ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS, BUILDERS, MAKERS & MORE
Meredith Colburn | Associate Broker/Team Leader, Nanci J. Rands | Associate Broker, Jessica Weisman | Realtor® Adriane Dundon | Realtor®, Caroline Johnson | Realtor®, Lauren Colburn | Marketing Director/Realtor® Brooke Goodstein | Director of Operations/Realtor®
Home. Just four letters, yet it holds so much meaning. It’s our sanctuary, our foundation and the place where life unfolds. Home is where we begin and end each day, where our lives take shape and where our hearts find rest. While the specifics of what “home” looks like vary for each of us, its significance is universal.
Author Wendy Wunder said it well: “The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back.” With that in mind, this month’s issue focuses on what makes home special — from the warmth of shared meals and thoughtfully designed spaces to the people who bring it all to life.
This month, we had the privilege of connecting with local businesses and individuals who shape this community. Their stories highlight the creativity, resilience and heart that make this area feel like home. We hope that as you turn these pages, you’ll be inspired to strengthen your connections — whether within your neighborhood, your city or your own walls.
Many of our readers tell us they hold onto our magazine long after the month on its cover, treasuring it as a piece of home — whether as coffee-table art or a source of inspiration. That’s a tradition we’re proud to uphold, and we remain committed to delivering the value you expect each month.
Thank you for welcoming us into your homes.
ALI KRAMER, PUBLISHER
March 2026
PUBLISHER
Ali Kramer | ali.kramer@citylifestyle.com
EDITOR
Lynne Konstantin | lynne.konstantin@citylifestyle.com
ACCOUNT MANAGER
Lisa Gindi | lisa.gindi@citylifestyle.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Angela Broockerd, Rhiannon Johnson, Susan Thwing
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
James Haefner, Dan Jenkins, Amanda Proudfit, Joseph Tiano, Martin Vecchio
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
President Matthew Perry
COO David Stetler
CRO Jamie Pentz
CoS Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Jenna Crawford
LAYOUT DESIGNER Kelsey Ragain
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Megan Cagle
Farrugia,
For over 30 years, patients in Novi, Brighton, and Bingham Farms have trusted ENT Specialists of Michigan for expert care in ear, nose, and throat health. Our dedicated team of physicians has earned that trust by delivering compassionate, honest, and personalized care that makes a real difference in our patients’ lives. Known for our commitment to quality, comfort, and long-lasting results, ENT Specialists continues to set the standard for exceptional ENT care throughout Michigan.
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• Early Detection & Peace of Mind: Identify potential health issues, including tumors, cysts, stroke risk and aneurysms, before any symptoms appear.
• Comprehensive View: Captures detailed images of the head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and spine, providing a holistic view of your internal health.
The
Brian Neeper’s
The
Amarilda Vucaj.
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1-7:
welcomed the new year on Dec. 31, 2025, with their annual New Year’s Eve Celebration, featuring sizzling style,
1: WXYZ Anchors Glenda Lewis and Carolyn Clifford at the 2026 Detroit Auto Show’s Charity Preview, Jan. 16 at Huntington Place in Downtown Detroit, featuring Robin Thicke. The event has raised more than $125 million for children’s charities. 2: Former Detroit Red Wing Darren McCarty. 3: Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Dr. Sonia Hassan. 4: Posing for the paparazzi. 5: Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield and husband Rickey Jackson. 6: Posing for paparazzi. 7: Detroit Auto Show Chairman Todd Szott and Executive Director Sam Klemet.
Penelope Mae, a new curated women’s ready-to-wear boutique, is proud to announce it opened its doors in November 2025. Each collection of apparel and accessories is thoughtfully curated by the boutique’s owners, Katie Turner and Courtney Shea, with the intention of elevating and inspiring the everyday wardrobe. Blending timeless silhouettes with modern trends, Penelope Mae brings together emerging and established designers with a shared commitment to quality, craftsmanship and versatility, in a warm and welcoming space designed by Anne Strickland Interiors. Penelopemae.com
communities, presents Manifesting Moments. The uplifting fundraiser brings local women together to protect their energy and feel restored on March 4 at Birmingham’s Community House. The event is hosted by CBS Detroit’s Sandra Ali and features nationally recognized medium and energy expert Lynn Darmon (pictured); guests can shop local vendors while supporting local women through partnerships with Brilliant Detroit, MEND, Mary’s Mantle and Detroit Champions for Hope. Project2detroit.com .
