Matthew Millman
Living room - transitional living room idea in San Francisco with a stone fireplace and white walls

This walk-out patio shares a two-way fireplace with the living room, now that's indoor-outdoor living.
Mid-sized transitional backyard concrete paver patio photo in Minneapolis with a fireplace and no cover

Living room design in Dallas featuring an open concept layout with a central fireplace, built-in seating nook, and layered furnishings, creating a bright, cohesive space designed for everyday living.

Example of a trendy formal and open concept ceramic tile living room design in Phoenix with beige walls, a ribbon fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

This LEED Platinum certified house reflects the homeowner's desire for an exceptionally healthy and comfortable living environment, within a traditional neighborhood. INFILL SITE. The family, who moved from another area of Wellesley, sought out this property to be within walking distance of the high school and downtown area. An existing structure on the tight lot was removed to make way for the new home. 84% of the construction waste, from both the previous structure and the new home, was diverted from a landfill. ZED designed to preserve the existing mature trees on the perimeter of the property to minimize site impacts, and to maintain the character of the neighborhood as well as privacy on the site. EXTERIOR EXPRESSION. The street facade of the home relates to the local New England vernacular. The rear uses contemporary language, a nod to the family’s Californian roots, to incorporate a roof deck, solar panels, outdoor living space, and the backyard swimming pool. ZED’s careful planning avoided to the need to face the garage doors towards the street, a common syndrome of a narrow lot. THOUGHTFUL SPACE. Homes with dual entries can often result in duplicate and unused spaces. In this home, the everyday and formal entry areas are one and the same; the front and garage doors share the entry program of coat closets, mudroom storage with bench for removing your shoes, and a laundry room with generous closets for the children's sporting equipment. The entry area leads directly to the living space, encompassing the kitchen, dining and sitting area areas in an L-shaped open plan arrangement. The kitchen is placed at the south-west corner of the space to allow for a strong connection to the dining, sitting and outdoor living spaces. A fire pit on the deck satisfies the family’s desire for an open flame while a sealed gas fireplace is used indoors - ZED’s preference after omitting gas burning appliances completely from an airtight home. A small study, with a window seat, is conveniently located just off of the living space. A first floor guest bedroom includes an accessible bathroom for aging visitors and can be used as a master suite to accommodate aging in place. HEALTHY LIVING. The client requested a home that was easy to clean and would provide a respite from seasonal allergies and common contaminants that are found in many indoor spaces. ZED selected easy to clean solid surface flooring throughout, provided ample space for cleaning supplies on each floor, and designed a mechanical system with ventilation that provides a constant supply of fresh outdoor air. ZED selected durable materials, finishes, cabinetry, and casework with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and no added urea formaldehyde. YEAR-ROUND COMFORT. The home is super insulated and air-tight, paired with high performance triple-paned windows, to ensure it is draft-free throughout the winter (even when in front of the large windows and doors). ZED designed a right-sized heating and cooling system to pair with the thermally improved building enclosure to ensure year-round comfort. The glazing on the home maximizes passive solar gains, and facilitates cross ventilation and daylighting. ENERGY EFFICIENT. As one of the most energy efficient houses built to date in Wellesley, the home highlights a practical solution for Massachusetts. First, the building enclosure reduces the largest energy requirement for typical houses (heating). Super-insulation, exceptional air sealing, a thermally broken wall assembly, triple pane windows, and passive solar gain combine for a sizable heating load reduction. Second, within the house only efficient systems consume energy. These include an air source heat pump for heating & cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation, and high efficiency appliances. Lastly, photovoltaics provide renewable energy help offset energy consumption. The result is an 89% reduction in energy use compared to a similar brand new home built to code requirements. RESILIENT. The home will fare well in extreme weather events. During a winter power outage, heat loss will be very slow due to the super-insulated and airtight envelope– taking multiple days to drop to 60 degrees even with no heat source. An engineered drainage system, paired with careful the detailing of the foundation, will help to keep the finished basement dry. A generator will provide full operation of the all-electric house during a power outage. OVERALL. The home is a reflection of the family goals and an expression of their values, beautifully enabling health, comfort, safety, resilience, and utility, all while respecting the planet. ZED - Architect & Mechanical Designer Bevilacqua Builders Inc - Contractor Creative Land & Water Engineering - Civil Engineering Barbara Peterson Landscape - Landscape Design Nest & Company - Interior Furnishings Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Inspiration for a large contemporary formal and open concept carpeted and gray floor living room remodel in Denver with white walls, a corner fireplace, a stone fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Halkin Mason Photography
Living room - coastal open concept medium tone wood floor living room idea in New York with white walls, a standard fireplace, a stone fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Modern Dining Room in an open floor plan, sits between the Living Room, Kitchen and Backyard Patio. The modern electric fireplace wall is finished in distressed grey plaster. Modern Dining Room Furniture in Black and white is paired with a sculptural glass chandelier. Floor to ceiling windows and modern sliding glass doors expand the living space to the outdoors.

