6 Stylish Home Design Ideas From 2020 Best of Houzz Award Winners
See the details that helped these home design professionals earn praise from the Houzz community
Looking for fresh design ideas for your home? A smart way to start is by looking at designs that are popular on Houzz. And the following spaces feature just such designs. Each of these photos won a 2020 Best of Houzz Design award; the awards, which were announced this week, recognize designs that had the most user engagement, including saves to ideabooks, in 2019. While we can’t feature all of the award-winning designs — there are many around the world — we put together a few standout home design ideas from a handful of the U.S. award winners.
2. Bring a Bit of Drama
If you feel like your home lacks a certain wow factor, just ask your designer to bring a little drama. That’s what interior designer Jana Valdez and her contractor husband, Armando Valdez of Haven Design and Construction, did with this popular kitchen in San Antonio, Texas.
Black was used for the cabinets, two-tiered island base, range hood, upper glass-front cabinet frames and window frames, bringing depth to an otherwise mostly white space. Meanwhile, champagne-gold lighting and plumbing fixtures, brass stools and a 12-foot ceiling contribute to the dramatic appeal and helped Haven earn a Best of Houzz Design award.
If you feel like your home lacks a certain wow factor, just ask your designer to bring a little drama. That’s what interior designer Jana Valdez and her contractor husband, Armando Valdez of Haven Design and Construction, did with this popular kitchen in San Antonio, Texas.
Black was used for the cabinets, two-tiered island base, range hood, upper glass-front cabinet frames and window frames, bringing depth to an otherwise mostly white space. Meanwhile, champagne-gold lighting and plumbing fixtures, brass stools and a 12-foot ceiling contribute to the dramatic appeal and helped Haven earn a Best of Houzz Design award.
Golden Gate Kitchens brought a similar vibe to this San Francisco kitchen, which won the firm a Best of Houzz Design award.
Two oversize satin-brass pendants hang from a large beam, creating a breathtaking design moment. Brass stools, faucets and cabinet hardware coordinate with the light fixtures, inviting the eye to wander from one shiny gold surface to the next. These dramatic features, as well as a deep blue island base, stand out thanks to a crisp white backdrop created by the Shaker cabinets, backsplash and quartz countertops.
Two oversize satin-brass pendants hang from a large beam, creating a breathtaking design moment. Brass stools, faucets and cabinet hardware coordinate with the light fixtures, inviting the eye to wander from one shiny gold surface to the next. These dramatic features, as well as a deep blue island base, stand out thanks to a crisp white backdrop created by the Shaker cabinets, backsplash and quartz countertops.
When in doubt about how to add drama, just think black. Adding black accents is a foolproof way to perk up a room design. That’s what Pennsylvania designer Lauren Levant did with this voluminous double shower. Matte black plumbing fixtures and hardware for the frameless glass shower enclosure stand out against walls clad in concrete-gray large-format tile.
For extra drama, Levant used thin black grout and two black metal Schluter strips, one of which runs vertically down the center of the shower, and the other horizontally across the 6-inch-deep shower bench.
This bathroom won Levant a Best of Houzz Design award.
For extra drama, Levant used thin black grout and two black metal Schluter strips, one of which runs vertically down the center of the shower, and the other horizontally across the 6-inch-deep shower bench.
This bathroom won Levant a Best of Houzz Design award.
3. Add a Textured Accent Wall
In design, texture helps create a diverse visual palette, drawing the eye in and giving it something dynamic to consider, which keeps things interesting even if the treatment is subtle.
The bedroom shown here is part of a custom prefabricated house in the wine country north of San Francisco. Interior designer Jennifer Jones of Niche Interiors responded to her clients’ request to put an emphasis on natural and eco-friendly methods and materials by adding a textured plaster treatment to the wall. It has the look of wood that underwent shou-sugi-ban, the Japanese technique of burning wood to seal and treat it.
For this photo, Jones received a Best of Houzz Design award, a particularly meaningful recognition for the San Francisco designer. “It seems more democratic,” she says. “It’s just what images people are responding to. For that reason, that makes a big impact. The images that get a lot of traction have a lot of point of view, usually a dramatic texture or wall pattern that pulls you in. Our style is not a ‘more is more’ style, so we keep things restrained and focused on those few elements that draw you in.”
Jones and her team also won a Best of Houzz Service award this year, meaning the clients she has worked with gave her positive reviews on her Houzz profile page. To get a Best of Houzz Service award, professionals need at least one five-star client review from a project completed in the year under consideration, and at least two reviews overall.
If you’ve worked with a standout 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 that person earn the client ratings needed to score a Best of Houzz Service award and help their business grow.
In design, texture helps create a diverse visual palette, drawing the eye in and giving it something dynamic to consider, which keeps things interesting even if the treatment is subtle.
The bedroom shown here is part of a custom prefabricated house in the wine country north of San Francisco. Interior designer Jennifer Jones of Niche Interiors responded to her clients’ request to put an emphasis on natural and eco-friendly methods and materials by adding a textured plaster treatment to the wall. It has the look of wood that underwent shou-sugi-ban, the Japanese technique of burning wood to seal and treat it.
For this photo, Jones received a Best of Houzz Design award, a particularly meaningful recognition for the San Francisco designer. “It seems more democratic,” she says. “It’s just what images people are responding to. For that reason, that makes a big impact. The images that get a lot of traction have a lot of point of view, usually a dramatic texture or wall pattern that pulls you in. Our style is not a ‘more is more’ style, so we keep things restrained and focused on those few elements that draw you in.”
