Home Design Inspiration: Refined, Elegant Style

Today, I’m bringing you some home design inspiration that’s elegant and clean-lined with a high-end refinement. This new-construction home in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas, was a two-year project and everyone is thrilled with the results.
The homeowners brought us onboard during the planning stages and we helped pick everything from floorboards to finishes inside and out — we even helped find the tile for the swimming pool. They wanted a European-style exterior, but a soft contemporary interior and we assured them that could happen — involving a professional interior designer from the get-go creates a cohesive, curated look.
I love a dramatic entryway and, as you can see from the photos below, this house delivers! The floor is a marble tile in a large-format pattern, setting the stage for other elements to rise, like the wrought-iron balusters gracing the curves of the staircase — we hand-sketched that design and had it custom made in North Texas. The front doors’ iron details are also custom, designed to echo the balusters. The oak stairs are a warm, golden hue and have a contemporary glass tile on the risers, a beautiful complement.
On the wall to the right of the stairs, a floor-to-ceiling a three-dimensional ceramic tile treatment, which draws the eye up, as does the curving staircase, to the light. That multi-tiered, curving crystal chandelier is the perfect anchor for the space — it has such a wow factor. We painted the concave space around the chandelier a deep gray color to set it off, a trick we used in several other ceiling treatments in this house. Watch for it and you’ll see how it adds height and depth.
The partially open floorplan means the formal dining room looks onto the entryway and hallway. That room’s horizontally curving chandelier echoes the look of the foyer light, all crystal, movement, and sparkle. The floorplan also allows for views from the front door straight back into the backyard through large windows on the first and second floors. Can you imagine coming home to this every day? What an entrance you could make!

Home Design Inspiration: Elegant, Crisp, and Refined | Interior Design Dallas | Barbara Gilbert Interiors

The view from the formal dining room toward the entryway with its grand staircase.

Custom-made wrought iron balusters grace the curves of the staircase.

The double-height entryway is accentuated by a panel of floor-to-ceiling three-dimensional tile treatment.

An oversized chandelier anchors the space in a dramatic fashion. Nothing less would do!

The view toward the custom front doors, designed by us to echo the staircase balusters.

Up close with the multi-tiered, curving crystal chandelier. It’s even bigger in person!

The entire entryway from above.

Just off the entryway is the home office, a space we design for both function and beauty. Get your home design inspiration in this space from the contemporary coffered ceiling, painted a medium taupe, and the built-in desk with geometric stylings.

A private home office with custom built-in desk and cabinets.

The coffered ceiling is a contemporary take on a classic look.

A detail on the custom built-ins — that perfect gray is by Sherwin Williams, “Dorian Gray.”

Downstairs powder room. Love that metallic hex tile!

The master bedroom feels like a retreat from the world with a soothing color palette and spa-like luxury bathroom. We brought hardwoods into this room and their rich color is reflected in the contemporary ceiling fan. The walk-in closet proves that great design can show up anywhere — in addition to creating a lot of function for our homeowners, it’s so attractive with a white tile floor, white built-ins, and crystal chandelier.
I’m particularly proud of the master bathroom — it’s the kind of space I could relax in for hours! We found a sculptural soaker tub and created a tile surround with a mother-of-pearl sheen to add a sense of luxury and elegance to the space. There’s a crystal chandelier and crystal task lights over the mirror, as well. In the shower, body sprays make for more relaxation and the tile treatment is custom.

I don’t usually love ceiling fans in a room’s design, but this contemporary rendition really looks great in the master bedroom, don’t you think?

The master bedroom’s walk-in closet is to die for!

The master bathroom is full of eye-catching elements, like the crystal overhead light fixture and a sculptural soaker tub .

Close-up of the master bathroom contemporary soaker tub and tile surround.

One of the vanities in the master bathroom with crystal lights above the mirror. The bathroom counters are a light-colored quartz.

The master bathroom walk-in shower with custom tile detail and body sprays.

The family room ceiling echoes the home office, a modern take on the coffered look — these beams actually come down off the ceiling and have recessed lights in them. This is one of my favorite design elements of this room, which is open to the kitchen and wet bar for maximum flow and great family function.
Another element I absolutely love is the surround of the modern gas fireplace. We used a large-format porcelain tile with hex shapes on them that looks like cubes. The overall effect is eye-catching and, with the TV above, this will be a focal point of the room, which offers views of the backyard through oversized windows.
Our homeowners love to cook, so a wonderful kitchen was definitely part of the plan. We started with a double-sided island and breakfast bar, topped with an unusual slab of granite — check out the photo below to see the incredible detail — with three glass pendants above. From there, we designed the room with double-height Shaker-style cabinets in two tones, a glass tile backsplash, and an inset tile backsplash above the stove for a luxury look. The countertops are a light-colored quartz, which complements the space perfectly.

The primary living area downstairs is open to the kitchen, anchored by a fireplace with a floor-to-ceiling tile surround.

A detail of the fireplace tile surround.

Downstairs living area viewed from the kitchen.

The kitchen and wet bar viewed from the living area.

The wet bar off the kitchen.

The kitchen features a two-sided, oversized island topped with a rare granite slab.

The kitchen.

The kitchen island up close.

The kitchen features high-end appliances and a special tile backsplash behind the cooktop.

The butler’s pantry with double-height cabinets and a quartz countertop.

Out homeowners prioritized having plenty of room for quality family time, so we included a game room/family room upstairs with its own mini-kitchen/wet bar.

Upstairs family room with wet bar.

Close-up of wet bar.

Downstairs media room.

Throughout this new construction home, tile treatments take center stage. Nowhere is that more evident than the bathrooms. All of the walk-in showers have frameless glass doors and at least three types of tile: a primary, a wall accent, and a floor tile. One of my favorite parts of the job is finding all the beautiful tiles that must not only work in the individual space, but should create a cohesive overall “vibe” for the house.

A walk-in shower with frameless glass door.

All of the showers in the house have at least three types of tile.

Inset soap niches are one of my favorite “come abouts” of the past five years. A perfect place for sundries and another opportunity to showcase beautiful tile.

It might surprise you to know interior designers are an important part of planning outdoor spaces, too. For example, I helped choose the tile treatment in this swimming pool and made suggestions on other elements, too.

Backyard swimming pool.

What do you think of this home design inspiration? Leave a comment below or on Facebook or Twitter.
We’ve got years of experience creating inspired, gorgeous interiors — contact Barbara today at 214-641-7897 or via the website contact form. We offer DFW interior design services in Dallas, Richardson, Plano, Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Southlake, Westlake, and many more parts of North Texas — please see the list of the areas we serve.