This transitional kitchen design is as elegant as it is functional. Built in 1999, this kitchen has remained nearly untouched. With the need for a more functional space and storage, our team was able to completely rethink this kitchen design within its original footprint. Here we addressed a load bearing wall, allowing for an expansion of usable space and opened up the living area to feel more warm and inviting. By far this kitchen’s most notable feature is the custom cabinetry which creates an efficient and effective use of space.

This transitional kitchen design is as elegant as it is functional. Built in 1999, this kitchen has remained nearly untouched. With the need for a more functional space and storage, our team was able to completely rethink this kitchen design within its original footprint. Here we addressed a load bearing wall, allowing for an expansion of usable space and opened up the living area to feel more warm and inviting. By far this kitchen’s most notable feature is the custom cabinetry which creates an efficient and effective use of space.

This transitional kitchen design is as elegant as it is functional. Built in 1999, this kitchen has remained nearly untouched. With the need for a more functional space and storage, our team was able to completely rethink this kitchen design within its original footprint. Here we addressed a load bearing wall, allowing for an expansion of usable space and opened up the living area to feel more warm and inviting. By far this kitchen’s most notable feature is the custom cabinetry which creates an efficient and effective use of space.

This transitional kitchen design is as elegant as it is functional. Built in 1999, this kitchen has remained nearly untouched. With the need for a more functional space and storage, our team was able to completely rethink this kitchen design within its original footprint. Here we addressed a load bearing wall, allowing for an expansion of usable space and opened up the living area to feel more warm and inviting. By far this kitchen’s most notable feature is the custom cabinetry which creates an efficient and effective use of space.

This transitional kitchen design is as elegant as it is functional. Built in 1999, this kitchen has remained nearly untouched. With the need for a more functional space and storage, our team was able to completely rethink this kitchen design within its original footprint. Here we addressed a load bearing wall, allowing for an expansion of usable space and opened up the living area to feel more warm and inviting. By far this kitchen’s most notable feature is the custom cabinetry which creates an efficient and effective use of space.

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

Inspiration for a contemporary home gym remodel in Santa Barbara

I built this on my property for my aging father who has some health issues. Handicap accessibility was a factor in design. His dream has always been to try retire to a cabin in the woods. This is what he got. It is a 1 bedroom, 1 bath with a great room. It is 600 sqft of AC space. The footprint is 40' x 26' overall. The site was the former home of our pig pen. I only had to take 1 tree to make this work and I planted 3 in its place. The axis is set from root ball to root ball. The rear center is aligned with mean sunset and is visible across a wetland. The goal was to make the home feel like it was floating in the palms. The geometry had to simple and I didn't want it feeling heavy on the land so I cantilevered the structure beyond exposed foundation walls. My barn is nearby and it features old 1950's "S" corrugated metal panel walls. I used the same panel profile for my siding. I ran it vertical to math the barn, but also to balance the length of the structure and stretch the high point into the canopy, visually. The wood is all Southern Yellow Pine. This material came from clearing at the Babcock Ranch Development site. I ran it through the structure, end to end and horizontally, to create a seamless feel and to stretch the space. It worked. It feels MUCH bigger than it is. I milled the material to specific sizes in specific areas to create precise alignments. Floor starters align with base. Wall tops adjoin ceiling starters to create the illusion of a seamless board. All light fixtures, HVAC supports, cabinets, switches, outlets, are set specifically to wood joints. The front and rear porch wood has three different milling profiles so the hypotenuse on the ceilings, align with the walls, and yield an aligned deck board below. Yes, I over did it. It is spectacular in its detailing. That's the benefit of small spaces. Concrete counters and IKEA cabinets round out the conversation. For those who could not live in a tiny house, I offer the Tiny-ish House. Photos by Ryan Gamma Staging by iStage Homes Design assistance by Jimmy Thornton

Thoughtful design addressed the privacy, light control and aesthetic needs of this custom Eastern Shore home designed by a local Annapolis architect. With all windows of the home facing either water or expansive fields, we preserved the view with functional panels. They offer an unobstructed panorama during the daytime, but can easily be pulled closed for a room-darkening effect in the bedroom and theater room. In the open kitchen, a custom, upholstered banquette outlines a round dining and gathering space for family and guests. Throughout the home, a neutral color palette provides balance to the accent tiling and the deep browns of the high ceiling’s wooden beams.

