20 'Hidden Potential' Scenes That Are Anything But Cookie-Cutter

When this Huntington Beach home was built, massive columns and big, blank front yards were all the rage. Jasmine gave the roof a much-needed haircut and replaced those function-free features with a one-of-a-kind, sun-dappled entertaining space.

The fireplace in the former family room was little more than a handy spot to hang a television. Textured with grass cloth wallpaper and punctuated with a massive, vintage-beam mantel, it’s now the guest of honor at the foot of the dining table.

Once a cluttered corner, this kitchen is now an expansive entertaining space: A generous island provides seating for four, and a hydraulic window swings open with a touch to access a tin-topped bar in the backyard. (Speaking of that bar, Jasmine tucked a wine fridge and an illuminated liquor cabinet under the counter.)

The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it space beneath the stairs is now a proper playroom: Jasmine added a Dutch door and 'exterior’ details to beckon little visitors inside, then de-closeted the room with bright decorations. (If you want toys to hang out in a particular spot, make that spot a place where their owners will want to hang out, too.)

Jasmine’s client grew up in this home, but he also grew out of it: French doors on its face led directly into a planter(!), a spindly dead tree dominated the front yard and nobody wanted to spend quality time on the lawn. She created a custom privacy screen that echoes the garage door, carves out space for an outdoor living room and opens up to the neighborhood.

An awkward wall between this home’s living room and kitchen needed to go, but Jasmine wasn’t about to get rid of the 60-year-old boards and studs she set aside during demolition. For the next chapter of its story, sections of that reclaimed wood will live on as custom art. "I never thought I would love seeing that wall," her client said.

Behold the magic of hidden drawer guides (and the genius of Jasmine Roth): This custom butcher-block island seats two as pictured, then rolls out to accommodate four. Your move, expandable dining tables.

This California ranch boasts both a much-more-functional new layout and classic touches that speak to its history. To give the kitchen a bit of character, Jasmine fitted the pantry with an antique door (updated with a custom-cut piece of wired glass).

Jasmine’s clients are wild about midcentury modern design, and she seasoned their formerly-flavorless kitchen accordingly. Her team took pains to carry the veining on the waterfall-edge granite peninsula all the way down to the floor, where a smattering of hex tiles create a playful transition to the wood in the living room.

This is what scrapbooking looks like in the 21st century. Jasmine drew from the homeowners’ collection of treasured restaurant menus — many signed by the chefs themselves! — and created a collage that became custom wallpaper for their dining nook.

"I want you guys to be able to take your holiday-card photo in front of this [front] door next year," Jasmine told her clients. Mission accomplished: The bold pop of lime green that unites the board-and-batten and smooth, industrial stucco wings of this finished project is more than ready for its close-up.

Jasmine carried the home’s smooth, industrial exterior finish into the living room, where the same treatment gives the fireplace a fashionable new face.

The hexagons that tumble out of this home’s kitchen climb up the wall in the living room, where Jasmine and her carpenter created a high-concept shelving system. Midcentury chic is all about bold statements, and this space is now full of exclamation points.

This renovation was all about ohana, the Hawaiian concept of family, and Jasmine honored her clients’ cultural roots by celebrating their relationships on a custom display wall. Sea-blue paneling pays tribute to their love for the environment, and photo after photo pays tribute to their love for one another. (Like her clients, Jasmine’s a sucker for a big old collection of family pictures — they’re everywhere at her place, too.)

Before Jasmine came to town, her clients had to drag camping chairs out to the front yard to watch their kids and interact with the neighbors. With a front-yard fire pit and a showstopping mural she commissioned from a local artist, this cul-de-sac is finally an outdoor destination.

Swapping a kitchen and dining room is a big-ticket tweak, but Jasmine knew it would pay off for her clients: They needed elbow room for meal prep and a private space for family dinners. She enlarged an awkward pass-through in the original kitchen and created a frosted-glass privacy window for the dining area, then replaced a slider with a single door in the new kitchen to add precious counter space.

In opening up the first floor of this home, Jasmine and her crew needed to add a bit of support for the second story. Her clients love urban-industrial details like exposed steel beams, so she gave them pride of place in the new kitchen. (She also gave them a swing, as one does.)

After hauling away an enormous shade structure that muffled the front of this house, Jasmine created a minimalist entryway in warm wood (which will function as a trellis when the vines she planted have time to mature). A bold front door and a custom, vintage-inspired welcome sign now beckon the neighborhood in.

Jasmine and her sister-in-law teamed up to turn a slab of salvaged wood into a massive communal table with an inlaid metal invitation. She and her mother-in-law, in turn, wove strips of kid-friendly pleather across a long bench to tuck against the wall.