Living room - industrial formal and open concept living room idea in New York with white walls

In our Contemporary Bellevue Residence we wanted the aesthetic to be clean and bright. This is a similar plan to our Victoria Crest home with a few changes and different design elements. Areas of focus; large open kitchen with waterfall countertops and awning upper flat panel cabinets, elevator, interior and exterior fireplaces, floating flat panel vanities in bathrooms, home theater room, large master suite and rooftop deck. Photo Credit: Layne Freedle

Inspiration for a timeless patio remodel in Toronto

Driveway overview with Holland Paver details and interlock banding integrated with the asphalt driveway. Ballad Photography
Inspiration for a large traditional partial sun front yard brick and stone fence landscaping in Toronto for fall.

Tony F Miller, AIA LEED AP
Inspiration for a craftsman porch remodel in Charlotte

680 Sq. Ft. condo Model Suite. It is a small condo but feels like there is a lot of room. The colours were based on Rainy Day artwork and metal art Nick-Nacks by Olivia Salazar. If you would like a home staging consultation or redesign of the interior of your house, give us a call. Unique Home Solutions Inc. has been in business since 2006. Joanne Vroom 514-222-5553

Transitional medium tone wood floor kitchen/dining room combo photo in Miami with beige walls

Stair of white oak from second floor landing
Mid-sized minimalist wooden u-shaped glass railing staircase photo in Los Angeles with wooden risers

ZeroEnergy Design (ZED) created this modern home for a progressive family in the desirable community of Lexington. Thoughtful Land Connection. The residence is carefully sited on the infill lot so as to create privacy from the road and neighbors, while cultivating a side yard that captures the southern sun. The terraced grade rises to meet the house, allowing for it to maintain a structured connection with the ground while also sitting above the high water table. The elevated outdoor living space maintains a strong connection with the indoor living space, while the stepped edge ties it back to the true ground plane. Siting and outdoor connections were completed by ZED in collaboration with landscape designer Soren Deniord Design Studio. Exterior Finishes and Solar. The exterior finish materials include a palette of shiplapped wood siding, through-colored fiber cement panels and stucco. A rooftop parapet hides the solar panels above, while a gutter and site drainage system directs rainwater into an irrigation cistern and dry wells that recharge the groundwater. Cooking, Dining, Living. Inside, the kitchen, fabricated by Henrybuilt, is located between the indoor and outdoor dining areas. The expansive south-facing sliding door opens to seamlessly connect the spaces, using a retractable awning to provide shade during the summer while still admitting the warming winter sun. The indoor living space continues from the dining areas across to the sunken living area, with a view that returns again to the outside through the corner wall of glass. Accessible Guest Suite. The design of the first level guest suite provides for both aging in place and guests who regularly visit for extended stays. The patio off the north side of the house affords guests their own private outdoor space, and privacy from the neighbor. Similarly, the second level master suite opens to an outdoor private roof deck. Light and Access. The wide open interior stair with a glass panel rail leads from the top level down to the well insulated basement. The design of the basement, used as an away/play space, addresses the need for both natural light and easy access. In addition to the open stairwell, light is admitted to the north side of the area with a high performance, Passive House (PHI) certified skylight, covering a six by sixteen foot area. On the south side, a unique roof hatch set flush with the deck opens to reveal a glass door at the base of the stairwell which provides additional light and access from the deck above down to the play space. Energy. Energy consumption is reduced by the high performance building envelope, high efficiency mechanical systems, and then offset with renewable energy. All windows and doors are made of high performance triple paned glass with thermally broken aluminum frames. The exterior wall assembly employs dense pack cellulose in the stud cavity, a continuous air barrier, and four inches exterior rigid foam insulation. The 10kW rooftop solar electric system provides clean energy production. The final air leakage testing yielded 0.6 ACH 50 - an extremely air tight house, a testament to the well-designed details, progress testing and quality construction. When compared to a new house built to code requirements, this home consumes only 19% of the energy. Architecture & Energy Consulting: ZeroEnergy Design Landscape Design: Soren Deniord Design Paintings: Bernd Haussmann Studio Photos: Eric Roth Photography

