A beautifully detailed dining room showcasing new cellular shades on a small window. The shades add a touch of elegance while providing excellent light control and insulation.

This West Michigan home features our specialty, Insulated Concrete Forms below grade. Above grade, we implemented a fantastic improvement on stick framing known as T-Stud. Stunning Modern-Classic Exterior, Beautiful Main Living Spaces, Smart Modern Kitchen, Energy Star™ appliances and fixtures, hybrid heat pump/natural gas furnace, spacious laundry and luxurious bathrooms!

Transform the look and performance of your home with this beautiful new garage door installation. This door features a 3-layer insulated overlay construction with a durable steel back, providing exceptional strength, improved energy efficiency, and quieter operation. Built to last and designed to enhance your home's curb appeal, it's the perfect combination of style, durability, and performance.

Beautiful James Hardie Lap Siding 8 1/4`` Cedar Mill in Aged Pewter compliments the brick perfectly! R5 code board insulation will help the energy efficiency of this home! Black fascia and white soffit really gives this house some clean lines! With black seamless eavestrough to finish it off, makes for a massive improvement in curb appeal!

This cute little retro house was still sporting the original aluminum windows. When the time came to replace them the homeowner chose the Andersen 100 series in dark bronze. The look alone transformed this home. The the functioning venting windows and improved insulation of the glass will help keep this home toasty this winter.

C.H.I. 5283 15x7 White Carriage House Short Stamped Insulated Door with 3-Piece Arched Stockton windows
Garage - mid-sized traditional attached two-car garage idea in Cleveland

This space was completely reconfigured and updated. Including added insulation in the attic space above, spray foam insulation in the floor joists, added electrical work, pot lights, new closet doors, pocket door, heated floors, re-configured vanity with separate his and her areas, wall sconces, new exhaust fan, new trim, walk-in corner shower, teak seat in shower. paint, finishing.

Timber frame homes offer unique challenges during a remodel. What often makes them beautiful and attractive to most homeowners, also makes them challenging for space requirements. Context: The lovely couple that owned this home were struggling with some interesting floor plan challenges that just didn't work for their family. The loved the beautiful timbers and woodwork of their home, but the dramatically sloping ceilings on the second floor, particularly in the bathroom, just didn't work for this 1 1/2 bath home. Needing to use the skylight to approach the toilet was a less then ideal scenario. Although the bathroom footprint was more then adequate, the sloped ceiling only made half of the space useable. Check out the Before/After post on our blog to see the photos of the house pre-renovation. As much as they loved all the wood features in their home, another challenge they had was light. The wood ceiling made everything inside the house darker, even with a fantastic array of south facing windows, there were spaces in the home that felt dark and small. When they contacted us they wanted to know how could they make their brighter and more inviting, were there solutions to the 2nd floor sloped ceiling issues, and if they were going to do all of this work, how could they make their home more comfortable and efficient. A nagging water leak in the upstairs bathroom spurred them into action and here is how we solved their dilemma. Conclusion: First, we added a little dormer to the rear of the house so we could get full headroom in nearly all of the upstairs bathroom! Then we decided to extend that dormer one more timber bay over to create a walk in closet with natural light and plenty of space. Since we were contemplating energy efficiency, we resolved a nagging issue that is present in a lot of timber frame construction, air tightness. Commonly found in timber frame construction, fiberglass insulation is installed in the rafter bays and board ceilings are installed over top. Unfortunately, board ceilings are anything but air tight, and fiberglass insulation needs to be in an airtight cavity for maximum effectiveness. So we were able to solve two issues at the same time for this homeowner. We removed the board ceiling and fiberglass insulation, we dense packed the rafter bays with cellulose insulation, and installed sheetrock in place of the boards. The boards were salvaged for re-use by the homeowner, and the space and light quality was dramatically improved. Some may think that losing the board ceiling took something away from the space, but what you'll see in the pictures is that it highly accentuates the heavy timbers and really makes them stand out in a beautiful way. Now with this added airtightness, better insulation, and brighter space, the homeowner hardly runs their wood stove, and it's so quiet in the space, an added bonus from changing the insulation. It became necessary to also add a sheetrock ceiling to the living room to hide the plumbing from the new bathroom layout above. Changing this ceiling gave the homeowner some real quality lighting that was lacking in the living room before. The brighter ceiling and new lighting layout completely transforms the living room into a space you want to hang out, even though the layout didn't change at all. When the homeowner saw the finished spaces she said "I can't believe this is my house, I want to live in this house" Energy Efficiency: I touched a little on the efficiency above, but like all projects done with Mottram Architecture, we always want to leave you with a little extra. Timber frame construction with board ceilings and fiberglass insulation are notoriously leaky! If you want to know what we think about fiberglass insulation, check our our blog post on Why Fiberglass Insulation Sucks. By installing cellulose insulation and covering it with sheetrock we were able to greatly reduce the heat flowing out of this home. It not only improves cashflow it improves the comfort level in the space. Who wants to sit in their living room and feel a draft? Let us remind you, we are not saying cellulose insulation is an air barrier, we use the sheetrock to help with that, but it does significantly reduce the air flow over fiberglass insulation. And when we reduce the airflow, we reduce the heat flow. And when we reduce the heat flow, we reduce the need to re-heat that drafty air from outside. When it comes to energy efficiency the first and best place to start is air infiltration. We greatly reduced the air infiltration with the new insulation, but we also added a hat and warm boots. What I mean by that is, we improved the insulation in the roof, and we installed insulation in the basement. Maybe it's a silly analogy, but when you think about keeping warm, we always start with the hat and boots! With sustainability in mind, the next project will be to add a deck to the front of this house with rain catchment barrels from the metal roof. They are planning to plant a garden in the spring and the rain catchment system will help to irrigate the new garden. Builder: East Shore Builders Photographer: Michael Eric Berube

