Design, Execution + Photography by EFE Creative Lab, Inc.
Bathroom - transitional bathroom idea in Miami

Download our free ebook, Creating the Ideal Kitchen. DOWNLOAD NOW This master bath remodel is the cat's meow for more than one reason! The materials in the room are soothing and give a nice vintage vibe in keeping with the rest of the home. We completed a kitchen remodel for this client a few years’ ago and were delighted when she contacted us for help with her master bath! The bathroom was fine but was lacking in interesting design elements, and the shower was very small. We started by eliminating the shower curb which allowed us to enlarge the footprint of the shower all the way to the edge of the bathtub, creating a modified wet room. The shower is pitched toward a linear drain so the water stays in the shower. A glass divider allows for the light from the window to expand into the room, while a freestanding tub adds a spa like feel. The radiator was removed and both heated flooring and a towel warmer were added to provide heat. Since the unit is on the top floor in a multi-unit building it shares some of the heat from the floors below, so this was a great solution for the space. The custom vanity includes a spot for storing styling tools and a new built in linen cabinet provides plenty of the storage. The doors at the top of the linen cabinet open to stow away towels and other personal care products, and are lighted to ensure everything is easy to find. The doors below are false doors that disguise a hidden storage area. The hidden storage area features a custom litterbox pull out for the homeowner’s cat! Her kitty enters through the cutout, and the pull out drawer allows for easy clean ups. The materials in the room – white and gray marble, charcoal blue cabinetry and gold accents – have a vintage vibe in keeping with the rest of the home. Polished nickel fixtures and hardware add sparkle, while colorful artwork adds some life to the space.

Design ideas for a mediterranean landscaping in San Francisco.

The Mazama house is located in the Methow Valley of Washington State, a secluded mountain valley on the eastern edge of the North Cascades, about 200 miles northeast of Seattle. The house has been carefully placed in a copse of trees at the easterly end of a large meadow. Two major building volumes indicate the house organization. A grounded 2-story bedroom wing anchors a raised living pavilion that is lifted off the ground by a series of exposed steel columns. Seen from the access road, the large meadow in front of the house continues right under the main living space, making the living pavilion into a kind of bridge structure spanning over the meadow grass, with the house touching the ground lightly on six steel columns. The raised floor level provides enhanced views as well as keeping the main living level well above the 3-4 feet of winter snow accumulation that is typical for the upper Methow Valley. To further emphasize the idea of lightness, the exposed wood structure of the living pavilion roof changes pitch along its length, so the roof warps upward at each end. The interior exposed wood beams appear like an unfolding fan as the roof pitch changes. The main interior bearing columns are steel with a tapered “V”-shape, recalling the lightness of a dancer. The house reflects the continuing FINNE investigation into the idea of crafted modernism, with cast bronze inserts at the front door, variegated laser-cut steel railing panels, a curvilinear cast-glass kitchen counter, waterjet-cut aluminum light fixtures, and many custom furniture pieces. The house interior has been designed to be completely integral with the exterior. The living pavilion contains more than twelve pieces of custom furniture and lighting, creating a totality of the designed environment that recalls the idea of Gesamtkunstverk, as seen in the work of Josef Hoffman and the Viennese Secessionist movement in the early 20th century. The house has been designed from the start as a sustainable structure, with 40% higher insulation values than required by code, radiant concrete slab heating, efficient natural ventilation, large amounts of natural lighting, water-conserving plumbing fixtures, and locally sourced materials. Windows have high-performance LowE insulated glazing and are equipped with concealed shades. A radiant hydronic heat system with exposed concrete floors allows lower operating temperatures and higher occupant comfort levels. The concrete slabs conserve heat and provide great warmth and comfort for the feet. Deep roof overhangs, built-in shades and high operating clerestory windows are used to reduce heat gain in summer months. During the winter, the lower sun angle is able to penetrate into living spaces and passively warm the exposed concrete floor. Low VOC paints and stains have been used throughout the house. The high level of craft evident in the house reflects another key principle of sustainable design: build it well and make it last for many years! Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

Matthew Millman
Example of a large trendy deck design in San Francisco with no cover

Heat pump installation & repair

For a wood-fired hearth that’s at home anywhere, look no further than Kozy Heat’s Z 42 EPA Certified Fireplace. Kozy Heat’s Z 42 Non-Catalytic fireplace decreases flammable creosote within the chimney by 90%, and burns up to 33% less fuel. The end result is a clean burn, more warmth with less wood. So relax, kick back and enjoy the flames, knowing you’ve done your part, not just for the environment, but also for your fuel budget. Photo by Kozy Heat.

The 3615™ gas fireplace is the smallest model in the three-part Linear Gas Fireplace Series and is perfect for more intimate spaces, such as bedrooms, bathrooms and cozy dens. Like its larger counterparts, the 4415™ gas fireplace and 6015™ gas fireplace, this gas fireplace showcases a stunning fire view unlike anything else available. Its sleek, heavy gauge steel firebox displays tall, dynamic flames over a bed of reflective crushed glass which is illuminated by bottom-lit Accent Lights and accompanied by a unique fireback and optional interior fire art. The transitional architecture and design of the 3615™ gas fireplaceallows this model to complement both traditional and contemporary homes. The 3615™ gas fireplace has a high heat output of 33,000 BTUs and has the ability to heat up to 1,700 square feet by utilizing two concealed 90 CFM blowers. It features high quality, ceramic glass that comes standard with the 2015 ANSI approved low visibility safety barrier, increasing the overall safety of this unit for you and your family. This gas fireplace also allows you to heat up to two other rooms in your home with the optional Power Heat Vent Kit. The new GreenSmart™ 2 Wall Mounted Remote is included with the 3615™ gas fireplace and allows you to control virtually every component of this fully-loaded unit. See the different in superior quality and performance with the 3615™ HO Linear Gas Fireplace.

