Windows reaching a grand 12’ in height fully capture the allurement of the area, bringing the outdoors into each space. Furthermore, the large 16’ multi-paneled doors provide the constant awareness of forest life just beyond. The unique roof lines are mimicked throughout the home with trapezoid transom windows, ensuring optimal daylighting and design interest. A standing-seam metal, clads the multi-tiered shed-roof line. The dark aesthetic of the roof anchors the home and brings a cohesion to the exterior design. The contemporary exterior is comprised of cedar shake, horizontal and vertical wood siding, and aluminum clad panels creating dimension while remaining true to the natural environment. The Glo A5 double pane windows and doors were utilized for their cost-effective durability and efficiency. The A5 Series provides a thermally-broken aluminum frame with multiple air seals, low iron glass, argon filled glazing, and low-e coating. These features create an unparalleled double-pane product equipped for the variant northern temperatures of the region. With u-values as low as 0.280, these windows ensure year-round comfort.

Perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, the form for this custom home is secondary to the setting. The space was designed by JHL all the way down to the small details for wonderful, long-time clients. Warm, earthy interiors balance the expansive view of the ocean. An origami-like roofline ascends and descends, simulating the outline of the nearby Northern Oregon Coast Range.

Inspiration for a large modern multicolored one-story mixed siding exterior home remodel in San Francisco with a shed roof

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

Inspiration for a mid-sized rustic concrete floor, gray floor and wood ceiling open concept kitchen remodel in Vancouver with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, black cabinets, granite countertops, pink backsplash, porcelain backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and gray countertops

Architect: Lucid Architecture
Inspiration for a contemporary two-story wood house exterior remodel in Grand Rapids with a shed roof and a metal roof

Large trendy open concept concrete floor and gray floor family room photo with white walls, a standard fireplace and a tile fireplace

Royal Building Products Celect Cellular composite siding in Wrought Iron. Marvin Clad Wood Ultimate windows & doors in Ebony. Connecticut Stone blend of CT Split Fieldstone and CT Weathered Fieldstone. Combination of Unilock pavers, stamped concrete and slab stone on patio and hardscape. General contracting by Martin Bros. Contracting, Inc.; Architecture by Helman Sechrist Architecture; Interior Design by Nanci Wirt; Professional Photo by Marie Martin Kinney.

Detached garage on corner lot is positioned to provide privacy for backyard. Doors and motor court face toward house.
Inspiration for a large timeless two-story and detached three-car gray garage remodel in Austin

This year round two-family cottage is comprised of seven modules which required just 25 days to construct in an off-site facility. When assembled, these prefabricated units form a building that is 38 metres long but less than 5 metres wide. The length offers a variety of living spaces while the constricted width maintains a level of intimacy and affords views of the lake from every room. Sited along a north-south axis, the cottage sits obliquely on a ridge. Each of the three levels has a point of access at grade. The shared living spaces are entered from the top of the ridge with the sleeping spaces a level below. Facing the lake, the east elevation consists entirely of sliding glass doors and provides every room with access to the forest or balconies. Materials fall into two categories: reflective surfaces – glazing and mirror, and those with a muted colouration – unfinished cedar, zinc cladding, and galvanized steel. The objective is to visually push the structure into the background. Photos by Tom Arban

The Deschutes House is located on an urban site facing the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon. The architectural massing of the house has been wrapped around a south-facing, grassy courtyard, with dramatic 2nd story spaces cantilevered toward the river. The main living space is completely transparent to the river on one side and to the courtyard on the other side, providing two entirely different views from the room. The living ceiling plane has enlivened by CNC-milled wood-strip ceiling panels, with variegated shapes inspired by landscape morphology. The house is clad with a two different types of siding: tightly spaced Western red cedar and corrugated metal siding. The warm tones of the wood contrast nicely with the cool tones of the metal siding and metal roofing. The fireplace chimney is clad in Montana ledgestone with a combination of earth tones and grey-blue colors. The house has a number of sustainable or “green” building features, including 2x8 construction (40% greater insulation value); generous glass areas to provide natural lighting and ventilation; large overhangs for sun and snow protection; metal siding for maximum durability; and radiant floor heating. The house also has solar hot water panels for domestic hot water.

