Great hillside woodland setting, very difficult hillside to accomplish all the client needs and wants. Cool Narrow Putting green and a Horse trough Vegetable garden, Rock retaining walls

I was tasked to take a modern farmhouse floor plan that our client loved, and make it modern to fit into a certain neighborhood.
Exterior home idea in Dallas

The homeowners came to us looking for assistance to design and build a custom home on their current lakefront property. They were living on the site in an existing small cabin from the 1960s. The property has a steep embankment down to the lake and a zoning setback that created challenges for fitting a custom home on the lot. Xpand worked with the homeowners to find and select the size and style of home that they liked and worked for their unique piece of land. The homeowner was very interested in aesthetics and desired a modern home with sleek low roof lines and lots of windows to take advantage of the lake views. Restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. In addition to a modern aesthetic, the homeowners are hoping to stay in the home as they age, so careful consideration was given to making sure that their new home would function for them in the future by including wider doorways, curbless showers, hard surface flooring and single-floor living. This mid-century modern designed home includes a high covered entry, high ceilings, floor-to- ceiling windows and an open floorplan. Overall, this medium-sized home feels spacious yet bright and inviting. Slab on grade platform construction includes highly efficient in-floor hydronic heat that keeps everything consistently warm in the winter. Throughout the interior of the home, the use of clean lines reflects the modern aesthetic desired by the homeowner. The kitchen features flat-panel doors and a large island with a dramatic quartz countertop. The use of black and white tones throughout with bright pops of color and geometric shapes completes the modern look to perfection. Outside, restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. The unique stylistic deck includes airplane cable railings and lifetime warrantied PVC decking on the back of the house.

House of Jade Interiors. Kitchen remodel.
Cottage chic kitchen photo in Salt Lake City

Inspiration for a timeless pool remodel in Atlanta

Kitchen - kitchen idea in Detroit

Deborah Nicholson
Example of an arts and crafts hallway design in Other

Minimalist entryway photo in Toronto

Paul Despenas: Since 1995 Midwest Construction has been offering insulated vinyl siding, because we believed in the product in many ways. Vinyl siding has come a long way since I (Paul Despenas – VP Marketing) installed the companies 1st job in 1982. The product was Alside D-5 Endura Supreme. I drove by the job 6 years later and it was still on the house, wall lines looked good, but the color had faded from nice Beige to a dirty white. Manufacturers stepped up to the plate and added the right blends of vinyl resins, the addition of color stabilizers, thicker and better material, and the best improvement to vinyl siding was to add laminated foam behind it for strength and energy savings. Well here is some documented proof to what we have been saying for years, Your new American Classic Insulated Siding will save energy and maintenance over fiber cement siding. NYSERDA HOME VINYL SIDING INSTITUTE STUDY NYSERDA Home- In a new study, Insulated Vinyl Siding (Fullback® siding insulation laminated to vinyl siding) proved to outperform fiber cement in multiple categories. The Vinyl Siding Institute (VSI) recently commissioned a study to evaluate the environmental performance of Fullback® Insulated Siding. The Vinyl Siding Institute study was conducted by Newport Ventures, a research and consulting firm with expertise in the housing industry. Two high-performance homes were built to comply with the rigorous goals of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) High Performance Residential Development Challenge, one in Saratoga Springs, NY and one in Burnt Hills, NY. The challenge was conceived to educate home builders on construction of cost-effective, high performance homes designed to achieve 50-60% energy savings above that of typical homes built to New York's stringent energy code. In achieving this goal, both builders involved in the challenge showed preferences for systems that offered both energy savings and affordability. Fullback® Insulated Siding was specified by both builders as a system to help them achieve energy conservation and LEED for Homes. Fullback V Siding Comparison BURNT HILLS, NY: Researchers performed a side-by-side field test on the Burnt Hills home to compare Fullback® Insulated Siding against uninsulated fiber cement. This Vinyl Siding Institute study was conducted during the winter on a two story colonial built by Stewart Construction. The thermal imaging clearly indicated that there was less heat loss from the home to the outdoors with the Fullback® Insulated Siding compared to the fiber cement. The exterior surface temperature of the Fullback® Insulated Siding section of the wall was considerably colder, indicating that there was more thermal bridging (heat loss) with the fiber cement product. SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY: In the case of the Saratoga Springs home, the LEED case study found that environmental performance and visual appeal can go hand-in-hand through the use of Fullback® Insulated Siding. This home became the first home in New York's capital region to achieve LEED for Homes' Gold Rating. Sixty eight percent of visitors to the home found the siding to be "very attractive" while 95% agreed that the visual appeal of the Fullback® Insulated Siding was "better than average". Overall, the study provides documentation that insulated vinyl siding can outperform exterior cladding alternatives on environmental issues while at the same time remaining aesthetically pleasing. Midwest Construction Qualified Remodeler Magazine Big 50 inductee and Top 500 remodeler's has won the Better Business Bureau Integrity Award 2 times.(1999 & 2015) Quality Products & Quality Installation is our motto since 1958 and we still live up to that today by delivering the best home improvement products in our industry. Backing those products up with top notch installation crews with all of the certifications and water management techniques to give you the home owner some peace of mind and comfort knowing your products will save you energy and maintenance for years to come. Midwest Construction is also a Progressive Foam Preferred Platinum Contractor which gives you the home owner, extra benefits, Lifetime warranty on the thermal performance of the insulation and a 10 year labor warranty from Progressive foam including our American Classic Insulated Vinyl siding lifetime warranty with lifetime non fade protection.