Photo: Caela McKeever © 2017 Houzz
Design ideas for an eclectic landscaping in Seattle.

Atherton has many large substantial homes - our clients purchased an existing home on a one acre flag-shaped lot and asked us to design a new dream home for them. The result is a new 7,000 square foot four-building complex consisting of the main house, six-car garage with two car lifts, pool house with a full one bedroom residence inside, and a separate home office /work out gym studio building. A fifty-foot swimming pool was also created with fully landscaped yards. Given the rectangular shape of the lot, it was decided to angle the house to incoming visitors slightly so as to more dramatically present itself. The house became a classic u-shaped home but Feng Shui design principals were employed directing the placement of the pool house to better contain the energy flow on the site. The main house entry door is then aligned with a special Japanese red maple at the end of a long visual axis at the rear of the site. These angles and alignments set up everything else about the house design and layout, and views from various rooms allow you to see into virtually every space tracking movements of others in the home. The residence is simply divided into two wings of public use, kitchen and family room, and the other wing of bedrooms, connected by the living and dining great room. Function drove the exterior form of windows and solid walls with a line of clerestory windows which bring light into the middle of the large home. Extensive sun shadow studies with 3D tree modeling led to the unorthodox placement of the pool to the north of the home, but tree shadow tracking showed this to be the sunniest area during the entire year. Sustainable measures included a full 7.1kW solar photovoltaic array technically making the house off the grid, and arranged so that no panels are visible from the property. A large 16,000 gallon rainwater catchment system consisting of tanks buried below grade was installed. The home is California GreenPoint rated and also features sealed roof soffits and a sealed crawlspace without the usual venting. A whole house computer automation system with server room was installed as well. Heating and cooling utilize hot water radiant heated concrete and wood floors supplemented by heat pump generated heating and cooling. A compound of buildings created to form balanced relationships between each other, this home is about circulation, light and a balance of form and function. Photo by John Sutton Photography.

The 3615™ gas fireplace is the smallest model in the three-part Linear Gas Fireplace Series and is perfect for more intimate spaces, such as bedrooms, bathrooms and cozy dens. Like its larger counterparts, the 4415™ gas fireplace and 6015™ gas fireplace, this gas fireplace showcases a stunning fire view unlike anything else available. Its sleek, heavy gauge steel firebox displays tall, dynamic flames over a bed of reflective crushed glass which is illuminated by bottom-lit Accent Lights and accompanied by a unique fireback and optional interior fire art. The transitional architecture and design of the 3615™ gas fireplaceallows this model to complement both traditional and contemporary homes. The 3615™ gas fireplace has a high heat output of 33,000 BTUs and has the ability to heat up to 1,700 square feet by utilizing two concealed 90 CFM blowers. It features high quality, ceramic glass that comes standard with the 2015 ANSI approved low visibility safety barrier, increasing the overall safety of this unit for you and your family. This gas fireplace also allows you to heat up to two other rooms in your home with the optional Power Heat Vent Kit. The new GreenSmart™ 2 Wall Mounted Remote is included with the 3615™ gas fireplace and allows you to control virtually every component of this fully-loaded unit. See the different in superior quality and performance with the 3615™ HO Linear Gas Fireplace.

Casey Dunn
Example of a minimalist entryway design in Austin

Heat Pumps

To maintain proper pipe temperatures and ensure quality freeze protection, rely on the proven performance of EasyHeat™ pipe tracing products. With a complete range of constant wattage and self-regulating heating cables that provide 3 to 20 Watts per foot of heat @ +50 °F (+10 °C) ambient temperature, we provide dependable pipe tracing solutions for any indoor or outdoor application.

Watch NGHTV host Ty Pennington take a home from dated to revolutionary with the Heat & Glo MEZZO See-Through gas fireplace and other futuristic home appliances and construction processes. // Photo by: NextGen Home TV

Watch NGHTV host Ty Pennington take a home from dated to revolutionary with the Heat & Glo MEZZO See-Through gas fireplace and other futuristic home appliances and construction processes. // Photo by: NextGen Home TV

Elegant home design photo in Ottawa

To maintain proper pipe temperatures and ensure quality freeze protection, rely on the proven performance of EasyHeat™ pipe tracing products. With a complete range of constant wattage and self-regulating heating cables that provide 3 to 20 Watts per foot of heat @ +50 °F (+10 °C) ambient temperature, we provide dependable pipe tracing solutions for any indoor or outdoor application.

Custom Fireplace, Patio & BBQ Heating Elements Outdoor Heating Infratech 39" Single Heating Element Wall Mounted 39"; 7'x7" Coverage area, producing 8,530 BTU's This particular project was operated by a switch. Option for timer, heat adjustment and smart app control! Alamo, CA