Robert Brewster, Warren Jagger Photography
Design ideas for a country storage and wardrobe in Providence with light hardwood floors.

Houston Interior Designer Lisha Maxey took this Museum District condo from the dated, mirrored walls of the 1980s to Mid Century Modern with a gallery look featuring the client's art collection. "The place was covered with glued-down, floor-to-ceiling mirrors," says Lisha Maxey, senior designer for Homescapes of Houston and principal at LGH Design Services in Houston. "When we took them off the walls, the walls came apart. We ended up taking them down to the studs." The makeover took six months to complete, primarily because of strict condo association rules that only gave the Houston interior designers very limited access to the elevator - through which all materials and team members had to go. "Monday through Friday, we could only be noisy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and if we had to do something extra loud, like sawing or drilling, we had to schedule it with the management and they had to communicate that to the condo owners. So it was just a lot of coordination. But a lot of Inner City Loopers live in these kinds of buildings, so we're used to handling that kind of thing." The client, a child psychiatrist in her 60s, recently moved to Houston from northeast Texas to be with friends. After being widowed three years ago, she decided it was time to let go of the traditionally styled estate that wasn't really her style anyway. An avid diver who has traveled around the world to pursue her passion, she has amassed a large collection of art from her travels. Downsizing to 1,600 feet and wanting to go more contemporary, she wanted the display - and the look - more streamlined. "She wanted clean lines and muted colors, with the main focus being her artwork," says Maxey. "So we made the space a palette for that." Enter the white, gallery-grade paint she chose for the walls: "It's halfway between satin and flat," explains Maxey. "It's not glossy and it's not chalky - just very smooth and clean." Adding to the gallery theme is the satin nickel track lighting with lamps aimed to highlight pieces of art. "This lighting has no wires," notes Maxey. "It's powered by a positive and negative conduit." The new flooring throughout is a blended-grey porcelain tile that looks like wood planks. "It's gorgeous, natural-looking and combines all the beauty of wood with the durability of tile," says Maxey. "We used it throughout the condo to unify the space." After Maxey started looking at the client's bright, vibrant, colorful artwork, she felt the palette couldn't stay as muted anymore. Hence the Mid Century Modern orange leather sofas from West Elm and bright green chairs from Joybird, plus the throw pillows in different textures, patterns and shades of gold, orange and green. The concave lines of the Danish-inspired chairs, she notes, help them look beautiful from all the way around - a key to designing spaces for loft living. "The table in the living room is very interesting," notes Maxey. "It was handmade for the client in 1974 and has a signature on it from the artist. She was adamant about including the piece, which has all these hand-painted black-and-white art tiles on the top. I took one look at it and said 'It's not really going to go.'" However, after cutting 6 inches off the bottom and making it look a little distressed, the table ended up being the perfect complement to the sofas. The dining room table - from Design Within Reach - is a solid piece of mahogany, the chair upholstery a mix of grey velvet and leather and the legs a shiny brass. "The side chairs are leather and the end ones are velvet," says Maxey. "It's a nice textural mix that lends depth and texture." The galley kitchen, meanwhile, has been lightened and brightened, with white quartz countertops and backsplashes mimicking the look of Carrara marble, stainless steel appliances and a velvet green bench seat for a punch of color. The cabinets are painted a cool grey color called "Silverplate." The two bathrooms have been updated with contemporary white vanities and vessel sinks and the master bath now features a walk-in shower tiled in Dolomite white marble (the floor is Bianco Carrara marble mosaic, done in a herringbone pattern. In the master bedroom, Homescapes of Houston knocked down a wall between two smaller closets with swing doors to make one large walk-in closet with pocket doors. The closet in the guest bedroom also came out 13 more inches. The client's artwork throughout personalizes the space and tells the story of a life. There's a huge bowl of shells from the client's diving adventures, framed art from her child psychiatry patients and a 16th century wood carving from a monastery that's been in her family forever. "Her collection is quite impressive," says Maxey. "There's even a framed piece of autographed songs written by John Lennon." (You can see this black-framed piece of art on the wall in the photo above of two green chairs). "We're extremely happy with how the project turned out, and so is the client," says Maxey. "No expense was spared for her. It was a labor of love and we were excited to do it."

This is an example of an expansive transitional gender-neutral walk-in wardrobe in Dallas with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, porcelain floors and brown floor.

Keith Issac
This is an example of a large contemporary gender-neutral walk-in wardrobe in Miami with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, light hardwood floors and brown floor.

Kitchen designed by Cheryl Carpenter of Poggenpohl Interior Designer: Tokerud & Co. Architect: GSMA Photographer: Joseph Nance Photography
This is an example of a large transitional storage and wardrobe in Houston with flat-panel cabinets, grey cabinets and porcelain floors.

Wilhelm Photography
Photo of a large traditional gender-neutral walk-in wardrobe in Other with open cabinets, white cabinets, light hardwood floors and brown floor.

Christophe Rouffio
Photo of a large transitional women's dressing room in Paris with raised-panel cabinets, grey cabinets and light hardwood floors.

tommaso giunchi
Inspiration for a mid-sized modern gender-neutral walk-in wardrobe in Milan with open cabinets, white cabinets, beige floor and light hardwood floors.

This master suite is luxurious, sophisticated and eclectic as many of the spaces the homeowners lived in abroad. There is a large luxe curbless shower, a private water closet, fireplace and TV. They also have a walk-in closet with abundant storage full of special spaces. Winner: 1st Place, ASID WA, Large Bath This master suite is now a uniquely personal space that functions brilliantly for this worldly couple who have decided to make this home there final destination. Photo DeMane Design Winner: 1st Place, ASID WA, Large Bath

Kara Lashuay
This is an example of a mid-sized contemporary women's walk-in wardrobe in New York with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets and porcelain floors.

To make space for the living room built-in sofa, one closet was eliminated and replaced with this bookcase and coat rack. The pull-out drawers underneath contain the houses media equipment. Cables run under the floor to connect to speakers and the home theater.

This was a reach in closet initially with sliding doors. Client wanted to rip out the existing closet and doors to build a wall unit. No furniture was going in the bedroom, so the closet had to hold everything. We did hanging areas behind the doors, and drawers under the countertop

Inspiration for a small contemporary gender-neutral walk-in wardrobe in Miami with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, porcelain floors and beige floor.

Scott Janelli Photography, Bridgewater, NJ
Photo of a traditional dressing room in New York with white cabinets and light hardwood floors.

Mid-sized contemporary gender-neutral built-in wardrobe in Burlington with flat-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets and porcelain floors.

Walking closet with shelving unit and dresser, painted ceilings with recessed lighting, light hardwood floors in mid-century-modern renovation and addition in Berkeley hills, California

Mid-sized modern walk-in wardrobe in Austin with flat-panel cabinets, green cabinets, porcelain floors and grey floor.

Design ideas for a small contemporary gender-neutral storage and wardrobe in Toronto with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, light hardwood floors and brown floor.

Photo of a large transitional gender-neutral dressing room in Madrid with open cabinets, light wood cabinets and light hardwood floors.