Interior Design: Jamie Ludens, Studio M Interiors | Photography: Landmark Photography
Mid-sized elegant vinyl floor and beige floor wine cellar photo in Minneapolis with storage racks

Anne Buskirk
Living room - contemporary look-out light wood floor and beige floor living room idea in Indianapolis with beige walls, a ribbon fireplace and a tile fireplace

The view from the dining room. We looked at several options to make this relatively tight space both functional and spacious. The wife, who is a chef and meticulously organized, had this to say about 3 Lights Design's attention to detail, "I'm so impressed how you heard all the little silly things I was saying and got it into a picture!!!" For us, the "silly little things" are everything. That's how the project's name was born. All photos by Thomas Kuoh Photography.

Lower Level Powder Room
Example of a classic green tile and subway tile multicolored floor powder room design in St Louis with green walls, an undermount sink, marble countertops and white countertops

This modern green home offers both a vacation destination on Cape Cod near local family members and an opportunity for rental income. FAMILY ROOTS. A West Coast couple living in the San Francisco Bay Area sought a permanent East Coast vacation home near family members living on Cape Cod. As academic professionals focused on sustainability, they sought a green, energy efficient home that was well-aligned with their values. With no green homes available for sale on Cape Cod, they decided to purchase land near their family and build their own. SLOPED SITE. Comprised of a 3/4 acre lot nestled in the pines, the steeply sloping terrain called for a plan that embraced and took advantage of the slope. Of equal priority was optimizing solar exposure, preserving privacy from abutters, and creating outdoor living space. The design accomplished these goals with a simple, rectilinear form, offering living space on the both entry and lower/basement levels. The stepped foundation allows for a walk-out basement level with light-filled living space on the down-hill side of the home. The traditional basement on the eastern, up-hill side houses mechanical equipment and a home gym. The house welcomes natural light throughout, captures views of the forest, and delivers entertainment space that connects indoor living space to outdoor deck and dining patio. MODERN VISION. The clean building form and uncomplicated finishes pay homage to the modern architectural legacy on the outer Cape. Durable and economical fiber cement panels, fixed with aluminum channels, clad the primary form. Cedar clapboards provide a visual accent at the south-facing living room, which extends a single roof plane to cover the entry porch. SMART USE OF SPACE. On the entry level, the “L”-shaped living, dining, and kitchen space connects to the exterior living, dining, and grilling spaces to effectively double the home’s summertime entertainment area. Placed at the western end of the entry level (where it can retain privacy but still claim expansive downhill views) is the master suite with a built-in study. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a second full bathroom, and laundry. The flexibility of the space—crucial in a house with a modest footprint—emerges in one of the guest bedrooms, which doubles as home office by opening the barn-style double doors to connect it to the bright, airy open stair leading up to the entry level. Thoughtful design, generous ceiling heights and large windows transform the modest 1,100 sf* footprint into a well-lit, spacious home. *(total finished space is 1800 sf) RENTAL INCOME. The property works for its owners by netting rental income when the owners are home in San Francisco. The house especially caters to vacationers bound for nearby Mayo Beach and includes an outdoor shower adjacent to the lower level entry door. In contrast to the bare bones cottages that are typically available on the Cape, this home offers prospective tenants a modern aesthetic, paired with luxurious and green features. Durable finishes inside and out will ensure longevity with the heavier use that comes with a rental property. COMFORT YEAR-ROUND. The home is super-insulated and air-tight, with mechanical ventilation to provide continuous fresh air from the outside. High performance triple-paned windows complement the building enclosure and maximize passive solar gain while ensuring a warm, draft-free winter, even when sitting close to the glass. A properly sized air source heat pump offers efficient heating & cooling, and includes a carefully designed the duct distribution system to provide even comfort throughout the house. The super-insulated envelope allows us to significantly reduce the equipment capacity, duct size, and airflow quantities, while maintaining unparalleled thermal comfort. ENERGY EFFICIENT. The building’s shell and mechanical systems play instrumental roles in the home’s exceptional performance. The building enclosure reduces the most significant energy glutton: heating. Continuous super-insulation, thorough air sealing, triple-pane windows, and passive solar gain work together to yield a miniscule heating load. All active energy consumers are extremely efficient: an air source heat pump for heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation (ERV), and high efficiency appliances. The result is a home that uses 70% less energy than a similar new home built to code requirements. OVERALL. The home embodies the owners’ goals and values while comprehensively enabling thermal comfort, energy efficiency, a vacation respite, and supplementary income. PROJECT TEAM ZeroEnergy Design - Architect & Mechanical Designer A.F. Hultin & Co. - Contractor Pamet Valley Landscape Design - Landscape & Masonry Lisa Finch - Original Artwork European Architectural Supply - Windows Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Steve Chenn
Eat-in kitchen - contemporary eat-in kitchen idea in Houston with flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, brown backsplash, stone slab backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Kitchen - transitional u-shaped medium tone wood floor kitchen idea in New York with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, blue cabinets, marble countertops, gray backsplash, stainless steel appliances and no island

Open concept kitchen renovation. Custom cabinetry mixed on upper and lower cabinetry is the perfect balance between warm and cool. Custom open shelving adds to openness while being functional. Subway tiles add a classic and clean background. Mark Campbell Creative Photography.

Example of a transitional l-shaped dark wood floor kitchen design in San Francisco with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, wood countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Small transitional u-shaped ceramic tile and black floor eat-in kitchen photo in New York with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, marble backsplash, stainless steel appliances, no island and gray countertops

Elegant porch photo in New Orleans with a roof extension

Mahogany, concrete. stainless steel and granite are the materials used in this below grade wine cellar. We worked with lighting designer, Tom Dearborn and contractor, Erik Ostmo and Bob McCurdy to complete this finely crafted space. Ostmo Construction Dale Christopher Lang, PhD, AIAP, NW Architectural Photography

Kimberly Gavin Photography
Inspiration for a rustic medium tone wood floor kitchen remodel in Denver with recessed-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, wood countertops, stainless steel appliances and an island

Bradshaw Photography
Wet bar - mid-sized rustic single-wall ceramic tile and brown floor wet bar idea in Columbus with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, gray cabinets, wood countertops and gray backsplash

Photo: Rikki Snyder © 2015 Houzz
Transitional u-shaped dark wood floor open concept kitchen photo in New York with blue cabinets, white backsplash, stainless steel appliances, a peninsula, an undermount sink and shaker cabinets

Bill & Joan's Kitchen is a step out of the ordinary. Their two tone kitchen is separate from base to walls. While, I was at their beautiful home in Milford, MI, I forgot to photograph their matching fireplace and their powder room, but I hope the kitchen pictures will display the style enough

Will Doyle
Living room - coastal living room idea in Toronto

Will Doyle
Beach style family room photo in Toronto

Ryan Fung Photography
Example of a large transitional l-shaped dark wood floor open concept kitchen design in Toronto with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, quartzite countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island