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The kitchen, which friends helped put together, pairs affordable Ikea cabinetry with birch countertops and glazed brick tile.

“The dining room wallpaper [Cole & Son’s Forest] helped bring the outdoors in, which was a parallel play on the large windows selected by the architects. Selecting wallpapers that had a forced perspective also provided a sense of depth for spaces like the dining room and powder room,” says Santos.

In the Library, built-in bookcases and a long banquette (upholstered in Kravet’s Versailles Velvet fabric, color E25600) were installed on the far side of the room.

Shumaker Design + Build Associates honed in on natural light, rich tones, and earthy materials to update this Chicago kitchen. The renovated kitchen now boasts a ten-foot-long banquette paired with a West Elm table, offering seating for everything from quick breakfasts to grand dinners.

"The dining room is a transitional space between the old and new—in this space we simplified the material palate, painting all decorative woodwork matte white to emphasize its geometry over its materiality," say the architects. The room holds a midcentury dining set and pendent lights from Raco.

The newly revamped dining area is comfortable and cool with a built-in corner bench, tweed upholstery finishes, and sleek contemporary pendant lights. The homeowners' existing dining room table pairs nicely with the new modern touches, blending old and new.

The dining table and the bench were custom-made for the home. Under the tabletop are drawers, a solution that conveniently provides additional storage space without adding visual clutter. The silicon rubber pendant light is by Muuto.

Mitchell Ehrlich designed the wallpaper in the dining area.

"I always like to shoot the kitchen, dining, and living room, and at least one bathroom and one bedroom," Neustadt notes. This gives the client enough options for either putting their home on the market, or pitching it to a publication.

The more planning you do and the fewer changes you make, the higher chance you have of staying within your budget. Take the time to figure out what the scope of the project is and get a sense of how much work is needed so that you can make educated decisions when presented with options.

A built-in bench provides seating for the 10-foot-long dining table, which Lanigan found at a store in Berkley that was going out of business. “It almost feels like it grows out of the floor,” says Lanigan. (The fireplace tile here is original.)

The couple added curved cabinetry and a window seat to form a breakfast nook, painted in Farrow & Ball Red Earth. The table is discontinued from Anthropologie, where Kara previously worked as a display coordinator, and the overhead light is the Lambert & Fils Waldorf Double.

The wet bar was given a custom cherry top, and the couple added wall molding for texture.

Boy Boy fabricated the framing for the flue shroud and base, which was then finished with plaster, and given a limestone benchtop. The Arto Ceramic tile extends into the kitchen, which has a preserved wood ceiling with new skylights.

The butler’s pantry is a transitional space between the kitchen and the formal dining room, "a shift," as Suzanne calls it. To denote this, cabinets were painted in Farrow & Ball’s Charleston Gray, while the countertop and backsplash are a 3cm "Prada Suede" quartzite, chosen for its striking veining.

Kitchen cabinets

Quartzite kitchen island countertops and a wall of off-white ceramic tile between the doorways complement the space's walnut cabinetry and brass surfaces.

As seen in Boulder Lifestyle Magazine