Josh Partee Photography With sweeping views of the Willamette river and Mt. Hood, this Atwater Place condo was designed with a balance of minimalism and livability in mind. A complete kitchen remodel brought a dark interior kitchen to the light and a full furnishings package welcomed Los Angeles transplants home to their new modern and bright residence. Our clients, a retired camera operator for both feature films and television and a producer/production manager on numerous television series including Weeds and The Middle, relocated from their traditionally-styled LA bungalow to Portland in the Summer of 2014. The couple sought a design departure from their long-term California residence and a fresh start for their new life in the South Waterfront. With only two pieces of sentimental furniture and a handful of artwork included in the plan, we set out to create a comfortable and clean-lined furnishings package complimenting the broad southeast views. Organically shaped upholstery pieces juxtaposed with angular steel and wood tables create a soft balance in the open floor plan. Several custom pieces, including a dining table designed by our studio and a custom hand-blown glass chandelier crafted by Scott Schiesel with Lightlite compliment timeless pieces from Knoll, Herman Miller, and B&B Italia. The kitchen is designed to reflect light and create brilliance in a space that is otherwise naturally dark. A material balance of stainless steel, back painted glass, quartz composite, lacquer, and mirror all play their part in creating a vibrant cooking environment. We collectively decided to forgo the traditional island pendant for a linear commercial fixture that provides tremendous light to the prep surface and creates an unexpected architectural element. The mirrored prep island creates the illusion of open space while concealing casework and wine storage on the working side of the kitchen. It is worth noting that this project was designed and installed almost entirely while our clients were still living in LA and wrapping up professional obligations and selling their home. This afforded us the tremendous opportunity to send our clients to showrooms not available in Portland to view key pieces before final specification. Textiles and finish samples were approved via mail and communication took place over e-mail, telephone, and an occasional office visit. This unique process lead to a successful result and a beautifully balanced living environment.

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This was a down to the studs interior remodel of a historic home in Boise's North End. Through an extensive Design Phase we opened up the living spaces, relocated and rearranged bathrooms, re-designed the mail level to include an Owner's Suite, and added living space in the attic. The interior of this home had not been touched for a half century and now serves the needs of a growing family with updates from attic to lower level game room. Credit: Josh Roper - Photos Credit: U-Rok Designs – Interiors

Lincoln Farmhouse LEED-H Platinum, Net-Positive Energy OVERVIEW. This LEED Platinum certified modern farmhouse ties into the cultural landscape of Lincoln, Massachusetts - a town known for its rich history, farming traditions, conservation efforts, and visionary architecture. The goal was to design and build a new single family home on 1.8 acres that respects the neighborhood’s agrarian roots, produces more energy than it consumes, and provides the family with flexible spaces to live-play-work-entertain. The resulting 2,800 SF home is proof that families do not need to compromise on style, space or comfort in a highly energy-efficient and healthy home. CONNECTION TO NATURE. The attached garage is ubiquitous in new construction in New England’s cold climate. This home’s barn-inspired garage is intentionally detached from the main dwelling. A covered walkway connects the two structures, creating an intentional connection with the outdoors between auto and home. FUNCTIONAL FLEXIBILITY. With a modest footprint, each space must serve a specific use, but also be flexible for atypical scenarios. The Mudroom serves everyday use for the couple and their children, but is also easy to tidy up to receive guests, eliminating the need for two entries found in most homes. A workspace is conveniently located off the mudroom; it looks out on to the back yard to supervise the children and can be closed off with a sliding door when not in use. The Away Room opens up to the Living Room for everyday use; it can be closed off with its oversized pocket door for secondary use as a guest bedroom with en suite bath. NET POSITIVE ENERGY. The all-electric home consumes 70% less energy than a code-built house, and with measured energy data produces 48% more energy annually than it consumes, making it a 'net positive' home. Thick walls and roofs lack thermal bridging, windows are high performance, triple-glazed, and a continuous air barrier yields minimal leakage (0.27ACH50) making the home among the tightest in the US. Systems include an air source heat pump, an energy recovery ventilator, and a 13.1kW photovoltaic system to offset consumption and support future electric cars. ACTUAL PERFORMANCE. -6.3 kBtu/sf/yr Energy Use Intensity (Actual monitored project data reported for the firm’s 2016 AIA 2030 Commitment. Average single family home is 52.0 kBtu/sf/yr.) o 10,900 kwh total consumption (8.5 kbtu/ft2 EUI) o 16,200 kwh total production o 5,300 kwh net surplus, equivalent to 15,000-25,000 electric car miles per year. 48% net positive. WATER EFFICIENCY. Plumbing fixtures and water closets consume a mere 60% of the federal standard, while high efficiency appliances such as the dishwasher and clothes washer also reduce consumption rates. FOOD PRODUCTION. After clearing all invasive species, apple, pear, peach and cherry trees were planted. Future plans include blueberry, raspberry and strawberry bushes, along with raised beds for vegetable gardening. The house also offers a below ground root cellar, built outside the home's thermal envelope, to gain the passive benefit of long term energy-free food storage. RESILIENCY. The home's ability to weather unforeseen challenges is predictable - it will fare well. The super-insulated envelope means during a winter storm with power outage, heat loss will be slow - taking days to drop to 60 degrees even with no heat source. During normal conditions, reduced energy consumption plus energy production means shelter from the burden of utility costs. Surplus production can power electric cars & appliances. The home exceeds snow & wind structural requirements, plus far surpasses standard construction for long term durability planning. ARCHITECT: ZeroEnergy Design http://zeroenergy.com/lincoln-farmhouse CONTRACTOR: Thoughtforms http://thoughtforms-corp.com/ PHOTOGRAPHER: Chuck Choi http://www.chuckchoi.com/

