The original kitchen was designed and built by the original homeowner, needless to say neither design nor building was his profession. Further, the entire house has hydronic tubing in gypcrete for heat which means to utilities (water, ventilation or power) could be brought up through the floor or down from the ceiling except on the the exterior walls. The current homeowners love to cook and have a seasonal garden that generates a lot of lovely fruits and vegetables for both immediate consumption and preserving, hence, kitchen counter space, two sinks, the induction cooktop and the steam oven were all 'must haves' for both the husband and the wife. The beautiful wood plank porcelain tile floors ensures a slip resistant floor that is sturdy enough to stand up to their three four-legged children. Utilizing the three existing j-boxes in the ceiling, the cable and rail system combined with the under cabinet light illuminates every corner of this formerly dark kitchen. The rustic knotty alder cabinetry, wood plank tile floor and the bronze finish hardware/lighting all help to achieve the rustic casual look the homeowners craved. Photo by A Kitchen That Works LLC

Alan Barley, AIA This soft hill country contemporary family home is nestled in a surrounding live oak sanctuary in Spicewood, Texas. A screened-in porch creates a relaxing and welcoming environment while the large windows flood the house with natural lighting. The large overhangs keep the hot Texas heat at bay. Energy efficient appliances and site specific open house plan allows for a spacious home while taking advantage of the prevailing breezes which decreases energy consumption. screened in porch, austin luxury home, austin custom home, barleypfeiffer architecture, barleypfeiffer, wood floors, sustainable design, soft hill contemporary, sleek design, pro work, modern, low voc paint, live oaks sanctuary, live oaks, interiors and consulting, house ideas, home planning, 5 star energy, hill country, high performance homes, green building, fun design, 5 star applance, find a pro, family home, elegance, efficient, custom-made, comprehensive sustainable architects, barley & pfeiffer architects,

The Brentwood™ fireplace combines beauty and efficiency to offer an exceptional wood-burning unit. With advanced combustion and heat-circulating features, you can enjoy unsurpassed warmth and comfort. And with an array of customizable design options, you can have the freedom to create the perfect fireplace to fit your taste. Aesthetics Textured refractory-lined firebox recreates a traditional masonry appearance that exudes realism and sophistication. Single door made from European cast-iron gives an unobstructed view of the fire for gazing entertainment. Comfort Meets EPA Phase II-certified and Washington State emissions requirements (3.7 gr/hr) 55,000 BTU/hr* effectively heats up to 1,500 sq. ft.* (with optional blower) Airtight combustion chamber delivers maximum efficiency to ensure steady home heating. Double air combustion features two controls that allow you to customize the heating of your home, including: Main control for variable heat output and wood consumption. Air boost for faster wood ignition and efficient combustion. Ease of Operation Efficient air wash system keeps the glass clean, reducing the hassle of maintenance. Heat-resistant handle stays cool to the touch. Burn time is approximately 6–8 hours for long-lasting comfort. Required Venting 6" ASHT+, S-2100+, HT6000+, HT6103+ or AC Chimney Design Versatility Two door options are available to match your style and taste. Louverless panel and gravity kits are available to add an attractive element to the fireplace. *Square-feet heating capacities are approximations only. Actual performance may vary depending upon home design and insulation, ceiling heights, climate, condition and type of wood used, appliance location, burn rate, accessories chosen, chimney installation and how the appliance is operated.

Add a bit of green to your interior space with GreenSmart Decor. With artificial leaf panels, we've eliminated the maintenance and water consumption upkeep for real foliage. Explore our gallery of modern designs for bathrooms, office spaces and more.

