Sometimes it takes a bit of clever thievery to enlarge a room. But there’s nothing criminal about the way Janet Rice and Peter Bachman created a splendorous new second-floor bathroom in their Minneapolis home.

They stole a little space from a little-used bedroom.

This 1920s bath was a moldy remnant with crumbling grout and dated green tile. Janet and Peter wanted to remain true to their home’s character while gaining modern comfort and convenience, but they couldn’t do it without scraping up some extra space.

They found a 2-foot sliver of space by stealingborrowing is the more polite term-from a small closet in a secondary bedroom. This allowed them to fit both a jetted tub and separate shower into the revamped bath. The bedroom improved in the process, too, since there was still enough room to enlarge the closet the full width of the wall, actually increasing storage space.

The remodeled bathroom is now home to a two-person jetted tub adjacent to a 3×4-foot shower. Janet and Peter also replaced a tiny porthole-sized window with a wall of casement windows topped with transoms, giving themselves a wide-open view of Lake Harriet.

Sunny yellow walls make this a cheery room. The tile design, ornate handheld fixture, and reproduction pedestal sink were all chosen to remain true to the home’s vintage charm.

It was the property–five pristine, tree–studded acres with a view that seemed to stretch to "infinity–that drew the couple to this location in Westchester County, New York. The house they weren’t so crazy about. "It was a very blah, 1960s ranch with skylights," says Leonard Woods of Kroeger and Woods Associates Architects, who worked on the redesign. "The exterior was a bland beige with white trim."

The couple had sold a quaint Country French-style house to purchase this one, and they knew their hearts belonged with that style of architecture. "The question became, ‘Can we create a Country French feeling within the existing massing?’ "Woods says. The answer was a definite "yes," and the solution for a transformation was much easier than the homeowners might have initially thought.

"We basically did three things," Woods explains. "We changed the exterior to stucco, redesigned the doors and windows, and added dormers. And we did this while retaining the original shape."

French doors along the perimeter of the house add country-villa flair while strongly tying together the interiors and the lush landscape. "They make the house look and feel open. You have this wonderful connection to the outside," Woods says. From the outside, the dormers create the illusion of a second floor. Inside, the addition gives a new look to attic-space guest rooms that once featured skylights.

The house’s floorplan was also relatively easy to manipulate to suit the homeowners’ needs. A dining room, laundry room, and hail were converted into an informal kitchen, family, and breakfast room. A combined living room and dining room space has a more formal feeling, but the French doors and the soothing, creamy tone on the walls makes it very inviting.

The existing interiors were void of distinguishing architectural features. In keeping with the newly designed exterior, the home’s rooms were fitted with new moldings, lavishly detailed doorways with gracious arches, and ceiling beams that immediately recall the charming interiors of a venerable villa tucked away in the French countryside.

The redesign of the house was essentially a collaborative effort among the owners, the architecture firm, and Susan Thorn, an interior designer who worked with the owners on their previous home. When Woods suggested arched doors between the breakfast room and the hall, Thorn found an old armoire in Maine and had the arched doors refitted for the doorway. "We fed off each other’s ideas," Woods says. Together, Woods and Thorn worked with computer design programs to arrange and rearrange furniture throughout the house. "We were able to use almost all of their existing furniture," Thorn says. "And, if it’s possible, it actually looks better in this house than the last one."

Some pieces were reupholstered for the new house, while other furnishings fit in well as-is. Susan had purchased a stately fireplace overmantel and surround for the couple’s last home. Upon selling the house, they reluctantly had to leave behind those pieces. Thorn was going to have the mantel replicated, but she was concerned that the elegant turnings and handsome cornice would not be the same. "Then the people who bought the house called the couple one day and said, ‘We’re not using the mantel. Come over and get it,’ "Thorn remembers. "She [the wife] literally raced over there in her car and got it." Now occupying pride of place in this living room, the overmantel and surround add to the Old World beauty of the house.

Finally, the grounds immediately surrounding the house were enlivened with a courtyard, a charming dependency building, and clusters of boxwood and leafy trees. "There’s a sense of formality," Woods says. "And it was done so well, you don’t sense the new versus the old."

