This 1930's Barrington Hills farmhouse was in need of some TLC when it was purchased by this southern family of five who planned to make it their new home. The renovation taken on by Advance Design Studio's designer Scott Christensen and master carpenter Justin Davis included a custom porch, custom built in cabinetry in the living room and children's bedrooms, 2 children's on-suite baths, a guest powder room, a fabulous new master bath with custom closet and makeup area, a new upstairs laundry room, a workout basement, a mud room, new flooring and custom wainscot stairs with planked walls and ceilings throughout the home. The home's original mechanicals were in dire need of updating, so HVAC, plumbing and electrical were all replaced with newer materials and equipment. A dramatic change to the exterior took place with the addition of a quaint standing seam metal roofed farmhouse porch perfect for sipping lemonade on a lazy hot summer day. In addition to the changes to the home, a guest house on the property underwent a major transformation as well. Newly outfitted with updated gas and electric, a new stacking washer/dryer space was created along with an updated bath complete with a glass enclosed shower, something the bath did not previously have. A beautiful kitchenette with ample cabinetry space, refrigeration and a sink was transformed as well to provide all the comforts of home for guests visiting at the classic cottage retreat. The biggest design challenge was to keep in line with the charm the old home possessed, all the while giving the family all the convenience and efficiency of modern functioning amenities. One of the most interesting uses of material was the porcelain "wood-looking" tile used in all the baths and most of the home's common areas. All the efficiency of porcelain tile, with the nostalgic look and feel of worn and weathered hardwood floors. The home’s casual entry has an 8" rustic antique barn wood look porcelain tile in a rich brown to create a warm and welcoming first impression. Painted distressed cabinetry in muted shades of gray/green was used in the powder room to bring out the rustic feel of the space which was accentuated with wood planked walls and ceilings. Fresh white painted shaker cabinetry was used throughout the rest of the rooms, accentuated by bright chrome fixtures and muted pastel tones to create a calm and relaxing feeling throughout the home. Custom cabinetry was designed and built by Advance Design specifically for a large 70” TV in the living room, for each of the children’s bedroom’s built in storage, custom closets, and book shelves, and for a mudroom fit with custom niches for each family member by name. The ample master bath was fitted with double vanity areas in white. A generous shower with a bench features classic white subway tiles and light blue/green glass accents, as well as a large free standing soaking tub nestled under a window with double sconces to dim while relaxing in a luxurious bath. A custom classic white bookcase for plush towels greets you as you enter the sanctuary bath. Joe Nowak

Photo: fumihirokato, via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-2.0 generic

Rhamnus cathartica / common buckthorn

On this project, our aim was to maximize storage and organization in the pantry for this family of five. This family previously had the common complaint that their pantry was always message and that they could never find what they wanted. To address this, we created provided a large amount of shelving, including key sections that slide out to provide better access to the items in the back. In addition, since their refrigerator didn't fit in the space that was created for it, we converted that into a pantry nook for even more storage. White melamine was used to mange cost and create a clean look, and the barn door on the main pantry provides a nice accent.

The in-law suite kitchen could only be in a small corner of the basement. The kitchen design started with the question: how small can this kitchen be? The compact layout was designed to provide generous counter space, comfortable walking clearances, and abundant storage. The bold colors and fun patterns anchored by the warmth of the dark wood flooring create a happy and invigorating space. SQUARE FEET: 140

Example of a large mountain style backyard concrete paver and custom-shaped natural pool design in Oklahoma City

Wild Geranium / Geranium maculatum

Aaron Leitz
Inspiration for a kitchen remodel in San Francisco with flat-panel cabinets and white cabinets

