Family room - coastal family room idea in Manchester with blue walls, a standard fireplace, a stone fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Huge mediterranean white two-story stucco house exterior idea in Los Angeles with a hip roof and a shingle roof

Photos by Project Focus Photography
Example of a huge beach style beige three-story stucco exterior home design in Tampa with a tile roof

Photo by Oivanki Photography Builder: Rabalais Homes Architect: The Front Door Architects
Example of a transitional patio design in Nashville with a fire pit

Balcony - mid-sized coastal mixed material railing balcony idea in Orange County with no cover

Fine Focus Photography
Tuscan beige two-story house exterior photo in Austin with a tile roof

Inspiration for a small craftsman blue two-story wood gable roof remodel in Indianapolis with a shingle roof

Originally, the front of the house was on the left (eave) side, facing the primary street. Since the Garage was on the narrower, quieter side street, we decided that when we would renovate, we would reorient the front to the quieter side street, and enter through the front Porch. So initially we built the fencing and Pergola entering from the side street into the existing Front Porch. Then in 2003, we pulled off the roof, which enclosed just one large room and a bathroom, and added a full second story. Then we added the gable overhangs to create the effect of a cottage with dormers, so as not to overwhelm the scale of the site. The shingles are stained Cabots Semi-Solid Deck and Siding Oil Stain, 7406, color: Burnt Hickory, and the trim is painted with Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior Low Luster Narraganset Green HC-157, (which is actually a dark blue). Photo by Glen Grayson, AIA

Photography: Morgan Howarth. Landscape Architect: Howard Cohen, Surrounds Inc.
Large elegant backyard concrete paver and rectangular lap pool house photo in DC Metro

Jim Bartsch Photography, Blackbird Architects
Kitchen/dining room combo - huge contemporary kitchen/dining room combo idea in Santa Barbara

Located on farmland in McLean, Virginia, the American Farmhouse balances the expected comforts of a new home with the bucolic beauty of an old farmhouse. The final site plan still has evidence showing parallel courses of the barn’s destiny. The house mass is broken and lowered so that the home can remain secondary to the monolithic barn structure. Earthy and elemental materials are selected for the home that reference the barn without directly mimicking it. Wooden members found inside the barn and from other barns bridge ceilings and are used in floors along with rustic slate adding to a sense of simplicity to the farmhouse design. The age and patina of the barn is reflected in the house’s textural use of board and batten and field stone layered similar to stone foundations. The original development plan was to demolish the existing barn and construct three suburban homes. Part of an endangered breed, as one of the few remaining barns in the area, it was originally viewed as a challenge in a luxury home construction with several difficulties posed to the impending project: it would be expensive to renovate, vulnerable to demolition, and threatened by urban sprawl. However, instead of trying to alter or destroy the barn, the structure was fully embraced into the traditional architecture project as a centerpiece and was used as the inspiration for the home. The new house was sited parallel to the barn so that views to the barn gable were accessible.

Robert Yu
Mid-sized minimalist backyard concrete and rectangular lap pool house photo in Dallas

This modern green home offers both a vacation destination on Cape Cod near local family members and an opportunity for rental income. FAMILY ROOTS. A West Coast couple living in the San Francisco Bay Area sought a permanent East Coast vacation home near family members living on Cape Cod. As academic professionals focused on sustainability, they sought a green, energy efficient home that was well-aligned with their values. With no green homes available for sale on Cape Cod, they decided to purchase land near their family and build their own. SLOPED SITE. Comprised of a 3/4 acre lot nestled in the pines, the steeply sloping terrain called for a plan that embraced and took advantage of the slope. Of equal priority was optimizing solar exposure, preserving privacy from abutters, and creating outdoor living space. The design accomplished these goals with a simple, rectilinear form, offering living space on the both entry and lower/basement levels. The stepped foundation allows for a walk-out basement level with light-filled living space on the down-hill side of the home. The traditional basement on the eastern, up-hill side houses mechanical equipment and a home gym. The house welcomes natural light throughout, captures views of the forest, and delivers entertainment space that connects indoor living space to outdoor deck and dining patio. MODERN VISION. The clean building form and uncomplicated finishes pay homage to the modern architectural legacy on the outer Cape. Durable and economical fiber cement panels, fixed with aluminum channels, clad the primary form. Cedar clapboards provide a visual accent at the south-facing living room, which extends a single roof plane to cover the entry porch. SMART USE OF SPACE. On the entry level, the “L”-shaped living, dining, and kitchen space connects to the exterior living, dining, and grilling spaces to effectively double the home’s summertime entertainment area. Placed at the western end of the entry level (where it can retain privacy but still claim expansive downhill views) is the master suite with a built-in study. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a second full bathroom, and laundry. The flexibility of the space—crucial in a house with a modest footprint—emerges in one of the guest bedrooms, which doubles as home office by opening the barn-style double doors to connect it to the bright, airy open stair leading up to the entry level. Thoughtful design, generous ceiling heights and large windows transform the modest 1,100 sf* footprint into a well-lit, spacious home. *(total finished space is 1800 sf) RENTAL INCOME. The property works for its owners by netting rental income when the owners are home in San Francisco. The house especially caters to vacationers bound for nearby Mayo Beach and includes an outdoor shower adjacent to the lower level entry door. In contrast to the bare bones cottages that are typically available on the Cape, this home offers prospective tenants a modern aesthetic, paired with luxurious and green features. Durable finishes inside and out will ensure longevity with the heavier use that comes with a rental property. COMFORT YEAR-ROUND. The home is super-insulated and air-tight, with mechanical ventilation to provide continuous fresh air from the outside. High performance triple-paned windows complement the building enclosure and maximize passive solar gain while ensuring a warm, draft-free winter, even when sitting close to the glass. A properly sized air source heat pump offers efficient heating & cooling, and includes a carefully designed the duct distribution system to provide even comfort throughout the house. The super-insulated envelope allows us to significantly reduce the equipment capacity, duct size, and airflow quantities, while maintaining unparalleled thermal comfort. ENERGY EFFICIENT. The building’s shell and mechanical systems play instrumental roles in the home’s exceptional performance. The building enclosure reduces the most significant energy glutton: heating. Continuous super-insulation, thorough air sealing, triple-pane windows, and passive solar gain work together to yield a miniscule heating load. All active energy consumers are extremely efficient: an air source heat pump for heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation (ERV), and high efficiency appliances. The result is a home that uses 70% less energy than a similar new home built to code requirements. OVERALL. The home embodies the owners’ goals and values while comprehensively enabling thermal comfort, energy efficiency, a vacation respite, and supplementary income. PROJECT TEAM ZeroEnergy Design - Architect & Mechanical Designer A.F. Hultin & Co. - Contractor Pamet Valley Landscape Design - Landscape & Masonry Lisa Finch - Original Artwork European Architectural Supply - Windows Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Atlanta Custom Builder, Quality Homes Built with Traditional Values Location: 12850 Highway 9 Suite 600-314 Alpharetta, GA 30004
This is an example of a large traditional brick front porch design in Atlanta with a roof extension.

Mid-sized eclectic entryway photo in Vancouver with a red front door and blue walls

Christian Lalonde - Photolux Commercial Studio
Example of a trendy master white tile white floor bathroom design in Ottawa with flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, gray walls, an undermount sink and a hinged shower door

Mid-sized contemporary gray one-story wood exterior home idea in Toronto with a shingle roof

Alek Lisefski / tiny-project.com
Small trendy living room photo in San Francisco

Example of a large trendy gray exterior home design in Minneapolis with a shingle roof