Rob Karosis
Example of a country entryway design in New York with beige walls and a white front door

This sweet creekside retreat has a little bit of everything. Rustic, refined, quaint, clean, sweet, crisp & lovely. Time for a snooze... Silk and fur bedding with a view onto the master deck overlooking the creek.

Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional freestanding desk medium tone wood floor and brown floor study room remodel in Boston with blue walls

Example of a mountain style bedroom design in Portland Maine with gray walls

Reclaimed ceiling beams, rustic reclaimed handmade barn door. It's the little things.
Inspiration for a small rustic open concept medium tone wood floor family room remodel in Denver with gray walls, a standard fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Donna Dotan Photography Inc.
Example of a transitional single-wall laundry closet design in New York with white cabinets, white walls, a side-by-side washer/dryer and white countertops

Photo: Mina Brinkey © 2014 Houzz
Example of a beach style living room design in Miami with white walls

Ciro Coelho Photography
Contemporary beige one-story exterior home idea in Santa Barbara with a metal roof

this dog wash is a great place to clean up your pets and give them the spa treatment they deserve. There is even an area to relax for your pet under the counter in the padded cabinet.

Greg Premru Photography, Inc
Elegant l-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen photo in Boston with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

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

Beach style kitchen photo in Portland Maine

Inspiration for a small contemporary built-in desk dark wood floor home office remodel in Austin with white walls

Photo by Alice Gao
Example of a 1950s medium tone wood floor family room library design in New York with gray walls and a media wall

Kitchen - huge traditional l-shaped medium tone wood floor and brown floor kitchen idea in Other with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, an island, stainless steel appliances and gray cabinets

The angled decking and picture frame outlines the deck space and provides a unique feature to the deck.
Inspiration for a huge timeless backyard deck remodel in Atlanta with a pergola

Donna Dotan Photography Inc.
Inspiration for an u-shaped dark wood floor kitchen remodel in New York with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, gray backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Designed by: Studio Revolution Photography by: Thomas Kuoh
Bedroom - southwestern master bedroom idea in San Francisco

Interiors by SHOPHOUSE Kyle Born Photography
Example of a classic medium tone wood floor living room design in Philadelphia with white walls