Modern Transitional home with Custom Steel Hood as well as metal bi-folding cabinet doors that fold up and down
Large modern l-shaped kitchen in Denver with flat-panel cabinets, with island, an undermount sink, light wood cabinets, marble benchtops, white splashback, stone slab splashback, stainless steel appliances and medium hardwood floors.

These terrific clients turned a boring 80's kitchen into a modern, Asian-inspired chef's dream kitchen, with two tone cabinetry and professional grade appliances. An over-sized island provides comfortable seating for four. Custom Half-wall bookcases divide the kitchen from the family room without impeding sight lines into the inviting space. Photography: Stacy Zarin Goldberg

Inspiration for a large transitional master bathroom in Houston with an undermount sink, a freestanding tub, an open shower, dark hardwood floors, an open shower, a two-piece toilet, white tile, marble, white walls, engineered quartz benchtops, brown floor and white benchtops.

Atherton has many large substantial homes - our clients purchased an existing home on a one acre flag-shaped lot and asked us to design a new dream home for them. The result is a new 7,000 square foot four-building complex consisting of the main house, six-car garage with two car lifts, pool house with a full one bedroom residence inside, and a separate home office /work out gym studio building. A fifty-foot swimming pool was also created with fully landscaped yards. Given the rectangular shape of the lot, it was decided to angle the house to incoming visitors slightly so as to more dramatically present itself. The house became a classic u-shaped home but Feng Shui design principals were employed directing the placement of the pool house to better contain the energy flow on the site. The main house entry door is then aligned with a special Japanese red maple at the end of a long visual axis at the rear of the site. These angles and alignments set up everything else about the house design and layout, and views from various rooms allow you to see into virtually every space tracking movements of others in the home. The residence is simply divided into two wings of public use, kitchen and family room, and the other wing of bedrooms, connected by the living and dining great room. Function drove the exterior form of windows and solid walls with a line of clerestory windows which bring light into the middle of the large home. Extensive sun shadow studies with 3D tree modeling led to the unorthodox placement of the pool to the north of the home, but tree shadow tracking showed this to be the sunniest area during the entire year. Sustainable measures included a full 7.1kW solar photovoltaic array technically making the house off the grid, and arranged so that no panels are visible from the property. A large 16,000 gallon rainwater catchment system consisting of tanks buried below grade was installed. The home is California GreenPoint rated and also features sealed roof soffits and a sealed crawlspace without the usual venting. A whole house computer automation system with server room was installed as well. Heating and cooling utilize hot water radiant heated concrete and wood floors supplemented by heat pump generated heating and cooling. A compound of buildings created to form balanced relationships between each other, this home is about circulation, light and a balance of form and function. Photo by John Sutton Photography.

This is an example of a large country galley separate kitchen in Montpellier with with island and light wood cabinets.

Photos by SpaceCrafting
Inspiration for a large transitional l-shaped dedicated laundry room in Minneapolis with a farmhouse sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, grey walls, dark hardwood floors, a stacked washer and dryer and brown floor.

Centered on an arched pergola, the gas grill is convenient to bar seating, the refrigerator and the trash receptacle. The pergola ties into other wood structures on site and the circular bar reflects a large circular bluestone insert on the patio.

We kept it simple by the tub for a truly Japandi spa-like escape. The Brizo Jason Wu tub filler adds some contrast but otherwise the tile wall is the artwork here.

Photo of a large transitional master bathroom in Dallas with flat-panel cabinets, beige cabinets, a freestanding tub, a corner shower, a bidet, white tile, white walls, porcelain floors, an undermount sink, quartzite benchtops, beige floor, a hinged shower door, blue benchtops and a double vanity.

Design ideas for a large transitional l-shaped open plan kitchen in Denver with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, blue cabinets, quartzite benchtops, white splashback, ceramic splashback, panelled appliances, light hardwood floors, with island, brown floor and blue benchtop.

A home gym that makes workouts a breeze.
Photo of a large transitional home weight room in Milwaukee with blue walls, light hardwood floors and beige floor.

