Local design experts honor top houses, give tips to you

We think we know good design, and we certainly know what we like and don't like.

But we can learn a lot when people considered experts in the field designate rooms as the best.

Here are selections from the recent "Design Excellence Awards" sponsored by the Illinois chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers and i4design magazine.

Who: Jennifer McDermott of Des Plaines, designer with Perkins Eastman of Chicago.

What: Skilled care nursing home in Texas.

Feature: Columns look like teak, but they are veneer applied just like wallpaper.

Tip: Mixing blues with shades of rocks, sands and Texas sunsets in carpet and upholstery create a warm, lively decor while making it easier to hide spills.

Who: John Lessick of Wheaton, owner of Apex Wood Floors in Downers Grove.

What: Flooring in and near billiards room in Hinsdale home.

Feature: Hand-scraped and beveled walnut - including pieces from the crotch or fork of the tree - are set in a lattice pattern.

Tip: If you're doing an upscale floor, Lessick says the hot woods today include walnut, oak cut with distinctive grains, and hickory.

Who: Janet McCann, McCann Associates Inc., Chicago

What: Home under 3,000 square feet with killer views in Montana.

Feature: A stone wall with a fireplace and a tall, concave piece of metal faces a wall of windows, but does not distract from the view like much artwork would.

Tip: Furniture does not have to be tall just because the ceiling is 16 to 18 feet high. Other proportions such as the thickness of the sofa's arm and length and depth of the piece, as well as the natural colors, can bring a warm, homey feeling to the room.

Who: Susan Fredman and Aimee Nemeckay, Susan Fredman Design Group, Chicago

What: New kitchen and other rooms for professional chef in her 1930s Chicago home.

Feature: The cabinets are oak and the countertops concrete except for the chef's signature butcher block on the huge island, which helps define spaces while leaving the area open.

Tip: When an island is 12 feet long, put something visually interesting on all sides; for example, wine rack, cookbooks, double oven, stools.

Who: Lonnie Unger of Susan Fredman Design Group, Chicago

What: Living and dining room in new Chicago home transformed from traditional "vanilla box" to contemporary with clean lines.

Feature: The white brushed limestone fireplace and mantel against a wall of dark Macassar ebony creates a focal point. One of the owners collects Asian antiques, so a carved wooden screen is on the opposite wall.

Tip: Start with a rug to create the palette. This wool and silk one is white, cream, linen and chocolate.

Who: Norma Zeiger of Entwine Interiors of Chicago

What: Galley kitchen measuring 8-by-171/2 feet redesigned to work for family of four.

Feature: Two appliances help the room gain space: The refrigerator's French doors do not stick out as far as one wide one would, and the range has a small warming drawer/oven instead if a second oven.

Tip: Tuck storage everywhere - cabinets under the table, a pantry next to a window and another in an adjacent hallway. And extend a countertop over a portion of the table that no diner would use anyway.