Photography by Natalie Marotta Bungalows are lovable homes, but how can they be better? Along with many of our clients, we find that older (early 20th c.) homes have a lot of character and a comfortable scale, but are leaky, damp (especially in the basement), have fair to poor air quality, and use unconscionable amounts of fossil fuels to heat. The owners of this bungalow were ready to change that, and wanted to do so with minimal upfront carbon emissions as well. The gut renovation included replacing the basement slab and providing capillary breaks and insulation continuously below grade. The brick structure was treated with a fluid-applied air and water barrier from the interior and insulated entirely with cellulose, a carbon-storing insulation. The roof used HFO-blown spray foam to provide sufficient insulation while allowing headroom for bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry. One great benefit of a full renovation is the possibility of reconfiguring spaces to suit the family’s lifestyle, and to make the best of indoor-outdoor connections. We opened up the main rooms on the first floor, creating a family gathering spot with a view to the back yard, and a spacious kitchen that supports the family’s commitment to cooking for healthy eating. The stair uses a north-facing skylight to bring light from above into the middle of the home, where it was previously dark. As a decarbonization retrofit, the inefficient furnace was replaced with two small ducted heat pump systems, water heating and clothes drying are powered by air-source heat pumps, and cooking uses an induction cooktop plus electric ovens. Energy recovery ventilation provides filtered fresh air continuous exhaust from the kitchen, baths, and laundry, and supplies fresh, highly filtered air to bedrooms and living spaces. The Better Bungalow now makes sense for the 21st century–it now fits the owners’ life-patterns, is super comfortable, has great air quality, and uses a fraction of the energy it did before, greatly lowering the demand on the utility grid. In the near future, when solar PV is installed, it can achieve net zero or near net zero emissions, and with battery backup, can provide great resilience in the event of power outages.

The Aerius - Modern Craftsman in Ridgefield Washington by Cascade West Development Inc. Upon opening the 8ft tall door and entering the foyer an immediate display of light, color and energy is presented to us in the form of 13ft coffered ceilings, abundant natural lighting and an ornate glass chandelier. Beckoning across the hall an entrance to the Great Room is beset by the Master Suite, the Den, a central stairway to the Upper Level and a passageway to the 4-bay Garage and Guest Bedroom with attached bath. Advancement to the Great Room reveals massive, built-in vertical storage, a vast area for all manner of social interactions and a bountiful showcase of the forest scenery that allows the natural splendor of the outside in. The sleek corner-kitchen is composed with elevated countertops. These additional 4in create the perfect fit for our larger-than-life homeowner and make stooping and drooping a distant memory. The comfortable kitchen creates no spatial divide and easily transitions to the sun-drenched dining nook, complete with overhead coffered-beam ceiling. This trifecta of function, form and flow accommodates all shapes and sizes and allows any number of events to be hosted here. On the rare occasion more room is needed, the sliding glass doors can be opened allowing an out-pour of activity. Almost doubling the square-footage and extending the Great Room into the arboreous locale is sure to guarantee long nights out under the stars. Cascade West Facebook: https://goo.gl/MCD2U1 Cascade West Website: https://goo.gl/XHm7Un These photos, like many of ours, were taken by the good people of ExposioHDR - Portland, Or Exposio Facebook: https://goo.gl/SpSvyo Exposio Website: https://goo.gl/Cbm8Ya

Mid-sized elegant red three-story brick flat roof photo in Chicago

Mary Powell Photography This is a Botox Renovations™ for Kitchens. We repainted all the cabinets, added a new chevron marble backsplash, new faucets, new hardware, new orange metal fretwork drum shade pendants, and created a dramatic faux painted copper and distressed blue hood as our focal point.

A traditional kitchen with touches of the farmhouse and Mediterranean styles. We used cool, light tones adding pops of color and warmth with natural wood.