Eat-in kitchen - mid-sized traditional u-shaped medium tone wood floor and yellow floor eat-in kitchen idea in Other with a drop-in sink, raised-panel cabinets, brown cabinets, quartzite countertops, white backsplash, white appliances and an island

Photo of a mid-sized traditional backyard landscaping in Minneapolis.

This architecturally beautiful formal living room with a 25 foot wall of windows created design challenges. First challenge was creating luxurious treatments that had elaborate top treatments as well as long down panels that while being luxurious still allowed a lot of light into the room and didn’t over power the crown molding. Another challenge was there was an arched window on the landing area that had to appear stand-alone yet mimic the bigger design. We did quite a few computer renderings with Minutes Matter. We created a center arched swag and jabot treatment to bring the window group together and also repeated the center treatment on the adjoining arched staircase window on the landing area. We applied silk velvet banding with bouillon fringe overlaid with beaded trim as the top treatments of the windows. The down panels were made from a mirrored crinkle sheer and we repeated the velvet banding with crystal trim all the way down on the leading edge to unify the treatments and give weight and balance to the whole treatment. I had purchased some massive 4’ tiebacks a year earlier and saved them for just the right project. This was the one that needed the size and scale of these perfect giant tassel tie backs. We added the bullion trim with the crystal beaded trim to the tie backs to make them match the treatments. Our workroom created wood based cornices for the treatments to hang from to give stability and also to have a base for the architectural scroll pieces to be applied. We painted them in a soft gold to give a unique dimension to the tops of the treatments.

Condos are often a challenge – can’t move water, venting has to remain connected to existing ducting and recessed cans may not be an option. In this project, we had an added challenge – we could not lower the ceiling on the exterior wall due to a continual leak issue that the HOA has put off due to the multi-million-dollar expense. DESIGN PHILOSOPHY: Work Centers: prep, baking, clean up, message, beverage and entertaining. Vignette Design: avoid wall to wall cabinets, enhance the work center philosophy Geometry: create a more exciting and natural flow ANGLES: the baking center features a Miele wall oven and Liebherr Freezer, the countertop is 36” deep (allowing for an extra deep appliance garage with stainless tambour). CURVES: the island, desk and ceiling is curved to create a more natural flow. A raised drink counter in Sapele allows for “bellying up to the bar” CIRCLES: the 60” table (seating for 6) is supported by a steel plate and a custom column (used also to support the end of the curved desk – not shown) ISLAND CHALLENGE: To install recessed cans and connect to the existing ducting – we dropped the ceiling 6”. The dropped ceiling curves at the end of the island to the existing ceiling height at the pantry/desk area of the kitchen. The stainless steel column at the end of the island is an electrical chase (the ceiling is concrete, which we were not allowed to puncture) for the island Cabinets: Sapele – Vertical Grain Island Cabinets: Metro LM 98 – Horizontal Grain Laminate Countertop Granite: Purple Dunes Wood – maple Drink Counter: Sapele Appliances: Refrigerator and Freezer: Liebherr Induction CT, DW, Wall and Steam Oven: Miele Hood: Best Range Hoods – Cirrus Wine Refrigerator: Perlick Flooring: Cork Tile Backsplash: Artistic Tile Steppes – Negro Marquina Lighting: Tom Dixon NW Architectural Photography

an overflow of peony flowering tulips--long blooming
Design ideas for a french country landscaping in New York.

Example of a living room design in Orange County

House of Jade Interiors. Kitchen remodel.
Kitchen - shabby-chic style kitchen idea in Salt Lake City

The renovation of the project included a main floor renovation which included a brand-new kitchen and a sunroom addition. This renovation revised the space in the kitchen area by removing a load-bearing wall and relocating the mechanical and electrical systems inside. This freed up space and allowed for a more open design in the kitchen area. The client had several requests for this project, including large windows to allow maximum natural light. This idea was further added upon by adding sun tunnels in the roof for even more light. The sunroom also features a custom deck on the back of the house with aluminum handrails. The addition to the house was to have its own air conditioning system with custom ceiling tray detailing with crown moulding. This also served to hide the attic hatch with millwork finish. Besides, the sunroom space was designed as both a living room and extra dining space. During the pandemic, it also served as an office and home work hub for their children. What makes this project appealing is the enhanced natural light being brought into the spaces through large windows and sun tunnels. Other enhancements include a large-scale hexagonal mosaic in marble-looking material to add texture to the wall, as well as the use of accent panels to extend custom hood cabinets to the ceiling. Next, the island in the kitchen can seat 4 comfortably enhancing the usefulness of the space. The colours chosen for the kitchen include off white slab doors and deep rich wood accents and island. The hardware is brushed nickel as well as the light fixture, all to match the plumbing fixtures. Around the walls in the sunroom is custom wainscotting using millwork and casing. Special work was done on the ceiling, by concealing the beams with bulkheads and then angling them to match the existing bulkheads in the kitchen and original dining room. Besides, a custom appliance garage corner cabinet sits on the countertop which offers convenience and efficiency. The size of the island was maximized to get the most storage space out of it, including a pull-out spice rack and a space for a wine fridge. The unique transition between tile and hardwood was done out of necessity, as the sitting stools had to sit on only one medium. Plus, it is a unique way to transition from two different flooring materials! The unique challenges of this project include the wood to tile interface. This was required for the sitting stools to rest on only one medium. This design feature turned out to be an attractive solution to the design problem. This solution was also used at the patio door entrance. The plumbing in this project was challenging since it connected to an existing reverse osmosis system. There was a large beam in the kitchen ceiling which interfered with lighting placement. Additionally, picking a complimentary wood colour which would go with the existing flooring was challenging. The overall design of the addition took extra time to make the space well-used as the lot itself was an irregular shape.

Trendy entryway photo in Atlanta