The compact footprint and efficient, cockpit-like, interior spaces serve their functions well without gratuity. A rooftop photovoltaic solar panel system offsets power consumption, and careful attention to natural day lighting and ventilation combined with a high efficiency radiant floor heating system help make the house a modest energy user. photo credit - John Ellis

Builder: John Kraemer & Sons | Architecture: Murphy & Co. Design | Interiors: Engler Studio | Photography: Corey Gaffer
Inspiration for a large coastal gender-neutral carpeted and blue floor kids' room remodel in Minneapolis with gray walls

Because the kitchen was surrounded by windows, we needed to provide optimal storage solutions. We used large lower drawers for ease of use and to keep the design streamlined. A back pantry and laundry room were redesigned to provide ample backup.

WINNER - AIA/BSA Design Award 2012 - 2012 EcoHome Design Award - PRISM 2013 Award This LEED Gold certified vacation residence located in a beautiful ocean community on the New England coast features high performance and creative use of space in a small package. ZED designed the simple, gable-roofed structure and proposed the Passive House standard. The resulting home consumes only one-tenth of the energy for heating compared to a similar new home built only to code requirements. Architecture | ZeroEnergy Design Construction | Aedi Construction Photos | Greg Premru Photography

Kitchen - contemporary kitchen idea in Indianapolis with wood countertops, raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, multicolored backsplash and stainless steel appliances

This project aims to be the first residence in San Francisco that is completely self-powering and carbon neutral. The architecture has been developed in conjunction with the mechanical systems and landscape design, each influencing the other to arrive at an integrated solution. Working from the historic façade, the design preserves the traditional formal parlors transitioning to an open plan at the central stairwell which defines the distinction between eras. The new floor plates act as passive solar collectors and radiant tubing redistributes collected warmth to the original, North facing portions of the house. Careful consideration has been given to the envelope design in order to reduce the overall space conditioning needs, retrofitting the old and maximizing insulation in the new. Photographer Ken Gutmaker

Photo by. Jonathan Jackson
Industrial metal exterior home idea in Austin with a shed roof

Careful attention to lighting design gives the client the opportunity to enjoy their property into the evening.

Photo by Peter Vanderwarker Photographer http://www.vanderwarker.com/

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

Peter Molick Photography
Inspiration for a transitional white two-story brick gable roof remodel in Houston

Craftsman wood exterior home idea in Minneapolis

Tsantes Photography
Example of a trendy travertine tile double shower design in DC Metro

The Fontana Bridge residence is a mountain modern lake home located in the mountains of Swain County. The LEED Gold home is mountain modern house designed to integrate harmoniously with the surrounding Appalachian mountain setting. The understated exterior and the thoughtfully chosen neutral palette blend into the topography of the wooded hillside.

The goal of this project was to build a house that would be energy efficient using materials that were both economical and environmentally conscious. Due to the extremely cold winter weather conditions in the Catskills, insulating the house was a primary concern. The main structure of the house is a timber frame from an nineteenth century barn that has been restored and raised on this new site. The entirety of this frame has then been wrapped in SIPs (structural insulated panels), both walls and the roof. The house is slab on grade, insulated from below. The concrete slab was poured with a radiant heating system inside and the top of the slab was polished and left exposed as the flooring surface. Fiberglass windows with an extremely high R-value were chosen for their green properties. Care was also taken during construction to make all of the joints between the SIPs panels and around window and door openings as airtight as possible. The fact that the house is so airtight along with the high overall insulatory value achieved from the insulated slab, SIPs panels, and windows make the house very energy efficient. The house utilizes an air exchanger, a device that brings fresh air in from outside without loosing heat and circulates the air within the house to move warmer air down from the second floor. Other green materials in the home include reclaimed barn wood used for the floor and ceiling of the second floor, reclaimed wood stairs and bathroom vanity, and an on-demand hot water/boiler system. The exterior of the house is clad in black corrugated aluminum with an aluminum standing seam roof. Because of the extremely cold winter temperatures windows are used discerningly, the three largest windows are on the first floor providing the main living areas with a majestic view of the Catskill mountains.

This single family home in the Greenlake neighborhood of Seattle is a modern home with a strong emphasis on sustainability. The house includes a rainwater harvesting system that supplies the toilets and laundry with water. On-site storm water treatment, native and low maintenance plants reduce the site impact of this project. This project emphasizes the relationship between site and building by creating indoor and outdoor spaces that respond to the surrounding environment and change throughout the seasons.

Inspiration for a coastal deck remodel in New York with no cover

This is a sleeping cabin at a summer camp in the Adirondacks. Designed and built by Coger Residential
Small eclectic exterior home idea in New York

Photo by: Tripp Smith
Beach style white three-story house exterior photo in Charleston with a metal roof

Inspiration for a country white two-story wood and board and batten exterior home remodel in Baltimore with a metal roof