This masculine and modern Onyx Nuvolato marble bar and feature wall is perfect for hosting everything from game-day events to large cocktail parties. The onyx countertops and feature wall are backlit with LED lights to create a warm glow throughout the room. The remnants from this project were fashioned to create a matching backlit fireplace. Open shelving provides storage and display, while a built in tap provides quick access and easy storage for larger bulk items.

Photo: Rikki Snyder © 2017 Houzz
Elegant dining room photo in New York

This home remodel is a celebration of curves and light. Starting from humble beginnings as a basic builder ranch style house, the design challenge was maximizing natural light throughout and providing the unique contemporary style the client’s craved. The Entry offers a spectacular first impression and sets the tone with a large skylight and an illuminated curved wall covered in a wavy pattern Porcelanosa tile. The chic entertaining kitchen was designed to celebrate a public lifestyle and plenty of entertaining. Celebrating height with a robust amount of interior architectural details, this dynamic kitchen still gives one that cozy feeling of home sweet home. The large “L” shaped island accommodates 7 for seating. Large pendants over the kitchen table and sink provide additional task lighting and whimsy. The Dekton “puzzle” countertop connection was designed to aid the transition between the two color countertops and is one of the homeowner’s favorite details. The built-in bistro table provides additional seating and flows easily into the Living Room. A curved wall in the Living Room showcases a contemporary linear fireplace and tv which is tucked away in a niche. Placing the fireplace and furniture arrangement at an angle allowed for more natural walkway areas that communicated with the exterior doors and the kitchen working areas. The dining room’s open plan is perfect for small groups and expands easily for larger events. Raising the ceiling created visual interest and bringing the pop of teal from the Kitchen cabinets ties the space together. A built-in buffet provides ample storage and display. The Sitting Room (also called the Piano room for its previous life as such) is adjacent to the Kitchen and allows for easy conversation between chef and guests. It captures the homeowner’s chic sense of style and joie de vivre.

Lori Dennis Interior Design SoCal Contractor Construction Erika Bierman Photography
Large tuscan home design photo in San Diego

THEME Inspired by the Magic Tree House series of children’s books, this indoor tree house provides entertainment, fun and a place for children to read about or imagine adventures through time. A blue sky, green meadows, and distant matching beech trees recreate the magic of Jack and Annie’s Frog Creek, and help bring the characters from the series to life. FOCUS A floor armoire, ceiling swing and climbing rope give the structure a true tree house look and feel. A drop-down drawing and writing table, wheeled work table and recessed ceiling lights ensure the room can be used for more than play. The tree house has electric interior lighting, a window to the outdoors and a playful sliding shutter over a window to the room. The armoire forms a raised, nine-foot-wide play area, while a TV within one of the wall’s floor-to-ceiling cabinets — with a delightful sliding ladder — transforms the room into a family theater perfect for watching movies and holding Wii competitions. STORAGE The bottom of the drawing table is a magnetic chalk board that doubles as a display for children’s art works. The tree’s small niches are for parents’ shoes; the larger compartment stores children’s shoes and school bags. Books, games, toys, DVDs, Wii and other computer accessories are stored in the wall cabinets. The armoire contains two spacious drawers and four nifty hinged storage bins. A rack of handy “vegetable buckets” above the armoire stores crayons, scissors and other useful items. GROWTH The room easily adapts from playroom, to party room, to study room and even to bedroom, as the tree house easily accommodates a twin-size mattress. SAFETY The rungs and rails of the ladder, as well as the grab bars beside the tree house door are wrapped with easy-grip rope for safe climbing. The drawing table has spring-loaded hinges to help prevent it from dropping dangerously from the wall, and the table door has double sets of locks up top to ensure safety. The interior of each storage compartment is carpeted like the tree house floor to provide extra padding.

Photo by Marion Brenner
This is an example of a traditional landscaping.

