This dated home needed a serious update! We removed the mansard, added rigid insulation to the exterior and fresh synthetic stucco to bring the home into this century.

This 1950's american farm house style house was in poor repair and has been completely gutted with all new efficient mechanicals, insulation, plumbing and electric. A new addition on the rear of the house adds a master bedroom and tv room for a comfortable open floorplan.

Sunroom converted with new Kensington High Performance windows that are all EnergyStar rated. Insulation added into the wall cavities as well as roof cavities.

Unusually shaped windows can add drama and elegance to a home. They do present particular challenges, however, when trying to find the best way to cover them to add a decorative touch while providing privacy, light control and insulation. Hunter Douglas offers you a wide selection of window treatments that can cover virtually any challenging shape or size of window.

This dated home needed a serious update! We removed the mansard, added rigid insulation to the exterior and fresh synthetic stucco to bring the home into this century.

I was the project architect in charge of this townhome energy efficient restoration project. The entire house has been gutted to the bear wall, we added a layer of interior rigid insulation and a new very efficient AC system. A beautiful cat walk was added at the top floor to reach the beautiful hidden top roof garden.

This beautiful Craftsman style Passive House has a carbon footprint 20% that of a typically built home in Oregon. Its 12-in. thick walls with cork insulation, ultra-high efficiency windows and doors, solar panels, heat pump hot water, Energy Star appliances, fresh air intake unit, and natural daylighting keep its utility bills exceptionally low. Jen G. Pywell

Timber frame homes offer unique challenges during a remodel. What often makes them beautiful and attractive to most homeowners, also makes them challenging for space requirements. Context: The lovely couple that owned this home were struggling with some interesting floor plan challenges that just didn't work for their family. The loved the beautiful timbers and woodwork of their home, but the dramatically sloping ceilings on the second floor, particularly in the bathroom, just didn't work for this 1 1/2 bath home. Needing to use the skylight to approach the toilet was a less then ideal scenario. Although the bathroom footprint was more then adequate, the sloped ceiling only made half of the space useable. Check out the Before/After post on our blog to see the photos of the house pre-renovation. As much as they loved all the wood features in their home, another challenge they had was light. The wood ceiling made everything inside the house darker, even with a fantastic array of south facing windows, there were spaces in the home that felt dark and small. When they contacted us they wanted to know how could they make their brighter and more inviting, were there solutions to the 2nd floor sloped ceiling issues, and if they were going to do all of this work, how could they make their home more comfortable and efficient. A nagging water leak in the upstairs bathroom spurred them into action and here is how we solved their dilemma. Conclusion: First, we added a little dormer to the rear of the house so we could get full headroom in nearly all of the upstairs bathroom! Then we decided to extend that dormer one more timber bay over to create a walk in closet with natural light and plenty of space. Since we were contemplating energy efficiency, we resolved a nagging issue that is present in a lot of timber frame construction, air tightness. Commonly found in timber frame construction, fiberglass insulation is installed in the rafter bays and board ceilings are installed over top. Unfortunately, board ceilings are anything but air tight, and fiberglass insulation needs to be in an airtight cavity for maximum effectiveness. So we were able to solve two issues at the same time for this homeowner. We removed the board ceiling and fiberglass insulation, we dense packed the rafter bays with cellulose insulation, and installed sheetrock in place of the boards. The boards were salvaged for re-use by the homeowner, and the space and light quality was dramatically improved. Some may think that losing the board ceiling took something away from the space, but what you'll see in the pictures is that it highly accentuates the heavy timbers and really makes them stand out in a beautiful way. Now with this added airtightness, better insulation, and brighter space, the homeowner hardly runs their wood stove, and it's so quiet in the space, an added bonus from changing the insulation. It became necessary to also add a sheetrock ceiling to the living room to hide the plumbing from the new bathroom layout above. Changing this ceiling gave the homeowner some real quality lighting that was lacking in the living room before. The brighter ceiling and new lighting layout completely transforms the living room into a space you want to hang out, even though the layout didn't change at all. When the homeowner saw the finished spaces she said "I can't believe this is my house, I want to live in this house" Energy Efficiency: I touched a little on the efficiency above, but like all projects done with Mottram Architecture, we always want to leave you with a little extra. Timber frame construction with board ceilings and fiberglass insulation are notoriously leaky! If you want to know what we think about fiberglass insulation, check our our blog post on Why Fiberglass Insulation Sucks. By installing cellulose insulation and covering it with sheetrock we were able to greatly reduce the heat flowing out of this home. It not only improves cashflow it improves the comfort level in the space. Who wants to sit in their living room and feel a draft? Let us remind you, we are not saying cellulose insulation is an air barrier, we use the sheetrock to help with that, but it does significantly reduce the air flow over fiberglass insulation. And when we reduce the airflow, we reduce the heat flow. And when we reduce the heat flow, we reduce the need to re-heat that drafty air from outside. When it comes to energy efficiency the first and best place to start is air infiltration. We greatly reduced the air infiltration with the new insulation, but we also added a hat and warm boots. What I mean by that is, we improved the insulation in the roof, and we installed insulation in the basement. Maybe it's a silly analogy, but when you think about keeping warm, we always start with the hat and boots! With sustainability in mind, the next project will be to add a deck to the front of this house with rain catchment barrels from the metal roof. They are planning to plant a garden in the spring and the rain catchment system will help to irrigate the new garden. Builder: East Shore Builders Photographer: Michael Eric Berube

