We began with a structurally sound 1950’s home. The owners sought to capture views of mountains and lake with a new second story, along with a complete rethinking of the plan. Basement walls and three fireplaces were saved, along with the main floor deck. The new second story provides a master suite, and professional home office for him. A small office for her is on the main floor, near three children’s bedrooms. The oldest daughter is in college; her room also functions as a guest bedroom. A second guest room, plus another bath, is in the lower level, along with a media/playroom and an exercise room. The original carport is down there, too, and just inside there is room for the family to remove shoes, hang up coats, and drop their stuff. The focal point of the home is the flowing living/dining/family/kitchen/terrace area. The living room may be separated via a large rolling door. Pocketing, sliding glass doors open the family and dining area to the terrace, with the original outdoor fireplace/barbeque. When slid into adjacent wall pockets, the combined opening is 28 feet wide.

Zen bedroom photo in Los Angeles with blue walls

Dumbwaiter located in hallway of craftsman house. Goes to 3 stories from basement to 2nd floor.
Inspiration for a craftsman staircase remodel in Seattle

Kitchen - traditional dark wood floor kitchen idea in Detroit with recessed-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, green backsplash, a single-bowl sink, granite countertops, porcelain backsplash and stainless steel appliances

TEAM Architect: LDa Architecture & Interiors Builder: 41 Degrees North Construction, Inc. Landscape Architect: Wild Violets (Landscape and Garden Design on Martha's Vineyard) Photographer: Sean Litchfield Photography

Jack Michaud Photography
Greenhouse - contemporary detached greenhouse idea in Portland Maine

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

The Port Ludlow Residence is a compact, 2400 SF modern house located on a wooded waterfront property at the north end of the Hood Canal, a long, fjord-like arm of western Puget Sound. The house creates a simple glazed living space that opens up to become a front porch to the beautiful Hood Canal. The east-facing house is sited along a high bank, with a wonderful view of the water. The main living volume is completely glazed, with 12-ft. high glass walls facing the view and large, 8-ft.x8-ft. sliding glass doors that open to a slightly raised wood deck, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor space. During the warm summer months, the living area feels like a large, open porch. Anchoring the north end of the living space is a two-story building volume containing several bedrooms and separate his/her office spaces. The interior finishes are simple and elegant, with IPE wood flooring, zebrawood cabinet doors with mahogany end panels, quartz and limestone countertops, and Douglas Fir trim and doors. Exterior materials are completely maintenance-free: metal siding and aluminum windows and doors. The metal siding has an alternating pattern using two different siding profiles. The house has a number of sustainable or “green” building features, including 2x8 construction (40% greater insulation value); generous glass areas to provide natural lighting and ventilation; large overhangs for sun and rain protection; metal siding (recycled steel) for maximum durability, and a heat pump mechanical system for maximum energy efficiency. Sustainable interior finish materials include wood cabinets, linoleum floors, low-VOC paints, and natural wool carpet.

Mid-Century update to a home located in NW Portland. The project included a new kitchen with skylights, multi-slide wall doors on both sides of the home, kitchen gathering desk, children's playroom, and opening up living room and dining room ceiling to dramatic vaulted ceilings. The project team included Risa Boyer Architecture. Photos: Josh Partee

Cati Teague Photography
Inspiration for a mid-sized eclectic built-in desk medium tone wood floor and brown floor study room remodel in Atlanta with blue walls

Photo: Jason Snyder © 2014 Houzz Design: Luca Construction and Design
Trendy living room photo in Other

© 2017 Kim Smith Photo Home by Timberbuilt. Please address design questions to the builder.
Inspiration for a rustic green two-story exterior home remodel in Atlanta with a shingle roof

Example of a classic dark wood floor eat-in kitchen design in Minneapolis with stainless steel appliances, marble countertops, white cabinets, gray backsplash, stone tile backsplash, an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets and white countertops

design by Pulp Design Studios | http://pulpdesignstudios.com/ photo by Kevin Dotolo | http://kevindotolo.com/

Example of a large transitional u-shaped medium tone wood floor and brown floor kitchen design in San Francisco with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, brick backsplash, stainless steel appliances, white countertops, gray cabinets and an island

Dining room - cottage medium tone wood floor dining room idea in New York with white walls and no fireplace

Kitchen - huge cottage kitchen idea in Boston with stainless steel appliances

Example of a huge cottage light wood floor bedroom design in Boston

Photography, Sam Oberter
Trendy open concept light wood floor living room photo in Philadelphia with white walls, a standard fireplace, a plaster fireplace and a concealed tv