Front yard entry. Photo by Clark Dugger
Small tuscan concrete floor and gray floor entryway photo in Los Angeles with a medium wood front door and white walls

Example of a cottage beige tile gray floor bathroom design in Minneapolis with flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, white walls, an undermount sink, a hinged shower door and white countertops

Design, Fabrication, Install & Photography By MacLaren Kitchen and Bath Designer: Mary Skurecki Wet Bar: Mouser/Centra Cabinetry with full overlay, Reno door/drawer style with Carbide paint. Caesarstone Pebble Quartz Countertops with eased edge detail (By MacLaren). TV Area: Mouser/Centra Cabinetry with full overlay, Orleans door style with Carbide paint. Shelving, drawers, and wood top to match the cabinetry with custom crown and base moulding. Guest Room/Bath: Mouser/Centra Cabinetry with flush inset, Reno Style doors with Maple wood in Bedrock Stain. Custom vanity base in Full Overlay, Reno Style Drawer in Matching Maple with Bedrock Stain. Vanity Countertop is Everest Quartzite. Bench Area: Mouser/Centra Cabinetry with flush inset, Reno Style doors/drawers with Carbide paint. Custom wood top to match base moulding and benches. Toy Storage Area: Mouser/Centra Cabinetry with full overlay, Reno door style with Carbide paint. Open drawer storage with roll-out trays and custom floating shelves and base moulding.

Foyer - transitional gray floor foyer idea in Los Angeles with white walls

Mike Van Tassell / mikevantassell.com
Example of a trendy gray tile gray floor bathroom design in New York with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, gray walls, an undermount sink and white countertops

Spacecrafting
Basement - large transitional walk-out carpeted basement idea in Minneapolis with gray walls and a standard fireplace

Country white two-story exterior home idea in Burlington

Example of a classic white one-story exterior home design in New York

Example of a mid-sized trendy master gray tile and ceramic tile porcelain tile bathroom design in Seattle with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, quartz countertops and yellow walls

Mid-sized transitional freestanding desk dark wood floor study room photo in Atlanta with gray walls

Basement - small cottage look-out dark wood floor and brown floor basement idea in Atlanta with white walls

Hallway - mid-sized contemporary porcelain tile and multicolored floor hallway idea in Miami with multicolored walls

Bedroom - large rustic guest carpeted and beige floor bedroom idea in Denver with gray walls and no fireplace

Stunning and unique best describe this truly is masterfully constructed and designed Master Bath within this lavish home addition. With shower walls made from solid stone slabs, the complimentary stand-alone tub, bold crown molding, and jeweled chandlers combinations chosen for this space are stunning.

Inspiration for a small transitional single-wall carpeted and beige floor wet bar remodel in Raleigh with no sink, beige cabinets, granite countertops, gray countertops and open cabinets

Double shower in bay window. The bench is cantilevered out over the exterior wall below. Design, color scheme, lighting, and installation by Addhouse. Photo by Monkeyboy Productions

This modern green home offers both a vacation destination on Cape Cod near local family members and an opportunity for rental income. FAMILY ROOTS. A West Coast couple living in the San Francisco Bay Area sought a permanent East Coast vacation home near family members living on Cape Cod. As academic professionals focused on sustainability, they sought a green, energy efficient home that was well-aligned with their values. With no green homes available for sale on Cape Cod, they decided to purchase land near their family and build their own. SLOPED SITE. Comprised of a 3/4 acre lot nestled in the pines, the steeply sloping terrain called for a plan that embraced and took advantage of the slope. Of equal priority was optimizing solar exposure, preserving privacy from abutters, and creating outdoor living space. The design accomplished these goals with a simple, rectilinear form, offering living space on the both entry and lower/basement levels. The stepped foundation allows for a walk-out basement level with light-filled living space on the down-hill side of the home. The traditional basement on the eastern, up-hill side houses mechanical equipment and a home gym. The house welcomes natural light throughout, captures views of the forest, and delivers entertainment space that connects indoor living space to outdoor deck and dining patio. MODERN VISION. The clean building form and uncomplicated finishes pay homage to the modern architectural legacy on the outer Cape. Durable and economical fiber cement panels, fixed with aluminum channels, clad the primary form. Cedar clapboards provide a visual accent at the south-facing living room, which extends a single roof plane to cover the entry porch. SMART USE OF SPACE. On the entry level, the “L”-shaped living, dining, and kitchen space connects to the exterior living, dining, and grilling spaces to effectively double the home’s summertime entertainment area. Placed at the western end of the entry level (where it can retain privacy but still claim expansive downhill views) is the master suite with a built-in study. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a second full bathroom, and laundry. The flexibility of the space—crucial in a house with a modest footprint—emerges in one of the guest bedrooms, which doubles as home office by opening the barn-style double doors to connect it to the bright, airy open stair leading up to the entry level. Thoughtful design, generous ceiling heights and large windows transform the modest 1,100 sf* footprint into a well-lit, spacious home. *(total finished space is 1800 sf) RENTAL INCOME. The property works for its owners by netting rental income when the owners are home in San Francisco. The house especially caters to vacationers bound for nearby Mayo Beach and includes an outdoor shower adjacent to the lower level entry door. In contrast to the bare bones cottages that are typically available on the Cape, this home offers prospective tenants a modern aesthetic, paired with luxurious and green features. Durable finishes inside and out will ensure longevity with the heavier use that comes with a rental property. COMFORT YEAR-ROUND. The home is super-insulated and air-tight, with mechanical ventilation to provide continuous fresh air from the outside. High performance triple-paned windows complement the building enclosure and maximize passive solar gain while ensuring a warm, draft-free winter, even when sitting close to the glass. A properly sized air source heat pump offers efficient heating & cooling, and includes a carefully designed the duct distribution system to provide even comfort throughout the house. The super-insulated envelope allows us to significantly reduce the equipment capacity, duct size, and airflow quantities, while maintaining unparalleled thermal comfort. ENERGY EFFICIENT. The building’s shell and mechanical systems play instrumental roles in the home’s exceptional performance. The building enclosure reduces the most significant energy glutton: heating. Continuous super-insulation, thorough air sealing, triple-pane windows, and passive solar gain work together to yield a miniscule heating load. All active energy consumers are extremely efficient: an air source heat pump for heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation (ERV), and high efficiency appliances. The result is a home that uses 70% less energy than a similar new home built to code requirements. OVERALL. The home embodies the owners’ goals and values while comprehensively enabling thermal comfort, energy efficiency, a vacation respite, and supplementary income. PROJECT TEAM ZeroEnergy Design - Architect & Mechanical Designer A.F. Hultin & Co. - Contractor Pamet Valley Landscape Design - Landscape & Masonry Lisa Finch - Original Artwork European Architectural Supply - Windows Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Bathroom - mid-sized contemporary 3/4 gray floor, ceramic tile and double-sink bathroom idea in San Francisco with white walls, a vessel sink, soapstone countertops, flat-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, a two-piece toilet, a hinged shower door, white countertops and a freestanding vanity

Once apon a time I was a scary basement located in a congested section of Cambridge MA. My clients and I set out to create a new space inspired by France that could also double as a guest room when needed. Painting the existing wood joists and adding bead board in between the joists and painting any exposed pipes white celebrates the ceiling rather than trying to hide it keeps the much needed ceiling height. Italian furniture, books and antique rug gives this once basement a very European well travelled feel.