Built in the small eco-sensitive beachfront community of Punto Chivato near Mulege in Baja California, this artists' home was designed with an open plan that provides year-round connectivity to the outdoors. Staggered roofs shade the home's interior from direct sun while facilitating natural light and cross-ventilation. Design features include a partially covered sunroof over the master bedroom that affords outstanding views of the Sea of Cortez, a covered outdoor dining room, and an extensive trellis along the home's south side. The residence generates 100 percent of its electricity through a rooftop solar electric system with battery storage. Nathan Good

In the kitchen of this property, a petit blue cabinet adorns the wall above the stove, mirroring the blue island. The kitchen has chic design, offering the perfect place to get together with the family to cook. The chandeliers hang above the kitchen artistically, lending a modern feel to the property. The entire kitchen breathes with a spacious, calming atmosphere, facilitated by the celestial moods of the white paint theme

In the kitchen of this property, a petit blue cabinet adorns the wall above the stove, mirroring the blue island. The kitchen has chic design, offering the perfect place to get together with the family to cook. The chandeliers hang above the kitchen artistically, lending a modern feel to the property. The entire kitchen breathes with a spacious, calming atmosphere, facilitated by the celestial moods of the white paint theme

©Finished Basement Company
Large transitional look-out light wood floor and beige floor basement photo in Minneapolis with gray walls, a two-sided fireplace and a stone fireplace

This Berkshire home is a vacation retreat for three generations of two siblings who live in different parts of the country. To facilitate group gatherings, Morpurgo Architects devised a multi-level, open plan that accommodates the 14 family members by age in pairs of small bedrooms layered on each of three floors. The steeply sloping site allows the house to nestle into the hill and make full use of the above-grade lower level. Upon entering the house, white walls highlight the architectural forms and spaces. Within the house, the walls reveal five planes of complementary colors, setting a tone of whimsy that is repeated in the lighting fixtures and other elements. This Berkshire home is a vacation retreat for three generations of two siblings who live in different parts of the country. To facilitate group gatherings, Morpurgo Architects devised a multi-level, open plan that accommodates the 14 family members by age in pairs of small bedrooms layered on each of three floors. The steeply sloping site allows the house to nestle into the hill and make full use of the above-grade lower level. Upon entering the house, white walls highlight the architectural forms and spaces. Within the house, the walls reveal five planes of complementary colors, setting a tone of whimsy that is repeated in the lighting fixtures and other elements.

The dining area is at the back of the home overlooking the newly renovated backyard. A custom Banquette spans the entire space from the kitchen through the dining area to the back. It facilitates both large and intimate dinner parties. Stained wood openings help maintain the original style of the 1930's home.

As we were wrapping up the kitchen, they asked for my help with the hall bathroom. We started with the shower and selected porcelain wall and floor tiles and new chrome plumbing fixtures. We installed a linear drain to facilitate the use of large format porcelain tiles on the shower floor. The same gray tile is installed on the bathroom floor. The frameless shower enclosure and the white and gray pallet makes this small room feels larger and up to date. JRY & Co.

This is a custom built sunroom that connected a detached garage to the house. The sunroom was elevated to be one step down from the first floor to facilitate entertaining. We installed two solatubes to let in the natural light.

Van Auken Akins Architects LLC designed and facilitated the complete renovation of a home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The third floor was renovated to create a whimsical guest bedroom, bathroom, and laundry room. The upgrades to the baths included new plumbing fixtures, new cabinetry, countertops, lighting and floor tile. New ceilings, soffits, and lighting were installed throughout along with wallcoverings, wood paneling, carpeting and furniture.

