Photo: Ashley Camper Photography © 2014 Houzz
Example of an island style outdoor patio shower design in Hawaii

Elegant pool photo in New York

Tamara Alvarez
Pool - mid-sized tropical side yard brick and rectangular pool idea in Miami

Lance Gerber
Living room - mediterranean brown floor living room idea in Los Angeles with white walls and a standard fireplace

Inspiration for a traditional partial sun front yard brick flower bed in Denver.

Patio - mid-sized rustic backyard concrete paver patio idea in Richmond with a fire pit and no cover

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

Situated along the perimeter of the property, this unique home creates a continuous street wall, both preserving plenty of open yard space and maintaining privacy from the prominent street corner. A one-story mudroom connects the garage to the house at the rear of the lot which required a local zoning variance. The resulting L-shaped plan and the central location of a glass-enclosed stair allow natural light to enter the home from multiple sides of nearly every room. The Arts & Crafts inspired detailing creates a familiar yet unique facade that is sympathetic to the character and scale of the neighborhood. A chevron pattern is a key design element on the window bays and doors and continues inside throughout the interior of the home. 2022 NAHB Platinum Best in American Living Award View more of this home through #BBAModernCraftsman on Instagram.

Mahonia aquifolium / Oregon grape Photo: Tatters, via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic
Inspiration for a landscaping in Other.

SRQ Magazine's Home of the Year 2015 Platinum Award for Best Bathroom, Best Kitchen, and Best Overall Renovation Photo: Raif Fluker
Home design - 1960s home design idea in Tampa

This retaining wall project in inspired by our Travertina Raw stone. The Travertina Raw collection has been extended to a double-sided, segmental retaining wall system. This product mimics the texture of natural travertine in a concrete material for wall blocks. Build outdoor raised planters, outdoor kitchens, seating benches and more with this wall block. This product line has enjoyed huge success and has now been improved with an ultra robust mix design, making it far more durable than the natural alternative. This is a perfect solution in freeze-thaw climates. Check out our website to shop the look! https://www.techo-bloc.com/shop/walls/travertina-raw/

This retaining wall project in inspired by our Travertina Raw stone. The Travertina Raw collection has been extended to a double-sided, segmental retaining wall system. This product mimics the texture of natural travertine in a concrete material for wall blocks. Build outdoor raised planters, outdoor kitchens, seating benches and more with this wall block. This product line has enjoyed huge success and has now been improved with an ultra robust mix design, making it far more durable than the natural alternative. This is a perfect solution in freeze-thaw climates. Check out our website to shop the look! https://www.techo-bloc.com/shop/walls/travertina-raw/

Front entry garden bed with basalt column water feature.
This is an example of a transitional water fountain landscape in Portland.

This retaining wall project in inspired by our Travertina Raw stone. The Travertina Raw collection has been extended to a double-sided, segmental retaining wall system. This product mimics the texture of natural travertine in a concrete material for wall blocks. Build outdoor raised planters, outdoor kitchens, seating benches and more with this wall block. This product line has enjoyed huge success and has now been improved with an ultra robust mix design, making it far more durable than the natural alternative. This is a perfect solution in freeze-thaw climates. Check out our website to shop the look! https://www.techo-bloc.com/shop/walls/travertina-raw/

Freestanding bathtub - contemporary master beige tile and gray tile freestanding bathtub idea in Omaha with gray walls

This is a beautiful contemporary and organic design. An outdoor private shower with pebble stone inspired by a feeling of nature. Design by Luz Marina Selles. Photos by Mike Small Photography.

The uneven back yard was graded into ¬upper and lower levels with an industrial style, concrete wall. Linear pavers lead the garden stroller from place to place alongside a rain garden filled with swaying grasses that spans the side yard and culminates at a gracefully arching pomegranate tree, A bubbling boulder water feature murmurs soothing sounds. A large steel and willow-roof pergola creates a shady space to dine in and chaise lounges and chairs bask in the surrounding shade. The transformation was completed with a bold and biodiverse selection of low water, climate appropriate plants that make the space come alive. branches laden with impossibly red blossoms and fruit.

David Lauer Photography
Garden shed - mid-sized contemporary attached garden shed idea in Denver

This retaining wall project in inspired by our Travertina Raw stone. The Travertina Raw collection has been extended to a double-sided, segmental retaining wall system. This product mimics the texture of natural travertine in a concrete material for wall blocks. Build outdoor raised planters, outdoor kitchens, seating benches and more with this wall block. This product line has enjoyed huge success and has now been improved with an ultra robust mix design, making it far more durable than the natural alternative. This is a perfect solution in freeze-thaw climates. Check out our website to shop the look! https://www.techo-bloc.com/shop/walls/travertina-raw/