This British Colonial theme new residence sits atop the ridgeline on the west end of Sanibel Island overlooking the Gulf. Carefully manicured dune and beach access offer breathtaking views from the main and upper patios of the residence to the beach and the sunset. A lush, tropical entry runs the length of each side property line from the road, along each side of the house, to the CCCL line and provides a dense privacy barrier from the beach access path along the east property line. Tropical bamboo, white bird of paradise, traveler palms, dwarf leaf clusia and relocated native trees and shrubs make up the dense buffer. In the front of the residence a specimen multi-stem Sylvester Date Palm anchors the center drive island while stately royal palms, foxtail palms and multi-stem adonidia palms accent the foundation of the residence. Curved coconut palms march down the driveway to the street. Individual theme gardens were created in the side yards which include a Moon Garden, Fruit Garden, Butterfly Garden, Wetland Garden, Tropical Garden and Bamboo Garden. Architectural garden elements include a Walpole garden gate, arbor and mail box with a custom house name sign attached. As one walks the many different specimen gardens, large concrete garden benches from Curry & Co. offer a place to pause while botanical plant label stakes indicate plant species and origin. A California style espalier wall with confederate jasmine vine softens the back side of the pool wall, which is visible upon the entrance to the garages and espalier on the pool side wall for trellis bougainvillea offer vertical elements to connect the house and the landscape with tropical vegetation and color. This ideal client had a specific idea for their property which we were able to visualize and bring to reality.

Josh Partee Photography With sweeping views of the Willamette river and Mt. Hood, this Atwater Place condo was designed with a balance of minimalism and livability in mind. A complete kitchen remodel brought a dark interior kitchen to the light and a full furnishings package welcomed Los Angeles transplants home to their new modern and bright residence. Our clients, a retired camera operator for both feature films and television and a producer/production manager on numerous television series including Weeds and The Middle, relocated from their traditionally-styled LA bungalow to Portland in the Summer of 2014. The couple sought a design departure from their long-term California residence and a fresh start for their new life in the South Waterfront. With only two pieces of sentimental furniture and a handful of artwork included in the plan, we set out to create a comfortable and clean-lined furnishings package complimenting the broad southeast views. Organically shaped upholstery pieces juxtaposed with angular steel and wood tables create a soft balance in the open floor plan. Several custom pieces, including a dining table designed by our studio and a custom hand-blown glass chandelier crafted by Scott Schiesel with Lightlite compliment timeless pieces from Knoll, Herman Miller, and B&B Italia. The kitchen is designed to reflect light and create brilliance in a space that is otherwise naturally dark. A material balance of stainless steel, back painted glass, quartz composite, lacquer, and mirror all play their part in creating a vibrant cooking environment. We collectively decided to forgo the traditional island pendant for a linear commercial fixture that provides tremendous light to the prep surface and creates an unexpected architectural element. The mirrored prep island creates the illusion of open space while concealing casework and wine storage on the working side of the kitchen. It is worth noting that this project was designed and installed almost entirely while our clients were still living in LA and wrapping up professional obligations and selling their home. This afforded us the tremendous opportunity to send our clients to showrooms not available in Portland to view key pieces before final specification. Textiles and finish samples were approved via mail and communication took place over e-mail, telephone, and an occasional office visit. This unique process lead to a successful result and a beautifully balanced living environment.

