What makes a home well-designed? Most of the time it’s not one single element but a collection of countless details that create style and function within every space. After all, it’s these small design decisions you interact with on a daily basis, not the house as a whole, and that’s what adds up to a positive experience at home. But how do you assemble the right features? Take a cue from designs receiving praise from the Houzz community. The following photos recently won a Best of Houzz Design
Design Shop Interiors
Kitchens
1. Apron-front sink. Also known as a farmhouse sink, this sink style has become incredibly popular in recent years, and for good reason. The sinks are usually extra deep and wide, providing lots of room to wash large pots and pans. The front sticks out slightly from the cabinets, allowing the user to scoot in and lean against the sink to maneuver into a better position for deep cleaning. Plus, the front surface area offers an opportunity to help break up expanses of cabinetry with a different material or color.
Design Shop Interiors used an apron-front sink in the Sacramento, California, kitchen shown here, which won the firm a Best of Houzz Design award. The large sink adds a punch of white to the blue cabinets (Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore).
The firm also won a Best of Houzz Service award, which is determined by several factors, including a pro’s overall Houzz profile rating as well as client reviews.
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won a Best of Houzz Design award for this Chicago kitchen, which features a stylish handmade concrete apron-front sink that coordinates with the gray island (Gauntlet Gray by Sherwin-Williams).
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G.W. Smith Lumber Co.
2. Wood details. Kitchens feature a lot of cold surfaces — figuratively and literally. Popular white and gray cabinet palettes, stainless steel appliances and other metal finishes and glossy countertop surfaces can sometimes lead to a stark atmosphere. Many design and renovation pros counter that potential effect with wood details.
Kitchen designers at G.W. Smith Lumber Co. embraced that idea in the Charlotte, North Carolina, kitchen shown here, which won them a Best of Houzz Design award. Rustic wood island legs and a wrapped range hood, as well as rich wood flooring, bring the right dose of warmth.
Magleby Construction
Magleby Construction used the same approach in this Salt Lake City kitchen, mixing in wood cabinets with painted cabinets and a wood floor and ceiling that sandwich the design in warm tones. The space earned Magleby a Best of Houzz Design award.
Bathrooms
3. Inviting shower. Many people these days are looking to a hot shower for stress relief. And having an inviting, spacious design only adds to the appeal.
NV Design created the welcoming shower seen here in a New York City apartment. Marble hexagonal floor tiles and handmade ceramic wall tiles create a creamy, soothing palette. Natural light and a small bench invite the owners to relax and stay awhile. The photo won the interior designers a Best of Houzz Design award.
Younger Homes
Younger Homes used pine shiplap painted white to create an enticing shower enclosure in this Austin, Texas, bathroom, which won the home builders a Best of Houzz Design award. Cream-colored river rock tile walls and floor in the shower, as well as a transom window, give the interior of the shower a bright and warm energy.
Sharon Kory Interiors
4. Stylish powder room sink. Designers often recommend that homeowners take a bit of a style leap of faith in a powder room. That’s because these often-small rooms lend themselves to becoming an intimate little world separate from the rest of the home. And while much attention is paid to adorning the walls with bold paint or wallpaper, the sink choice also deserves consideration.
A powder room sink is a great opportunity to introduce something that’s a departure from the fixtures and finishes found elsewhere in your home. Plus, it’s a feature that you and your guests interact with — more so than the wallcovering — so it’s a great spot to incorporate something fun or unique.
Sharon Kory Interiors won a Best of Houzz Design award for this Detroit bathroom, which features a stylish vessel sink with a swirling design detail.
BANDD DESIGN
Similarly, BANDD Design used a gorgeous rectangular marble vessel sink to create a memorable moment in this Austin powder room, for which the design studio earned a Best of Houzz Design award.
Magleby Construction
Outdoors
5. Shade structure. If you want to extend your living space into an outdoor area, the first thing you’ll want is a structure that provides some shade. And, as we noted earlier this year in our 2021 design trends predictions, a pergola is quickly becoming the go-to shade structure for many homeowners.
Magleby Construction won a Best of Houzz Design award for the Salt Lake City outdoor area shown here, which features a heavy timber pergola with a frosted glass roof, speaker system, outdoor heater, ceiling fan and hanging bed. The photo is also one of the most popular patios of 2020 on Houzz.