Bigger is not always better, but something of highest quality is. This amazing, size-appropriate Lake Michigan cottage is just that. Nestled in an existing historic stretch of Lake Michigan cottages, this new construction was built to fit in the neighborhood, but outperform any other home in the area concerning energy consumption, LEED certification and functionality. It features 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, an open concept kitchen/living room, a separate mudroom entrance and a separate laundry. This small (but smart) cottage is perfect for any family simply seeking a retreat without the stress of a big lake home. The interior details include quartz and granite countertops, stainless appliances, quarter-sawn white oak floors, Pella windows, and beautiful finishing fixtures. The dining area was custom designed, custom built, and features both new and reclaimed elements. The exterior displays Smart-Side siding and trim details and has a large EZE-Breeze screen porch for additional dining and lounging. This home owns all the best products and features of a beach house, with no wasted space. Cottage Home is the premiere builder on the shore of Lake Michigan, between the Indiana border and Holland.

The original kitchen was designed and built by the original homeowner, needless to say neither design nor building was his profession. Further, the entire house has hydronic tubing in gypcrete for heat which means no utilities (water, ventilation or power) could be brought up through the floor or down from the ceiling except on the the exterior walls. The current homeowners love to cook and have a seasonal garden that generates a lot of lovely fruits and vegetables for both immediate consumption and preserving, hence, kitchen counter space, two sinks, the induction cooktop and the steam oven were all 'must haves' for both the husband and the wife. The beautiful wood plank porcelain tile floors ensures a slip resistant floor that is sturdy enough to stand up to their three four-legged children. Utilizing the three existing j-boxes in the ceiling, the cable and rail system combined with the under cabinet light illuminates every corner of this formerly dark kitchen. The rustic knotty alder cabinetry, wood plank tile floor and the bronze finish hardware/lighting all help to achieve the rustic casual look the homeowners craved. Photo by A Kitchen That Works LLC

Xeric landscape designed and built by Southern Landscape. This Austin homeowner reduced their turf area by over 17,000 square feet, reducing water consumption and maintenance. The remaining turf areas were required for the septic leach field. Limestone retaining walls with leuders caps control erosion. The plant palette contains lantana, plumbago, various grasses, and yuccas, all chosen for their specific water usage appropriate to the area. Landscape lighting was also added to highlight the beauty of this large xeriscape.

5,411 SF two story home in the Encino Hills overlooking Los Angeles. This home features an attached two-car garage, 4 Bedrooms, 5 1/2 Baths, 2 Offices, Foyer, Gallery, Gym, Great Room, Den, Dining, Kitchen, Morning Room, Mud Room, Laundry, Loggia, Jacuzzi, and a pool with a gorgeous view overlooking Los Angeles. Walls of glass, natural stone surfaces featuring Porcelanosa tile, high ceilings, and sweeping vistas fuse the home's indoor and outdoor environments. The outdoor space features a fire pit, Jacuzzi, and swimming pool; the extensive use of windows not only brings the view inside but maximizes the use of natural light. Photovoltaic panels supply power to the home and pool and dramatically reduce energy consumption year round. Tankless water heaters, bamboo cabinetry and flooring, and tight high quality insulation further reduce the environmental footprint of the home and make it more sustainable...this home is also featured in FIND BLISS and LUXE Magazine. Eco Friendly and Green Home. Photo by: Latham Architectural

Xeric landscape designed and built by Southern Landscape. This Austin homeowner reduced their turf area by over 17,000 square feet, reducing water consumption and maintenance. The remaining turf areas were required for the septic leach field. Limestone retaining walls with leuders caps control erosion. The plant palette contains lantana, plumbago, various grasses, and yuccas, all chosen for their specific water usage appropriate to the area. Landscape lighting was also added to highlight the beauty of this large xeriscape.

Xeric landscape designed and built by Southern Landscape. This Austin homeowner reduced their turf area by over 17,000 square feet, reducing water consumption and maintenance. The remaining turf areas were required for the septic leach field. Limestone retaining walls with leuders caps control erosion. The plant palette contains lantana, plumbago, various grasses, and yuccas, all chosen for their specific water usage appropriate to the area. Landscape lighting was also added to highlight the beauty of this large xeriscape.