A husband and wife in Connecticut found they spent more time in the kitchen than in any other room of the house. Whether preparing meals, entertaining friends, or working on their business, they always seemed to gravitate to the space. But the more they looked around, the more they realized that their existing kitchen–with its low ceiling and dark-stained cabinets–was pretty ho-hum. If this room was going to be so important to the family, shouldn’t it look and feel spectacular? The owners envisioned a space that was big, bold, and, most importantly, not the least bit boring.

Enter designer William Diamond and architect Anthony Baratta, the NewYork-based design team known for headturning, eye-popping interior schemes (page 38). "The clients said, ‘We want to do something gutsy.’ And no one is as crazy as we are," quips Diamond, who joined design forces with Baratta about 20 years ago. Armed with limitless imagination and an unwavering sense of detail, they crafted a total transformation of the kitchen. "We wanted it to be like a kitchen in an English country home," says Diamond. "They were these big kitchen halls, with huge ceilings."

The designers gutted the existing kitchen and two adjacent rooms to make a combination prep area, dining pavilion, and home office. They also removed a bedroom and a bathroom directly above the kitchen, creating a two-story ceiling topped with a cupola. "We did this wonderful tray ceiling made with little pieces of planking," says Diamond. "It was built like the hull of a boat."

Exaggerated arches, from the glass-fronted cabinets to the windows in the dining pavilion, lend a palatial quality to the space. In the center of the kitchen, a glass-topped skylight well seems to rise to the heavens. "That’s very Diamond & Baratta," Diamond says about the larger-thanlife size of the room’s details. "We find scale very exciting."

Something else that sends the designers’ pulses racing: color. In their projects, the team likes to use what they call "totally off-primary" colors. "The red is ‘barnier’ than classic red; the yellow is more golden," says Diamond. In this kitchen, floor tiles in a playful checkerboard of butterscotch yellow and barn red lead the eye to the long, farmhouse-style work island. The dining pavilion exudes sunny warmth, thanks to a striped wallcovering in golden yellow and buttery cream.

In keeping with the look and feel of the kitchen, the designers selected furnishings that were at once grand in scale and graceful in detail. Barstool-height Windsor chairs painted a green-tinged mustard color cozy up to the center island. The furnishings feel right at home inside this architecturally endowed kitchen. "The room doesn’t feel enormous," says Diamond. Instead, there is a graciousness to the space that makes it inviting and livable.

"WHY DO WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY fight this nickel and dime battle with the builder?" asks David Osso, garage door marketing manager for Mt. Hope, Ohio–based Wayne-Dalton. After some consideration, Osso says price is the major factor that forces many builders to settle for low-end garage doors. Susan McCormack, marketing specialist for Cincinnati-based Clopay, agrees. "For builders, it’s a price point. They just want to get the cheapest door possible."

Now garage door manufacturers are building their brands and producing wares with more marketable features. Innovations in safety, appearance, and insulation offer builders a chance to push a product they traditionally never upgrade. These innovations allow builders to offer higher quality, better-looking garage doors that improve the cosmetics of the home. Offering these products not only makes the builder stand out, it increases builder profits and satisfies buyers.

SAFETY FIRST

"Garage door safety has been a big issue," says Mike Martin, advertising director for Salt Lake City–based Martin Door Manufacturing. The Door and Access Systems Manufacturing Association (DASMA) recently passed DASMA-116–a standard that requires all new garage doors to include lift handles on both the interior and exterior of the garage door. The handles offer a safe place to grip the door for opening and closing.

As part of DASMA-116, even doors with openers must have handles in case the power goes out and the openers won’t work. "Hands can get smashed in door joints; [this] usually happens during a power outage," says Martin.

To further help protect hands and fingers, many manufacturers have designed joints that make it virtually impossible for children and adults to catch their fingers. "We’ve shielded all of the joints in all of our models," says Martin, describing the company’s pinch-resistant Finger Shield garage door system. Wayne-Dalton and Winston-Salem, N.C.–based Amarr also have pinch-resistant joints. Amarr introduced its pinch-resistant design about one and a half years ago. "It installs a bit different than the old style hinge; however, it’s been well received," notes Greg Gilmere, executive vice president of Amarr.

