How's this for a well-tailored ceiling? Inlaid tongue and groove pine timbers have been hand-stained to match the cabinetry that's just out of sight below. And the warm wood tones glow against the contrasting multi-step, multi-hued coffeed ceiling treatment with 2-step crown molding. Nice fan, too.

Balance and grace meets rustic Tuscan warmth. Here we've tied together the tongue and groove cedar beams and corbels from the roof with this freestanding window mantel. Which draws the eye up to the wonderfully detailed brick arch above the demilune.

Even the simplest details can be beautiful. Take, for example, this stairway, which combines warm red oak runners with elegantly turned wrought iron balusters. Yep, you might say we rethink everything.

Here, old world notions get a modern suit of clothes. The Absolute Black granite countertop and undermount sink makes form some pretty clean lines, and the oil-rubbed bronze Delta fixture gives a nod to the past. We close the story with a delicate travertine brickwork backsplash and a decorative molding cap.

Sinks matter. Thus, we chose this one, a Memoirs square sink from Kohler graced by the latest Moen fixture in satin nickel, all set nicely in a 3cm thick travertine countertop. What else? How about the matching 1 x 2 brick travertine backsplash and cap, and the coffee stained birch cabinets? Phew.

Well-crafted homes can be museums of themselves. Especially when they're graced by pillars like this one. Carved from white Texas limestone, it's been quarried, smoothed, and installed by local hands, and sits proudly on the natural tumbled travertine stone floors beneath.

Safe, solid, and stylish, this entry door is one of a pair from Durango Doors. Imported from Mexico, it's been finished in a warm copper patina, accented with fiddlehead ironwork, and fitted with a crackled leaded glass that creates lace out of sunlight on the floors just inside.

If the hearth is the heart of the home, this one will beat for a long time to come. Pure solid Texas limestone, mined from a central Texas quarry, has been carved into a beautifully detailed mantel by local artisan Trent Skinner.

Graceful iron curves bear beautifully hand-rubbed and hammered fruit in this magnificent door detail. Surely grapes this detailed tell the story of what lies behind them, which, in this case, is a fabulous temperature-controlled round wine cellar.