Jones and her team also won a Best of Houzz Service award this year, meaning the clients she has worked with gave her positive reviews on her Houzz profile page. To get a Best of Houzz Service award, professionals need at least one five-star client review from a project completed in the year under consideration, and at least two reviews overall.
If you’ve worked with a standout 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 that person earn the client ratings needed to score a Best of Houzz Service award and help their business grow.
4. Look Outside for Additional Living Space
If adding square footage to your home is cost-prohibitive or physically impossible, look to any available outdoor space to increase your home’s livability. That’s what design-build firm Outdoor Dreams did for the Virginia family with young kids whose patio is seen here.
The attractive curved patio encircles a fire pit and features built-in seating that follows the curved retaining wall. The slope above is planted with a mix of grasses, shrubs and perennials that enclose the space.
Small patio pavers set in polymeric sand — a mixture of fine sand and polymers — creates a graphic surface underfoot and prevents weeds from growing through.
This patio photo earned Outdoor Dreams a Best of Houzz Design award, and is among the top 10 patio photos uploaded to Houzz in 2019.
Outdoor Dreams also won a Best of Houzz Service award.
See more of this patio makeover
If adding square footage to your home is cost-prohibitive or physically impossible, look to any available outdoor space to increase your home’s livability. That’s what design-build firm Outdoor Dreams did for the Virginia family with young kids whose patio is seen here.
The attractive curved patio encircles a fire pit and features built-in seating that follows the curved retaining wall. The slope above is planted with a mix of grasses, shrubs and perennials that enclose the space.
Small patio pavers set in polymeric sand — a mixture of fine sand and polymers — creates a graphic surface underfoot and prevents weeds from growing through.
This patio photo earned Outdoor Dreams a Best of Houzz Design award, and is among the top 10 patio photos uploaded to Houzz in 2019.
Outdoor Dreams also won a Best of Houzz Service award.
See more of this patio makeover
5. Make a Good First Impression
The entrance to your home sets the mood and tone for the rest of your house. Don’t ignore the opportunity to create something meaningful that greets you at the end of a long day and welcomes guests.
Idaho design-build firm Solitude Homes created the meaningful and charming modern-farmhouse entryway shown here. White wide-plank shiplap walls, black accents, light wood flooring and a dramatic emerald green barn door helped deliver a Best of Houzz Design award to the firm. This is also one of the most popular entry photos of 2019.
“We had a lot of fun with the details and woodworking in terms of the textures that we put on the walls and the ceilings,” says Cody Weight, president of Solitude Homes, which also won a Best of Houzz Service award.
The entrance to your home sets the mood and tone for the rest of your house. Don’t ignore the opportunity to create something meaningful that greets you at the end of a long day and welcomes guests.
Idaho design-build firm Solitude Homes created the meaningful and charming modern-farmhouse entryway shown here. White wide-plank shiplap walls, black accents, light wood flooring and a dramatic emerald green barn door helped deliver a Best of Houzz Design award to the firm. This is also one of the most popular entry photos of 2019.
“We had a lot of fun with the details and woodworking in terms of the textures that we put on the walls and the ceilings,” says Cody Weight, president of Solitude Homes, which also won a Best of Houzz Service award.
6. Play With Tile Patterns
Tiled surfaces are practical in the wet environment of a bathroom. But sticking with one tile size, pattern and color can leave the room feeling cold and lacking visual interest.
To turn up the energy, try playing with and mixing various tile shapes, finishes and styles.
For this Los Angeles powder room, interior designer John McClain, who won a Best of Houzz Design award for this photo, laid handmade glossy green subway tile in a herringbone pattern to create a feature wall that competes for attention with a marble-and-brass vanity.
Tiled surfaces are practical in the wet environment of a bathroom. But sticking with one tile size, pattern and color can leave the room feeling cold and lacking visual interest.
To turn up the energy, try playing with and mixing various tile shapes, finishes and styles.
For this Los Angeles powder room, interior designer John McClain, who won a Best of Houzz Design award for this photo, laid handmade glossy green subway tile in a herringbone pattern to create a feature wall that competes for attention with a marble-and-brass vanity.
Here, Etch Design Group mixed matte white picket wall tile on the shower walls with penny tiles on the shower floor and hexagonal tiles on the main floor, establishing a diverse visual palette supported by brass plumbing fixtures and a royal blue vanity. The smart moves with tile helped the design firm earn a Best of Houzz Design award for this Austin, Texas, bathroom. It is also one of the top 10 bathrooms of 2019.
Signature Designs Kitchen & Bath delivered a beautiful mix of marble tile in this San Diego bathroom, winning the company a Best of Houzz Design award. The floor is 3-by-3-inch hexagonal marble tile that leads to a shower enclosure with large marble tiles and with slim marble tiles laid in a chevron pattern. A smoky-gray glass tile backsplash set in a herringbone pattern with gray grout caps off the elegant design.
If you want to know if a professional on Houzz received a Best of Houzz award, just check out their profile and look for badges displayed on the left side of the 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 2020 award winners
More on Houzz
34 Trends That Will Define Home Design in 2020
Find a design or building professional near you
Shop for home products
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 2020 award winners
More on Houzz
34 Trends That Will Define Home Design in 2020
Find a design or building professional near you
Shop for home products
Never underestimate the power of paint. Soothing pale green cabinets (Waterscape by Sherwin-Williams) establish a refreshing atmosphere in this laundry room by Nashville, Tennessee, designer Becky Rose Grinwald.
The designer won a Best of Houzz Design award for this laundry room photo, which is among the top 10 most popular laundry room photos uploaded to Houzz in 2019. A white subway tile backsplash and solid white countertops further enhance the calming vibe, while dark stained wood flooring offers a bit of contrast.
Find a kitchen designer on Houzz