With the mission of advancing women’s leadership for community impact, the Junior League of Birmingham hosts its Eighth-Annual Little Black Dress Brunch on March 7, at Birmingham’s Community House. Featuring a silent auction, plated brunch and community leaders speaking on wellness, this year’s theme, “Her Mind, Her Body, Her Time,” focuses on the effect poverty has on increasing mental overload in women; attendees are encouraged to wear black and donate to the Women’s Health and Hygiene drive. Jlbham.org
GET IN TOUCH AT CITYLIFESTYLE.COM/ BIRMINGHAMMI
Founded in 2014 by Amarilda Vucaj, Amareaux Interior Design has become a trusted partner for discerning homeowners, builders, and real estate professionals.
Whether embarking on a new build, transforming a remodel, or furnishing a residence from the ground up, our studio brings vision, expertise, and seamless project management to every step of the journey.
The Art of Refined Living, Curated.
725 South Adams, Suite 190, Birmingham, MI 48009 Office: 248-792-2720 | sales@amareux.com | www.amareaux.com
Thank you, Birmingham, for an amazing first year!
Brought to you by the Tallulah Group, we’re thrilled to be on this journey with you.
Like its literal meaning, ZANA stops you in your tracks, freezes the moment and transports to a dimension beyond. Come for the ambiance, stay for the food.
zanabham.com | 248.800.6568 | V zana_bham | 210 S Old Woodward Ave, Birmingham, MI
STYLE YOUR HOME IN TONES AND TEXTURES WITH DESIGN HELP FROM HOUZZ INTERIOR DESIGN EXPERTS
ARTICLE BY NICOLETTE MARTIN
Decorate your space with handmade textures such as the modern, maker revival of 1970s macramé and year-round tropical feel of wicker. MACRAMÉ Made through knotting instead of weaving, macramé can add a unique touch in many various ways. Houzz contributor Laura Gaskill suggests incorporating it as nursery decor, plant hangers, wall hangings and modern fiber arts. WICKER According to Houzz contributor Yanic Simard, “the best way to really embrace the luxury-cottage appeal of wicker and rattan is to combine different forms of the two in one space... Look for other unexpected places to add a natural twist to your home with a new material woven into your palette.”
Houzz contributor Katie Treggiden offers many ways to incorporate natural materials and natural-state timber into your home, including using wood to cover one wall in a home for a pleasing accent wall; featuring your firewood as a striking, stacked display; and mixing different types of wood and different finishes in the same space. “A simple way to incorporate the wood trend is to expose structural wooden beams already present in your home,” Katie says. “Instead of painting them or boxing them in, leave them raw or give them a coat of wax to enrich the tones.”
Do you feel like your all-white room is missing something? Houzz contributor Kelly Porter bets what’s missing is energy.
“The best way to add a spark to any space,” she says, “is with bright color.”
Kelly says green is one of the easiest colors to live with, looking organic even in its more vivid tones.
“When searching for the perfect bright green, think springtime—fresh green grass and newly sprouted leaves,” she says. “These greens have lively undertones that will look comfortable and warm in your white space.
Other colors Kelly recommends adding as accents are yellow, royal blue, orange, blue-purple, red-purple and sky blue.
With over 40 years of mortgage experience, Tim Smith is a trusted lender who has helped thousands of local clients navigate home financing with ease. His responsive and attentive approach ensures a smooth, stress-free process.
Whether you’re buying your first home, building your dream home, or refinancing, First Merchants Bank offers flexible options to meet your needs.
Senior Mortgage Banker | NMLS#533266 Cell: 248-770-3717 | timsmith@firstmerchants.com
Request a free pre-approval at TimSmithPreapproval.com.
The Hire It Done expert spills his top tips for hiring a pro.
Adam Helfman inherited a legacy — then gave it new life, making it his own.
The founder of Bloomfield Hills-based Hire It Done (hireitdone. com), Helfman has been connecting Metro Detroit homeowners with curated and vetted contractors and home-improvement professionals for more than 20 years. His philosophy: “Home improvement shouldn’t be a gamble.”
It’s a little bit brilliant.
