Pool - traditional pool idea

Having a well-planned closet not only facilitates access to our favorite clothing and items but also simplifies our day. Do not underestimate the power of organization.

pass through to open kitchen area to hall and facilitate entertaining
Inspiration for a modern home design remodel in Boston

Solving the world's problems over dinner? Take a seat in a comfy dining chair that cushions your shoulder blades as well as your bottom. Round dining tables really do facilitate conversation. This one expands radially to seat 10.

Super practical entry, yet earth sculpting and some grasses and shrubs shroud a fire pit and benches for the family to use in their front yard. In this case, privacy is sequestered, stated, yet a sense of openness encourages and facilitates living like neighbors.

Having a well-planned closet not only facilitates access to our favorite clothing and items but also simplifies our day. Do not underestimate the power of organization.

The kitchen impresses with its dual-toned cabinetry, while the open concept floor plan facilitates a seamless connection between the kitchen and the great room.

Inspiration for a large transitional galley dark wood floor and brown floor open concept kitchen remodel in New York with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

A busy family of five decided to turn their neglected living room into a more useful space to accommodate their needs by converting the space into a study, pantry, and breakfast nook. To better facilitate their passion for cooking, the kitchen now features a 72″ wide refrigerator and freezer, bar top seating, and a built-in breakfast nook. Photos by Kimberly Gavin Photography

1960s built-in desk porcelain tile and gray floor home office photo in Houston with white walls

While the intention was to open the wall up fully, the venting from the upstairs of the home to the downstairs needed to be facilitated. We kept these stylish, large format tile pillars in to accommodate that.

This project, for a vibrant restaurant in the fashionable Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, involves the design of a custom retractable awning and supporting structure for its rear yard to facilitate the owner’s vision of an all-weather enclosure to provide additional seating for the venue.

Having a well-planned closet not only facilitates access to our favorite clothing and items but also simplifies our day. Do not underestimate the power of organization.

Decorative iron panels affixed to the front doors are hinged to the wooden stiles and easily manipulated to facilitate cleaning the glass. Our exterior plan featured the limestone planter which was wired to accommodate lo-voltage ambient lighting.

Finished product; we broke up the CMU block and placed the rubble behind the steel plates to minimize hydraulic pressure and facilitate proper drainage.

This is the outside view of the new, horizontal kitchen window. Power lines originally went straight up from the meter, but were moved to facilitate design.

Built-in storage protects clothes from the natural light flooding the room through a glass-paneled door. A combination of interior pocket doors and hinged doors facilitate flow between the rooms.

Large walk-in kitchen pantry with rounded corner shelves in 2 far corners. Installed to replace existing builder-grade wire shelving. Custom baking rack for pans. Wall-mounted system with extended height panels and custom trim work for floor-mount look. Open shelving with spacing designed around accommodating client's clear labeled storage bins and other serving items and cookware.

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