Sometimes a staircase may be necessary to get from floor to floor. And sometimes it can be an architectural marvel. We found a round-up on MSN Real Estate that caught our fancy. Here are two of our favorites. Check out the rest here.

If you have an abundance of books and limited space to store them, why not include them in your stairs?

It can’t be denied that these stairs, seemingly supported by nothing, are chic and modern. Our concern would be safety–how do you prevent falls not only down the stairs but off the stairs?

What are the most interesting stairs you’ve ever seen? Let us know in the comments!

Images courtesy of MSN Real Estate.

Any realtor will tell you it’s wise to purchase the worst home on the best block, but who wants to live in the neighborhood eyesore?

For those who prefer their home be the envy of the neighborhood — that’s most of us, right? — Margaret at the Calfinder Remodeling Blog whipped together a list of eight focus areas sure to make the neighbors jealous.

This isn’t just about vanity. There’s a practical element to owning the home everyone wants. As you’ll see, focusing on the right areas around the house will not only boost your home’s profile in the short-term, but it can provide a major advantage if and when you decide to sell.

Here’s a few focal points included on Margaret’s list:

Attractive Siding
Fresh, tasteful siding make can make a huge impression. While a home may be beautiful on the inside, worn, dingy siding on the outside suggests the home has fallen out of repair.

Energy-Efficient Heating and Air
Nothing can date a home quite like an old furnace or air conditioner. Central heating and cooling isn’t enough, either. If you live in an older home, installation of energy-efficient heating and air will cut decades of your home’s age. Outdated systems are one of the biggest drawbacks to owning an older home.

Great Flooring
Ditch the matted carpet and laminate flooring. Think tile, cork or concrete. Quality flooring will assist in sound reduction and improve heat retention. If you want to take things a step further and you live in a colder climate, consider heated floors in bathrooms or the basement.

To see the rest of Margaret’s list, check out Calfinder.

[Photo from Houzz]

By way of the great Hooked on Houses, we learned of the great new cover story in Architectural Digest: a look inside the Malibu mansion of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. AD writes:

The 25,000-square-foot house has a surprising intimacy—a soul animated by the craftsmanship on display and the spirit of the celebrity power couple that live here with their children, Willow, Jaden, and Trey, Will’s son from his first marriage. “For Will and me this home was always a spiritual endeavor,” Jada says. “We’re very earthy, organic people. We wanted to create a family retreat, something made by hand and as natural as possible, something that ties back to the land.”

The adobe-style home was designed by Stephen Samuelson with architect Harry Perez-Daple, and although it’s a gorgeous home inside and out, the view might just be the most spectacular part. As you’d hope, the home is designed to be very open, bringing the outside in and taking advantage of everything Mother Nature has to offer.

Read more about the house and its interior decoration — and see more photos — at Architectural Digest.

[photos by Architectural Digest]

Articulating a vision is one of the most difficult aspects to building a home or planning a remodeling project. For those who are not interior designers or architects, Autodesk Homestyler has come to the rescue. The 3D design software is free, entirely Web-based and easier than hammering a nail.

With Autodesk Homesyler, users can create their dream home from scratch by choosing from a wide range of floor plans and more than 22,000 name-brand products from the product catalog (including Marvin Window and Doors). To kick-start inspiration, users can browse the design gallery to view and tinker with designs made by other users. There’s also a series of advice videos from professional interior designer Nadia Geller.

No more flipping through design magazines and spending hours perusing real estate websites. A mental picture isn’t good enough. Check out Autodesk Homestyler to render your dream project. It just might be the first step toward completion.

It’s summertime and everyone is looking ways to stay cool! Jumping into some water is a great way to accomplish that, so whether you’ll be heading off to the community pool or have your own backyard waterpark, MLuxe has rounded up some interesting pools for your inspiration.

The Blue Moon Pool is as tiny as a hot tub…great for small yards! [via Design Milk]

How fun does this pool look? There’s a spa to warm up in and a waterfall to cool off under. [via Better Homes and Gardens]

Live on a farm? Have an unused stock tank? Repurpose it for recreation! [via Re-nest]

This indoor blue lagoon would be perfect for swimming during the dark winter months. [via Architectural Digest]

A swimming pool in the living room…now that is fun! [via Dwell]

Every once in a while, we like to give you a peek inside a celebrity’s big, fancy home. Not to make anyone jealous or anything like that — just to show some great examples of stylish interior design and decor and perhaps to give you a bit of inspiration next time you tackle some home improvement projects.