Helfman is a fourth-generation renovation professional — his great-grandfather pioneered the business in 1926, building one of the largest home-improvement companies in the country. The passion is in Helfman’s DNA, but the knowledge is based on a lifetime of immersion in the profession — plus a degree in building construction and management from Michigan State University.
In 2004, Helfman was recruited by ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to work on the Emmy Award-winning episode that followed the renovation of the Oak Park home of deaf parents raising a blind autistic child.
Working on multiple episodes after that, he soon joined the show full time for two seasons.
Then, he says, he caught the “media bug.”
“I decided that I wanted to do the opposite of a handyman radio show,” Helfman says. “On my show, we’re going to teach people how to hire contractors without getting burned. And I called it Hire it Done.”
The Saturday-morning radio show launched in 2005, sharing expert advice, industry trends and practical tips, and his Hire it Done business followed soon after. A frequent guest on local broadcast news stations, he recently added to his media empire with the Hire it Done podcast; his YouTube page currently has 18.3K subscribers, with a combined-platform total of more than 100K followers.
“I’m the Angie’s List of home-improvement companies — but I also parallel that with the best home-improve advice in the country,” Helfman says. “I’m not anti-DIY. I’m pro-Do it For Me. Time’s the new currency. If you’re going to hire a contractor, you better make sure it’s the right one, because you don’t want to pay twice.” Below, a hit-list of Helfman’s top contractor tips.
Before You Start:
Get a written payment schedule: Tie payments to completed portions, not project starts. Request a job schedule or calendar: All projects take longer than anticipated — always.
Define “usable completion”: Agree upfront on what this means for your specific project.
Establish a “we’re not a match” clause: It’s not always the right fit. Create a written roadmap for ending the relationship without litigation. Agree on holdbacks upfront: Make them contingent on specific deliveries or milestones, not open-ended.
Critical Questions to Ask Every Contractor:
1. What’s the difference between your warranty and guarantee? Understanding product vs. labor coverage protects you long-term.
“I’m not anti-DIY. I’m pro-Do it For Me. Time’s the new currency. If you’re going to hire a contractor, you better make sure it’s the right one, because you don’t want to pay twice.”
— Adam Helfman
2. If there’s a dispute, what’s your process? Get the dispute resolution method in writing before work begins.
3. If we’re unhappy with something, how do you propose to handle it? Know the process for addressing issues in real-time during the project.
4. What’s your change-order policy? Never pay for work you didn’t authorize in writing.
5. Can we define what “punchlist” means for this project? Clarify when final payment is due vs. when you can actually use the space.
During the Project:
• Pay only on completion: If demolition costs $5,000, pay when demolition is finished, not when it starts.
• Request bi-weekly walkthroughs: For longer projects, regular check-ins prevent surprises.
• Remember, contractors aren’t banks: They use your money to pay subs and suppliers — fair holdbacks protect both parties.
• Get everything in writing: Verbal agreements lead to “he said, she said” disputes.
Red Flags:
• Contractor requests large upfront payment before work begins
• No written contract or vague payment terms
• Resistance to defining dispute resolution processes
• No clear schedule or timeline provided
• Unwillingness to discuss the “exit strategy” if things don’t work out
Brian Neeper is always up for a challenge.
Which is a good thing — as the owner of Birmingham-based Brian Neeper Architecture, the architectural designer often takes on the task of designing and building resplendent homes on Birmingham’s uniquely plotted and often compact parcels of land.
So when he teamed with builder and designer Hunter Roberts Homes on a new-build spec house on a busy corner plot in Birmingham, Neeper’s goal, he says, was to “orient the house in a way that maximized sunlight by opening the house to the south, providing privacy from the streetfronts and creating a grassy yard with enough space for a nice-sized pool,” Neeper says. “It’s a more holistic approach. I’m always trying to work within all the requirements and come up with something unique, that will stand out but also be very user-friendly and, in this case, appeal to buyers versus working with clients to their specific needs.” It did, it turns out, appeal to a client’s specific needs: NHL veteran Max Pacioretty was preparing to retire from a decorated 17-season career, often as captain, playing for Montreal,
Carolina, Washington, Toronto and Las Vegas. Still living in Vegas, University of Michigan-grad Pacioretty — who planned to take his current position at U-M’s ice hockey program as special assistant to the head coach — and his wife, former pro-tennis player Katia, decided that Birmingham was the destination to raise their hockey-immersed five children, so Katia began to scout. Thrilled with the lot, she purchased when the home was just a shell, so she could finesse to her specifications.