CURD APPEAL

Safety is important, but many buyers are concerned with aesthetics. "Considering the visual and wall space that garage doors command, looks are critical," says Osso.

Although steel doors are less expensive, they can look cheap. Wood may be an appropriate alternative. "Wood doors have been in decline for many years, but there has been a recent upsurge in high-end, carriage house specialty wood doors," notes Osso. Carriage house doors are particularly hot with custom builders. According to Gilmere, the carriage house design has gained popularity in recent years because it is more readily available. Several years ago, only a handful of companies produced carriage house doors; now dozens of manufacturers offer them.

If the carriage house design isn’t right for that high-end project, try a copper garage door. Martin Doors’ copper-coated door is equipped with its Finger Shield design, making it pretty and safe. Although copper garage doors don’t rust, which makes them easy to maintain, they are priced three to four times more than regular steel models, says Martin.

For builders and buyers who don’t want to spend big bucks for wood or copper, there is always an insulated steel garage door. In addition to its basic thermal and energy-efficiency benefits, the insulation helps keep the door quiet as it opens and closes. "You want to have a quiet door," says McCormack, who notes that the more insulation in the door, the quieter the door is. Because the noise factor is a tangible difference that many buyers will notice, insulated doors can be an easy upsale for builders who place rooms near or above their garages.

OPTIONS AND UPGRADES

"Options are tough on builders," says Gilmere, who sympathizes with the difficulties of keeping track of who wants what, when, and where. Most often, buyers are more concerned with upgrading their kitchens and baths than they are their garage doors. "They just don’t think about it," says Gilmere, who notes that garage door openers are often the only garage upgrade builders offer. Of all the possible options and upgrades in a new home, the garage door may be one of the easiest to sell because safety, aesthetics, and noise are common concerns among consumers.

RELATED ARTICLE: CARRIAGE CHARISMA: The Carriage collection of wood garage doors combines the look of swinging carriage house doors with the convenience of a sectional door design, the maker says. All panels, rails, and stiles are made of kiln-dried hemlock or fir. The doors also feature heavy-duty hardware and solid frames with no finger joints. Wayne-Dalton. 800-827-3667. www.wayne-dalton.com. Circle no. 107.

STEEL YOUR WALLET: WeatherGuard Plus insulated steel garage doors are 2-inches thick and feature a pinch-resistance door design. Insulated with CFC-free polystyrene, each door has an R-value of 8.34 and can be specified with or without DecraGlass-tempered decorative glass. Doors are available in short, long, and flush panel designs in white, almond, brown, and sandstone colors. Amarr. 800-503-3667. www.amarr.com. Circle no. 108.

WOOD WORKED: According to the manufacturer, the Plantation collection of custom wood garage doors is manufactured by skilled wood craftsmen. The collection is also available in five basic pre-designed selections, while custom designs may be specified. Each door comes standard with black powder–coated hardware and tracks. Windsor Door. 800-946-3767. www.windsordoor.com. Circle no. 109.

GARAGE MIRAGE: Reserve semi-custom garage doors are available in six designs, in three wood choices and three window styles. The wood panels are offered in cedar, redwood, or hemlock. Windows are available in rectangular, square, or arched styles. The hemlock doors can be painted, and each door can be stained before installation. Clopay. 800-225-6729. www.clopaydoorcom. Circle no. 110.

COPPER TOPPER: The company’s Copper doors feature Series II insulation, glossy black powder–coated hardware, and a 99.9 percent copper finish. In addition to adding aesthetic appeal, copper is practical because it won’t rust. Each door is furnished with the company’s Finger Shield system, which is designed to prevent accidental pinching or crushing of fingers. The doors are available in five styles and sizes up to 24-feet wide by 20-feet high. Martin Door Manufacturing. 800-388-9310. www.martindoor.com. Circle no. 111.