Trendy l-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen photo in Minneapolis with a farmhouse sink, open cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Powder room - mid-sized transitional white floor powder room idea in Charlotte with beaded inset cabinets, black cabinets, white countertops, multicolored walls and marble countertops

This stunning kitchen design has a large island, gorgeous glass pendants, beautiful hardwood floors, a white painted brick wall backsplash, and blue kitchen cabinetry.

Foyer - huge transitional porcelain tile foyer idea in Detroit with white walls

Jim Bartsch
Example of a trendy l-shaped dark wood floor open concept kitchen design in San Francisco with flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, gray backsplash, stainless steel appliances and white walls

This modern green home offers both a vacation destination on Cape Cod near local family members and an opportunity for rental income. FAMILY ROOTS. A West Coast couple living in the San Francisco Bay Area sought a permanent East Coast vacation home near family members living on Cape Cod. As academic professionals focused on sustainability, they sought a green, energy efficient home that was well-aligned with their values. With no green homes available for sale on Cape Cod, they decided to purchase land near their family and build their own. SLOPED SITE. Comprised of a 3/4 acre lot nestled in the pines, the steeply sloping terrain called for a plan that embraced and took advantage of the slope. Of equal priority was optimizing solar exposure, preserving privacy from abutters, and creating outdoor living space. The design accomplished these goals with a simple, rectilinear form, offering living space on the both entry and lower/basement levels. The stepped foundation allows for a walk-out basement level with light-filled living space on the down-hill side of the home. The traditional basement on the eastern, up-hill side houses mechanical equipment and a home gym. The house welcomes natural light throughout, captures views of the forest, and delivers entertainment space that connects indoor living space to outdoor deck and dining patio. MODERN VISION. The clean building form and uncomplicated finishes pay homage to the modern architectural legacy on the outer Cape. Durable and economical fiber cement panels, fixed with aluminum channels, clad the primary form. Cedar clapboards provide a visual accent at the south-facing living room, which extends a single roof plane to cover the entry porch. SMART USE OF SPACE. On the entry level, the “L”-shaped living, dining, and kitchen space connects to the exterior living, dining, and grilling spaces to effectively double the home’s summertime entertainment area. Placed at the western end of the entry level (where it can retain privacy but still claim expansive downhill views) is the master suite with a built-in study. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a second full bathroom, and laundry. The flexibility of the space—crucial in a house with a modest footprint—emerges in one of the guest bedrooms, which doubles as home office by opening the barn-style double doors to connect it to the bright, airy open stair leading up to the entry level. Thoughtful design, generous ceiling heights and large windows transform the modest 1,100 sf* footprint into a well-lit, spacious home. *(total finished space is 1800 sf) RENTAL INCOME. The property works for its owners by netting rental income when the owners are home in San Francisco. The house especially caters to vacationers bound for nearby Mayo Beach and includes an outdoor shower adjacent to the lower level entry door. In contrast to the bare bones cottages that are typically available on the Cape, this home offers prospective tenants a modern aesthetic, paired with luxurious and green features. Durable finishes inside and out will ensure longevity with the heavier use that comes with a rental property. COMFORT YEAR-ROUND. The home is super-insulated and air-tight, with mechanical ventilation to provide continuous fresh air from the outside. High performance triple-paned windows complement the building enclosure and maximize passive solar gain while ensuring a warm, draft-free winter, even when sitting close to the glass. A properly sized air source heat pump offers efficient heating & cooling, and includes a carefully designed the duct distribution system to provide even comfort throughout the house. The super-insulated envelope allows us to significantly reduce the equipment capacity, duct size, and airflow quantities, while maintaining unparalleled thermal comfort. ENERGY EFFICIENT. The building’s shell and mechanical systems play instrumental roles in the home’s exceptional performance. The building enclosure reduces the most significant energy glutton: heating. Continuous super-insulation, thorough air sealing, triple-pane windows, and passive solar gain work together to yield a miniscule heating load. All active energy consumers are extremely efficient: an air source heat pump for heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation (ERV), and high efficiency appliances. The result is a home that uses 70% less energy than a similar new home built to code requirements. OVERALL. The home embodies the owners’ goals and values while comprehensively enabling thermal comfort, energy efficiency, a vacation respite, and supplementary income. PROJECT TEAM ZeroEnergy Design - Architect & Mechanical Designer A.F. Hultin & Co. - Contractor Pamet Valley Landscape Design - Landscape & Masonry Lisa Finch - Original Artwork European Architectural Supply - Windows Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Inspiration for a transitional dark wood floor kitchen remodel in Atlanta with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets and two islands

A full, custom kitchen remodel turned a once-dated and awkward layout into a spacious modern farmhouse kitchen with crisp black and white contrast, double islands, a walk-in pantry and ample storage.

Custom Breakfast Table, chairs, built-in bench. Saw-tooth Adjustable display shelves. Photo by Laura Moss
Kitchen/dining room combo - mid-sized farmhouse black floor and limestone floor kitchen/dining room combo idea in New York with recessed-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, marble countertops, no island and beige walls

White square subway tile and Antique hexagon floor, this craftsmen kitchen spotlights the perfect balance of shape and pattern. Tile Shown: 4x4 in Calcite; 8" Hexagon in Antique

Built-to-suit chef kitchen design with soft grey shaker cabinets, white quartz peninsula counter, brass faucet, and zellige tile backsplash at 5601 14th Ave S, Minneapolis MN

Inspiration for a mid-sized eclectic l-shaped dark wood floor and brown floor kitchen remodel with an island, an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and white countertops

Inspiration for a large timeless u-shaped dark wood floor and brown floor open concept kitchen remodel in Minneapolis with an island, an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, granite countertops, brown backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Catholic Church, Valley Center, California

The owners, inspired by mid-century modern architecture, hired Klopf Architecture to design an Eichler-inspired 21st-Century, energy efficient new home that would replace a dilapidated 1940s home. The home follows the gentle slope of the hillside while the overarching post-and-beam roof above provides an unchanging datum line. The changing moods of nature animate the house because of views through large glass walls at nearly every vantage point. Every square foot of the house remains close to the ground creating and adding to the sense of connection with nature. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, Geoff Campen, Angela Todorova, and Jeff Prose Structural Engineer: Alex Rood, SE, Fulcrum Engineering (now Pivot Engineering) Landscape Designer (atrium): Yoshi Chiba, Chiba's Gardening Landscape Designer (rear lawn): Aldo Sepulveda, Sepulveda Landscaping Contractor: Augie Peccei, Coast to Coast Construction Photography ©2015 Mariko Reed Location: Belmont, CA Year completed: 2015

Inspiration for a 1950s formal medium tone wood floor living room remodel in Portland with blue walls, a ribbon fireplace and no tv

Huge french country beige two-story stone exterior home photo in Atlanta with a hip roof