Neutral blue walls allow the morning sun to illuminate the room while also providing dark tranquility at night Photo: Helynn Ospina
Bedroom - mid-sized transitional master medium tone wood floor and orange floor bedroom idea in San Francisco with no fireplace and blue walls

Close up of the EMPD porch roof and chimney flashing on this hybrid Standing Seam Metal and EPDM flat roof installation on a Portland, CT mid-century modern ranch house. The metal is Englert 24 gauge steel in Sierra Tan. The EPDM is Firestone RubberGard™. We added 4" of Firestone polyisocyanurate insulation to the roof deck before installing the Metal.

I was the project architect in charge of this townhome energy efficient restoration project. The entire house has been gutted to the bear wall, we added a layer of interior rigid insulation and a new very efficient AC system. A beautiful cat walk was added at the top floor to reach the beautiful hidden top roof garden.

More skylight and chimney flashing detail on this hybrid Standing Seam Metal and EPDM flat roof installation on a Portland, CT mid-century modern ranch house. The metal is Englert 24 gauge steel in Sierra Tan. The EPDM is Firestone RubberGard™. We added 4" of Firestone polyisocyanurate insulation to the roof deck before installing the Metal.

This room, and the adjoining kitchen, went from sorrowful sectional to funky cottage in the blink of an eye. We demolished the dividing wall, added an island for storage and dining, and enlivened the seating area with welcoming neutrals and bold pops of pink, orange and red.

This is a beautiful outdoor extension of this home. This patio cover is an Elitewood Solid Insulated Patio Cover Roof. Using 12" square fiberglass columns, steel inserts inside the posts and footings and inside the header beams. Tile roofing added at home owner request but not required!

This project showcases the installation of a modern steel insulated garage door for a homeowner in Schaumburg, IL. The work included removing the old door, installing a new insulated panel system, adding heavy‑duty rollers, and setting up a quiet smart opener with Wi‑Fi control. The upgrade improved energy efficiency, enhanced curb appeal, and delivered smooth, quiet operation for everyday use.

Brett Winter Lemon Photography
Trendy master beige tile alcove shower photo in Portland Maine with white walls

Photo by Vinotemp This unit is part of the Vinotemp Designer Series and it has a black body featuring insulated glass door with seamless, stainless steel trim and curved handle, and Low E glass which offers added UV protection, as well as front exhaust for built in or freestanding installation.