Thoughtful design addressed the privacy, light control and aesthetic needs of this custom Eastern Shore home designed by a local Annapolis architect. With all windows of the home facing either water or expansive fields, we preserved the view with functional panels. They offer an unobstructed panorama during the daytime, but can easily be pulled closed for a room-darkening effect in the bedroom and theater room. In the open kitchen, a custom, upholstered banquette outlines a round dining and gathering space for family and guests. Throughout the home, a neutral color palette provides balance to the accent tiling and the deep browns of the high ceiling’s wooden beams.

Thoughtful design addressed the privacy, light control and aesthetic needs of this custom Eastern Shore home designed by a local Annapolis architect. With all windows of the home facing either water or expansive fields, we preserved the view with functional panels. They offer an unobstructed panorama during the daytime, but can easily be pulled closed for a room-darkening effect in the bedroom and theater room. In the open kitchen, a custom, upholstered banquette outlines a round dining and gathering space for family and guests. Throughout the home, a neutral color palette provides balance to the accent tiling and the deep browns of the high ceiling’s wooden beams.

Thoughtful design addressed the privacy, light control and aesthetic needs of this custom Eastern Shore home designed by a local Annapolis architect. With all windows of the home facing either water or expansive fields, we preserved the view with functional panels. They offer an unobstructed panorama during the daytime, but can easily be pulled closed for a room-darkening effect in the bedroom and theater room. In the open kitchen, a custom, upholstered banquette outlines a round dining and gathering space for family and guests. Throughout the home, a neutral color palette provides balance to the accent tiling and the deep browns of the high ceiling’s wooden beams.

Exterior refresh in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood.
Large arts and crafts blue two-story concrete fiberboard house exterior photo in San Francisco

A poorly operating bathroom was creating a negative effect on how it was functioning for Tyrone and Veronica. This 120-square-foot bathroom in Atlanta, GA had problems which needed to be addressed. A leaking, moldy shower stall and a large unused jacuzzi tub were the impetus for this bathroom renovation. The lack of storage in the long narrow double vanity with oversized frameless mirror created yet another problem. Our immediate attention focused on replacing the large double window above the jacuzzi tub with a long narrow 6-foot window. Because the jacuzzi tub was rarely used my clients wanted to remove it; instead, they wanted a 9-foot his and hers double shower. We decided to modify the vanity with a custom-built double vanity with an attached tall linen closet. The linen closet inside the bathroom was then turned it into a shoe closet. There is a lack of storage space in the owner’s suite closet, so we decided to convert the linen closet into a shoe closet.

We used: Custom cherry cabinetry in Arts & Crafts Shaker style by Kabinart in Boulder and Espresso stains. Liberty Hardware Venetian bronze 1-1/2" cabinet knobs. KitchenAid Architect II Series 22 CF counter-depth French door refrigerator. KitchenAid Architect Series II 27" convection single wall oven. KitchenAid 36" 6-burner dual fuel freestanding commercial-style range. KitchenAid Architect II Series 24" dishwasher. Sharp Insight Pro Series 24" built-in microwave drawer (Model #KB6524PS). Crystorama Solaris 12" wide pendant lights in English bronze. Granite countertops in Brown Fantasy. 3"x6" polished marble backsplash. Paint colors: Walls: Glidden Silver Cloud 30YY 63/024 Ceilings/Trims/Doors: Glidden Swan White GLC23 Robert B. Narod Photography

Addition off the side of a typical mid-century post-WWII colonial, including master suite with master bath expansion, first floor family room addition, a complete basement remodel with the addition of new bedroom suite for an AuPair. The clients realized it was more cost effective to do an addition over paying for outside child care for their growing family. Additionally, we helped the clients address some serious drainage issues that were causing settling issues in the home.

Addition off the side of a typical mid-century post-WWII colonial, including master suite with master bath expansion, first floor family room addition, a complete basement remodel with the addition of new bedroom suite for an AuPair. The clients realized it was more cost effective to do an addition over paying for outside child care for their growing family. Additionally, we helped the clients address some serious drainage issues that were causing settling issues in the home.

Addition off the side of a typical mid-century post-WWII colonial, including master suite with master bath expansion, first floor family room addition, a complete basement remodel with the addition of new bedroom suite for an AuPair. The clients realized it was more cost effective to do an addition over paying for outside child care for their growing family. Additionally, we helped the clients address some serious drainage issues that were causing settling issues in the home.

Addition off the side of a typical mid-century post-WWII colonial, including master suite with master bath expansion, first floor family room addition, a complete basement remodel with the addition of new bedroom suite for an AuPair. The clients realized it was more cost effective to do an addition over paying for outside child care for their growing family. Additionally, we helped the clients address some serious drainage issues that were causing settling issues in the home.