Hardiplank siding in varied widths is set up in vertical panels (with trim separations) to animate the façade along the South elevation. The siding is part of a rain- screen system as part of the sustainable design initiatives of the project. The rainscreen provides heightened moisture protection to the structure. It also increases the efficacy of the building’s spray-foam insulation, and improves the building’s thermal insulation. Photography by Louis Perriault, Jeff Johnston, Neil Alexander

Beautiful James Hardie Lap Siding 8 1/4`` Cedar Mill in Aged Pewter compliments the brick perfectly! R5 code board insulation will help the energy efficiency of this home! Black fascia and white soffit really gives this house some clean lines! With black seamless eavestrough to finish it off, makes for a massive improvement in curb appeal!

view from rear garden The client’s brief was to extend the kitchen/dining room to the side to provide a generous and well-lit family space, and to add a loft bedroom and shower room to their 2-storey Victorian mid-terraced house. The project also includes thermal improvement of the rear addition envelope (insulation + render system and roof refurbishment), as well as restoration of the front facade and hard landscaping (patio) to the rear.

This renovated brick rowhome in Boston’s South End offers a modern aesthetic within a historic structure, creative use of space, exceptional thermal comfort, a reduced carbon footprint, and a passive stream of income. DESIGN PRIORITIES. The goals for the project were clear - design the primary unit to accommodate the family’s modern lifestyle, rework the layout to create a desirable rental unit, improve thermal comfort and introduce a modern aesthetic. We designed the street-level entry as a shared entrance for both the primary and rental unit. The family uses it as their everyday entrance - we planned for bike storage and an open mudroom with bench and shoe storage to facilitate the change from shoes to slippers or bare feet as they enter their home. On the main level, we expanded the kitchen into the dining room to create an eat-in space with generous counter space and storage, as well as a comfortable connection to the living space. The second floor serves as master suite for the couple - a bedroom with a walk-in-closet and ensuite bathroom, and an adjacent study, with refinished original pumpkin pine floors. The upper floor, aside from a guest bedroom, is the child's domain with interconnected spaces for sleeping, work and play. In the play space, which can be separated from the work space with new translucent sliding doors, we incorporated recreational features inspired by adventurous and competitive television shows, at their son’s request. MODERN MEETS TRADITIONAL. We left the historic front facade of the building largely unchanged - the security bars were removed from the windows and the single pane windows were replaced with higher performing historic replicas. We designed the interior and rear facade with a vision of warm modernism, weaving in the notable period features. Each element was either restored or reinterpreted to blend with the modern aesthetic. The detailed ceiling in the living space, for example, has a new matte monochromatic finish, and the wood stairs are covered in a dark grey floor paint, whereas the mahogany doors were simply refinished. New wide plank wood flooring with a neutral finish, floor-to-ceiling casework, and bold splashes of color in wall paint and tile, and oversized high-performance windows (on the rear facade) round out the modern aesthetic. RENTAL INCOME. The existing rowhome was zoned for a 2-family dwelling but included an undesirable, single-floor studio apartment at the garden level with low ceiling heights and questionable emergency egress. In order to increase the quality and quantity of space in the rental unit, we reimagined it as a two-floor, 1 or 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a modern aesthetic, increased