The R-SHADE™ sleek white panels are designed to reflect heat, keeping the outdoor space cool and inviting even on the hottest days. For added comfort, this homeowner opted for integrated fans, creating a refreshing breeze that enhances the overall experience. The insulated aluminum roof provides complete shade and protection, making the backyard the perfect retreat for relaxation and entertainment.

Lincoln Farmhouse LEED-H Platinum, Net-Positive Energy OVERVIEW. This LEED Platinum certified modern farmhouse ties into the cultural landscape of Lincoln, Massachusetts - a town known for its rich history, farming traditions, conservation efforts, and visionary architecture. The goal was to design and build a new single family home on 1.8 acres that respects the neighborhood’s agrarian roots, produces more energy than it consumes, and provides the family with flexible spaces to live-play-work-entertain. The resulting 2,800 SF home is proof that families do not need to compromise on style, space or comfort in a highly energy-efficient and healthy home. CONNECTION TO NATURE. The attached garage is ubiquitous in new construction in New England’s cold climate. This home’s barn-inspired garage is intentionally detached from the main dwelling. A covered walkway connects the two structures, creating an intentional connection with the outdoors between auto and home. FUNCTIONAL FLEXIBILITY. With a modest footprint, each space must serve a specific use, but also be flexible for atypical scenarios. The Mudroom serves everyday use for the couple and their children, but is also easy to tidy up to receive guests, eliminating the need for two entries found in most homes. A workspace is conveniently located off the mudroom; it looks out on to the back yard to supervise the children and can be closed off with a sliding door when not in use. The Away Room opens up to the Living Room for everyday use; it can be closed off with its oversized pocket door for secondary use as a guest bedroom with en suite bath. NET POSITIVE ENERGY. The all-electric home consumes 70% less energy than a code-built house, and with measured energy data produces 48% more energy annually than it consumes, making it a 'net positive' home. Thick walls and roofs lack thermal bridging, windows are high performance, triple-glazed, and a continuous air barrier yields minimal leakage (0.27ACH50) making the home among the tightest in the US. Systems include an air source heat pump, an energy recovery ventilator, and a 13.1kW photovoltaic system to offset consumption and support future electric cars. ACTUAL PERFORMANCE. -6.3 kBtu/sf/yr Energy Use Intensity (Actual monitored project data reported for the firm’s 2016 AIA 2030 Commitment. Average single family home is 52.0 kBtu/sf/yr.) o 10,900 kwh total consumption (8.5 kbtu/ft2 EUI) o 16,200 kwh total production o 5,300 kwh net surplus, equivalent to 15,000-25,000 electric car miles per year. 48% net positive. WATER EFFICIENCY. Plumbing fixtures and water closets consume a mere 60% of the federal standard, while high efficiency appliances such as the dishwasher and clothes washer also reduce consumption rates. FOOD PRODUCTION. After clearing all invasive species, apple, pear, peach and cherry trees were planted. Future plans include blueberry, raspberry and strawberry bushes, along with raised beds for vegetable gardening. The house also offers a below ground root cellar, built outside the home's thermal envelope, to gain the passive benefit of long term energy-free food storage. RESILIENCY. The home's ability to weather unforeseen challenges is predictable - it will fare well. The super-insulated envelope means during a winter storm with power outage, heat loss will be slow - taking days to drop to 60 degrees even with no heat source. During normal conditions, reduced energy consumption plus energy production means shelter from the burden of utility costs. Surplus production can power electric cars & appliances. The home exceeds snow & wind structural requirements, plus far surpasses standard construction for long term durability planning. ARCHITECT: ZeroEnergy Design http://zeroenergy.com/lincoln-farmhouse CONTRACTOR: Thoughtforms http://thoughtforms-corp.com/ PHOTOGRAPHER: Chuck Choi http://www.chuckchoi.com/