While the majority of APD designs are created to meet the specific and unique needs of the client, this whole home remodel was completed in partnership with Black Sheep Construction as a high end house flip. From space planning to cabinet design, finishes to fixtures, appliances to plumbing, cabinet finish to hardware, paint to stone, siding to roofing; Amy created a design plan within the contractor’s remodel budget focusing on the details that would be important to the future home owner. What was a single story house that had fallen out of repair became a stunning Pacific Northwest modern lodge nestled in the woods!

Inspiration for a mid-century modern carpeted and multicolored floor bedroom remodel in Denver with white walls and no fireplace

This LEED Platinum certified house reflects the homeowner's desire for an exceptionally healthy and comfortable living environment, within a traditional neighborhood. INFILL SITE. The family, who moved from another area of Wellesley, sought out this property to be within walking distance of the high school and downtown area. An existing structure on the tight lot was removed to make way for the new home. 84% of the construction waste, from both the previous structure and the new home, was diverted from a landfill. ZED designed to preserve the existing mature trees on the perimeter of the property to minimize site impacts, and to maintain the character of the neighborhood as well as privacy on the site. EXTERIOR EXPRESSION. The street facade of the home relates to the local New England vernacular. The rear uses contemporary language, a nod to the family’s Californian roots, to incorporate a roof deck, solar panels, outdoor living space, and the backyard swimming pool. ZED’s careful planning avoided to the need to face the garage doors towards the street, a common syndrome of a narrow lot. THOUGHTFUL SPACE. Homes with dual entries can often result in duplicate and unused spaces. In this home, the everyday and formal entry areas are one and the same; the front and garage doors share the entry program of coat closets, mudroom storage with bench for removing your shoes, and a laundry room with generous closets for the children's sporting equipment. The entry area leads directly to the living space, encompassing the kitchen, dining and sitting area areas in an L-shaped open plan arrangement. The kitchen is placed at the south-west corner of the space to allow for a strong connection to the dining, sitting and outdoor living spaces. A fire pit on the deck satisfies the family’s desire for an open flame while a sealed gas fireplace is used indoors - ZED’s preference after omitting gas burning appliances completely from an airtight home. A small study, with a window seat, is conveniently located just off of the living space. A first floor guest bedroom includes an accessible bathroom for aging visitors and can be used as a master suite to accommodate aging in place. HEALTHY LIVING. The client requested a home that was easy to clean and would provide a respite from seasonal allergies and common contaminants that are found in many indoor spaces. ZED selected easy to clean solid surface flooring throughout, provided ample space for cleaning supplies on each floor, and designed a mechanical system with ventilation that provides a constant supply of fresh outdoor air. ZED selected durable materials, finishes, cabinetry, and casework with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and no added urea formaldehyde. YEAR-ROUND COMFORT. The home is super insulated and air-tight, paired with high performance triple-paned windows, to ensure it is draft-free throughout the winter (even when in front of the large windows and doors). ZED designed a right-sized heating and cooling system to pair with the thermally improved building enclosure to ensure year-round comfort. The glazing on the home maximizes passive solar gains, and facilitates cross ventilation and daylighting. ENERGY EFFICIENT. As one of the most energy efficient houses built to date in Wellesley, the home highlights a practical solution for Massachusetts. First, the building enclosure reduces the largest energy requirement for typical houses (heating). Super-insulation, exceptional air sealing, a thermally broken wall assembly, triple pane windows, and passive solar gain combine for a sizable heating load reduction. Second, within the house only efficient systems consume energy. These include an air source heat pump for heating & cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation, and high efficiency appliances. Lastly, photovoltaics provide renewable energy help offset energy consumption. The result is an 89% reduction in energy use compared to a similar brand new home built to code requirements. RESILIENT. The home will fare well in extreme weather events. During a winter power outage, heat loss will be very slow due to the super-insulated and airtight envelope– taking multiple days to drop to 60 degrees even with no heat source. An engineered drainage system, paired with careful the detailing of the foundation, will help to keep the finished basement dry. A generator will provide full operation of the all-electric house during a power outage. OVERALL. The home is a reflection of the family goals and an expression of their values, beautifully enabling health, comfort, safety, resilience, and utility, all while respecting the planet. ZED - Architect & Mechanical Designer Bevilacqua Builders Inc - Contractor Creative Land & Water Engineering - Civil Engineering Barbara Peterson Landscape - Landscape Design Nest & Company - Interior Furnishings Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Photo: Lucy Call © 2013 Houzz Design: Imbue Design and Sausage Space
Inspiration for a modern brown floor open concept kitchen remodel in Salt Lake City with white cabinets, flat-panel cabinets and paneled appliances