A Vancouver new build pops in a neighborhood full of post-war homes. This custom home was designed in a modern esthetic to reflect a young couple’s happening lifestyle. The working duo plan to start a family so will have little time for home maintenance. At the top of their list of wants were durable, quality materials that perform. Clad in James Hardie with cedar accents, a metal roof and fibreglass powder coating windows this home is set for exceptional longevity.

A Vancouver new build pops in a neighborhood full of post-war homes. This custom home was designed in a modern esthetic to reflect a young couple’s happening lifestyle. The working duo plan to start a family so will have little time for home maintenance. At the top of their list of wants were durable, quality materials that perform. Clad in James Hardie with cedar accents, a metal roof and fibreglass powder coating windows this home is set for exceptional longevity.

The project was designed by Michael Green Architects using our our Gendai® Linseed Black and was a major remodel of a mid-century modern single family residence located in North Vancouver, BC.

Inspired by the surrounding landscape, the Craftsman/Prairie style is one of the few truly American architectural styles. It was developed around the turn of the century by a group of Midwestern architects and continues to be among the most comfortable of all American-designed architecture more than a century later, one of the main reasons it continues to attract architects and homeowners today. Oxbridge builds on that solid reputation, drawing from Craftsman/Prairie and classic Farmhouse styles. Its handsome Shingle-clad exterior includes interesting pitched rooflines, alternating rows of cedar shake siding, stone accents in the foundation and chimney and distinctive decorative brackets. Repeating triple windows add interest to the exterior while keeping interior spaces open and bright. Inside, the floor plan is equally impressive. Columns on the porch and a custom entry door with sidelights and decorative glass leads into a spacious 2,900-square-foot main floor, including a 19 by 24-foot living room with a period-inspired built-ins and a natural fireplace. While inspired by the past, the home lives for the present, with open rooms and plenty of storage throughout. Also included is a 27-foot-wide family-style kitchen with a large island and eat-in dining and a nearby dining room with a beadboard ceiling that leads out onto a relaxing 240-square-foot screen porch that takes full advantage of the nearby outdoors and a private 16 by 20-foot master suite with a sloped ceiling and relaxing personal sitting area. The first floor also includes a large walk-in closet, a home management area and pantry to help you stay organized and a first-floor laundry area. Upstairs, another 1,500 square feet awaits, with a built-ins and a window seat at the top of the stairs that nod to the home’s historic inspiration. Opt for three family bedrooms or use one of the three as a yoga room; the upper level also includes attic access, which offers another 500 square feet, perfect for crafts or a playroom. More space awaits in the lower level, where another 1,500 square feet (and an additional 1,000) include a recreation/family room with nine-foot ceilings, a wine cellar and home office. Photographer: Jeff Garland

This project was a successful challenge combining passive design, high-end natural materials, and a limited budget. The owners had an explicit vision and worked with Chris Vlcek at Little Wolf Architecture to bring it to reality. They were lucky enough to have found Lukas Schwartz and bring him on to build it for them. This house is modest yet divine. It is truly Blessed by the Woods.

The project was designed by Michael Green Architects using our our Gendai® Linseed Black and was a major remodel of a mid-century modern single family residence located in North Vancouver, BC.

The project was designed by Michael Green Architects using our our Gendai® Linseed Black and was a major remodel of a mid-century modern single family residence located in North Vancouver, BC.

This project was a successful challenge combining passive design, high-end natural materials, and a limited budget. The owners had an explicit vision and worked with Chris Vlcek at Little Wolf Architecture to bring it to reality. They were lucky enough to have found Lukas Schwartz and bring him on to build it for them. This house is modest yet divine. It is truly Blessed by the Woods.