Cynthia Lynn Photography
Example of a trendy bedroom design in Chicago with gray walls

Adrienne DeRosa © 2014 Houzz Inc. Along with the living room, this dining area has received a style overhaul. "Everything in the informal dining space as well as the living room is new," Jennifer explains. "I changed it all; the walls used to be grey and the furniture used to be off white. I had antique chippy paint cabinets and all kinds of french decor ... I have evolved from that and now want simple, fun and bright." Starting with painting the walls white, Jennifer let the room evolve as she went. "Then I started to move the furniture around to see what I had, to make sure it worked," she describes. From there it became a process of eliminating and adding back in. The brass shelving was a "picking" find that Jennifer retrieved from the side of the road. By emphasizing the large windows with white drapery, and adding in soft textural elements, Jennifer created a fresh space that exudes depth and comfort. "I would never want anyone to ever come in and say they don't feel comfortable. I feel I have created that chic, fun, eclectic style space that anyone of any age can enjoy and feel comfortable in." Curtain rods, pendant lamp: West Elm; chairs: vintage Russell Woodard, Etsy Adrienne DeRosa © 2014 Houzz

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 zen master light wood floor bedroom remodel in Ahmedabad with white walls

Photo: Adrienne DeRosa © 2015 Houzz Save for a few refinements, the layout of the space took shape exactly as Weiss had envisioned it from day one. Knowing that they were looking to design a loft-like environment, the couple kept to an open layout for the majority of the living space. One of the most fantastic features of the space is a bank of clerestory windows that flood the interior with seemingly endless amounts of daylight. Originally added back when the building served as an artist studio, Weiss and Carpenter agreed that keeping them was a must. "The only original part of the house is the ceiling and the existing skylights and clerestory," Weiss describes. "We basically changed everything else." The ceiling compliments the contents of the environment, but also continues the story of the homeowners' design philosophy. "We loved the original wood and steel ceiling, including steel beams forged at the Carnegie Steel Works," Carpenter explains. "In coming up with our design approach, we wanted to reflect some of the previous uses of the structure ... Keeping elements from the past not only interested us aesthetically." he says, "It was important to us to reuse structures and objects in ways that are close to their originally intended use."

Note the large scale tile juxtaposed against the quilt style tile on the oven wall. This large and simple toned grey field allows the other area to stand out, yet this window wall detail also serves a purpose of showing how every area can be unique, but not glaring in contrast.

HGTV Smart Home 2013 by Glenn Layton Homes, Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
Inspiration for a large tropical detached two-car garage remodel in Jacksonville

Builder: Pillar Homes - Photography: Landmark Photography
Mid-sized elegant brick floor sunroom photo in Minneapolis with a standard fireplace, a brick fireplace and a standard ceiling

Example of a tuscan u-shaped kitchen design in San Diego with flat-panel cabinets, black cabinets, stainless steel appliances and an island

1st Place Residential Space under 3500 sq ft Robert Wright, FASID Kate Lindberg, ASID Jason York, ASID McCormick and Wright
Large trendy open concept porcelain tile living room photo in San Diego with white walls and a concealed tv

Madeline Tolle
Transitional black floor entryway photo in Philadelphia with gray walls and a white front door

Photo Credit: Nicole Leone / Designed by: Aboutspace Studios
Bathroom - farmhouse white tile and subway tile limestone floor and beige floor bathroom idea in Los Angeles with shaker cabinets, blue cabinets, a two-piece toilet, an undermount sink, marble countertops, blue walls and white countertops

Beach style kitchen photo in New Orleans

Living room - large 1960s open concept and formal light wood floor and beige floor living room idea in Los Angeles with blue walls and a wall-mounted tv

Overview Whole house refurbishment, double storey wrap around extension and large loft conversion. The Brief Create a WOW factor space, add glamour and fun and give the house a street side and garden side, both different. Our Solution This project was exciting from the start, the client wanted to entertain in a WOW factor space, have a panoramic view of the garden (which was to be landscaped), add bedrooms and a great master suite. We had some key elements to introduce such as an aquarium separating two rooms; double height spaces and a gloss kitchen, all of which manifest themselves in the completed scheme. Architecture is a process taking a schedule of areas, some key desires and needs, mixing the functionality and creating space. New spaces transform a house making it more valuable, giving it kerb appeal and making it feel like a different building. All of which happened at Ailsa Road.

Inspiration for a transitional kitchen remodel in Indianapolis

Jason Varney
Playroom - transitional gender-neutral medium tone wood floor playroom idea in Philadelphia with gray walls

Adrienne DeRosa © 2014 Houzz Inc. Inside, the pool house is ready for entertaining. Raymond and Jennifer poured the concrete counter top themselves. The paneling on the front of the bar came from a large cupcake counter at a friend's antique store. When her friend was closing the store, Jennifer and Raymond dismantled the counter and salvaged the painted doors, which they then cut to size as needed. Antique stools reflect the patina of the bar in an effortlessly charming way. "I found them at the Columbus Country Living Fair," Jennifer explains. "They came from an old Amusement Park; I'm not sure which one, but I kept everything original to them." Photo: Adrienne DeRosa © 2014 Houzz

The atrium features two 20-foot living walls. Photo by: Mark Surloff
Patio vertical garden - contemporary courtyard patio vertical garden idea in Miami with no cover