ceiling height on the lowest level and provided an in-unit washer/dryer. The apartment was listed with Jackie O'Connor Real Estate and rented immediately, providing the owners with a source of passive income. ENCLOSURE WITH BENEFITS. The homeowners sought a minimal carbon footprint, enabled by their urban location and lifestyle decisions, paired with the benefits of a high-performance home. The extent of the renovation allowed us to implement a deep energy retrofit (DER) to address air tightness, insulation, and high-performance windows. The historic front facade is insulated from the interior, while the rear facade is insulated on the exterior. Together with these building enclosure improvements, we designed an HVAC system comprised of continuous fresh air ventilation, and an efficient, all-electric heating and cooling system to decouple the house from natural gas. This strategy provides optimal thermal comfort and indoor air quality, improved acoustic isolation from street noise and neighbors, as well as a further reduced carbon footprint. We also took measures to prepare the roof for future solar panels, for when the South End neighborhood’s aging electrical infrastructure is upgraded to allow them. URBAN LIVING. The desirable neighborhood location allows the both the homeowners and tenant to walk, bike, and use public transportation to access the city, while each charging their respective plug-in electric cars behind the building to travel greater distances. OVERALL. The understated rowhouse is now ready for another century of urban living, offering the owners comfort and convenience as they live life as an expression of their values.

This former 1970s sunroom addition was remodeled with the removal of skylights that made it to hot, a raised hot tub, and a sunken living room. We painted the wood beams to remove their modernist appearance and infilled the skylight with laminated roof deck above which is several inches of rigid insulation to improve energy efficiency. Raising the floor unifies the first floor and allows the family to enjoy the sunny days out their windows. Geagan Photography

This window upgrade replaced an old, inefficient window with a modern, energy-efficient design that improves comfort, insulation, and overall appearance. Clear views and a clean finish make a noticeable difference. If your windows are ready for an upgrade, Pro Craft Home Products is here to help.

This renovation in north Asheville has updated finishes and modernization throughout while still maintaining the style and layout of the original house. New insulation and heating and cooling systems dramatically improves the comfort and energy efficiency.

This recently purchased home in Baltimore near Morgan State University had original wood siding, which was rotting in some places, and had single pane wood windows that were leaking air and provided no insulation value. Capital provided and installed custom vinyl insulated replacement windows that are highly energy efficient with 12 layers of Low-e and argon, along with additional luxury features and benefits such as Tru-v beveled colonial grid pattern. In addition to the windows, Capital provided and installed Mastic Quest 4’’ siding in Pebblestone Clay with Rugged Canyon trim as a beautiful accent while capping all windows and doors in white.

New Siding, Shake, Roof and Windows. Vintage Look Maintained!
Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary brown two-story vinyl gable roof remodel in Chicago with a shingle roof

view from rear patio The client’s brief was to extend the kitchen/dining room to the side to provide a generous and well-lit family space, and to add a loft bedroom and shower room to their 2-storey Victorian mid-terraced house. The project also includes thermal improvement of the rear addition envelope (insulation + render system and roof refurbishment), as well as restoration of the front facade and hard landscaping (patio) to the rear.

Zen staircase photo in Los Angeles