Living room - mediterranean formal living room idea in Dallas with beige walls and a two-sided fireplace

Natural light exposes the beautiful details of this great room. Coffered ceiling encompasses a majestic old world feeling of this stone and shiplap fireplace. Comfort and beauty combo.

Incorporating the homeowners' love of hills, mountains, and water, this grand fireplace patio would be at home in a Colorado ski resort. The unique firebox border was created from Montana stone and evokes a mountain range. Large format Bluestone pavers bring the steely blue waters of Great Lakes and mountain streams into this unique backyard patio.

The 4415 HO gas fireplace brings you the very best in home heating and style with its sleek, linear appearance and impressively high heat output. With a long row of dancing flames and built-in fans, the 4415 gas fireplace is not only an excellent heater but a beautiful focal point in your home. Turn on the under-lighting that shines through the translucent glass floor and you’ve got magic whether the fire is on or off. This sophisticated gas fireplace can accompany any architectural style with a selection of fireback options along with realistic Driftwood and Stone Fyre-Art. The 4415 HO gas fireplace heats up to 2,100 square feet but can heat additional rooms in your home with the optional Power Heat Duct Kit. The gorgeous flame and high heat output of the 4415 are backed up by superior craftsmanship and quality safety features, which are built to extremely high standards. From the heavy steel thickness of the fireplace body to the durable, welded frame surrounding the ceramic glass, you are truly getting the best gas fireplace available. The 2015 ANSI approved low visibility safety barrier comes standard over the glass to increase the safety of this unit for you and your family without detracting from the beautiful fire view.

2-sided fireplace breaks the dining room apart while keeping it together with the open floorplan. This custom home was designed and built by Meadowlark Design+Build in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Photography by Dana Hoff Photography

The mood and character of the great room in this open floor plan is beautifully and classically on display. The furniture, away from the walls, and the custom wool area rug add warmth. The soft, subtle draperies frame the windows and fill the volume of the 20' ceilings.

The 6015™ HO Linear Gas Fireplace presents you with superior heat performance, high quality construction and a stunning presentation of fire. The 6015™ is the largest unit in this three-part Linear Gas Fireplace Series, and is the perfect accompaniment to grand living spaces and custom homes. Like it's smaller counterparts, the 4415™ and 3615™, the 6015™ features a sleek 15 inch height and a long row of tall, dynamic flames over a bed of reflective crushed glass that is illuminated by bottom-lit Accent Lights. The 6015™ gas fireplace comes with the luxury of adding three different crushed glass options, the Driftwood and Stone Fyre-Art Kit, and multiple fireback selections to completely transition the look of this fireplace. The 6015™ gas fireplace not only serves as a beautiful focal point in any home; it boasts an impressively high heat output of 56,000 BTUs and has the ability to heat up to 2,800 square feet, utilizing two concealed 90 CFM fans. It features high quality, ceramic glass that comes standard with the 2015 ANSI approved low visibility safety barrier, increasing the overall safety of this unit for you and your family. The GreenSmart® 2 Wall Mounted Thermostat Remote is also featured with the 6015™, which allows you to easily adjust every component of this fireplace. It even includes optional Power Heat Vent Kits, allowing you to heat additional rooms in your home. The 6015™ is built with superior Fireplace Xtrordinair craftsmanship using the highest quality materials and heavy-duty construction. Experience the difference in quality and performance with the 6015™ HO Linear Gas Fireplace by Fireplace Xtrordinair.

Large open family room with corner red brick fireplace accented with dark grey walls. Grey walls are accentuated with square molding details to create interest and depth. Wood Tiles on the floors have grey and beige tones to pull in the colors and add warmth. Model Home is staged by Linfield Design to show ample seating with a large light beige sectional and brown accent chair. The entertainment piece is situated on one wall with a flat TV above and a large mirror placed on the opposite side of the fireplace. The mirror is purposely positioned to face the back windows to bring light to the room. Accessories, pillows and art in blue add touches of color and interest to the family room. Shop for pieces at ModelDeco.com

Open concept living room in an 1890's historical home. A linear gas fireplace surrounded by comfortable, yet elegant lounge seating makes for a cozy space to read or have a cocktail. The original space consisted of 3 small rooms and is now one continuous space.

This award-winning and intimate cottage was rebuilt on the site of a deteriorating outbuilding. Doubling as a custom jewelry studio and guest retreat, the cottage’s timeless design was inspired by old National Parks rough-stone shelters that the owners had fallen in love with. A single living space boasts custom built-ins for jewelry work, a Murphy bed for overnight guests, and a stone fireplace for warmth and relaxation. A cozy loft nestles behind rustic timber trusses above. Expansive sliding glass doors open to an outdoor living terrace overlooking a serene wooded meadow. Photos by: Emily Minton Redfield

Spacecrafting
Living room - mid-sized transitional formal and enclosed dark wood floor living room idea in Minneapolis with a standard fireplace, no tv, gray walls and a tile fireplace