The five-bedroom home was already set up to accommodate a large family, with an upstairs loft area with built-in desks that the family uses for homeschooling.
“The design had a beautiful flow,” Katia says. Settled on the spec house but never having lived in Michigan, she began researching
designers online. Coincidentally, she fell in love with the work of Jessica Neeper, owner of Jessica Neeper Interiors — and Brian’s wife — before ever meeting Brian.
With Max still playing professional hockey in North Carolina during the 18-month build, Jessica Neeper became the Paciorettys’ trusted design partner from afar. “They needed somebody to take the reins here and do everything from studs forward,” Jessica says. “We’d do Zoom meetings and they came into town a few times.”
“It’s incredible that she took on everything,” Katia says. “We really had to trust her, and she just hit it out of the park.”
The exterior draws from English Arts & Crafts, featuring brick detailing, graceful arched openings and sweeping wing walls that extend from the gables. “That style lent itself really well to bringing it into a contemporary home, like the stair tower with stacked glass on the front,” Brian says. “It has layers of different
styles, giving it a nice clean, easy feel. I’m always searching for a nicely proportioned look — not perfectly symmetrical, but with a nice balance to it.”
With a strong connection visually and physically to the outdoor living space, the house has a “great livable open feel from the inside,” Brian says. Entering from the front into a vestibule, a circular rotunda redirects you into each angle of living space. The open floor plan gives a fresh, airy feel, but each space has subtle demarcation through ceiling design — drop arches and layered tones of wood serve as visual cues, while the kitchen is streamlined and white.
A covered terrace echoes the same fieldstone fireplace surround as inside, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor flow. Multiple access points — from a huge doorwall from the nook, from the family room and from the library — connect the home to the pool and outdoor spaces.
In the primary bedroom, nickel-gap shiplap and beams on cathedral ceilings that are tinted oak echo the engineered stained-oak floors. “Everybody was doing really light floors back then,” Jessica says. “We wanted it to be warmer.”
“We really like a house that doesn’t have an inch of wasted space, and we like to use every room in the house,” Katia says. “And Jessica and Brian did an incredible job with that.” Upstairs, the homeschool loft features custom built-ins with V-groove walls, Ralph Lauren sconces and a stained wood countertop.
Above the garage, a “bunk room” with an en suite bath — painted deep green with four custom beds plus a daybed for little sister Stella — provides weekend sleepover space. “It’s super special for them,” Katia says.
The family reads together and watches movies (and hockey games) in the library-den, a wine cellar is surrounded by massive
wooden beams and stone; in the lower level, a gym and living room flows with an additional guest room.
“We use every single space every single day, but it also feels cozy,” Katia says.
Throughout, Jessica channeled what she describes as “a fresh Nantucket vibe” — a coastal transitional style mixing warm natural tones with pops of blues and greens. The trimwork alone added four months to construction, and every room has wallpaper.
The moody library serves as Katia’s sanctuary. Each morning, she rises before her five children to enjoy coffee while contemplating a custom art piece by Andre Monet — who gained fame creating portraits of Prince William and Kate. Using scraps of old newspapers and books, Monet hid the family’s names and birthplaces throughout a portrait of Marilyn Monroe. “I sit there with my coffee and enjoy that piece of art,” Katia says. “It just makes that room that much more special to me.”
“I’m always searching for a nicely proportioned look — not perfectly symmetrical, but with a nice balance to it.”
— Brian Neeper
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THE ART OF QUIET, LIVABLE LUXURY IN A LOCAL HIGH-RISE.
Amarilda (Amy) Vucaj has a design philosophy.
“I’ve always believed that real luxury isn’t about having more, it’s about meaning and intention,” says the founder and principal designer of Amareaux Interior Design (amareaux.com) in Birmingham. “We create spaces that feel effortless and timeless, not trendy. Every choice we
make has a reason behind it. I want our clients to walk into their homes and feel calm, not overwhelmed. Beautiful, yes, but also deeply personal and livable. That’s what quiet luxury means to us.”
