A lot of time is spent in the kitchen, bathroom and other areas in which the room’s décor is critical.  With today’s technologies, you can easily hide video screens and music speakers virtually anywhere.

There are  three main techniques used to hide televisions in these areas.

Built In TV's can go almost anywhere (FirstPoint Image)

Mirror TV’s –

Today’s mirror TVs boast fantastic picture quality.  When turned off, your bath or kitchen will have a fully functional mirror.  However, when turned on, the TV will fill some or most of the mirror area to display a TV image and can use built-in speakers or send audio to speakers installed elsewhere in the room.

Motorized lifts can add unique opportunities to mount TV's in the kitchen

Motorized lifts –

Especially effective in busy kitchens, a full line of motorized lifts can be used to hide your TV.  Drop down lifts can be used to hide the TV behind cabinets and then drop down when needed above the counter space.

Or, at the end of a counter or within an island, pop-up lifts can be employed to raise a TV from a hidden space when needed.  The TV can then also pivot for great viewing from all around the room.

HDTV's can be conealed with custom framed artwork

TV as a Work of Art -

In some locations, particularly above fireplaces in great rooms, or in master bedrooms, the stately décor and ambiance of the room can best be maintained through motorized artwork that conceals the flat panel television.

High definition screen prints of your family, custom artwork or custom frames are all available.  You can even replace the artwork over time as your family grows.

After

Before

This Naperville homeowner knew exactly what she did and did not want in her master bath.  She wanted to get rid of the big massive existing tub deck that monopolized space in her existing master bath, adding a  larger new steam shower was a must, yet the existing vanity layout worked for them.  It just needed to be updated.  Her overall vision was for remodeling this master bath was a casual rustic look. The material selection was extremely important to her and key to the overall design.  She was also adamant about using the combination of colors and textures in her new bath to stay true to her vision for the bath.

“If I were to use a a one word description of my new master suite it would be “wonderful” or perhaps “heavenly”.  It is so warm and inviting to walk into, and the colors and textures of products are so earthy and natural feeling. At night the light is magical whether you are sitting in the steam shower or soaking in the tub.”

Design Notes:

First, we eliminated the massive tub deck and replaced it with a smaller tub built into a river rock clad base. This made room for a small sitting area off to the side. A small recessed towel niche was built into the tub deck to hide the pump access for the spa tub. The river rock was also used as a border in the shower. The existing small shower was enlarged to make space for a spacious steam shower with multiple shower heads.

“By far the steam shower is something I am not sure I could live without now….how decadent does that sound? I have only taken a shower once or twice without using the steam…and not sure why I did then, but it is a feature I love every time I am in the shower. It allows me to take a cooler shower so as not to waste hot water and it is refreshing as well.”

The vanity area was updated by varying the counter heights, trimming the mirrors out in matching wood and adding wall storage cabinets to the counter. We also modified the existing ceiling over the tub area to add another dimension to the room. This also allowed us to add some interesting hanging light fixtures.

The materials were all carefully selected to create a soothing rustic contemporary look. The homeowner personally piloted a plane to Wisconsin to select the boulder sinks; that are similar in size and shape, but each individually unique. The use of tumbled limestone, honed dolomite and knotty alder cabinets were also selected to help complete the theme of the room. The end result was a very soothing master bath retreat that fulfilled all of the customers wishes.

“I loved working with Cindy because she had an extremely hands-on and creative personality.  She was very involved in all of the design decisions, from the tile selection to hand picking these unique custom-made stone sinks.  This was a fun project which was made even more so with Cindy’s involvement.”  – Gail Drury, CMKBD

Client Comments and Commendation:

Gail had worked with our neighbors a couple of houses down and remodeled their powder room and kitchen and it was beautiful, very different from what we would choose , but the excellent workmanship was evident.

Gail was very opened to hear our ideas first then attempt to get us the product we were interested in.  Her assistant, Laurel was very good in following up and making sure the appointments moved along in a timely fashion. After all once you decide to do this and are looking at a beautiful plan you then want it done….yesterday…you know how that goes.

Besides the original design process and actual presentation of the design the scheduling was next in line.  Things moved along on a daily basis….plumbers out, electricians in…electricians out, tile contractors in….smooth. Also, there were no surprises for costs.  We knew where we started with $$ and if something changed because of us choosing a different tile or upgrading something then we knew what that picture would look like as well.

Take the time to plan it out so you don’t wish at the end that you “should’ve. could’ve….didn’t”.  We do not have any of those thoughts due to the insight of Gail and company and thinking through all areas. By all means put in a steam shower and make sure you have plenty of cabinet space for all your linens and toiletry needs.

We have 5 kids and they have bathrooms off of their bedrooms, but we find them in ours more times than not.  This is fine since they are all athletes and find it great after a workout. We have singers in our family too so the “sound proof” sealed area of the steam shower gets a cappella tunes all the time……if I could sing I would do the same, but I just sit and enjoy, I am singing on the inside.

