Before embarking on your digital nomad journey, it's essential to research your destination thoroughly. Understand the local culture, visa requirements, and cost of living. Great Dubai will help you choose the right location for your long-term villa rental. Consider factors like safety, internet connectivity, and proximity to amenities, ensuring that your choice aligns with both your work and lifestyle needs. https://greatdubai.com/real-estate/sale/penthouse

1950's mid-century modern beach house built by architect Richard Leitch in Carpinteria, California. Leitch built two one-story adjacent homes on the property which made for the perfect space to share seaside with family. In 2016, Emily restored the homes with a goal of melding past and present. Emily kept the beloved simple mid-century atmosphere while enhancing it with interiors that were beachy and fun yet durable and practical. The project also required complete re-landscaping by adding a variety of beautiful grasses and drought tolerant plants, extensive decking, fire pits, and repaving the driveway with cement and brick.

The 100-year old home’s kitchen was old and just didn’t function well. A peninsula in the middle of the main part of the kitchen blocked the path from the back door. This forced the homeowners to mostly use an odd, U-shaped corner of the kitchen. Design objectives: -Add an island -Wow-factor design -Incorporate arts and crafts with a touch of Mid-century modern style -Allow for a better work triangle when cooking -Create a seamless path coming into the home from the backdoor -Make all the countertops in the space 36” high (the old kitchen had different base cabinet heights) Design challenges to be solved: -Island design -Where to place the sink and dishwasher -The family’s main entrance into the home is a back door located within the kitchen space. Samantha needed to find a way to make an unobstructed path through the kitchen to the outside -A large eating area connected to the kitchen felt slightly misplaced – Samantha wanted to bring the kitchen and materials more into this area -The client does not like appliance garages/cabinets to the counter. The more countertop space, the better! Design solutions: -Adding the right island made all the difference! Now the family has a couple of seats within the kitchen space. -Multiple walkways facilitate traffic flow. -Multiple pantry cabinets (both shallow and deep) are placed throughout the space. A couple of pantry cabinets were even added to the back door wall and wrap around into the breakfast nook to give the kitchen a feel of extending into the adjoining eating area. -Upper wall cabinets with clear glass offer extra lighting and the opportunity for the client to display her beautiful vases and plates. They add and an airy feel to the space. -The kitchen had two large existing windows that were ideal for a sink placement. The window closest to the back door made the most sense due to the fact that the other window was in the corner. Now that the sink had a place, we needed to worry about the dishwasher. Samantha didn’t want the dishwasher to be in the way of people coming in the back door – it’s now in the island right across from the sink. -The homeowners love Motawi Tile. Some fantastic pieces are placed within the backsplash throughout the kitchen. -Larger tiles with borders make for nice accent pieces over the rangetop and by the bar/beverage area. -The adjacent area for eating is a gorgeous nook with massive windows. We added a built-in furniture-style banquette with additional lower storage cabinets in the same finish. It’s a great way to connect and blend the two areas into what now feels like one big space!

Our clients wanted to transform their dated kitchen into a space that can accommodate their active family. Entertaining was an important factor and hiding kid mess was also a must. We integrated a hidden snack and prep station for the kids and a large island and beverage station for gathering and entertaining.

Ken Dahlin
Mid-century modern entryway photo in Chicago

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/

Neutral, bright bedroom with white bedspread, rubber tree and ocean art above bed.
Example of a trendy light wood floor bedroom design in Sacramento with white walls

We created an almost crystalline form that reflected the push and pull of the most important factors on the site: views directly to the NNW, an approach from the ESE, and of course, sun from direct south. To keep the size modest, we peeled away the excess spaces and scaled down any rooms that desired intimacy (the bedrooms) or did not require height (the pool room). Photographer credit: Irvin Serrano

Our clients wanted to transform their dated kitchen into a space that can accommodate their active family. Entertaining was an important factor and hiding kid mess was also a must. We integrated a hidden snack and prep station for the kids and a large island and beverage station for gathering and entertaining.

This kitchen and breakfast room underwent a MAJOR transformation. From the configuration and layout to every surface and fixture! We removed an eye sore of a post, replaced the ceramic tile floors with natural hardwoods which were continued from the living area to create better continuity and flow. The cabinets were refaced, where possible, we kept the existing cabinetry to save the budget and the Earth! Take a walk through of the space and look a the BEFORE to get the full WOW factor.

Our clients wanted to transform their dated kitchen into a space that can accommodate their active family. Entertaining was an important factor and hiding kid mess was also a must. We integrated a hidden snack and prep station for the kids and a large island and beverage station for gathering and entertaining.

Our clients wanted to transform their dated kitchen into a space that can accommodate their active family. Entertaining was an important factor and hiding kid mess was also a must. We integrated a hidden snack and prep station for the kids and a large island and beverage station for gathering and entertaining.

Our clients wanted to transform their dated kitchen into a space that can accommodate their active family. Entertaining was an important factor and hiding kid mess was also a must. We integrated a hidden snack and prep station for the kids and a large island and beverage station for gathering and entertaining.

We created an almost crystalline form that reflected the push and pull of the most important factors on the site: views directly to the NNW, an approach from the ESE, and of course, sun from direct south. To keep the size modest, we peeled away the excess spaces and scaled down any rooms that desired intimacy (the bedrooms) or did not require height (the pool room). Photographer credit: Irvin Serrano

Our clients wanted to transform their dated kitchen into a space that can accommodate their active family. Entertaining was an important factor and hiding kid mess was also a must. We integrated a hidden snack and prep station for the kids and a large island and beverage station for gathering and entertaining.

Our clients wanted to transform their dated kitchen into a space that can accommodate their active family. Entertaining was an important factor and hiding kid mess was also a must. We integrated a hidden snack and prep station for the kids and a large island and beverage station for gathering and entertaining.

We created an almost crystalline form that reflected the push and pull of the most important factors on the site: views directly to the NNW, an approach from the ESE, and of course, sun from direct south. To keep the size modest, we peeled away the excess spaces and scaled down any rooms that desired intimacy (the bedrooms) or did not require height (the pool room). Photographer credit: Irvin Serrano

We created an almost crystalline form that reflected the push and pull of the most important factors on the site: views directly to the NNW, an approach from the ESE, and of course, sun from direct south. To keep the size modest, we peeled away the excess spaces and scaled down any rooms that desired intimacy (the bedrooms) or did not require height (the pool room). Photographer credit: Irvin Serrano

We created an almost crystalline form that reflected the push and pull of the most important factors on the site: views directly to the NNW, an approach from the ESE, and of course, sun from direct south. To keep the size modest, we peeled away the excess spaces and scaled down any rooms that desired intimacy (the bedrooms) or did not require height (the pool room). Photographer credit: Irvin Serrano