Travis Dubreuil and Thomas Loof
Mid-sized trendy wooden l-shaped staircase photo in New York

Interior Design by Michele Hybner and Shawn Falcone. Photos by Amoura Productions
Example of a large transitional master carpeted and gray floor bedroom design in Omaha with brown walls and no fireplace

Example of a mid-sized transitional light wood floor kitchen/dining room combo design in Boston with beige walls and no fireplace

Cabinetry provided by A&C Kitchens Work completed by Bellweather Construction
Kitchen - large transitional l-shaped porcelain tile kitchen idea in Philadelphia with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white backsplash, glass tile backsplash, an island, white cabinets, quartzite countertops and stainless steel appliances

Located in, Summit Park, Park City UT lies one of the most efficient houses in the country. The Summit Haus – designed and built by Chris Price of PCD+B, is an exploration in design and construction of advanced high performance housing. Seeing a rising demand for sustainable housing along with rising Carbon emissions leading to global warming, this house strives to show that sensible, good design can create spaces adequate for today’s housing demands while adhering to strict standards. The house was designed to meet the very rigid Passiv House rating system – 90% more efficient than a typical home in the area. The house itself was intended to nestle neatly into the 45 degree sloped site and to take full advantage of the limited solar access and views. The views range from short, highly wooded views to a long corridor out towards the Uinta Mountain range towards the east. The house was designed and built based off Passiv Haus standards, and the framing and ventilation became critical elements to maintain such minimal energy requirements. Zola triple-pane, tilt-and-turn Thermo uPVC windows contribute substantially to the home’s energy efficiency, and takes advantage of the beautiful surrounding of the location, including forrest views from the deck off of the kitchen. Photographer: City Home Collective

TEAM Architect: LDa Architecture & Interiors Builder: 41 Degrees North Construction, Inc. Landscape Architect: Wild Violets (Landscape and Garden Design on Martha's Vineyard) Photographer: Sean Litchfield Photography

Photo: Rikki Snyder © 2014 Houzz
Example of a trendy medium tone wood floor bedroom design in New York with black walls

Karen and Chad of Tower Lakes, IL were tired of their unfinished basement functioning as nothing more than a storage area and depressing gym. They wanted to increase the livable square footage of their home with a cohesive finished basement design, while incorporating space for the kids and adults to hang out. “We wanted to make sure that upon renovating the basement, that we can have a place where we can spend time and watch movies, but also entertain and showcase the wine collection that we have,” Karen said. After a long search comparing many different remodeling companies, Karen and Chad found Advance Design Studio. They were drawn towards the unique “Common Sense Remodeling” process that simplifies the renovation experience into predictable steps focused on customer satisfaction. “There are so many other design/build companies, who may not have transparency, or a focused process in mind and I think that is what separated Advance Design Studio from the rest,” Karen said. Karen loved how designer Claudia Pop was able to take very high-level concepts, “non-negotiable items” and implement them in the initial 3D drawings. Claudia and Project Manager DJ Yurik kept the couple in constant communication through the project. “Claudia was very receptive to the ideas we had, but she was also very good at infusing her own points and thoughts, she was very responsive, and we had an open line of communication,” Karen said. A very important part of the basement renovation for the couple was the home gym and sauna. The “high-end hotel” look and feel of the openly blended work out area is both highly functional and beautiful to look at. The home sauna gives them a place to relax after a long day of work or a tough workout. “The gym was a very important feature for us,” Karen said. “And I think (Advance Design) did a very great job in not only making the gym a functional area, but also an aesthetic point in our basement”. An extremely unique wow-factor in this basement is the walk in glass wine cellar that elegantly displays Karen and Chad’s extensive wine collection. Immediate access to the stunning wet bar accompanies the wine cellar to make this basement a popular spot for friends and family. The custom-built wine bar brings together two natural elements; Calacatta Vicenza Quartz and thick distressed Black Walnut. Sophisticated yet warm Graphite Dura Supreme cabinetry provides contrast to the soft beige walls and the Calacatta Gold backsplash. An undermount sink across from the bar in a matching Calacatta Vicenza Quartz countertop adds functionality and convenience to the bar, while identical distressed walnut floating shelves add an interesting design element and increased storage. Rich true brown Rustic Oak hardwood floors soften and warm the space drawing all the areas together. Across from the bar is a comfortable living area perfect for the family to sit down at a watch a movie. A full bath completes this finished basement with a spacious walk-in shower, Cocoa Brown Dura Supreme vanity with Calacatta Vicenza Quartz countertop, a crisp white sink and a stainless-steel Voss faucet. Advance Design’s Common Sense process gives clients the opportunity to walk through the basement renovation process one step at a time, in a completely predictable and controlled environment. “Everything was designed and built exactly how we envisioned it, and we are really enjoying it to it’s full potential,” Karen said. Constantly striving for customer satisfaction, Advance Design’s success is heavily reliant upon happy clients referring their friends and family. “We definitely will and have recommended Advance Design Studio to friends who are looking to embark on a remodeling project small or large,” Karen exclaimed at the completion of her project.