So when a pair of empty-nesters approached Vucaj’s full-service studio to design their 11-floor space in Royal Oak’s Fifth building, it was a match made in high-rise heaven.
“They needed a home that could handle real life, but still feel elegant and put-together,” Vucaj says. “They didn’t want to sacrifice style for function. They wanted both. And they were clear that they didn’t want anything trendy — they wanted a home that would feel just as beautiful in 10 or 15 years as it does today. Timeless was the word they kept coming back to.”
Vucaj was involved from day one, working through floor plans, elevations, finishes and furnishings.
“Our in-house 3D modeling was huge for this project because the clients could see exactly what their home would look like before construction even started,” she says. “That gave them so much confidence and eliminated any surprises.”
The couple also loves to entertain, so having spaces that flow well and feel welcoming was important.
“At the end of the day, they wanted a sanctuary,” Vucaj says. “A place where they could relax and recharge. They wanted it to feel calm, not chaotic.”
For Vucaj, it came down to being intentional about every choice. “We selected materials that are both beautiful and durable — natural stone, hardwood floors, high-quality fabrics that can handle everyday life but still look luxurious,” she says. “Everything was chosen to age well.”
Keeping the palette neutral was key to creating the sense of calm the couple wanted, creating a backdrop of soft, serene surfaces that let the architecture and furnishings — and details like painted custom millwork, paneling and built-ins — shine without feeling busy. In the kitchen and baths, Vucaj used natural stones — marble and quartz.
“I call the design ‘tailored transitional’ with a refined, understated sensibility,” Vucaj says. “The palette is soft and neutral — lots of warm whites, taupes and creamy tones layered in texture, accents in warm metallics, natural hardwood flooring and organic touches like fresh flowers and greenery.”
In the dining room — one of Vucaj’s favorites — custom paneling with refined proportions added architectural interest without feeling heavy or too traditional, aided by soft white paint. Floor-to-ceiling drapery in crisp white linens softens the room, while the warm metallic finish of a sculptural brass chandelier adds a whisper of glamour, grounded by the dark wood table.
“The home feels exactly like what we set out to create — timeless, elegant and completely livable,” Vucaj says. “It isn’t a showroom. People live here. Meals happen here. But it still feels refined and special.”
Over $875 Million in personal career sales (not team sales)
Over $70 Million personally sold in 2025 #1 Individual Agent at Max Broock/Real Estate One (over 2,100 agents statewide)
THROUGH LIGHT, TEXTURE AND DEEPLY PERSONAL DETAILS, ARMINA KASPROWICZ CREATES A HOME THAT LETS YOU EXHALE.
ARTICLE BY SUSAN THWING PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTIN VECCHIO
For Armina Kasprowicz, principal of Armina Interiors, wellness isn’t a trend to apply or a checklist to complete.
“I don’t think of it as a formal philosophy,” she says. “For me, it’s instinctive.”
And it starts the moment you walk through the door, when your house feels like it’s receiving you back from the day and giving you permission to exhale.
That instinct shaped an extensive remodel of a Clarkston home that spanned three floors for a well-traveled couple whose children have long since moved out, but return often, especially for holidays. Their vision wasn’t just updated. They wanted a home that supports real life now: privacy and restoration for daily routines and warm, beautiful spaces for gatherings when the whole family is together.
Kasprowicz doesn’t lead with a predetermined mood board.
“I actually don’t start a project by deciding how I want the space to feel,” she says. “I start with understanding my clients — how they want to live and how they want to feel in their home: their rhythm, their lifestyle, what brings them comfort.”
In other words, the design is less about imposing a look and more about translating a life.
In this home, wellness needed to hold two truths at once: calm and connection.
“It’s about creating those spaces that support how somebody lives every day, physically and emotionally,” Kasprowicz says. “For one person, it could mean calm and quiet, and for another person, it could be energy gathering and family and friends — wellness looks different for everyone.”
Inspired by the couple’s extensive collection of Asian art, gathered over years of travel, a former lower-level game room became a refined entertainment destination: a customized bar area and banquette seating, a wine room, billiards/games, a lounge with a fireplace for catching up and a home theater
designed for serious movie nights. The goal wasn’t a showroom; it was a space that could handle the joyful wear and tear of family life, especially in summer, when guests flow in and out from the pool.