The March 2011 issue of Architectural Digest include a predictably great photo feature about musician Sheryl Crow’s 1920s home in the Hollywood Hills. With a original Spanish tile on the staircase, and furniture from the Pottery Barn, and a host of instruments strewn about the house, Crow’s home effortlessly blends classic decor with more modern elements.

According to AD: “The Ginebra sectional sofa and vintage cocktail table [in photo at right] were found at 22 Bond St.; the sea-grass rug is by Pottery Barn. Ron Pippin’s trophylike 2007 sculpture Deer with Copper Horns is displayed on a wall.” The photo shows a bit of the home’s Spanish-style architecture and gives a taste of Crow’s decorating style.

The home sits on an 11-acre property that also includes a bridge arching over a small ravine and a garden complete with tepee. Learn more — and see many more photos — at Architectural Digest’s website.

During the past couple of weeks, we’ve shared a series of videos featuring designer P. Allen Smith and his Garden Home Retreat. Today we’re going to take a look at how he used natural light as an important element in his home’s design.

Smith demonstrates how a home can feel more open and welcoming by using large and effectively placed windows to let natural light pour into the home. Watch the short video above for more, or check out our YouTube channel for other videos from Smith.

My brother Chris and I often hike the wooded areas that surround the Garden Home Retreat. Exploring the forest is a pastime that goes back to our childhood, and it gives us a chance to go over landscape projects we are working on together on the property.

On a recent walk we talked about building a little Gothic pavilion on a spot overlooking the Arkansas River. It could be a great place to sit and watch the river go by. We found the perfect location where the ground is level and then drops to a steep incline.  A small pavilion or belvedere would be an intriguing destination that one would come to along the woodland garden path. From the best we could tell it wouldn’t take much to open up a few views to the east and west looking up and down the river.

If you have been to the Retreat or seen photographs of the house, you know that it is all in the Greek Revival style; a Gothic structure would add a touch of contrast. I see it also being very rustic hexagonal building with five windows and a door. It’d be fun to use Tulip Popular bark around the windows.

Right around the time Chris and I began discussing the pavilion, Marvin Windows and Doors approached me about designing a window for their MyMarvin project.  Seeing as rustic Gothic was on my mind, I designed a window with a pointed arch made of rough, branches with peeling bark.  It would be perfect for my pavilion in the woods.

You can see my Gothic window design here.



Well, we have come to that time of the year when I have taken the opportunity to open up the back parlor French doors that lead to the back porch. This doubles the size of the space and creates one giant indoor-outdoor room. Of course, everybody gravitates to the porch so they can enjoy the weather.

I am so excited about the weather and kicking back on the porch, I’ve broken a cardinal rule and invited Lucky and Angel, the resident dogs, in the house. They spent a good 15 minutes jumping from one piece of furniture to the next before settling in for an afternoon nap. It is funny how we humans spend so much time inside that we can’t wait to get outdoors, while Lucky and Angel have the whole farm to explore and they love to lay around on the couch.

I rely on potted plants to bring the garden onto the back porch. In winter it’s pots of little evergreen trees, junipers, arborvitae and so forth, but once the weather warms up I replace the evergreens with bay trees, citrus and sago palms. Last summer I was at a friend’s farm in Pennsylvania and he had lined his porch with a series of 14-inch clay pots of aspidistra (cast iron plant). What a great look! I plan to do the same on the porches at the retreat.

For now I am enjoying the porch before pollen season hits when everything will be covered in yellow dust.  Just a few weeks when I can truly blur the lines between inside and out.

I cherish the little art studio at the Garden Home Retreat. It is one of the few places where I can truly turn off the outside world and get away.

I savor winter weekends spent in the studio working on drawings and paintings.  When it is bitterly cold outside and the garden is wearing its winter clothes, the studio is like a warm cocoon with a fire in the fire place and bright, natural light flooding in from the sliding doors and windows.

Even on the bleakest February day, the garden still offers plenty of inspiration for my paintings.  From my cozy perch I can look out of the windows toward the northwest and down the Arkansas River Valley to get a generous view of the river. The river looks so vast one might think it is a lake.  The sight brings to mind the Hudson River Valley painters of the 19th Century.

Several years ago I went to Alana on the Hudson River, the home of Fredrick Church the great American landscape painter.  I was there in autumn when the fall foliage was at its peak.  What a thrilling place if you love history, painting and landscape.  While my river valley may not be quite as sublime, I have to say that it runs a very close second.