a large happy room, shared by two girls, ages five and seven. The room is painted in Benjamin Moore Lavender Mist. The beds, rug and nightstands are from Land Of Nod. and the artwork was made by the girls themselves.

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

Charles Hilton Architects & Renee Byers LAPC From grand estates, to exquisite country homes, to whole house renovations, the quality and attention to detail of a "Significant Homes" custom home is immediately apparent. Full time on-site supervision, a dedicated office staff and hand picked professional craftsmen are the team that take you from groundbreaking to occupancy. Every "Significant Homes" project represents 45 years of luxury homebuilding experience, and a commitment to quality widely recognized by architects, the press and, most of all....thoroughly satisfied homeowners. Our projects have been published in Architectural Digest 6 times along with many other publications and books. Though the lion share of our work has been in Fairfield and Westchester counties, we have built homes in Palm Beach, Aspen, Maine, Nantucket and Long Island.

Our dark Star and Cross floor tile gives this Southwestern-inspired living room a Moroccan flare. DESIGN Sara Combs + Rich Combs PHOTOS Margaret Austin Photography, Sara Combs + Rich Combs Tile Shown: Star and Cross in Antique

Constructed from solid Teak and Wenge. This stunning platform bed features an imported petrified wood tile inlay, aluminum sub-frame and steel struts to support it’s uniquely designed foot board with functional bench/bookshelf design. Furniture Design: Phi Home Designs Sarah Szwajkos Photography

In the shared kids’ bedroom, colorful accents from IKEA and Serena & Lily add a touch of whimsey. Framed Hermès scarves above the children’s beds double as graphic artwork.

Lose the clunky under-the-bed storage containers and replace them with this clever and convenient alternative. With eight large rolling drawers, the Storage Platform is sure to give your closet or dresser some breathing room. Pair it with the LAXseries Storage Headboard for the ultimate storage combination.

Matthew Niemann Photography
Example of a transitional u-shaped light wood floor and beige floor kitchen design in Austin with a farmhouse sink, raised-panel cabinets, gray backsplash, paneled appliances, an island, white countertops, quartz countertops, white cabinets and stone tile backsplash

Bring texture to your living room without overwhelming the eye by using our Star and Cross tile in a neutral tone on the floor. PHOTOS Margaret Austin Photography, Sara Combs + Rich Combs Tile Shown: Star and Cross in Ivory

Carriage House loft bedroom shares space directly with open bathroom with barn door separation from loft kitchen/living space - Interior Architecture: HAUS | Architecture + BRUSFO - Construction Management: WERK | Build - Photo: HAUS | Architecture

This modern beach house in Jacksonville Beach features a large, open entertainment area consisting of great room, kitchen, dining area and lanai. A unique second-story bridge over looks both foyer and great room. Polished concrete floors and horizontal aluminum stair railing bring a contemporary feel. The kitchen shines with European-style cabinetry and GE Profile appliances. The private upstairs master suite is situated away from other bedrooms and features a luxury master shower and floating double vanity. Two roomy secondary bedrooms share an additional bath. Photo credit: Deremer Studios

Kids' room - contemporary girl medium tone wood floor kids' room idea in Jackson with multicolored walls

Cozy platform bed with light wood accents
Inspiration for a mid-sized scandinavian master dark wood floor bedroom remodel in Dallas with no fireplace and white walls

This kitchen overhaul created a bright functional space for the family to gather, prepare and share meals. Crisp white finishes amplify the abundant natural light, while walnut and brass accents lend depth, texture and a subtle glisten. A similar palette is pulled through to the powder bathroom with the addition of a watery blue backsplash and geometric floor tiles. In keeping with the rest of the home, the girls’ bath is also clean and bright. To echo the spirit of the two young sisters that share the space we incorporated a few playful, feminine elements. Interior Design: Casework Photography: Jenny Trygg General Contractor: Raven Builders Architecture: Studio Coop Custom Millwork: Maple Key LLC Press: Schoolhouse Powder Bath tile selected by Hether Dunn Design

We’ve come across this particularly where twin’s share a room, and the immediate question is: should we double up on everything or give them their own unique items? Well, the answer (for once) is you can do both! Take a minute to think what characteristics each child displays and slot in favorite colors, tendencies toward frills or no-frills, introvert, extrovert, tomboy, girlie and combine with any functional needs you’ll need to accommodate. Dream up the style you’d like to portray the space in, and then divide and conquer with variations in PALETTE.

This kitchen's Large Star & Cross backsplash in White Wash stuns with its beautiful counter-to-ceiling installation. Design: Archetype Photo: Ellis Creek Photography

The platform bed sits directly on the floor with the platform edge extending slightly beyond the frame. The headboard highlights the dark and light wood grain that is unique to Solid Wood. The bedroom set also includes two end table mini cabinets with an open bottom shelf and a handy top drawer. The sleek nightstands are perched on an interior base. The top is flush to frame. Special Features: • Hand rubbed stain and finish • Solid Wood back on end tables • Textured iron knob on drawers Dimension Full: Mattress Dimensions: 54" W X 75" L Overall: 70" W X 86" L X 44" H Headboard: 44" High X 3" Thick Footboard: 12" High X 3" Thick Queen: Mattress Dimensions: 60" W X 80" L Overall: 76" W X 91" L X 44" H Headboard: 44" High X 3" Thick Footboard: 12" High X 3" Thick King: Mattress Dimensions: 76" W X 80" L Overall: 92" W X 91" L X 44" H Headboard: 44" High X 3" Thick Footboard: 12" High X 3" Thick California King: Mattress Dimensions: 72" W X 84" L Overall: 88" W X 95" L X 44" H Headboard: 44" High X 3" Thick Footboard: 12" High X 3" Thick Nightstands (Set of 2): 22" L X 18" D X 24" H

Tucked neatly into an existing bay of the barn, the open kitchen is a comfortable hub of the home. Rather than create a solid division between the kitchen and the children's TV area, Franklin finished only the lower portion of the post-and-beam supports. The ladder is one of the original features of the barn that Franklin could not imagine ever removing. Cleverly integrated into the support post, its original function allowed workers to climb above large haystacks and pick and toss hay down a chute to the feeding area below. Franklin's children, 10 and 14, also enjoy this aspect of their home. "The kids and their friends run, slide, climb up the ladder and have a ton of fun," he explains, "It’s a barn! It is a place to share with friends and family." Adrienne DeRosa Photography

This image features the bathroom's very elegant Victoria & Albert slipper tub. Centrally located under the windows, this tub is ideal for unwinding after along day and complimented by a period style wall mount chrome tub fill and hand spray. The floor shown is a natural clefted slate with radiant heating.