The principal Bathroom is a clean, modern space where everything has its place. The double sinks are a single, integrated top that sits upon a custom designed vanity that floats above the heated tile floor. Tall storage cabinets sit on either side with an open niche and glass shelf for often used items. Wall mounted faucets keep the countertop tidy and a wide mirror with 3 LED light strips make morning prep a little easier. The large scale porcelain floor tile wraps up the vanity wall as well as into the shower.

Pool view of whole house exterior remodel
Photo of a large midcentury ground level deck in San Diego with metal railing.

Home bar located in family game room. Stainless steel accents accompany a mirror that doubles as a TV.
Design ideas for a large transitional seated home bar in Omaha with an undermount sink, porcelain floors, glass-front cabinets, mirror splashback, grey floor and white benchtop.

The front porch of the existing house remained. It made a good proportional guide for expanding the 2nd floor. The master bathroom bumps out to the side. And, hand sawn wood brackets hold up the traditional flying-rafter eaves. Max Sall Photography

A close up of the well-stocked bar. These custom bar cabinets in the homeowners' favorite hue combine beautifully with solid reclaimed walnut floating shelves. The floating shelves and the glass-front upper cabinets are perfect for displaying spirits and glassware.

This 1933 Wauwatosa basement was dark, dingy and lacked functionality. The basement was unfinished with concrete walls and floors. A small office was enclosed but the rest of the space was open and cluttered. The homeowners wanted a warm, organized space for their family. A recent job change meant they needed a dedicated home office. They also wanted a place where their kids could hang out with friends. Their wish list for this basement remodel included: a home office where the couple could both work, a full bathroom, a cozy living room and a dedicated storage room. This basement renovation resulted in a warm and bright space that is used by the whole family. Highlights of this basement: - Home Office: A new office gives the couple a dedicated space for work. There’s plenty of desk space, storage cabinets, under-shelf lighting and storage for their home library. - Living Room: An old office area was expanded into a cozy living room. It’s the perfect place for their kids to hang out when they host friends and family. - Laundry Room: The new laundry room is a total upgrade. It now includes fun laminate flooring, storage cabinets and counter space for folding laundry. - Full Bathroom: A new bathroom gives the family an additional shower in the home. Highlights of the bathroom include a navy vanity, quartz counters, brass finishes, a Dreamline shower door and Kohler Choreograph wall panels. - Staircase: We spruced up the staircase leading down to the lower level with patterned vinyl flooring and a matching trim color. - Storage: We gave them a separate storage space, with custom shelving for organizing their camping gear, sports equipment and holiday decorations. CUSTOMER REVIEW “We had been talking about remodeling our basement for a long time, but decided to make it happen when my husband was offered a job working remotely. It felt like the right time for us to have a real home office where we could separate our work lives from our home lives. We wanted the area to feel open, light-filled, and modern – not an easy task for a previously dark and cold basement! One of our favorite parts was when our designer took us on a 3D computer design tour of our basement. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this could be our basement!?!’ It was so fun to see how our designer was able to take our wish list and ideas from my Pinterest board, and turn it into a practical design. We were sold after seeing the design, and were pleasantly surprised to see that Kowalske was less costly than another estimate.” – Stephanie, homeowner

The homeowners wanted to improve the layout and function of their tired 1980’s bathrooms. The master bath had a huge sunken tub that took up half the floor space and the shower was tiny and in small room with the toilet. We created a new toilet room and moved the shower to allow it to grow in size. This new space is far more in tune with the client’s needs. The kid’s bath was a large space. It only needed to be updated to today’s look and to flow with the rest of the house. The powder room was small, adding the pedestal sink opened it up and the wallpaper and ship lap added the character that it needed

This was a full gut an renovation. The existing kitchen had very dated cabinets and didn't function well for the clients. A previous desk area was turned into hidden cabinetry to house the microwave and larger appliances and to keep the countertops clutter free. The original pendants were about 4" wide and were inappropriate for the large island. They were replaced with larger, brighter and more sophisticated pendants. The use of panel ready appliances with large matte black hardware made gave this a clean and sophisticated look. Mosaic tile was installed from the countertop to the ceiling and wall sconces were installed over the kitchen window. A different tile was used in the bar area which has a beverage refrigerator and an ice machine and floating shelves. The cabinetry in this area also includes a pullout drawer for dog food.