Bigger is not always better, but something of highest quality is. This amazing, size-appropriate Lake Michigan cottage is just that. Nestled in an existing historic stretch of Lake Michigan cottages, this new construction was built to fit in the neighborhood, but outperform any other home in the area concerning energy consumption, LEED certification and functionality. It features 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, an open concept kitchen/living room, a separate mudroom entrance and a separate laundry. This small (but smart) cottage is perfect for any family simply seeking a retreat without the stress of a big lake home. The interior details include quartz and granite countertops, stainless appliances, quarter-sawn white oak floors, Pella windows, and beautiful finishing fixtures. The dining area was custom designed, custom built, and features both new and reclaimed elements. The exterior displays Smart-Side siding and trim details and has a large EZE-Breeze screen porch for additional dining and lounging. This home owns all the best products and features of a beach house, with no wasted space. Cottage Home is the premiere builder on the shore of Lake Michigan, between the Indiana border and Holland.

Situated on a 3.5 acre, oak-studded ridge atop Santa Barbara's Riviera, the Greene Compound is a 6,500 square foot custom residence with guest house and pool capturing spectacular views of the City, Coastal Islands to the south, and La Cumbre peak to the north. Carefully sited to kiss the tips of many existing large oaks, the home is rustic Mediterranean in style which blends integral color plaster walls with Santa Barbara sandstone and cedar board and batt. Landscape Architect Lane Goodkind restored the native grass meadow and added a stream bio-swale which complements the rural setting. 20' mahogany, pocketing sliding doors maximize the indoor / outdoor Santa Barbara lifestyle by opening the living spaces to the pool and island view beyond. A monumental exterior fireplace and camp-style margarita bar add to this romantic living. Discreetly buried in the mission tile roof, solar panels help to offset the home's overall energy consumption. Truly an amazing and unique property, the Greene Residence blends in beautifully with the pastoral setting of the ridge while complementing and enhancing this Riviera neighborhood.

Add a bit of green to your outdoor area with Greensmart Decor. With artificial leaf panels, we've eliminated the maintenance and water consumption upkeep for real foliage. Our high-quality, weather resistant panels are the perfect privacy solution for your backyard, patio, deck or balcony.

Add a bit of green to your outdoor area with Greensmart Decor. With artificial leaf panels, we've eliminated the maintenance and water consumption upkeep for real foliage. Our high-quality, weather resistant panels are the perfect privacy solution for your backyard, patio, deck or balcony.

Add a bit of green to your outdoor space with GreenSmart Decor. With artificial leaf panels, we've eliminated the maintenance and water consumption upkeep for real foliage. Our high-quality, weather resistant panels are the perfect solution to a bare, exterior wall. Redefine your patio, balcony or deck with modern elements from GreenSmart Decor.

Add a bit of green to your outdoor space with GreenSmart Decor. With artificial leaf panels, we've eliminated the maintenance and water consumption upkeep for real foliage. Our high-quality, weather resistant panels are the perfect solution to a bare, exterior wall. Redefine your patio, balcony or deck with modern elements from GreenSmart Decor.

This beautiful Craftsman style Passive House has a carbon footprint 20% that of a typically built home in Oregon. Its 12-in. thick walls with cork insulation, ultra-high efficiency windows and doors, solar panels, heat pump hot water, Energy Star appliances, fresh air intake unit, and natural daylighting keep its utility bills exceptionally low. Jen G. Pywell

This 3 BR, 3 1/2 bath home allows the owners to live on one level most of the time. The Master Suite is on the main level along with the Living Room, Kitchen, Dining, pantries, Sun Room and service areas. The upper level houses two ample bedrooms while the lower level supports a rec center, media room, wine cellar, shop and full wet bar. Conceived as a Great Room house, the main level is designed as one seamless space that flows onto an ample deck overlooking the rear yard. We also incorporated a variety of green building techniques - photo-voltaic shingles on the roof of the garage to generate a portion of the home's energy, a super insulated building envelope, rain water harvesting, high performance windows and doors, a high efficiency heat pump, low flow bath & kitchen fixtures, Energy Star appliances and LED lighting - that greatly reduced this structure's carbon footprint. All of the strategies amounted to a 30% reduction in the energy consumption in this home relative to comparable structures.

