Home & design
November 2026
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The Layered Homes editorial team

Transformations Desk

The Transformations Desk produces the before-and-after design studies: one imagined starting space (a room, a facade, a backyard) shown in several design directions, each with a palette and a cost estimate.

editor@thelayeredhomes.com
59Articles

About this desk

The Transformations Desk is the part of The Layered Homes editorial team that produces the before-and-after articles: interiors, exterior facades and outdoor spaces. Each article is a design study: one imagined starting space shown in several design directions, so the same room or house can be compared fairly across styles.

The images are concept renderings created with AI image tools. They are not photographs of completed projects, and no real home or homeowner is shown. Each direction is written up with its palette, key materials, styling notes and the decisions that change the space most.

Costs are estimates in current-year dollars, built from published sources (cost surveys, retailer and manufacturer price lists) named in each article’s Sources section. They are a planning reference, not quotes or invoices; labour and materials vary by region, so get local quotes before you commit.

We use AI tools for research, drafting and image rendering. Our team directs, checks and edits every article before it is published. Corrections: editor@thelayeredhomes.com. The full standard is in the editorial policy.

How this desk works

One space, several directions

The starting space stays the same in every direction, so what you compare is the design, not a different house.

Renderings, labelled

Before-and-after images are concept renderings made with AI image tools, and every article says so. They are not photographs of completed projects.

Estimates, with sources

Each direction gets a cost estimate built from published sources named in the article: a planning reference, not an invoice.

Name the decisions

Each study spells out the three or four choices that change the space most, so the idea is useful on a different house.

What this desk covers

Interior studies

Kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, baths and basements shown in several styles on the same footprint.

Exterior studies

Facade directions (siding, paint, roofing, doors, porches and planting) on one elevation.

Outdoor studies

Backyards, patios, pools, decks and rooftops planned like rooms.

Latest from this desk

59 articles from the Transformations Desk

Exterior · Before & After

Front Porch Ideas: One 1980s Colonial, Ten Before-and-After Makeovers

Ten front porch ideas drawn from one plain 1980s colonial: Southern haint blue, classic farmhouse, Charleston classic, modern farmhouse, coastal cottage, English cottage, Craftsman, moody green, minimalist charcoal and a fall harvest porch. Paint, decor and planting only, with palettes and 2026 costs.

Transformations Desk26 min read
Exterior · Before & After

Front Yard Landscaping Ideas: One 1970s Ranch, Ten Before-and-After Makeovers

Ten front yard landscaping ideas drawn from one neglected 1970s brick ranch: Southern traditional, modern farmhouse, modern minimalist, English cottage, woodland native, xeriscape, mid-century modern, Japanese, Mediterranean and a French parterre, with before-and-after renderings, palettes, plant picks by USDA zone and 2026 costs.

Transformations Desk29 min read
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