Built in 1998, the 2,800 sq ft house was lacking the charm and amenities that the location justified. The idea was to give it a "Hawaiiana" plantation feel. Exterior renovations include staining the tile roof and exposing the rafters by removing the stucco soffits and adding brackets. Smooth stucco combined with wood siding, expanded rear Lanais, a sweeping spiral staircase, detailed columns, balustrade, all new doors, windows and shutters help achieve the desired effect. On the pool level, reclaiming crawl space added 317 sq ft. for an additional bedroom suite, and a new pool bathroom was added. On the main level vaulted ceilings opened up the great room, kitchen, and master suite. Two small bedrooms were combined into a fourth suite and an office was added. Traditional built-in cabinetry and moldings complete the look.

The Duncan home is a custom designed log home. It is a 1,440 sq. ft. home on a crawl space, open loft and upstairs bedroom/bathroom. The home is situated in beautiful Leatherwood Mountains, a 5,000 acre equestrian development in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Photos are by Roger Wade Studio. More information about this home can be found in Country's Best Cabins 2015 Annual Buyers Guide magazine.

Alex Von Ahsen
Photo of a modern landscaping in Cedar Rapids.

Example of a classic hallway design in New York

ZeroEnergy Design (ZED) created this modern home for a progressive family in the desirable community of Lexington. Thoughtful Land Connection. The residence is carefully sited on the infill lot so as to create privacy from the road and neighbors, while cultivating a side yard that captures the southern sun. The terraced grade rises to meet the house, allowing for it to maintain a structured connection with the ground while also sitting above the high water table. The elevated outdoor living space maintains a strong connection with the indoor living space, while the stepped edge ties it back to the true ground plane. Siting and outdoor connections were completed by ZED in collaboration with landscape designer Soren Deniord Design Studio. Exterior Finishes and Solar. The exterior finish materials include a palette of shiplapped wood siding, through-colored fiber cement panels and stucco. A rooftop parapet hides the solar panels above, while a gutter and site drainage system directs rainwater into an irrigation cistern and dry wells that recharge the groundwater. Cooking, Dining, Living. Inside, the kitchen, fabricated by Henrybuilt, is located between the indoor and outdoor dining areas. The expansive south-facing sliding door opens to seamlessly connect the spaces, using a retractable awning to provide shade during the summer while still admitting the warming winter sun. The indoor living space continues from the dining areas across to the sunken living area, with a view that returns again to the outside through the corner wall of glass. Accessible Guest Suite. The design of the first level guest suite provides for both aging in place and guests who regularly visit for extended stays. The patio off the north side of the house affords guests their own private outdoor space, and privacy from the neighbor. Similarly, the second level master suite opens to an outdoor private roof deck. Light and Access. The wide open interior stair with a glass panel rail leads from the top level down to the well insulated basement. The design of the basement, used as an away/play space, addresses the need for both natural light and easy access. In addition to the open stairwell, light is admitted to the north side of the area with a high performance, Passive House (PHI) certified skylight, covering a six by sixteen foot area. On the south side, a unique roof hatch set flush with the deck opens to reveal a glass door at the base of the stairwell which provides additional light and access from the deck above down to the play space. Energy. Energy consumption is reduced by the high performance building envelope, high efficiency mechanical systems, and then offset with renewable energy. All windows and doors are made of high performance triple paned glass with thermally broken aluminum frames. The exterior wall assembly employs dense pack cellulose in the stud cavity, a continuous air barrier, and four inches exterior rigid foam insulation. The 10kW rooftop solar electric system provides clean energy production. The final air leakage testing yielded 0.6 ACH 50 - an extremely air tight house, a testament to the well-designed details, progress testing and quality construction. When compared to a new house built to code requirements, this home consumes only 19% of the energy. Architecture & Energy Consulting: ZeroEnergy Design Landscape Design: Soren Deniord Design Paintings: Bernd Haussmann Studio Photos: Eric Roth Photography

Beautiful example of Nantucket style home with gambrel roof, pergola over french doors which open to lower level walkout to the lake. Tom Grimes Photography

This beautiful new construction craftsman-style home had the typical builder's grade front porch with wood deck board flooring and painted wood steps. Also, there was a large unpainted wood board across the bottom front, and an opening remained that was large enough to be used as a crawl space underneath the porch which quickly became home to unwanted critters. In order to beautify this space, we removed the wood deck boards and installed the proper floor joists. Atop the joists, we also added a permeable paver system. This is very important as this system not only serves as necessary support for the natural stone pavers but would also firmly hold the sand being used as grout between the pavers. In addition, we installed matching brick across the bottom front of the porch to fill in the crawl space and painted the wood board to match hand rails and columns. Next, we replaced the original wood steps by building new concrete steps faced with matching brick and topped with natural stone pavers. Finally, we added new hand rails and cemented the posts on top of the steps for added stability. WOW...not only was the outcome a gorgeous transformation but the front porch overall is now much more sturdy and safe!

Phoenix Photographic
Living room - small coastal loft-style light wood floor and brown floor living room idea in Detroit with white walls, a standard fireplace, a stone fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Timeless kid's rooms are possible with clever detailing that can easily be updated without starting from scratch every time. As the kiddos grow up and go through different phases - this custom, built-in bedroom design stays current just by updating the accessories, bedding, and even the carpet tile is easily updated when desired. Simple and bespoke, the Birch Europly built-in includes a twin bed and trundle, a secret library, open shelving, a desk, storage cabinet, and hidden crawl space under the desk.

The Duncan home is a custom designed log home. It is a 1,440 sq. ft. home on a crawl space, open loft and upstairs bedroom/bathroom. The home is situated in beautiful Leatherwood Mountains, a 5,000 acre equestrian development in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Photos are by Roger Wade Studio. More information about this home can be found in one of the featured stories in Country's Best Cabins 2015 Annual Buyers Guide magazine.

Home office - mid-sized traditional freestanding desk light wood floor home office idea in DC Metro with gray walls and no fireplace

Inspiration for a mid-sized southwestern full sun backyard stone landscaping in Phoenix.

Basement finish including custom home theater with a sliding bar door entry.
Home theater - large traditional walk-out home theater idea in Atlanta with beige walls

Example of a large beach style beige three-story wood flat roof design in San Diego

Macon Plan by Medallion Construction. Charleston-style home in the best master planned neighborhood in the Triangle! Community Farm, 25 acre City Park with amphitheater, walk to schools, shop's, restaurants, grocery store, pool, clubhouse, dog park, 20 pocket parks, and so much more! This home has 2 master bedrooms, loft, 2x6 construction, 3 car garages, sealed crawled space. 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, site finished hardwoods, custom tile, double front porch, screen porch.

Home office - mid-sized traditional freestanding desk light wood floor home office idea in DC Metro with gray walls and no fireplace

Chris Luker From what had been a crawl space on a sloped lakefront lot, ARC created both a man cave and guest suite. Facing lakeside, this bedroom is not your average guest room that leads out to screen porch, patios and boat house.