Mark Meissner
Example of a trendy u-shaped open concept kitchen design with shaker cabinets, white cabinets and a peninsula

The Nestled Neighbor house straddles the seam between the Dakota Ridge new urbanist neighborhood and Boulder Open Space. This unique location afforded opportunities to play to the natural western vistas while supporting a walkable street with neighborly interactions. Given the tight lot, there was a conscious effort to wrap the ground level living spaces around a courtyard that fronts the street, while stacking active family spaces vertically. The upper floors open to a porch enjoying the view of the foothills, while the couple’s realm is a private nest on the third level, sheltered by the vaulted roof. Photos by Daniel O'Connor Photography

Designed for an active family, this exceptional, welcoming Lake Minnetonka home features main level living with lower-level walkout for easy access to the lake, firepit, and sand beach. Amazing views are captured from nearly every main level space, including a unique center kitchen with built-in banquet. The main level opens fully to a screen porch for dining, grilling, and relaxing by the fireplace.

Inspired by the majesty of the Northern Lights and this family's everlasting love for Disney, this home plays host to enlighteningly open vistas and playful activity. Like its namesake, the beloved Sleeping Beauty, this home embodies family, fantasy and adventure in their truest form. Visions are seldom what they seem, but this home did begin 'Once Upon a Dream'. Welcome, to The Aurora.

Mark Meissner

Looking for a hardwood floor that offers unmatched durability and distinct character? This 80023 area home renovation highlights the incredible strength and organic beauty of custom-finished hickory flooring. Known for its prominent grain structures and outstanding wear resistance, hickory is the ideal solution for high-traffic main levels, active families, and pet owners.

Mark Meissner

This lower-level family room was designed as a comfortable, flexible space for movie nights, play and everyday downtime. Soft carpeting, a generous sectional and practical storage create an inviting retreat that works just as well for kids’ activities as it does for relaxed family gathering.

Mark Meissner

Inspired by the majesty of the Northern Lights and this family's everlasting love for Disney, this home plays host to enlighteningly open vistas and playful activity. Like its namesake, the beloved Sleeping Beauty, this home embodies family, fantasy and adventure in their truest form. Visions are seldom what they seem, but this home did begin 'Once Upon a Dream'. Welcome, to The Aurora.

This lower level combines several areas into the perfect space to have a party or just hang out. The theater area features a starlight ceiling that even include a comet that passes through every minute. Premium sound and custom seating make it an amazing experience. The sitting area has a brick wall and fireplace that is flanked by built in bookshelves. To the right, is a set of glass doors that open all of the way across. This expands the living area to the outside. Also, with the press of a button, blackout shades on all of the windows... turn day into night. Seating around the bar makes playing a game of pool a real spectator sport... or just a place for some fun. The area also has a large workout room. Perfect for the times that pool isn't enough physical activity for you.

Harbor View is a modern-day interpretation of the shingled vacation houses of its seaside community. The gambrel roof, horizontal, ground-hugging emphasis, and feeling of simplicity, are all part of the character of the place. While fitting in with local traditions, Harbor View is meant for modern living. The kitchen is a central gathering spot, open to the main combined living/dining room and to the waterside porch. One easily moves between indoors and outdoors. The house is designed for an active family, a couple with three grown children and a growing number of grandchildren. It is zoned so that the whole family can be there together but retain privacy. Living, dining, kitchen, library, and porch occupy the center of the main floor. One-story wings on each side house two bedrooms and bathrooms apiece, and two more bedrooms and bathrooms and a study occupy the second floor of the central block. The house is mostly one room deep, allowing cross breezes and light from both sides. The porch, a third of which is screened, is a main dining and living space, with a stone fireplace offering a cozy place to gather on summer evenings. A barn with a loft provides storage for a car or boat off-season and serves as a big space for projects or parties in summer.

Lower-level playroom in our Hilltop House remodel in Denver: a bright landing at the base of the staircase styled as an open kids' play zone with a climbing structure and activity table. Design + build by The Curated Room.

Mark Meissner

This lakeside A-Frame cottage required creative space planning. The lower level galley kitchen offers tons of hidden storage built under the stairs. Modern grey cabinetry and open shelving are accented by ample recessed and spot lights. The countertop and white subway tiles wrap around into the living area, creating multi-function seating. USB outlets allow homeowners and guest to charge their smart devices easily. The lower level living room is anchored by a large turquoise indoor-outdoor rug...perfect to withstand wet feet in from lake activities. The fun pattern on the swivel glider rocker brings whimsey to the space. The sleeper sofa will accommodate guests. The decor is lakeside chic, and the homeowner added the wonderful prints of vintage swimsuits and rope-wrapped lamp. A small bathroom with a stacked washer and dryer adjoins the room. The floors look like a greyed rustic wood, but are actually luxury vinyl tiles...perfect for the in-and-out traffic from water related activities.

Karli Moore Photography
Inspiration for a timeless gray floor game room remodel in Columbus with gray walls

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

Example of a trendy rectangular water slide design

The Holloway blends the recent revival of mid-century aesthetics with the timelessness of a country farmhouse. Each façade features playfully arranged windows tucked under steeply pitched gables. Natural wood lapped siding emphasizes this homes more modern elements, while classic white board & batten covers the core of this house. A rustic stone water table wraps around the base and contours down into the rear view-out terrace. Inside, a wide hallway connects the foyer to the den and living spaces through smooth case-less openings. Featuring a grey stone fireplace, tall windows, and vaulted wood ceiling, the living room bridges between the kitchen and den. The kitchen picks up some mid-century through the use of flat-faced upper and lower cabinets with chrome pulls. Richly toned wood chairs and table cap off the dining room, which is surrounded by windows on three sides. The grand staircase, to the left, is viewable from the outside through a set of giant casement windows on the upper landing. A spacious master suite is situated off of this upper landing. Featuring separate closets, a tiled bath with tub and shower, this suite has a perfect view out to the rear yard through the bedroom's rear windows. All the way upstairs, and to the right of the staircase, is four separate bedrooms. Downstairs, under the master suite, is a gymnasium. This gymnasium is connected to the outdoors through an overhead door and is perfect for athletic activities or storing a boat during cold months. The lower level also features a living room with a view out windows and a private guest suite. Architect: Visbeen Architects Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography Builder: AVB Inc.