Inspiration for a mid-sized timeless enclosed family room remodel in Boston

A micro-addition and new layout turns 1980’s cramped kitchen into bright, light-filled collaborative kitchen space. The cramped, isolated kitchen in this 1980’s era home did not fit our clients’ lifestyle nor take advantage of the beautiful views of the nearby pond and woods. They longed for a functional yet fabulous space to support collaborative cooking and family gatherings. A micro-addition facilitated a new layout that both opened to and enlivened their existing living and dining spaces. A bold tri-color palette along with pro-level appliances and impeccable finish detailing gives them everything they desired and more.

Andrea Pesce
Home design - transitional home design idea in Atlanta

This room is the perfect space for gatherings. Inspired by the discovery of the New World. This homage to the Spanish Conquistadors sets the tone for gatherings, special events, study hall, working space and enjoy the games in the television at the bar area. The bathrooms were framed with images of the royalty. Once you open the door you are in for a big surprise...

Our customer, in Newtown, PA, just removed all of the wall-paper left from the prior owner of their home, repainted the walls in Aqua-tint colors; removed all of the wall-to-wall carpeting in the first floor; installed custom hardwood flooring; selected a Henkel-Harris dining room suite from Stenella Antiques in Perkasie, PA; and decided that the next step in redecorating their Williamsburg style home was selection of fine hand-knotted oriental rugs for the living room and dining room. The rugs now provide the color palette for upholstery and window-treatment fabric choices. Having ruled out machine-made or tufted rugs for their premium makeover, they selected two finely detailed hand-knotted reproduction Persian Ferrahan design rugs made in India that complement one another across the entry hall by reversing the respective background and border colors. While much had been accomplished in the home prior to Brandon Oriental Rugs being invited to assist in the project, with the selection of their fine quality rugs the homeowners are well on their way to realization of their dream home.

Took out an old wood finish kitchen and added in this new sleek clean white kitchen with a complementary grey island. Shaker inspired door style, brushed nickel hardware, 2″ thick Quartz counters and a beautifully designed island for family events or a simple breakfast in the morning. This kitchen filled in a entry way into the dinning room but it was totally worth the extra space. Storage with a floor to ceiling pantry, drawer pullouts and epic corner cabinet pullouts makes this kitchen ready for any event. But really, let’s all just appreciate how that floor balances this whole space. All of the yes. Photographer Melissa Margaret Designer Melissa Margaret Contractor Robert Cripps Construction Milwork Rocpal

Our customer, in Newtown, PA, just removed all of the wall-paper left from the prior owner of their home, repainted the walls in Aqua-tint colors; removed all of the wall-to-wall carpeting in the first floor; installed custom hardwood flooring; selected a Henkel-Harris dining room suite from Stenella Antiques in Perkasie, PA; and decided that the next step in redecorating their Williamsburg style home was selection of fine hand-knotted oriental rugs for the living room and dining room. The rugs now provide the color palette for upholstery and window-treatment fabric choices. Having ruled out machine-made or tufted rugs for their premium makeover, they selected two finely detailed hand-knotted reproduction Persian Ferrahan design rugs made in India that complement one another across the entry hall by reversing the respective background and border colors. While much had been accomplished in the home prior to Brandon Oriental Rugs being invited to assist in the project, with the selection of their fine quality rugs the homeowners are well on their way to realization of their dream home.

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

Porches and view decks remodeled. Previous guard rails blocked the view, but new guard rails were stepped down so that view from top of deck is unobstructed. Steps act as seats for bigger events. Roof canopy in the foreground was existing, but new finishes were applied. Composite decking and cable rails are new. Columns are clad in slate at owner's request. Construction by CG&S Design-Build Photography by Stephen Knetig

Took out an old wood finish kitchen and added in this new sleek clean white kitchen with a complementary grey island. Shaker inspired door style, brushed nickel hardware, 2″ thick Quartz counters and a beautifully designed island for family events or a simple breakfast in the morning. This kitchen filled in a entry way into the dinning room but it was totally worth the extra space. Storage with a floor to ceiling pantry, drawer pullouts and epic corner cabinet pullouts makes this kitchen ready for any event. But really, let’s all just appreciate how that floor balances this whole space. All of the yes. Photographer Melissa Margaret Designer Melissa Margaret Contractor Robert Cripps Construction Milwork Rocpal

Took out an old wood finish kitchen and added in this new sleek clean white kitchen with a complementary grey island. Shaker inspired door style, brushed nickel hardware, 2″ thick Quartz counters and a beautifully designed island for family events or a simple breakfast in the morning. This kitchen filled in a entry way into the dinning room but it was totally worth the extra space. Storage with a floor to ceiling pantry, drawer pullouts and epic corner cabinet pullouts makes this kitchen ready for any event. But really, let’s all just appreciate how that floor balances this whole space. All of the yes. Photographer Melissa Margaret Designer Melissa Margaret Contractor Robert Cripps Construction Milwork Rocpal