Now when people come over and I give a tour of the house I always save the master bath for last…..just for the suspense.  The ooo’s and ahhh’s are predictable, but always fun to hear.  Of course they comment on the warm feel and the rocks on the deck face, shower insert and sinks, they are just unusual and draw the eye.  We have even had quite a few neighbors offer to house sit if we go out of town….funny, but I do think they are serious.

Cindy Rowsey, Naperville, IL

When a west suburban Chicago family wanted to build a family resort on a lake in Wisconsin, they asked their architect for a kitchen design recommendation. Their architect recommended Drury Design. Gail Drury, CMKBD, President of Drury Design, and Designer Tina Muller teamed up to plan and design the elements in the project that encompassed the kitchen, the master bath, children’s bath, mudroom and pool room. The kitchen is the anchor in this nautically-inspired home.

Client Comments and Commendation:

In two years of constructing our home and working with several contractors, Drury Design was the only company we didn’t have a problem with. If I found anything wrong –at all – they would come up right away from Illinois and fix it.

They did absolutely everything they said they would. When they said the cabinets would arrive, they did on the exact day. When I had a problem with my Wolfe range, Drury arranged for me to get a replacement.

Drury Design was our most reliable contractor, they’re a tremendous company and their all around quality is excellent.

Drury was there for us from the very beginning until the end. They have great products and they really delivered on what they said they would throughout the design process. I highly recommend them.

Especially working on our project out of state, it helped a great deal for us to know we could rely on them. We could check in with their Glen Ellyn studio anytime, which is close by to our home in the western suburbs.

When you work with Drury Design, you work with wonderful people, great people who really stand for high quality and make it all effortless, they do it all for you.

As an aside, this was an extremely large investment, but I got a great product that was worth every penny – totally – it was so beyond worth it.

Even after they installed the kitchen, if they had to adjust something, it was never an issue for them to travel to Wisconsin.

Afterwards when you think about it, with a home that size, to get so many cabinets done on time is kind of amazing. We worked with them in every area of our home. When we wanted to make changes to pricing, Drury Design was very responsive and suggested alternatives that looked great and matched our budget for the room. For example, we wanted higher-end cabinetry in the kitchen than in the mudroom. Drury Design was flexible and accommodated every request without questioning or trying to sell us on something different.

They helped me design pieces that looked exactly like I imagined. My kitchen is gorgeous and they even showed me where to put everything. It works really well because function is built in.

Oh my gosh, it’s just the funnest house. We have tons of people up there. Their cabinets are so well-designed and every thing is user-friendly. This will be our family’s getaway for generations. I wish I could be in my Drury kitchen in Wisconsin every day.

(Home location and client name withheld by request)

The Mission

Update and remodel existing bathroom to include the following:

• Additional wall cabinet storage
• New natural stone flooring
• Enlarge the shower
• Reuse the existing tub.

The Challenge

Was to design and produce a lovely new space efficiently for the client who was on a tight budget.

The Solution

Material selection became the primary goal. A 3-piece pattern porcelain floor was used – even the project manager was fooled into thinking it was natural stone. This flooring accomplished two things: met the budget and kept the floor thickness to ¼” which was important since we were laying it over the old subfloor. Jerusalem Grey Gold Honed Limestone sat on Cognac glazed cherry cabinets. Coordinating chair rail molding bordered the tub deck and complimented the tiles and countertops. Wainscot panels line the side of the tub, coordinating with the vanity cabinets. The shower boasted the same color tile, but in 10” x 20” size installed in a subway pattern. The smaller shower base tile was also used as a decorative border on the surround.

A double vanity was still possible even when adding a wall cabinet to the left. Antiqued Hollywood glass is framed behind mullion doors to coordinate with the arched window over the tub. A 3-drawer base cabinet below this creates a tall hutch look and provides plenty of storage. A niche was put into the wall for shampoo and toiletries, replacing the old corner stand that impeded easy access to the shower head and encroached into their showering space.

A reconfigured vanity, newly tiled tub deck, new floors, shower surround and new fixtures all combined to give this bathroom a major facelift – all within the client’s budget!

This first floor powder room was in dire need of remodeling. The homeowner not only needed to update it but wanted to make it user friendly for an aging parent. The powder room had an entrance off of the hallway and to the adjoining bedroom. This was an ideal set up for handicap access if needed.

The original shower walls were removed and it was opened up with frameless glass. The shower head was replaced with a hand shower that could be used from the bench area if necessary.

This powder room was also all about the beauty of tile and glass. A colorful glass vessel sink was selected to coordinate with the colorful tiles. The mosaic glass tiles framed the mirror and 3 X 3 glass tile inserts were also inset into the 12X 12 slate floor and wall tiles. Whimsical metal tiles framed the four corners of the mirror.

The vanity was wall hung with an indirect lighting strip underneath to give the appearance of floating and to visually help open up the small space.

The end result was an extremely functional yet very colorful and attractive powder room. Through the selection of materials this room addressed all of the homeowners needs.