This LEED Platinum certified house reflects the homeowner's desire for an exceptionally healthy and comfortable living environment, within a traditional neighborhood. INFILL SITE. The family, who moved from another area of Wellesley, sought out this property to be within walking distance of the high school and downtown area. An existing structure on the tight lot was removed to make way for the new home. 84% of the construction waste, from both the previous structure and the new home, was diverted from a landfill. ZED designed to preserve the existing mature trees on the perimeter of the property to minimize site impacts, and to maintain the character of the neighborhood as well as privacy on the site. EXTERIOR EXPRESSION. The street facade of the home relates to the local New England vernacular. The rear uses contemporary language, a nod to the family’s Californian roots, to incorporate a roof deck, solar panels, outdoor living space, and the backyard swimming pool. ZED’s careful planning avoided to the need to face the garage doors towards the street, a common syndrome of a narrow lot. THOUGHTFUL SPACE. Homes with dual entries can often result in duplicate and unused spaces. In this home, the everyday and formal entry areas are one and the same; the front and garage doors share the entry program of coat closets, mudroom storage with bench for removing your shoes, and a laundry room with generous closets for the children's sporting equipment. The entry area leads directly to the living space, encompassing the kitchen, dining and sitting area areas in an L-shaped open plan arrangement. The kitchen is placed at the south-west corner of the space to allow for a strong connection to the dining, sitting and outdoor living spaces. A fire pit on the deck satisfies the family’s desire for an open flame while a sealed gas fireplace is used indoors - ZED’s preference after omitting gas burning appliances completely from an airtight home. A small study, with a window seat, is conveniently located just off of the living space. A first floor guest bedroom includes an accessible bathroom for aging visitors and can be used as a master suite to accommodate aging in place. HEALTHY LIVING. The client requested a home that was easy to clean and would provide a respite from seasonal allergies and common contaminants that are found in many indoor spaces. ZED selected easy to clean solid surface flooring throughout, provided ample space for cleaning supplies on each floor, and designed a mechanical system with ventilation that provides a constant supply of fresh outdoor air. ZED selected durable materials, finishes, cabinetry, and casework with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and no added urea formaldehyde. YEAR-ROUND COMFORT. The home is super insulated and air-tight, paired with high performance triple-paned windows, to ensure it is draft-free throughout the winter (even when in front of the large windows and doors). ZED designed a right-sized heating and cooling system to pair with the thermally improved building enclosure to ensure year-round comfort. The glazing on the home maximizes passive solar gains, and facilitates cross ventilation and daylighting. ENERGY EFFICIENT. As one of the most energy efficient houses built to date in Wellesley, the home highlights a practical solution for Massachusetts. First, the building enclosure reduces the largest energy requirement for typical houses (heating). Super-insulation, exceptional air sealing, a thermally broken wall assembly, triple pane windows, and passive solar gain combine for a sizable heating load reduction. Second, within the house only efficient systems consume energy. These include an air source heat pump for heating & cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation, and high efficiency appliances. Lastly, photovoltaics provide renewable energy help offset energy consumption. The result is an 89% reduction in energy use compared to a similar brand new home built to code requirements. RESILIENT. The home will fare well in extreme weather events. During a winter power outage, heat loss will be very slow due to the super-insulated and airtight envelope– taking multiple days to drop to 60 degrees even with no heat source. An engineered drainage system, paired with careful the detailing of the foundation, will help to keep the finished basement dry. A generator will provide full operation of the all-electric house during a power outage. OVERALL. The home is a reflection of the family goals and an expression of their values, beautifully enabling health, comfort, safety, resilience, and utility, all while respecting the planet. ZED - Architect & Mechanical Designer Bevilacqua Builders Inc - Contractor Creative Land & Water Engineering - Civil Engineering Barbara Peterson Landscape - Landscape Design Nest & Company - Interior Furnishings Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Cupboards were a feature of early kitchens as furniture pieces were readily at hand and often included in the kitchen. Very often these cupboards had simple corbel brackets to assist in the bracing to the wall. Today such a feature can be included to tweak and support a given style as well functionally as a means of either hiding a cupboard light or extra shallow shelf. Features such as these are common in truly custom kitchens from custom cabinetmakers.

This LEED-H Platinum-certified custom luxury home in Oregon demonstrates an exceptional commitment to excellence. Designed by Green Hammer architect Jan Fillinger, the Fineline House was designed and built with unprecedented precision — from the interior finishes to the state-of-the-art lighting, ventilation, and built-in home energy-monitoring systems. It utilizes Passivhaus detailing and 100% of the lumber used for the structure and framing of the project was Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC)-certified.