Our customer, in Newtown, PA, just removed all of the wall-paper left from the prior owner of their home, repainted the walls in Aqua-tint colors; removed all of the wall-to-wall carpeting in the first floor; installed custom hardwood flooring; selected a Henkel-Harris dining room suite from Stenella Antiques in Perkasie, PA; and decided that the next step in redecorating their Williamsburg style home was selection of fine hand-knotted oriental rugs for the living room and dining room. The rugs now provide the color palette for upholstery and window-treatment fabric choices. Having ruled out machine-made or tufted rugs for their premium makeover, they selected two finely detailed hand-knotted reproduction Persian Ferrahan design rugs made in India that complement one another across the entry hall by reversing the respective background and border colors. While much had been accomplished in the home prior to Brandon Oriental Rugs being invited to assist in the project, with the selection of their fine quality rugs the homeowners are well on their way to realization of their dream home.

Custom inset cabinetry with a creative design to promote form and function. OnSite Studio-Jay Groccia
Transitional u-shaped medium tone wood floor kitchen photo in Boston with shaker cabinets, blue cabinets, white backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Urn and fountain Features for your Austin, Central Texas, Houston, Southeast Texas Landscape We offer Urn and Fountain Water Feature Design and Installation in the Austin and Central Texas area including Bastrop, Elgin, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Manor, Buda, Lakeway and San Marcos. We also serve the Houston and Southeast Texas area including Rosenberg, Richmond, Katy, Stafford, Missouri City, and Manvel. Urn and fountain Water Features are perfect for smaller areas or places where you're just not looking for a natural looking waterfall. A disappearing water feature can be created using almost any vessel you can imagine. These features are perfect for small courtyards, front yards, or commercial properties where liability is a concern. They are a great way to 'get your feet wet' with water features without the commitment of a pond. We have created fountainscapes using urns, ceramic vases, natural stone columns, even a concrete cowboy boot! The water fills up the vessel and then spills over, disppearing into a bed of decorative gravel. the water is then recirculated through the feature again and again. For more information on urn and fountainscapes, please visit As an added bonus for those of you looking to go in a more 'green' direction, most pondless water features can be used in conjunction with the RainXChange rainwater caturing system. In fact, you can get up to 12 LEED points by incorporating our system into your design. The RainXChange system captures rainwater and stores it underground in a hidden reservior while recirculating it through an urn or fountain feature or even a pondless waterfall. For more information on the RainXChange system, please visit Contact us to get started on your urn or fountain water feature 512-782-8315 or 281-668-4077

Took out an old wood finish kitchen and added in this new sleek clean white kitchen with a complementary grey island. Shaker inspired door style, brushed nickel hardware, 2″ thick Quartz counters and a beautifully designed island for family events or a simple breakfast in the morning. This kitchen filled in a entry way into the dinning room but it was totally worth the extra space. Storage with a floor to ceiling pantry, drawer pullouts and epic corner cabinet pullouts makes this kitchen ready for any event. But really, let’s all just appreciate how that floor balances this whole space. All of the yes. Photographer Melissa Margaret Designer Melissa Margaret Contractor Robert Cripps Construction Milwork Rocpal

The entry is now opened after removing the extra closet, removing walls, and building cantilevered shelving. The linear lines of the front windows match the lines of the mantle and shelving. The living room is no longer boxed in and now provides a warm and comforting area for the family to watch TV. A quartersawn cherry mantle was built to reflect the soft wood tones in this living room space. The fireplace doors were updated in a nickel finish. LED up lighting can change by remote control based on the homeowner's mood or teams color during a sporting event.

Photo: Elaine Musiwa © 2015 Houzz
Eclectic living room photo in New York

Took out an old wood finish kitchen and added in this new sleek clean white kitchen with a complementary grey island. Shaker inspired door style, brushed nickel hardware, 2″ thick Quartz counters and a beautifully designed island for family events or a simple breakfast in the morning. This kitchen filled in a entry way into the dinning room but it was totally worth the extra space. Storage with a floor to ceiling pantry, drawer pullouts and epic corner cabinet pullouts makes this kitchen ready for any event. But really, let’s all just appreciate how that floor balances this whole space. All of the yes. Photographer Melissa Margaret Designer Melissa Margaret Contractor Robert Cripps Construction Milwork Rocpal

Example of a mid-sized trendy master white tile and cement tile freestanding bathtub design in Melbourne with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, a wall-mount toilet, a vessel sink and quartz countertops