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

Inspiration for a timeless kitchen remodel in Austin

This second-story addition to an already 'picture perfect' Naples home presented many challenges. The main tension between adding the many 'must haves' the client wanted on their second floor, but at the same time not overwhelming the first floor. Working with David Benner of Safety Harbor Builders was key in the design and construction process – keeping the critical aesthetic elements in check. The owners were very 'detail oriented' and actively involved throughout the process. The result was adding 924 sq ft to the 1,600 sq ft home, with the addition of a large Bonus/Game Room, Guest Suite, 1-1/2 Baths and Laundry. But most importantly — the second floor is in complete harmony with the first, it looks as it was always meant to be that way. ©Energy Smart Home Plans, Safety Harbor Builders, Glenn Hettinger Photography

The comfortable elegance of this French-Country inspired home belies the challenges faced during its conception. The beautiful, wooded site was steeply sloped requiring study of the location, grading, approach, yard and views from and to the rolling Pennsylvania countryside. The client desired an old world look and feel, requiring a sensitive approach to the extensive program. Large, modern spaces could not add bulk to the interior or exterior. Furthermore, it was critical to balance voluminous spaces designed for entertainment with more intimate settings for daily living while maintaining harmonic flow throughout. The result home is wide, approached by a winding drive terminating at a prominent facade embracing the motor court. Stone walls feather grade to the front façade, beginning the masonry theme dressing the structure. A second theme of true Pennsylvania timber-framing is also introduced on the exterior and is subsequently revealed in the formal Great and Dining rooms. Timber-framing adds drama, scales down volume, and adds the warmth of natural hand-wrought materials. The Great Room is literal and figurative center of this master down home, separating casual living areas from the elaborate master suite. The lower level accommodates casual entertaining and an office suite with compelling views. The rear yard, cut from the hillside, is a composition of natural and architectural elements with timber framed porches and terraces accessed from nearly every interior space flowing to a hillside of boulders and waterfalls. The result is a naturally set, livable, truly harmonious, new home radiating old world elegance. This home is powered by a geothermal heating and cooling system and state of the art electronic controls and monitoring systems.

This property came with a house which proved ill-matched to our clients’ needs but which nestled neatly amid beautiful live oaks. In choosing to commission a new home, they asked that it also tuck under the limbs of the oaks and maintain a subdued presence to the street. Extraordinary efforts such as cantilevered floors and even bridging over critical root zones allow the design to be truly fitted to the site and to co-exist with the trees, the grandest of which is the focal point of the entry courtyard. Of equal importance to the trees and view was to provide, conversely, for walls to display 35 paintings and numerous books. From form to smallest detail, the house is quiet and subtle.

This home combines function, efficiency and style. The homeowners had a limited budget, so maximizing function while minimizing square footage was critical. We used a fully insulated slab on grade foundation of a conventionally framed air-tight building envelope that gives the house a good baseline for energy efficiency. High efficiency lighting, appliance and HVAC system, including a heat exchanger for fresh air, round out the energy saving measures. Rainwater was collected and retained on site. Working within an older traditional neighborhood has several advantages including close proximity to community amenities and a mature landscape. Our challenge was to create a design that sits well with the early 20th century homes in the area. The resulting solution has a fresh attitude that interprets and reflects the neighborhood’s character rather than mimicking it. Traditional forms and elements merged with a more modern approach. Photography by Todd Crawford

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

The client asked us to create a low maintenance, highly functional front entry to this beachfront retreat. As with most beach homes, guest parking is critical and creating an easy to navigate parking area is paramount to design success. We chose to maximize the front yard without turning it into a parking lot. Native crushed stone parking pads surrounded by sun loving, drought tolerant plants create exactly what the client was looking for.