“It looks elevated, it looks beautiful — but I was selecting fabrics that are also highly functional and livable,” Kasprowicz says, noting indoor-outdoor textiles and easy-care choices that invite people to relax, not “tiptoe around” the furniture.
Upstairs, the primary suite became the home’s most intimate retreat. The bedroom was gutted and reworked around a new three-sided fireplace, with “places to sit,” Kasprowicz says. This included nooks for reading, unwinding or simply staying put for a while.
“The whole primary suite feels like a very cozy, beautiful retreat. You can just stay for hours.”
Her favorite space, and the project’s purest wellness moment, is the primary bathroom. Designed as a spa-like oasis, it layers heated floors, a steam shower, a deep soaking tub and lighting engineered for mood.
“When you turn on the ambient lighting,” she says, “all the textures, the dimension of the dark wood and the organic feel of the stones — it gets into life with a certain lighting.”
The result, she says: “You walk in, and it’s absolute zen.”
There’s personality throughout, too, because this home is as much about memory as it is about materials. The homeowners lived in Asia for years and brought back antiques, treasures and art that anchor the space in lived experience.
“When I see this house, it’s about the history — who are these people, what matters to them?” Kasprowicz says. “To me, the house is vibrant. It does have the history, memories, what’s important to them.”
And ultimately, that’s the feeling she chases in every project:
“How your home or space will hug you, how it supports your lifestyle,” she says. “It hugs you, the second you walk into the home. It’s the sense of being cared for by your own environment — so you can come home, soften your shoulders and feel like yourself again.”
ARTICLE BY ANGELA BROOCKERD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
DAN JENKINS, AMANDA PROUDFIT
There’s a certain moment when a house stops feeling new and starts feeling like home. It isn’t marked by square footage or finishes alone. It is something quieter, more emotional. In this home, designer Kate Manz set out to do exactly that: give a newly built home a heartbeat and a soul.
Rather than treating the house as one sweeping statement, she approached each room as its own story, layered with meaning, memory, and texture. The result is a home that feels collected, personal, and deeply lived-in.
“Tackling each space and room as its own story and concept is how to make a new space feel personal,” Manz explains. “But bringing it all together cohesively is always the challenge.”
Her solution? Warmth, intention, and a strong belief in the power of people. In new builds it can take years for a home to shed its newness. For this project, the goal was to fast-track that sense of belonging by layering in pieces with history and heart. Vintage market finds, local artists, and meaningful objects play a starring role throughout the home.
“My love for design goes hand in hand with the people and stories that bring it to life,” she says. “I absolutely love seeing the evolution from concept to completion and all the elements and people that help bring those ideas to reality.”
That philosophy becomes especially important in the home’s expansive open-concept living area, where scale could easily overpower intimacy.
MATERIALS:
Santa and Cole Tekió Light, Vintage Rainer Draumiller Chairs, American Leather custom couch in Bison Butterscotch, Flos Bellhop lamp, BZippy Vase, Plush Moroccan rug
DESIGN TAKEAWAY:
In large rooms, architectural details like niches, built-ins, or material changes can create visual rhythm while giving meaningful objects a true home.
The main living space is defined by bringing the outside in with sweeping outdoor views and generous proportions. Rather than fighting that openness, embrace it.
“The big open concept room really highlights the expansive outdoor views,” she says, “but making intimate spaces within that open room was really important.”
A layered niche wall, created in collaboration with the interior architect Nick Flower, brings both structure and softness to the room. It introduces texture, depth, and a place for unique objects and family heirlooms to live, turning negative space into a personal gallery.
If there’s one place Manz encourages clients to take risks, it’s the powder room. Here, she leaned into terracotta earth tones, layering textures and tile sizes for visual interest and warmth. Patterned and solid tiles work together, while textured wall coverings and a sculptural stone sink elevate the space from functional to delightful.
MATERIALS:
Particular Tile in Satin Terracotta and Vanilla Bean, Arté Wallcovering Shards in Brick Red, Red travertine sink, Rachel Donath chunky mirror, Playful art work by Olivia Fields
DESIGN TAKEAWAY:
Small spaces are ideal for experimentation. Mix patterns, finishes, and textures within a tight color family to create depth without overwhelm.