A custom mini-desk zone for the family kitchen with lots of storage and task lighting.
Home office - mid-sized transitional l-shaped medium tone wood floor home office idea in New York with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, blue cabinets, quartzite countertops, blue backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances, two islands and gray countertops

Dialogue Design
Trendy kitchen photo in Toronto

Traditional style white maple custom kitchen with medium tone granite countertops. The cabinets are maple wood with crystal white stain and glaze on recessed panel doors. Custom features include wood range hood with matching arched panels, wine holder and mail organizer as well as a custom-built island. http://kitchensaver.com/

Traditional style white maple custom kitchen with medium tone granite countertops. The cabinets are maple wood with crystal white stain and glaze on recessed panel doors. Custom features include wood range hood with matching arched panels, wine holder and mail organizer as well as a custom-built island. http://kitchensaver.com/

Photo by artist sharon Jones. This Craftsman style home has many unique features including the 14" W x 12" H Palmetto and Crescent tile in the backsplash. The handmade stoneware tile is custom made by Sharon for the customer. She works face to face with the customers whenever possible, otherwise the process of working out the design occurs through e-mail and the tiles are shipped. The colors for the handmade tile are selected to complement the field tiles or stone.

From 1978 dark cabinets to warm and inviting! We relocated cooking from the island to the wall to allow for a professional quality range with premium venting. We took advantage of a large open wall in this spacious footprint and converted it into a coffee station for these avid coffee connoisseurs. On the opposite wall we created a banquette for casual everyday meals that transitions into a floating desk, perfect for managing life's craziness in the heart of the home. Features include a drop zone inside the end cabinet on the refrigerator wall, perfect for quick access to keys and the mail drop zone as it's just off the garage. The custom mosaic tile backsplash was a fun opportunity to bring in all their favorite accent colors in small doses.

From 1978 dark cabinets to warm and inviting! We relocated cooking from the island to the wall to allow for a professional quality range with premium venting. We took advantage of a large open wall in this spacious footprint and converted it into a coffee station for these avid coffee connoisseurs. On the opposite wall we created a banquette for casual everyday meals that transitions into a floating desk, perfect for managing life's craziness in the heart of the home. Features include a drop zone inside the end cabinet on the refrigerator wall, perfect for quick access to keys and the mail drop zone as it's just off the garage. The custom mosaic tile backsplash was a fun opportunity to bring in all their favorite accent colors in small doses.

Traditional style white maple custom kitchen with medium tone granite countertops. The cabinets are maple wood with crystal white stain and glaze on recessed panel doors. Custom features include wood range hood with matching arched panels, wine holder and mail organizer as well as a custom-built island. http://kitchensaver.com/

This was a down to the studs interior remodel of a historic home in Boise's North End. Through an extensive Design Phase we opened up the living spaces, relocated and rearranged bathrooms, re-designed the mail level to include an Owner's Suite, and added living space in the attic. The interior of this home had not been touched for a half century and now serves the needs of a growing family with updates from attic to lower level game room. Credit: Josh Roper - Photos Credit: U-Rok Designs – Interiors

We redesigned this client’s laundry space so that it now functions as a Mudroom and Laundry. There is a place for everything including drying racks and charging station for this busy family. Now there are smiles when they walk in to this charming bright room because it has ample storage and space to work!

Customize your entryway, hallway or workspace with this versatile organizer. Fit one organizer in a narrow apartment hallway or combine multiple pieces in a large foyer to create a custom look at a fraction of the cost. This Entryway Organizer features two double coat hooks and one large upper shelf, which provides an ideal place to store jackets, hats, gloves, mail, car keys and any other entryway clutter. This unit also features 9 lower shoe cubbies that measure 7” W x 5.25” H X 11.75”D. This product is proudly manufactured in Canada using CARB-compliant, laminated composite wood. Ships ready-to-assemble, includes an instruction booklet for easy assembly and has a 5-year manufacturer’s limited warranty.

From 1978 dark cabinets to warm and inviting! We relocated cooking from the island to the wall to allow for a professional quality range with premium venting. We took advantage of a large open wall in this spacious footprint and converted it into a coffee station for these avid coffee connoisseurs. On the opposite wall we created a banquette for casual everyday meals that transitions into a floating desk, perfect for managing life's craziness in the heart of the home. Features include a drop zone inside the end cabinet on the refrigerator wall, perfect for quick access to keys and the mail drop zone as it's just off the garage. The custom mosaic tile backsplash was a fun opportunity to bring in all their favorite accent colors in small doses.

This large kitchen in Plymouth Meeting was remodeled to better fit the homeowners’ busy family life. A wall was removed between the family room and kitchen to open up the space, and custom cabinets surrounding an over-sized island make for the perfect gathering spot. A spacious pantry, mail center, and wall chalkboard to keep track of the kids’ schedules all help support a busy family lifestyle. The transitional style finishes include unique sconces above the large sink, navy blue island cabinetry, and trendy herringbone backsplash. The cherry on top of this beautiful kitchen remodel is the dry bar with built-in wine refrigerator and glass rack. Design and Construction by Meridian.