The family purchased the 1950s ranch on Mullet Lake because their daughter dreamed of being married on its shores. The home would be used for the wedding venue and then as a wedding gift to the young couple. We were originally hired in August 2014 to help with a simple renovation of the home that was to be completed well in advance of the August 2015 wedding date. However, thorough investigation revealed significant issues with the original foundation, floor framing and other critical elements of the home’s structure that made that impossible. Based on this information, the family decided to tear down and build again. So now we were tasked with designing a new home that would embody their daughter’s vision of a storybook home – a vision inspired by another one of our projects that she had toured. To capture this aesthetic, traditional cottage materials such as stone and cedar shakes are accentuated by more materials such as reclaimed barn wood siding and corrugated CORTEN steel accent roofs. Inside, interior finishes include hand-hewn timber accents that frame openings and highlight features like the entrance reading nook. Natural materials shine against white walls and simply furnished rooms. While the house has nods to vintage style throughout, the open-plan kitchen and living area allows for both contemporary living and entertaining. We were able to capture their daughter’s vision and the home was completed on time for her big day. - Jacqueline Southby Photography

White Box – Kitchen and Living spaces We were asked by our client to remove two walls in order to open the small space that measures 17’ wide by 31’ long. Two simple ideas drove the design; Light and duality of space. Guided by both we started with what we believe is critical to every project – process of discovery. The proposed design uses white and dominating color for walls, cabinets and the built in bench. Light colored wood floor will add to the light appearance of space shell. As all dividing walls were removed, perimeter walls were charged with functions; linear kitchen, bench next to dining table, and pantry closet. Avoiding upper cabinets allow the design to be open and make use of the wall as a dynamic element –otherwise a monochromatic space. The newly created functional void connects both ends of space and creates what appears to be a larger and brighter spatial experience.

This property came with a house which proved ill-matched to our clients’ needs but which nestled neatly amid beautiful live oaks. In choosing to commission a new home, they asked that it also tuck under the limbs of the oaks and maintain a subdued presence to the street. Extraordinary efforts such as cantilevered floors and even bridging over critical root zones allow the design to be truly fitted to the site and to co-exist with the trees, the grandest of which is the focal point of the entry courtyard. Of equal importance to the trees and view was to provide, conversely, for walls to display 35 paintings and numerous books. From form to smallest detail, the house is quiet and subtle.

Alair Homes is committed to quality throughout every stage of the building process and in every detail of your new custom home or home renovation. We guarantee superior work because we perform quality assurance checks at every stage of the building process. Before anything is covered up – even before city building inspectors come to your home – we critically examine our work to ensure that it lives up to our extraordinarily high standards. We are proud of our extraordinary high building standards as well as our renowned customer service. Every Alair Homes custom home comes with a two year national home warranty as well as an Alair Homes guarantee and includes complimentary 3, 6 and 12 month inspections after completion. During our proprietary construction process every detail is accessible to Alair Homes clients online 24 hours a day to view project details, schedules, sub trade quotes, pricing in order to give Alair Homes clients 100% control over every single item regardless how small.

The family purchased the 1950s ranch on Mullet Lake because their daughter dreamed of being married on its shores. The home would be used for the wedding venue and then as a wedding gift to the young couple. We were originally hired in August 2014 to help with a simple renovation of the home that was to be completed well in advance of the August 2015 wedding date. However, thorough investigation revealed significant issues with the original foundation, floor framing and other critical elements of the home’s structure that made that impossible. Based on this information, the family decided to tear down and build again. So now we were tasked with designing a new home that would embody their daughter’s vision of a storybook home – a vision inspired by another one of our projects that she had toured. To capture this aesthetic, traditional cottage materials such as stone and cedar shakes are accentuated by more materials such as reclaimed barn wood siding and corrugated CORTEN steel accent roofs. Inside, interior finishes include hand-hewn timber accents that frame openings and highlight features like the entrance reading nook. Natural materials shine against white walls and simply furnished rooms. While the house has nods to vintage style throughout, the open-plan kitchen and living area allows for both contemporary living and entertaining. We were able to capture their daughter’s vision and the home was completed on time for her big day. - Jacqueline Southby Photography

Acucraft's Indoor/Outdoor See-Through Hearthroom Fireplace makes a great addition to this gorgeous home.
Example of a large classic backyard concrete paver patio design in Minneapolis with a fire pit and a roof extension