4 Gardens With Spectacular Pergolas and Shade Structures
6. Fire feature. There’s something unexplainable yet undeniable about the appeal of a fire feature. Flickering flames provide warmth, light, ambiance and an opportunity for s’mores. It’s a natural focal point for a conversation area too. won a Best of Houzz Design award for this Seattle backyard and its fire feature.
Marker Girl Home
Laundry Rooms
7. Dedicated hamper space. As we noted in our 2021 design trends predictions, a dedicated space for hampers in a laundry room is a seemingly simple design feature that makes a huge difference.
In this Houston laundry room, designers at Marker Girl Home included room for rolling hampers marked for whites, brights and darks. The firm won a Best of Houzz Design award for the space.
Amy Krause Design, LLC.
For this Kansas City laundry room, Amy Krause Design created dedicated storage for two rolling hampers beneath a folding counter. The design earned the designer a Best of Houzz Design award.
Krause also won a Best of Houzz Service award. To qualify for a Best of Houzz Service award, professionals need at least one five-star client review completed in the year that’s being judged and at least two total client reviews overall.
If you’ve worked with a talented professional on a home project and want the rest of the Houzz community to know about it, consider writing a positive review on that professional’s Houzz profile page. Your praise could help the pro earn the client ratings needed to score a Best of Houzz Service award and help their business grow.
House of Brazier
Living Rooms
8. Plenty of seating. An easy mistake when it comes to living room furniture is not including enough seating. A well-designed living room should always have plenty of options.
This Sacramento living room by House of Brazier is a good example. A leather sofa, love seat and two armchairs surround a cushioned coffee table, which can also provide extra seating in a pinch. Plus, two additional chairs are available on either side of the patio door, giving the owners various seating considerations for reading, lounging and conversing.
The photo won the design studio a Best of Houzz Design award.
Tom Williams Residential, Inc.
This Atlanta living room by Tom Williams Residential also adopted the more-is-more approach. A love seat and three upholstered chairs handle daily needs, while a leather coffee table and side stool serve as additional seating as needed.
The photo won Williams a Best of Houzz Design award.
Julie Coppa Designs, Inc.
Bedrooms
9. Statement chandelier. Most homeowners want a bedroom that’s cozy and tranquil, and that often puts a lot of style focus on textile choices such as bedding, drapes and rugs. But one relatively simple feature that can vastly improve the look and feel of a bedroom is a statement chandelier. It can bring in a sculptural element in a metal finish that provides a nice counterpoint to the otherwise soft and muted design details.
For this bedroom, Julie Coppa Designs won a Best of Houzz Design award. The firm also won a Best of Houzz Service award.
Meriwether Design Group
The stunning iron chandelier in this Atlanta bedroom complements the curve of the headboard on the custom bed frame, and it helped Meriwether Design Group earn a Best of Houzz Design award. The firm also won a Best of Houzz Service award.
Saxon chandelier in Zanzibar Black, Currey & Co.
JS Interiors LLC
Entryways
10. Storage, organization and a spot to sit. A reliable way to keep your home organized is to design a hardworking entryway that helps you corral shoes, bags, coats and more. You can go the simple yet still stylish route with a standalone bench, basket and coat hooks, as JS Interiors did here in this Raleigh, North Carolina, entryway, which earned the firm a Best of Houzz Design award.
Rufty Custom Built Homes and Remodeling
You can also go the custom route with dedicated built-in storage and seating, as Rufty Custom Built Homes and Remodeling did for this entryway, also in Raleigh. Barn-style doors can close off the area to further keep clutter at bay. The photo earned the company a Best of Houzz Design award.
If you want to know if a professional on Houzz has received a Best of Houzz award, just check out their profile and look for badges displayed on their page, as shown here. Best of Houzz badges are given in three categories: Design, Service and Photography. When you see a badge, that means the Houzz community has left positive reviews for the professional, has saved photos from their Houzz portfolio or both.
A little more than 3% of Houzz’s 2.5 million active home professionals win Best of Houzz awards each year.
View all the Best of Houzz 2021 award winners
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