be connected to nature and design with clean lines and hand-crafted wood, glass and metal works.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Arts and Crafts movement, it began in opposition to the Industrial Revolution, which transitioned hand production methods to machines. The speed of production was greatly increased, but the joy of traditional craftsmanship and artistry was being lost. Simply put, machines and assembly lines cost laborers the pleasure of overseeing their work from start to finish.
The Arts and Crafts movement focused on “revolution through art” and its values remain the same today: hand-crafted objects, clean lines, local natural materials, uncluttered home decor and a connection to the outdoors. Its architectural features also oppose the opulent Victorian aesthetic that was at its height of popularity when the Arts and Crafts movement began.
Craftsman-style homes usually have low-pitches roof lines, deeply overhanging eaves, tapered square columns supporting the roof, deep front porches and hand-crafted stone, glass and woodwork. Our clients love the inviting, simple elegance of the style and we loved designing their beautiful, one-of-a-kind home. Take a look at some of the details!
Warm hardwood floors, a brick archway and fireplace welcome you to the family room, and add natural elements to the home. A large wall of Craftsman-style windows with detailed window casings brings the outside in.
Rustic brick connects the family room to the kitchen. Cream-hued, natural stone countertops and white cabinetry keep the color palette simple, while crown molding and door casings adds artistic detail. Pendant lights continue the room’s clean lines.
A close-up of two hallmarks of a Craftsman-style home, handcrafted glass inserts in the upper kitchen cabinets and a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted metal range hood. Glass tiles in a chevron pattern create a simple, but elegant backsplash.
The mudroom, a popular luxury for families, is one of our favorite rooms in the house. The warm hue of the wood flooring and Craftsman-style door contrast beautifully with the white beadboard wall planks, built-in storage, door casing and moldings.
Finally, a family-friendly, outdoor living space adds another opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and provides sheltered, but open views to the home’s beautiful surroundings. The use of brick, hardwoods, window and door casings create a continuous flow from the outside in.
We had an amazing night recently at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) 2014 Legacy of DesignAwards Celebration. Over 200 designers and industry professionals throughout the Texas Chapter attended the event and both the company and projects were inspiring!
From contemporary to traditional design, the projects were stunning and Legacy of Design Awards were given from a variety categories. We were thrilled to receive four of the prestigious awards! Not only were we honored to be recognized, but we loved calling our clients to tell them they had award-winning homes!
One of the designs also received a 2014 ARC Award from the Dallas Builders Association at a separate event three nights later. Sterling Brook Custom Homes received the ARC Award for Best Kitchen under $1 million for our kitchen design.
Here are the award-winning projects:
FIRST PLACE – Residence Under 3,500 Square Feet
&
Best Kitchen under $1 Million ARC Award
FIRST PLACE – Traditional Living Room
FIRST PLACE – Contemporary Living Room
SECOND PLACE – Contemporary Singular Space
We couldn’t be happier and want to thank ALL our clients for making our designs possible!
It’s often said the kitchen is the heart of the home. That’s because it’s a favorite gathering place of family and friends, and it’s often the first room prospective homebuyers consider when evaluating a home.
Is the kitchen functional? Does it have a fresh look or an outdated one? Is it dark or light and airy? More importantly, does it reflect your individual style right now? Seasons change and so do your lifestyle needs.
A remodel can be a drastic or small change. What the room needs and what the owner wants—new cabinets, tile or even a fresh color or motif—should be a mixture for a great remodel. Remodels require close attention to detail, and your lifestyle needs, design style, wish list and budget should all be considered.
If you’re planning a remodel or building a new home, we can create the kitchen of your dreams. Your makeover can be customized and inspiration is part of our job. We have extensive experience with kitchen design and many of our remodels are featured in the Pro Galleries of HGTVRemodels. We also stay up-to-date on the latest advances in appliances from steam ovens to flash freeze freezers.
Having a fresh and updated kitchen is essential to maintaining your home’s value and your happiness with your home. Whether you choose a classic or modern style kitchen, a makeover can transform how you view and use the most important room in the house.
Source of Images: Barbara Gilbert Interiors
We recently gave you all the details of a living room design transformation we created when our clients moved into a high-rise condominium. With its contemporary architecture, the condominium was the complete opposite of their traditional interior design past and a style 180 was in order!
Today, we’ve got all the scoop on the streamlined kitchen and dining room design they also embraced with their new surroundings. They love their new home and we couldn’t be more excited for them!
We continued the soothing indigo and gray color scheme in the design plan and furniture design, making the open floor plan flow beautifully. Custom-made cobalt blue barstools with legs finished in white chocolate welcome guests to the kitchen, while simple pendant lights add understated elegance. [Read more…]
What’s your dream? Think of your home as a blank canvas. Now imagine it filled with all the things you love!
We can transform individual rooms, or infuse energy and light, with an entirely new theme that breathes life, love, peace and happiness into your space!
Chances are your life is filled with activities, work obligations and family needs. Everyone’s busy with technology filled days and jam packed calendars! Now more than ever, today’s homeowner wants to come home to a space that’s calming and clean. We want soothing rooms and spa-like bathrooms – that luxury hotel feeling we had on a dream vacation. We want to feel as if we can escape in our own homes. Is your home a comforting enclave?
We design to your tastes and needs, not ours. Let us design that perfect, compelling getaway within your own home. When you enter your doors after a long, hectic day, you should feel a sigh of relief. Even in a house full of children, pets, activity, noise and life, we can create an oasis of solitude, whether it’s a simple reading space, spa room, man cave, library, music studio or even a bowling alley!