The family purchased the 1950s ranch on Mullet Lake because their daughter dreamed of being married on its shores. The home would be used for the wedding venue and then as a wedding gift to the young couple. We were originally hired in August 2014 to help with a simple renovation of the home that was to be completed well in advance of the August 2015 wedding date. However, thorough investigation revealed significant issues with the original foundation, floor framing and other critical elements of the home’s structure that made that impossible. Based on this information, the family decided to tear down and build again. So now we were tasked with designing a new home that would embody their daughter’s vision of a storybook home – a vision inspired by another one of our projects that she had toured. To capture this aesthetic, traditional cottage materials such as stone and cedar shakes are accentuated by more materials such as reclaimed barn wood siding and corrugated CORTEN steel accent roofs. Inside, interior finishes include hand-hewn timber accents that frame openings and highlight features like the entrance reading nook. Natural materials shine against white walls and simply furnished rooms. While the house has nods to vintage style throughout, the open-plan kitchen and living area allows for both contemporary living and entertaining. We were able to capture their daughter’s vision and the home was completed on time for her big day. - Jacqueline Southby Photography

In this 90's cape cod home, we used the space from an overly large bedroom, an oddly deep but narrow closet and the existing garden-tub focused master bath with two dormers, to create a master suite trio that was perfectly proportioned to the client's needs. They wanted a much larger closet but also wanted a large dual shower, and a better-proportioned tub. We stuck with pedestal sinks but upgraded them to large recessed medicine cabinets, vintage styled. And they loved the idea of a concrete floor and large stone walls with low maintenance. For the walls, we brought in a European product that is new for the U.S. - Porcelain Panels that are an eye-popping 5.5 ft. x 10.5 ft. We used a 2ft x 4ft concrete-look porcelain tile for the floor. This bathroom has a mix of low and high ceilings, but a functional arrangement instead of the dreaded “vault-for-no-purpose-bathroom”. We used 8.5 ft ceiling areas for both the shower and the vanity’s producing a symmetry about the toilet room door. The right runner-rug in the center of this bath (not shown yet unfortunately), completes the functional layout, and will look pretty good too. Of course, no design is close to finished without plenty of well thought out light. The bathroom uses all low-heat, high lumen, LED, 7” low profile surface mounting lighting (whoa that’s a mouthful- but, lighting is critical!). Two 7” LED fixtures light up the shower and the tub and we added two heat lamps for this open shower design. The shower also has a super-quiet moisture-exhaust fan. The customized (ikea) closet has the same lighting and the vanity space has both flanking and overhead LED lighting at 3500K temperature. Natural Light? Yes, and lot’s of it. On the second floor facing the woods, we added custom-sized operable casement windows in the shower, and custom antiqued expansive 4-lite doors on both the toilet room door and the main bath entry which is also a pocket door with a transom over it. We incorporated the trim style: fluted trims and door pediments, that was already throughout the home into these spaces, and we blended vintage and classic elements using modern proportions & patterns along with mix of metal finishes that were in tonal agreement with a simple color scheme. We added teak shower shelves and custom antiqued pine doors, adding these natural wood accents for that subtle warm contrast – and we presented! Oh btw – we also matched the expansive doors we put in the master bath, on the front entry door, and added some gas lanterns on either side. We also replaced all the carpet in the home and upgraded their stairs with metal balusters and new handrails and coloring. This client couple, they’re in love again!

The client asked us to create a low maintenance, highly functional front entry to this beachfront retreat. As with most beach homes, guest parking is critical and creating an easy to navigate parking area is paramount to design success. We chose to maximize the front yard without turning it into a parking lot. Native crushed stone parking pads surrounded by sun loving, drought tolerant plants create exactly what the client was looking for.

San Francisco, CA - This custom barn wood garage door was a unique design for this Luxury Bay Area home. Dynamic Garage Door was specifically commissioned to design, craft and install this modern garage door because of its unique design and complexity. Gorgeous horizontal reclaimed wood planking at 3" in width runs from side to side while the large glass panes are completely see-through inside-out fitted with dark gray glass framed in a silver colored frames. The unique design was the perfect complement for the luxuriously renovated residence in the Cow Hollow District of San Francisco's most affluent neighborhoods. Dynamic Garage Door specifically works on high-end homes for the simple fact that our design abilities and high quality garage doors surpass the market's norm yielding jaw-dropping projects that stun even the most discerning critics. Consult with one of our custom garage door designers today and let us reinvent an innovative garage door design that will make your neighbors green with envy! Garage Door Design Center for the San Francisco Bay Area: (855) 343-3667

Photo: Esther Herschcovic © 2016 Houzz
Trendy living room photo in Tel Aviv