This wooded deck retreat features composite decking material by Fiberon, shown here in the Horizon line in 'Ipe'. The Ipe color reflects the beauty of natural and exotic hardwoods, complete with subtle streaking and varied wood grain patterns. Fiberon hidden fasteners were also used to create a polished, seamless deck surface.

This bedroom suite comes with its own exterior door, kitchenette, bathroom, laundry niche, and mini-split heating and air system to be completely independent as an in-law suite, airbnb, office, granny-flat, or the like.

Complete Renovation
Inspiration for a small modern u-shaped light wood floor open concept kitchen remodel in New York with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, solid surface countertops, multicolored backsplash, mosaic tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

Hillcrest Construction designed and executed a complete facelift for these West Chester clients’ master bathroom. The sink/toilet/shower layout stayed relatively unchanged due to the limitations of the small space, but major changes were slated for the overall functionality and aesthetic appeal. The bathroom was gutted completely, the wiring was updated, and minor plumbing alterations were completed for code compliance. Bathroom waterproofing was installed utilizing the state-of-the-industry Schluter substrate products, and the feature wall of the shower is tiled with a striking blue 12x12 tile set in a stacked pattern, which is a departure of color and layout from the staggered gray-tome wall tile and floor tile. The original bathroom lacked storage, and what little storage it had lacked practicality. The original 1’ wide by 4’ deep “reach-in closet” was abandoned and replaced with a custom cabinetry unit that featured six 30” drawers to hold a world of personal bathroom items which could pulled out for easy access. The upper cubbie was shallower at 13” and was sized right to hold a few spare towels without the towels being lost to an unreachable area. The custom furniture-style vanity, also built and finished at the Hillcrest custom shop facilitated a clutter-free countertop with its two deep drawers, one with a u-shaped cut out for the sink plumbing. Considering the relatively small size of the bathroom, and the vanity’s proximity to the toilet, the drawer design allows for greater access to the storage area as compared to a vanity door design that would only be accessed from the front. The custom niche in the shower serves and a consolidated home for soap, shampoo bottles, and all other shower accessories. Moen fixtures at the sink and in the shower and a Toto toilet complete the contemporary feel. The controls at the shower allow the user to easily switch between the fixed rain head, the hand shower, or both. And for a finishing touch, the client chose between a number for shower grate color and design options to complete their tailor-made sanctuary.

Small transitional u-shaped kitchen photo in Atlanta with wood countertops, a farmhouse sink, recessed-panel cabinets and gray cabinets

Master bath remodel featuring a steam shower, "his and her" pedestal sinks, a freestanding tub, a steam shower, and wainscoting Photo Credit: David Bader Interior Design Partner: Becky Howley

John Benson Photography / SSA Landscape Architects
Inspiration for a timeless backyard tile patio remodel in San Francisco with a gazebo