German Embassy in Pristina - Kosovo, contracted the architecture office “Ferizi + Ferizi Architects” to plan and implement an Annex Office building for their purposes. As detached part of this building is designed the waiting area, as alone standing structure. This Office Building is constructed by assembling of Eight used office containers that were delivered on trucks and set up after only a few hours on the basis of the LEGO principle, according to the planning on strip foundations. By removing the flexible exterior wall panels, a large room of 115 m² was created, with the counter wall as a room partition between two office spaces, each with seven workstations as well as three counters for agents on one side and a room for visitors on the other side. With this system, room solutions can be easily implemented in all dimensions. The container, seen as a geometric shape, is a simple, octagonal, solid box. The standardized perfection of its dimensions is striking: 2.44 meters wide, 2.59 meters high and 6.06 meters or 12.19 meters long. Since its introduction in 1956 by the American transport entrepreneur Malcom McLean, the container has become a standardized transport module worldwide, whether on ships, trucks or construction sites. The shipping containers have additionally revolutionized the transport industry, pushed the globalization noticeably, and thus directly or indirectly influenced all our lives. But after only a few years, when the first overseas containers wore out, many engineers recognized the positive properties of used shipping containers for building houses, especially since they are robust, flexible, multifunctional and second-hand relatively inexpensive to purchase. The time has long passed by to treat containers exclusively as transport objects. As a "measure of all things", containers can hardly be ignored in construction. Their use is no longer limited to temporary use since school containers, information containers, office containers or entire residential buildings are now part of our everyday life in the construction industry. However, current examples of the container architecture prove that even the most demanding solutions for container building are feasible. For their specific aesthetic and spatial qualities, containers also serve as design parameters for the development of new forms of architecture and urbanity. The office building as an extension of the visa section, characterized by modern materials and contemporary aesthetics has been designed and built mainly as a low-energy building. Extensive insulation to achieve a comfortable and sustainable constant temperature in the interior, high window quality and low energy consumption make the building energy-efficient. The sophisticated lighting technology, networks, heating systems and air-conditioning systems are also components of this equipment. It creates an overall harmonic picture and guarantees the highest standard in sustainable construction, taking into consideration the fact that environmentally friendly recycling and reutilization have become an increasingly important issue in our society. West and East side of the wooden facade is compact and has few openings, while the southern facade is completely open with lot of glass. Its spatial openness ensures a transparent, friendly work environment, which allows a lot of light into the space. This openness allows an uninterrupted, pleasant and close-to-nature view from interior spaces into the beautiful garden. During the installation of sophisticated light sources in the garden, emphasis was not only put on functionality and security, but also on the beauty of the garden shown through the illumination in the evening. Large, horizontal white “brisole” serve as external sun protection systems, mounted on the canopies of the entrance areas of the modular construction and the enclosure, adeptly cast shade on these areas and at the same time shape the entire architectural language. While on one hand, the two quadratic ledges suspended in the air, are docked with steel stairs and match the wooden façade, lead the staff to their office space, the artful modern interior, on the other hand, perfectly unites the functionality, innovative technology, culture and positive effects on the employees' efficiency and wellbeing. A lot of white, interjected by warm wooden and colored accents, determines the ambience. In the case of the lighting solution, the mainly linear ceiling lighting is used as the overlapping design element both for the offices of the visa section as well as for the counters and the waiting area for the visitors. They underline the puristic design in order to create a pleasant light for a desired general illumination and ensure optimal light conditions without causing disturbing reflections on the computer screens. In addition, precisely positioned pendant luminaires are installed at the workstations, which ensure pleasant room brightness. In the entrance area, the harmonic and uniform lighting effect from the ground highlights the integration of photography and architecture. Photographs of landscapes, people, places, expressing unforgettable, impressive moments and memories have been lovingly engraved on 8 x 8cm square oak blocks. The idea of an effective, impressive environment that stimulates and inspires the work was the premiss on which the whole design concept was based. Consequently, the modular construction was no longer viewed through its history of utilization and scars, but rather as a structure of work ambiance, art and elegance. FERIZI + FERIZI Architects Photo: Arben Llapashtica