This Passive solar home also features solar panels that will fully offset all heating & cooling and electrical needs. Insulated Concrete Form walls with extensive air sealing and tilt-n-turn windows, and colored concrete floors work together to provide a secure and tranquil indoor environment, Greenguard certified paints, a mini-split heat pump, and heat recovery ventilator ensure the air is pure and healthy. An exposed fastener metal roof, LP SmartSide siding over Benjamin Opdyk Hydrogap, and a combination of triple pane Access windows and doors and triple pane Northstar windows with Pro-Clima flashing ensure long term durability and low maintenance. A custom real fieldstone wood burning fireplace adds warmth to the already very comfortable home.

Photo credit Michael Moran. The design for this client’s “dream house on the water” capitalizes on every opportunity to incorporate views of the Long Island Sound within the home. The placement and expanse of the fir windows and sliding doors underscore the water’s proximity. The interior gathering space spills out onto the raised outdoor deck and lap pool overlooking the seawall. Reducing the house’s carbon footprint is another priority, accomplished by generating renewable energy on site. The precise angle of the house on the property is calculated for optimal solar energy production by the rooftop photovoltaic panels and a geothermal system installed under the driveway provides heating and cooling for the house. Due to the fact that the site is located on a floodplain, the ground floor of the house is raised and no basement is allowed. This presents a challenge in terms of carving out enough storage space in the main house that one might normally relegate to a basement. Rooms are efficiently sized and serve multiple functions and storage is built-in wherever possible.

Join me... on a tour of inspiring AquaTekture by Paragon Pools, Las Vegas. AquaTekture™ is the discipline of designing, engineering and erecting of water environments and ancillary components, in a harmonious nature with consideration to function, space and aesthetics. The term was coined in 2008 by Pool Expert, Author and Paragon Pools’ President, Joseph M. Vassallo, CBP, to define the architecture of water themed structures. Custom gunite pool with a perimeter overflow spa, large wet deck, fire bowls and large sheer decent.