HISTORIC DISTRICT OF KALORAMA, A THREE-STORY BRICK CITY HOME IS RENOVATED AND ADDED TO. A DARK CONSERVATORY FORM IS ADDED CONTINUOUSLY ALONG THE BACK OF THE HOUSE SOLVING CIRCULATION ISSUES AND ADDING SPACE FOR A BREAKFAST ROOM. THE ADDITION REFERENCES CONSERVATORIES DESIGNED DURING THE TIME, THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL HISTORIC HOME AND THE NEW CONTRASTING ADDITION IS CLEAR. THE UPPER LANDING OF THE MAIN STAIRWAY WAS CHANGED TO WINDERS. THE BENEFIT OF WHICH PURCHASES ENOUGH RISE TO ALLOW CIRCULATION BELOW THE WINDERS ALLOWING ACCESS AND VIEW TO THE BACK GARDENS. INFORMAL KITCHEN, FAMILY AND BREAKFAST WERE OPENED UP TO ADDRESS MODERN LIVING, THE PARENTHESIS OF THE ORIGINAL ROOMS WAS LEFT CLEARLY DEFINED. BRICK WALLS ARE ALSO ADDED TO THE FRONT ACT AS A BASE ON THE FRONT.

Photography by Michael J. Lee
Mid-sized trendy dark wood floor and brown floor kitchen/dining room combo photo in Boston with gray walls

Kitchen/dining room combo - small coastal medium tone wood floor kitchen/dining room combo idea in Other with beige walls

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

Photo by David Wakely
Trendy master bedroom photo in San Francisco with white walls

This architecturally beautiful formal living room with a 25 foot wall of windows created design challenges. First challenge was creating luxurious treatments that had elaborate top treatments as well as long down panels that while being luxurious still allowed a lot of light into the room and didn’t over power the crown molding. Another challenge was there was an arched window on the landing area that had to appear stand-alone yet mimic the bigger design. We did quite a few computer renderings with Minutes Matter. We created a center arched swag and jabot treatment to bring the window group together and also repeated the center treatment on the adjoining arched staircase window on the landing area. We applied silk velvet banding with bouillon fringe overlaid with beaded trim as the top treatments of the windows. The down panels were made from a mirrored crinkle sheer and we repeated the velvet banding with crystal trim all the way down on the leading edge to unify the treatments and give weight and balance to the whole treatment. I had purchased some massive 4’ tiebacks a year earlier and saved them for just the right project. This was the one that needed the size and scale of these perfect giant tassel tie backs. We added the bullion trim with the crystal beaded trim to the tie backs to make them match the treatments. Our workroom created wood based cornices for the treatments to hang from to give stability and also to have a base for the architectural scroll pieces to be applied. We painted them in a soft gold to give a unique dimension to the tops of the treatments.

This architecturally beautiful formal living room with a 25 foot wall of windows created design challenges. First challenge was creating luxurious treatments that had elaborate top treatments as well as long down panels that while being luxurious still allowed a lot of light into the room and didn’t over power the crown molding. Another challenge was there was an arched window on the landing area that had to appear stand-alone yet mimic the bigger design. We did quite a few computer renderings with Minutes Matter. We created a center arched swag and jabot treatment to bring the window group together and also repeated the center treatment on the adjoining arched staircase window on the landing area. We applied silk velvet banding with bouillon fringe overlaid with beaded trim as the top treatments of the windows. The down panels were made from a mirrored crinkle sheer and we repeated the velvet banding with crystal trim all the way down on the leading edge to unify the treatments and give weight and balance to the whole treatment. I had purchased some massive 4’ tiebacks a year earlier and saved them for just the right project. This was the one that needed the size and scale of these perfect giant tassel tie backs. We added the bullion trim with the crystal beaded trim to the tie backs to make them match the treatments. Our workroom created wood based cornices for the treatments to hang from to give stability and also to have a base for the architectural scroll pieces to be applied. We painted them in a soft gold to give a unique dimension to the tops of the treatments.

This Medford, MA attic renovation features a finished attic landing with a custom winding staircase, dark wood flooring, white stair balusters, and a bright hallway leading into the attic home office. The renovation transformed unused attic space into a functional upper-level suite with sloped ceilings, warm wood details, and flexible bonus room space.

Upper section of stairs with two additional treads added after reconfiguration. Baseboard and base cap material and workmanship was upgraded. Maple flooring was installed to match flooring throughout the home. Wrought iron handrails were manufactured and installed. Risers were painted white along with baseboard. Treads and landings were dyed black and stained ebony.

This Balboa fire pit table is 48x48x22H with forced air heating blowing hot air out below the top, LED lighting, starphire glass wind screen and tier 2 granite top. Photograhper Michael Cooke