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"Contemparary but warm\u2014and definitely convenient: These were the goals driving designer Ingrid Leess as she created this year&amp;#039;s Design Showcase, a collaboration between Home magazine and Woman&amp;#039;s Day Special Interest Publications that was on display at May&amp;#039;s Kitchen/Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas. Although this was a model project built in the Convention Center, Leess approached it as an actual home, inspired by the notion that &amp;quot;I was designing the space for myself.&amp;quot; The centerpiece of her vision is the kitchen, with built-in appliances on two walls plus plenty of work space on the main counter and island. &amp;quot;The kitchen area is open to the layout&amp;#039;s other living zones,&amp;quot; says Leess, &amp;quot;so if I had family and friends in, we could hang out together during meal prep.&amp;quot; Among the extras she&amp;#039;s provided is a pull-down video screen to see whoever rings the door chime (tucked to the left of the fridge and hooked up to a hands-free speaker phone), plus a movable base cabinet holding a laptop, which can be easily rolled to the cook&amp;#039;s elbow for recipe retrieval, or into the media area for youngsters to play video games or do their homework. Click here to see more photos.  Leess also created compact spaces that would add lots of amenities. A storage-packed mudroom and message center just inside the door features waist-high counters and a built-in bench. &amp;quot;I like having a spot where I can put down my mail, recharge my cell phone and iPod, and also sit down and take off my boots or sneakers,&amp;quot; says the designer. There&amp;#039;s an oval mirror for preening, and an array of shelves and cabinets offer lots of room to corral essentials and display curios and family snaps. The kitchen island is lit from above by three tubular glass pendant fixtures; a waste disposer is set under the larger of its sinks. Above the cooktop, a graceful glass-and-steel vent hood adds interest and function. The family-media room is open to the kitchen but has its own distinct tone and feeling. Its sectional seating\u2014easily reconfigured as circumstances may require\u2014gets copious natural light for reading, thanks to expansive casement windows, and also provides a comfy perch for viewing the giant, wall-hung TV across from it. A handy lever gives the round, glass-topped table dual functions: It&amp;#039;s a coffee table when lowered and a dining surface when raised. Walls here are covered in a paintable raised-pattern wallpaper; their chocolate hue syncs with the tones of the kitchen cabinets. The self-contained home office, occupying the wall behind the message center, offers great storage options: recessed-panel cupboards and drawers, open shelves for containers, and frosted glass\u2013front cabinetry. The paintable wallpaper above the desktop is colored a deep blue; the wall to the left is reddish brown. Click here to see more photos.  A wall composed entirely of faux stone, installed like hand-set bricks in a random pattern, separates the family media room from the bath. In the butler&amp;#039;s pantry\u2013bar area, to the right of the TV, upper cabinets of cherrywood with frosted-glass doors hold glassware and serving pieces. On the left side of the single base cabinet is a wine chiller; to the right is a beverage center. As is evident, designer Leess (aware of how much the efficient workings of a household are dependent upon the availability of plentiful storage space) placed cabinets in every possible area within our model project, but she did so with a keen eye toward aesthetics. &amp;quot;I chose simple, modern cabinet doors and drawer fronts,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;And I mixed up finishes, to make it all look more lively and interesting.&amp;quot; Flanked by sconce lights mounted on an expanse of wall covered in textured white wallpaper, the television and DVD player are the heart of the space&amp;#039;s entertainment center. Beneath the screen is a blue-painted cabinet whose rectangular raised panels are echoed by the checkerboardlike pattern of the carpet tiles accenting the natural-finished maple floor. &amp;quot;For the bath area, my goal was to create a refuge,&amp;quot; Leess recalls. I aimed for &amp;quot;a very soothing, tranquil space.&amp;quot; To that end, colors are soft, and the designer added plants, leafy greenery, and a grass-cloth wall covering. Also, she points out, &amp;quot;the way the shower is open at two ends makes you feel as though you are outdoors, even though you&amp;#039;re connected closely to the rest of the room.&amp;quot; This two-person unit, with its huge overhead spray, is balanced by a tub that boasts aromatherapy, chromatherapy (underwater LED lighting), heated backrests, and its own, mostly invisible built-in music system\u2014plus luxurious massaging water and air jets. Although our model project was erected within the vast interior of the Las Vegas Convention Center, its design places a high value on embracing natural light, which would pour into the rooms through carefully placed French doors and casement windows. &amp;quot;Sunlight would even illuminate this drying-off space beside the shower,&amp;quot; says designer Leess, pointing out a tall window on the wall adjacent to the bathroom&amp;#039;s glass-fronted cabinets. Attached to the window is a translucent screen that facilitates privacy while never cutting out a single ray of light. Click here to see more photos.  Product Picks Adjustable Table Hydra Woody Table. Solid ash base in natural finish; 40-inch-diameter glass top. Hydra Designs; 908-903-1997, hydradesigns.com. Bathtub Andrea 8 #MTDS-98 in white, with Aria Elite Whirlpool package #AEAP98. MTI Whirlpools; 800-783-8827, mtiwhirlpools.com. Faux Stone Wall Stacked stone in Alderwood. Eldorado Stone; 800-925-1491, eldoradostone.com. Fold-Down Shower Seat #TTC671 with backrest. Wall-mounted; acrylic and chrome-finished brass. Bristol and Bath; 610-962-9329, bristolbath.com. Sectional Seating Kate chaise, wedge, armchair, and armless chairs. Loft fabric #G343984 in Robin Egg. Todd Oldham by La-Z-Boy; 734-242-1444, la-z-boy.com. Shower Ski shower system. Square model in polished chrome. Graff; 800-954-4723, graff-faucets.com. Vent Hood Best by Broan wall-mount Essenza #IC27. Glass and steel. Broan-NuTone; 800-558-1711, bestbybroan.com. Video Monitoring System Model VSC4R. Broan-NuTone; 888-336-3948, nutone.com. Click here to see more photos. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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