Add a splash of style to your exterior by choosing weather-resistant, energy-efficient Graber Exterior Solar Shades. In addition to superior sun and heat protection for your outdoor living spaces, sunlight is blocked before it gets inside, lowering heat gain and cooling bills.

Trendy light wood floor and vaulted ceiling kitchen photo in New York with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, laminate countertops, white backsplash, ceramic backsplash, black appliances, an island and black countertops

Photo: Lucy Call © 2015 Houzz
Example of a transitional kitchen design in Salt Lake City

Entry/Breakfast area addition and Kitchen renovation in King of Prussia, PA. Small project to gain more usable space on a limited budget. Photo by: Joshua Sukenick

2013 Red Diamond Achiever Award winner: Dave deBruyen of InHaus Development Ltd. Distributor: Marvin Windows of Canada Products Used: All Ultrex® Casement & Awning, sliding patio door. Marvin® windows and doors. The Beachaus project was originally designed to qualify for LEED Platinum status. The design goal of this highly contemporary home was to leave a small footprint and to be 100% lit by natural daylight. 12’ ceilings with wall to wall glass give the illusion of additional space, but made it a challenge when it came to solar heat gain. Integrity’s combination of glazing options and Ultrex pultruded fiberglass helped the home meet the rigorous requirements of LEED Platinum status.

In addition to updating the kitchen, the homeowners wanted to gain more storage and counter space. Updated appliances and a stylish range hood/exhaust fan were installed.

A Desert Modern home that is unpretentious, yet elegant, exuding a warm feeling and captures the amazing views of the surrounding desert. “Warm Modern” defines both the architecture and interior design though use of subdued colors and textures. Employing a biophilic approach, window walls bring one closer to nature. Cantilevered Patio roofs minimize columns to preserve views and to offset solar loading. Natural desert plants were minimally disturbed with additional plantings chosen to minimize water usage. Home siting to capture views yet minimize solar heat gain. Deep Patios and recessed windows minimize solar gain in the summer and allows solar heating in winter. Natural desert is maintained, additional plantings chosen to minimize water usage.

Entryway - transitional entryway idea in Chicago

Garages in the south are for so much more than parking a car. With a lovely deck addition on this garage, the family gains more space for enjoying the backyard.

Sunlight dances on the bluestone and the chaise lounges. Landscape design by John Algozzini.
Example of a small trendy backyard stone patio design in Chicago with a pergola

A Desert Modern home that is unpretentious, yet elegant, exuding a warm feeling and captures the amazing views of the surrounding desert. “Warm Modern” defines both the architecture and interior design though use of subdued colors and textures. Employing a biophilic approach, window walls bring one closer to nature. Cantilevered Patio roofs minimize columns to preserve views and to offset solar loading. Natural desert plants were minimally disturbed with additional plantings chosen to minimize water usage. Home siting to capture views yet minimize solar heat gain. Deep Patios and recessed windows minimize solar gain in the summer and allows solar heating in winter. Natural desert is maintained, additional plantings chosen to minimize water usage.

Cherie Cordellos Photography
Alcove shower - small craftsman master black and white tile and ceramic tile mosaic tile floor alcove shower idea in San Francisco with recessed-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, gray walls, an undermount sink and marble countertops

This mixer lift is a handy addition to any kitchen. This allows you to store the mixer out of sight, gaining counter space, until it is needed.
Eat-in kitchen - large u-shaped eat-in kitchen idea in Austin with raised-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, stone tile backsplash, colored appliances and an island

The master bedroom experiences good solar gain in the winter typically needing only the gas log fireplace (heater rated) for supplemental heat. Marble Street Studio

Additional storage was gained by removing soffits and maximizing available wall space. Andrea Rugg Photography
Enclosed kitchen - small transitional u-shaped light wood floor enclosed kitchen idea in Minneapolis with a single-bowl sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, porcelain backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

Entry/Breakfast area addition and Kitchen renovation in King of Prussia, PA. Small project to gain more usable space on a limited budget. Photo by: Joshua Sukenick