View Haus 5 is an innovative approach to infill development on a narrow site. All homes were designed to Passivhaus standards and one of them has been certified. In response to the site's topography the townhouses are terraced in a single structure. A common walkway connects the site from 25th Avenue E to the alley widening at the center of the site to form a common courtyard. The courtyard is terraced to separate home entries in section from the surface of the courtyard. Decks created to be similar to front porches border the courtyard along with thoughtful landscaping. The massing is modulated to create a structure that is well-scaled to its surroundings. Parking is minimized on the site through its location at the rear alley and setting it below the structure. To minimize impact on adjacent sites, a single enclosed stair penthouse is located at the center of the site, integrated with the design's approach to interlocking masses of varying materials. The exterior materials includes reclaimed brick and wood, ebonized wood and painted cement board panels.

All of the common spaces in this home are in an open-concept layout, including a home office which offers sliding barn doors for privacy.
Living room - transitional open concept light wood floor and exposed beam living room idea in Milwaukee with white walls, a standard fireplace, a tile fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

New Twist on Farmhouse Chic Project Details Designer: Amy Van Wie Cabinetry: Brookhaven Framed Cabinetry Wood: Maple Finishes: Perimeter – Antique White; Island – Matte Twilight Door: Kingston Recessed Inset Countertop: Perimeter – Soapstone; Island – Walnut Awards 2016 Saratoga Showcase of Homes For this stunning Showcase Home, we worked to achieve a classic farmhouse look with some new and interesting twists. To enhance a clean aesthetic, we customized the cabinet boxes to avoid any distracting seams, common with inset kitchens. But at the same time, we used decorative feet on the end cabinets and bead board accents to achieve that furniture look common in historic farmhouses. Additional nods to the farmhouse schematic include mullion glass doors, an apron front sink, beveled subway tile, turn latch knobs and bin pulls all in oiled rubbed bronze and a magnificent mushroom wood and copper custom hood.

Exterior cleaning project completed for an HOA community in Port Orange. This service included pressure washing sidewalks, concrete walkways, curbs, and common areas to remove algae, dirt, and organic buildup. The cleaning restored a safe and well-maintained appearance for residents and visitors while protecting the property’s exterior surfaces.

Exterior cleaning project completed for an HOA community in Port Orange. This service included pressure washing sidewalks, concrete walkways, curbs, and common areas to remove algae, dirt, and organic buildup. The cleaning restored a safe and well-maintained appearance for residents and visitors while protecting the property’s exterior surfaces.

Mid-sized trendy l-shaped dark wood floor and brown floor open concept kitchen photo with an island, shaker cabinets, gray cabinets, multicolored backsplash, stainless steel appliances, a farmhouse sink, quartzite countertops, glass tile backsplash and white countertops

"The Nest" is the selected scheme for the 2026 Yale Jim Vlock Building Project. Construction is expected to be complete in the Fall of 2026. This multi-family home is the final addition to a village in Fair Haven Heights designed in partnership with the Friends Center for Children. This home will house two educators and their respective households, comprising of a two-bedroom unit and one-bedroom unit with a shared common space. Living in this home will be included in the compensation package for these educators, taking care of their largest personal expense as a means of increasing their total compensation from a one-time investment. http://https://news.yale.edu/2026/03/24/student-designed-nest-complete-housing-village-local-teachers

"The Nest" is the selected scheme for the 2026 Yale Jim Vlock Building Project. Construction is expected to be complete in the Fall of 2026. This multi-family home is the final addition to a village in Fair Haven Heights designed in partnership with the Friends Center for Children. This home will house two educators and their respective households, comprising of a two-bedroom unit and one-bedroom unit with a shared common space. Living in this home will be included in the compensation package for these educators, taking care of their largest personal expense as a means of increasing their total compensation from a one-time investment. http://https://news.yale.edu/2026/03/24/student-designed-nest-complete-housing-village-local-teachers