To facilitate the builder's desire to create a successful model home in this large site development with expansive natural preserves, this design creates a sense of presence far greater than its actual size. This was accomplished by a wide yet shallow layout that allows most rooms to look out to rear of home and preserve views beyond. Designed with a West Indies flavor, this thoroughly modern home's layout flows seamlessly from space to space. Each room is bright with lots of natural light, creating a home that takes fullest potential of this unique site. An ARDA for Model Home Design goes to The Stater Group, Inc. Designer: The Sater Group, Inc. From: Bonita Springs, Florida

The existing tub pedestal has been reduced in length to facilitate the new larger roll in shower. The new frameless shaker style wall hung lav is evident here. by DT

This is a custom built sunroom that connected a detached garage to the house. The sunroom was elevated to be one step down from the first floor to facilitate entertaining. We installed two solatubes to let in the natural light.

Located near Ennis, Montana, this cabin captures the essence of rustic style while maintaining modern comforts. Jack Watkins’ father, the namesake of the creek by which this home is built, was involved in the construction of the Old Faithful Lodge. He originally built the cabin for he and his family in 1917, with small additions and upgrades over the years. The new owners’ desire was to update the home to better facilitate modern living, but without losing the original character. Windows and doors were added, and the kitchen and bathroom were completely remodeled. Well-placed porches were added to further integrate the interior spaces to their adjacent exterior counterparts, as well as a mud room—a practical requirement in rural Montana. Today, details like the unique juniper handrail leading up to the library, will remind visitors and guests of its historical Western roots.

Our clients already had the beautiful lot on Burt Lake, all they needed was the home. We were hired to create an inviting home that had a "craftsman" style of the exterior and a "cottage" style for the interior. They desired to capture a casual, warm, and inviting feeling. The home was to have as much natural light and to take advantage of the amazing lake views. The open concept plan was desired to facilitate lots of family and visitors. The finished design and home is exactly what they hoped for. To quote the owner "Thanks to the expertise and creativity of the design team at Edgewater, we were able to get exactly what we wanted." -Jacqueline Southby Photography

Our clients already had the beautiful lot on Burt Lake, all they needed was the home. We were hired to create an inviting home that had a "craftsman" style of the exterior and a "cottage" style for the interior. They desired to capture a casual, warm, and inviting feeling. The home was to have as much natural light and to take advantage of the amazing lake views. The open concept plan was desired to facilitate lots of family and visitors. The finished design and home is exactly what they hoped for. To quote the owner "Thanks to the expertise and creativity of the design team at Edgewater, we were able to get exactly what we wanted." -Jacqueline Southby Photography

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

Laundry room design. Countertop above washer and dryer to facilitate folding. Hanging space for delicate laundry.
Laundry room - small contemporary single-wall ceramic tile and gray floor laundry room idea in Toronto with an utility sink, beaded inset cabinets, white cabinets, quartz countertops, gray walls, a side-by-side washer/dryer and white countertops

This Cobble Hill Brownstone for a family of five is a fun and captivating design, the perfect blend of the wife’s love of English country style and the husband’s preference for modern. The young power couple, her the co-founder of Maisonette and him an investor, have three children and a dog, requiring that all the surfaces, finishes and, materials used throughout the home are both beautiful and durable to make every room a carefree space the whole family can enjoy. The primary design challenge for this project was creating both distinct places for the family to live their day to day lives and also a whole floor dedicated to formal entertainment. The clients entertain large dinners on a monthly basis as part of their profession. We solved this by adding an extension on the Garden and Parlor levels. This allowed the Garden level to function as the daily family operations center and the Parlor level to be party central. The kitchen on the garden level is large enough to dine in and accommodate a large catering crew. On the parlor level, we created a large double parlor in the front of the house; this space is dedicated to cocktail hour and after-dinner drinks. The rear of the parlor is a spacious formal dining room that can seat up to 14 guests. The middle "library" space contains a bar and facilitates access to both the front and rear rooms; in this way, it can double as a staging area for the parties. The remaining three floors are sleeping quarters for the family and frequent out of town guests. Designing a row house for private and public functions programmatically returns the building to a configuration in line with its original design. This project was published in Architectural Digest. Photography by Sam Frost

This is a custom built sunroom that connected a detached garage to the house. The sunroom was elevated to be one step down from the first floor to facilitate entertaining. We installed two solatubes to let in the natural light.