A typical post-1906 Noe Valley house is simultaneously restored, expanded and redesigned to keep what works and rethink what doesn’t. The front façade, is scraped and painted a crisp monochrome white—it worked. The new asymmetrical gabled rear addition takes the place of a windowless dead end box that didn’t. A “Great kitchen”, open yet formally defined living and dining rooms, a generous master suite, and kid’s rooms with nooks and crannies, all make for a newly designed house that straddles old and new. Structural Engineer: Gregory Paul Wallace SE General Contractor: Cardea Building Co. Photographer: Open Homes Photography

Lincoln Farmhouse LEED-H Platinum, Net-Positive Energy OVERVIEW. This LEED Platinum certified modern farmhouse ties into the cultural landscape of Lincoln, Massachusetts - a town known for its rich history, farming traditions, conservation efforts, and visionary architecture. The goal was to design and build a new single family home on 1.8 acres that respects the neighborhood’s agrarian roots, produces more energy than it consumes, and provides the family with flexible spaces to live-play-work-entertain. The resulting 2,800 SF home is proof that families do not need to compromise on style, space or comfort in a highly energy-efficient and healthy home. CONNECTION TO NATURE. The attached garage is ubiquitous in new construction in New England’s cold climate. This home’s barn-inspired garage is intentionally detached from the main dwelling. A covered walkway connects the two structures, creating an intentional connection with the outdoors between auto and home. FUNCTIONAL FLEXIBILITY. With a modest footprint, each space must serve a specific use, but also be flexible for atypical scenarios. The Mudroom serves everyday use for the couple and their children, but is also easy to tidy up to receive guests, eliminating the need for two entries found in most homes. A workspace is conveniently located off the mudroom; it looks out on to the back yard to supervise the children and can be closed off with a sliding door when not in use. The Away Room opens up to the Living Room for everyday use; it can be closed off with its oversized pocket door for secondary use as a guest bedroom with en suite bath. NET POSITIVE ENERGY. The all-electric home consumes 70% less energy than a code-built house, and with measured energy data produces 48% more energy annually than it consumes, making it a 'net positive' home. Thick walls and roofs lack thermal bridging, windows are high performance, triple-glazed, and a continuous air barrier yields minimal leakage (0.27ACH50) making the home among the tightest in the US. Systems include an air source heat pump, an energy recovery ventilator, and a 13.1kW photovoltaic system to offset consumption and support future electric cars. ACTUAL PERFORMANCE. -6.3 kBtu/sf/yr Energy Use Intensity (Actual monitored project data reported for the firm’s 2016 AIA 2030 Commitment. Average single family home is 52.0 kBtu/sf/yr.) o 10,900 kwh total consumption (8.5 kbtu/ft2 EUI) o 16,200 kwh total production o 5,300 kwh net surplus, equivalent to 15,000-25,000 electric car miles per year. 48% net positive. WATER EFFICIENCY. Plumbing fixtures and water closets consume a mere 60% of the federal standard, while high efficiency appliances such as the dishwasher and clothes washer also reduce consumption rates. FOOD PRODUCTION. After clearing all invasive species, apple, pear, peach and cherry trees were planted. Future plans include blueberry, raspberry and strawberry bushes, along with raised beds for vegetable gardening. The house also offers a below ground root cellar, built outside the home's thermal envelope, to gain the passive benefit of long term energy-free food storage. RESILIENCY. The home's ability to weather unforeseen challenges is predictable - it will fare well. The super-insulated envelope means during a winter storm with power outage, heat loss will be slow - taking days to drop to 60 degrees even with no heat source. During normal conditions, reduced energy consumption plus energy production means shelter from the burden of utility costs. Surplus production can power electric cars & appliances. The home exceeds snow & wind structural requirements, plus far surpasses standard construction for long term durability planning. ARCHITECT: ZeroEnergy Design http://zeroenergy.com/lincoln-farmhouse CONTRACTOR: Thoughtforms http://thoughtforms-corp.com/ PHOTOGRAPHER: Chuck Choi http://www.chuckchoi.com/

This minimalistic landscape design of grasses and concrete allow the dominate form of the residence shine. Photography Credit: Wade Griffith
Mid-sized rustic full sun and brown front yard wood gable roof idea for summer in Dallas