We will create and implement a design plan from concept to completion to include budgeting, furniture layout plans, color selection, furniture, rugs, accessories, window treatment procurement and installation. We also manage new home selections, kitchen and bathroom remodeling, collaborate with builders, contractors and architects working from blueprints to final move-in design.
Call us for a consultation! 214-641-7897
Source of images: Barbara Gilbert Interiors
Tours of the Village Park Eco Home are over, but don’t worry if you missed touring the home in person. Thanks to Michael Hunter Photography, we have stunning photographs of all the rooms to show you!
We were very honored to be the interior design firm for this project and really did not fully realize all that was in store for us! In the spirit of the project, we did extensive research on sustainable living and eco-friendly design, and sought out the finest materials and vendors to outfit the home. Needless to say, the design process was lengthy, but oh so rewarding!
Plus, the exceptional interest and almost immediate sale of the home is proof alone that sustainable living is more popular than ever. In fact, the home was under contract within two weeks of being on the market and was sold even before the public tours were over!
The new homeowners are preparing for their move into this high performance home that caught the attention of numerous media outlets, including D Home Magazine, The Dallas Morning News and Green Source DFW. And the buyers also chose to purchase virtually all the furnishings and artwork we used to outfit the home. Talk about move-in ready!
Here are a few of our favorite rooms and features.
The Study
Now one of our favorites, the study was initially our least favorite room in the house because it presented us with a tremendous design challenge. With a ceiling height of 17 feet and a small footprint, the room felt more like an elevator shaft than a study.
Our first design decision was to cut the space vertically by installing molding around the walls two-thirds the way up and installing a textural grasscloth wall covering to the lower portion of the room. This created a warm and intimate environment, where the eye was no longer drawn straight to the ceiling, but rather to the beautiful wall covering.
Next, we selected a warm taupe for the portion of the room above the molding and painted the ceiling a dark “greige” to visually bring the ceiling height down. We furnished the room with a beautiful, geometric cowhide rug from Dallas Rugs, contemporary but warm fabrics and furniture, and custom artwork sourced especially for the room to enhance the color palette with golden yellows.
The Dining Room
The dining room was actually constructed as a flex room – meaning the room does not have a designated use and can be changed to suit a family’s needs. Often located near the heart of the home, flex rooms offer tremendous versatility and can serve as a formal dining room, child’s play area, craft room or any other specialty room a homeowner desires. To further the room’s function, we added frosted, sliding barn doors to separate or open the room to the kitchen.
For the dining room itself, we chose an elegant, but informal and colorful design. The mix of the patterned teal side chairs and the solid teal end chairs create layering in the space, especially coupled with the bold teal ceiling. The walls were painted beige to ground the space and artwork from La Montage brings all of the elements together.
Oh, and did we mention the custom dining table from the Armored Frog was built from reclaimed ancient heart pine timber beams and flooring recovered from the old 1920 Micolas Textile Mill, in Opp, Alabama? It’s one of our favorite pieces in the house!
The Kitchen
From the white walls and cabinets to the bamboo countertops and contemporary glass pendant lighting, the kitchen radiates light and spaciousness. Glass subway tiles serve as the backsplash with an accent of organic leaf shaped glass tile over the cooktop.
Adding to its function, the island is a two-part system with one stationary section and one movable section which can serve as a serving or prep area or a breakfast or craft table. The movable section can even be relocated to the flex room if desired.
The Living Room
Like the rest of the house, the living room was designed with countless natural elements. The hardwood floors throughout the entire home were crafted from standing dead oak trees, milled as needed, from Wisconsin. Cork wall covering lines the backs of the built-in shelves adjacent to the fireplace and wood beams reclaimed from barns in the northern United States were mounted into the ceiling alcove
Wood projection tiles from the Jamie Beckwith Collection were installed above the fireplace mantle, making the television virtually disappear due to their shared dark hues. And a spectacular rustic, botanical arrangement by The Botanical Mix adds yet another natural element to the space, sitting center stage on the custom upholstered ottoman.
Want to see more? Visit us at Houzz for pictures of all the rooms and details!
Source of Images: Michael Hunter Photography
Whether you’re interested in home improvements, in the market for a new home or just love touring designer houses, the Village Park Eco Home is THE place to be this weekend!
The contemporary hill country style home was built to answer the question, “What’s next in high-performance home construction?” And the answers are cutting edge! [Read more…]
Talk about an amazing Christmas gift! After being contacted by HGTV requesting projects for their consideration in upcoming publications, I submitted two recent remodeling projects. Imagine my excitement when they decided to feature both projects online and interviewed me for all the details!
The first project is a large kitchen remodel in Farmersville, Texas that required the removal of two walls to create the open floor plan the homeowner desired. The kitchen was part of an overall home remodel and, due to extensive construction requirements, took over 9 months. But the end result was so worth it! HGTV chose to title it a “Cook’s Dream Kitchen,” and I couldn’t agree more. Take a look at the before and after.
Before, the kitchen was closed off from the family room and short on function. It also needed an overall update in cabinetry, appliances and finishes.
Now, the kitchen is family-friendly and open to adjacent rooms. It also boasts a show stopping island, timeless cabinetry, deep granite countertops and a butler’s pantry equipped with a coffee station. [Read more…]