This home remodel is a celebration of curves and light. Starting from humble beginnings as a basic builder ranch style house, the design challenge was maximizing natural light throughout and providing the unique contemporary style the client’s craved. The Entry offers a spectacular first impression and sets the tone with a large skylight and an illuminated curved wall covered in a wavy pattern Porcelanosa tile. The chic entertaining kitchen was designed to celebrate a public lifestyle and plenty of entertaining. Celebrating height with a robust amount of interior architectural details, this dynamic kitchen still gives one that cozy feeling of home sweet home. The large “L” shaped island accommodates 7 for seating. Large pendants over the kitchen table and sink provide additional task lighting and whimsy. The Dekton “puzzle” countertop connection was designed to aid the transition between the two color countertops and is one of the homeowner’s favorite details. The built-in bistro table provides additional seating and flows easily into the Living Room. A curved wall in the Living Room showcases a contemporary linear fireplace and tv which is tucked away in a niche. Placing the fireplace and furniture arrangement at an angle allowed for more natural walkway areas that communicated with the exterior doors and the kitchen working areas. The dining room’s open plan is perfect for small groups and expands easily for larger events. Raising the ceiling created visual interest and bringing the pop of teal from the Kitchen cabinets ties the space together. A built-in buffet provides ample storage and display. The Sitting Room (also called the Piano room for its previous life as such) is adjacent to the Kitchen and allows for easy conversation between chef and guests. It captures the homeowner’s chic sense of style and joie de vivre.

Photo by Mike Buck
Example of a mountain style entryway design in Grand Rapids

Living room - contemporary living room idea in Ottawa

Bess Friday
Inspiration for a living room remodel in San Francisco

I designed the ADU to be tucked back as a vertical element to create a cozy space for the hot tub area and not take over the space vertically if it were in other spots. By having it off to the side, it grounds the garden and becomes a destination as well as recedes rather than dominate the space. It acts as an office space. Keep in mind that you can always do heated flooring if you do a concrete pad or tile as we planned for in this space. Energy efficient and also saves on space. Deck chairs can be brought closer to the hot tub at social events. Modern shed by Eric Enns of Modern Spaces and Sheds.

Home design - transitional home design idea in Chicago

This stylish, family friendly kitchen is also an entertainer’s dream! This young family desired a bright, spacious kitchen that would function just as well for the family of 4 everyday, as it would for hosting large events (in a non-covid world). Apart from these programmatic goals, our aesthetic goal was to accommodate all the function and mess into the design so everything would be neatly hidden away behind beautiful cabinetry and panels. The navy, bifold buffet area serves as an everyday breakfast and coffee bar, and transforms into a beautiful buffet spread during parties (we’ve been there!). The fridge drawers are great for housing milk and everyday items during the week, and both kid and adult beverages during parties while keeping the guests out of the main cooking zone. Just around the corner you’ll find the high gloss navy bar offering additional beverages, ice machine, and barware storage – cheers! Super durable quartz with a marbled look keeps the kitchen looking neat and bright, while withstanding everyday wear and tear without a problem. The practical waterfall ends at the island offer additional damage control in bringing that hard surface all the way down to the beautiful white oak floors. Underneath three large window walls, a built-in banquette and custom table provide a comfortable, intimate dining nook for the family and a few guests while the stunning chandelier ties in nicely with the other brass accents in the kitchen. The thin black window mullions offer a sharp, clean contrast to the crisp white walls and coordinate well with the dark banquette. Thin, tall windows on either side of the range beautifully frame the stunningly simple, double curvature custom hood, and large windows in the bar/butler’s pantry allow additional light to really flood the space and keep and airy feel. The textured wallpaper in the bar area adds a touch of warmth, drama and interest while still keeping things simple.

Craig Bergmann Landscape Design has an eye for detail. As a design firm with a high level of horticultural expertise, we choose the right plant for the right place, allowing your investment to thrive and flourish. Consider our services for the design, installation and care of your seasonal plantings, container gardens, and next special event. Photography by Linda Oyama Bryan