Designed as a counterpoint to the openness of the main living area, the lounge is a cocoon, both peaceful, layered, and deeply versatile. It’s a place for reading, movie nights and slow mornings.
Rich tones and varied textures do the heavy lifting here, creating depth without heaviness. Soft lighting and custom upholstery make the room feel both intentional and effortless.
MATERIALS:
Virginia Sin pendant light, In Common With sconce, Arté Oblong wall covering in Ochre, Particular Tile in Vapor, Custom sage velvet sofa, Plush Vintage Moroccan rug
DESIGN TAKEAWAY:
When a room serves many purposes, let texture and tone create cohesion. A restrained palette with varied finishes keeps the space flexible and serene.
The entryway sets the tone with a simple but powerful goal: Welcome to my home.
Natural stone underfoot grounds the space, while a soft vintage rug and living greenery immediately soften the experience. Art with personal meaning invites guests to linger rather than rush through.
MATERIALS:
Luca split stone pavers, Vintage Turkish rug, Plants, Virginia Sin Wall hook
DESIGN TAKEAWAY:
An entryway doesn’t need to be loud to be memorable. Combine tactile materials with one or two meaningful elements to create an instant emotional connection.
At its core, this home is a reminder that design isn’t about perfection, but rather it’s about feeling. By treating each room as its own narrative while weaving in warmth, history, and human connection, a space was created that already feels loved.
ARTICLE BY RHIANNON JOHNSON
It takes a lot of work to make a house a home. A home reflects your personal style, functions to meet your goals, and provides relief from the outside world. However, unless you are a design professional, you likely need a bit of guidance to turn your thoughts and ideas into reality. One way to create a sanctuary that combines all the elements of your dream home is by immersing yourself in the advice and visions of award-winning architects and designers.
Flip through the gorgeous, glossy, photo-filled pages of these beautiful books and apply their lessons to your own home.
Learn how to integrate elegant timelessness, celebrate bold colors and eclectic patterns, or embrace the past while living stylishly in the present. You can then combine this global range of influences, unique perspectives, and aesthetic applications to create your own original design plan.
Whether you’re building a new home, planning a renovation, or your home is simply a constant work in progress, these four new releases are sure to provide the inspiration you need to transition your house into your dream home—whatever that may look like and wherever that may be. Enjoy!
Find inspiration in these four gorgeous books.
THE RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE OF D. STANLEY DIXON
Atlanta-based architect Stan Dixon has received tremendous media attention since the founding of his firm D. Stanley Dixon Architect, Inc. in 2006. His highly-anticipated debut book showcases thirteen projects from across the country. From a relaxed Jupiter Island coastal retreat to an elegant Englishmanor-inspired South Carolina home, each project varies geographically and stylistically, highlighting a variety of different aesthetic components.
Our Way Home: REIMAGINING AN AMERICAN FARMHOUSE
The defined style of cozy and simple living has led to a rise in American farmhouse design in recent years. Interior designer Heide Hendricks and architect-builder Rafe Churchill show how they have brought twenty-first-century living to their late nineteenth-century New England farmhouse. This husband-and-wife team combined their talents to create a historic home that is both a personal retreat designed for everyday life and a constant source of inspiration for their other projects.
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COMBINE THIS global range OF INFLUENCES, unique perspectives, AND aesthetic applications TO CREATE YOUR OWN ORIGINAL DESIGN PLAN.
LEGEND ON LAKE COMO
In 1568 Tolomeo Gallio commissioned a grand villa overlooking Italy’s magnificent Lake Como. After two centuries in the Gallio family, Villa d’Este became home to multiple members of the aristocracy before being transformed into an elegant five-star resort in 1873. After 150 years of catering to an endless array of famous guests wishing to immerse themselves in “la dolce vita,” Villa d’Este stands as an example of blending tradition and modernity to create absolute luxury.
THE ARCHITECTURE AND ADVOCACY OF JOHN AND JANE VOLK
In the 1920s, American royalty wanted to establish a winter retreat and show off their newfound wealth. Building grand homes inspired by European palaces, they created one of the world’s most famous resort towns. Commissioned to design over 2,000 projects during his sixty years of practice, John Volk’s legacy as one of the “big five” architects of Palm Beach, can now be seen on almost every street.
