Although the Kids Bathroom was reduced in size by a few feet to add additional space in the Master Bathroom, you would never suspect it! Because of the new layout and design selections, it now feels even larger than before. We chose light colors for the walls, flooring, cabinetry, and tiles, as well as a large mirror to reflect more light. A custom linen closet with pull-out drawers and frosted glass elevates the design while remaining functional for this family. For a space created to work for a teenage boy, teen girl, and pre-teen girl, we showcase that you don’t need to sacrifice great design for functionality!

Inspiration for a large timeless master beige tile and travertine tile travertine floor and beige floor alcove shower remodel in New Orleans with raised-panel cabinets, beige cabinets, beige walls, an undermount sink, granite countertops and a hinged shower door

photo by Molly Winters
Example of a large minimalist master gray tile and mosaic tile limestone floor and beige floor freestanding bathtub design in Austin with flat-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, beige walls, an undermount sink, quartzite countertops and white countertops

LET'S GET PHYSICAL. | TARA LOGIC takes up the form of the Tara Classic single-lever mixer and radically modernizes it, although it is still instantly recognizable. It is narrower, extends upwards – but still has the same reduced design based on a cylindrical structure. Whether as a shower stem or a free-standing single-lever mixer on the tub, TARA LOGIC reaches elegantly upwards. It looks well-toned and encourages us to emulate it. Because there is no rosette, it looks even more streamlined and aspiring. This results in a progressive, minimalistic verticality that can be transferred to the architecture and design of the bathroom. | Available at www.shopstudio41.com

Shower Walls, Bench and Window Sill: Maximum Premium White Porcelain Slab from TransCeramica Shower Floor: Imola Koshi Porcelain Tile in Dark Grey Fixed Wall Bracket: Kallista (P21652-00-AD) Dennis Jourdan Photography

Although the Kids Bathroom was reduced in size by a few feet to add additional space in the Master Bathroom, you would never suspect it! Because of the new layout and design selections, it now feels even larger than before. We chose light colors for the walls, flooring, cabinetry, and tiles, as well as a large mirror to reflect more light. A custom linen closet with pull-out drawers and frosted glass elevates the design while remaining functional for this family. For a space created to work for a teenage boy, teen girl, and pre-teen girl, we showcase that you don’t need to sacrifice great design for functionality!

A bird's eye view allows a glimpse of the green roofs of the home, nestled into the treelines and overlooking the bay and small islands. Green roofs provide visual beauty from the roadway access on the top of the hill, and reduce the air conditioning load on the interior spaces in the home.

In this modest-sized master bathroom, modern and farmhouse are bound together with a white and gray color palette, accented with pops of natural wood. Floor-to-ceiling subway tiles and a frameless glass shower door provide a classic, open feel to a once-confined space. A barnwood-framed mirror, industrial hardware, exposed lightbulbs, and wood and pipe shelving complete the industrial look, while a carrara marble countertop and glazed porcelain floor tiles add a touch of luxury. We were hesitant to add a custom bench seat in the shower, as we didn’t want to reduce the usable shower space in an already modest-sized bathroom, so we opted for a natural teak shower bench. A small niche was also added to store bath and body products. Photo Credit: Nina Leone Photography

Design Builders & Remodeling is a one stop shop operation. From the start, design solutions are strongly rooted in practical applications and experience. Project planning takes into account the realities of the construction process and mindful of your established budget. All the work is centralized in one firm reducing the chances of costly or time consuming surprises. A solid partnership with solid professionals to help you realize your dreams for a new or improved home. This classic Connecticut home was bought by a growing family. The house was in an ideal location but needed to be expanded. Design Builders & Remodeling almost doubled the square footage of the home. Creating a new sunny and spacious master bedroom, new guestroom, laundry room, garage, kids bathroom, expanded and renovated the kitchen, family room, and playroom. The upgrades and addition is seamlessly and thoughtfully integrated to the original footprint.

This renovated brick rowhome in Boston’s South End offers a modern aesthetic within a historic structure, creative use of space, exceptional thermal comfort, a reduced carbon footprint, and a passive stream of income. DESIGN PRIORITIES. The goals for the project were clear - design the primary unit to accommodate the family’s modern lifestyle, rework the layout to create a desirable rental unit, improve thermal comfort and introduce a modern aesthetic. We designed the street-level entry as a shared entrance for both the primary and rental unit. The family uses it as their everyday entrance - we planned for bike storage and an open mudroom with bench and shoe storage to facilitate the change from shoes to slippers or bare feet as they enter their home. On the main level, we expanded the kitchen into the dining room to create an eat-in space with generous counter space and storage, as well as a comfortable connection to the living space. The second floor serves as master suite for the couple - a bedroom with a walk-in-closet and ensuite bathroom, and an adjacent study, with refinished original pumpkin pine floors. The upper floor, aside from a guest bedroom, is the child's domain with interconnected spaces for sleeping, work and play. In the play space, which can be separated from the work space with new translucent sliding doors, we incorporated recreational features inspired by adventurous and competitive television shows, at their son’s request. MODERN MEETS TRADITIONAL. We left the historic front facade of the building largely unchanged - the security bars were removed from the windows and the single pane windows were replaced with higher performing historic replicas. We designed the interior and rear facade with a vision of warm modernism, weaving in the notable period features. Each element was either restored or reinterpreted to blend with the modern aesthetic. The detailed ceiling in the living space, for example, has a new matte monochromatic finish, and the wood stairs are covered in a dark grey floor paint, whereas the mahogany doors were simply refinished. New wide plank wood flooring with a neutral finish, floor-to-ceiling casework, and bold splashes of color in wall paint and tile, and oversized high-performance windows (on the rear facade) round out the modern aesthetic. RENTAL INCOME. The existing rowhome was zoned for a 2-family dwelling but included an undesirable, single-floor studio apartment at the garden level with low ceiling heights and questionable emergency egress. In order to increase the quality and quantity of space in the rental unit, we reimagined it as a two-floor, 1 or 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a modern aesthetic, increased ceiling height on the lowest level and provided an in-unit washer/dryer. The apartment was listed with Jackie O'Connor Real Estate and rented immediately, providing the owners with a source of passive income. ENCLOSURE WITH BENEFITS. The homeowners sought a minimal carbon footprint, enabled by their urban location and lifestyle decisions, paired with the benefits of a high-performance home. The extent of the renovation allowed us to implement a deep energy retrofit (DER) to address air tightness, insulation, and high-performance windows. The historic front facade is insulated from the interior, while the rear facade is insulated on the exterior. Together with these building enclosure improvements, we designed an HVAC system comprised of continuous fresh air ventilation, and an efficient, all-electric heating and cooling system to decouple the house from natural gas. This strategy provides optimal thermal comfort and indoor air quality, improved acoustic isolation from street noise and neighbors, as well as a further reduced carbon footprint. We also took measures to prepare the roof for future solar panels, for when the South End neighborhood’s aging electrical infrastructure is upgraded to allow them. URBAN LIVING. The desirable neighborhood location allows the both the homeowners and tenant to walk, bike, and use public transportation to access the city, while each charging their respective plug-in electric cars behind the building to travel greater distances. OVERALL. The understated rowhouse is now ready for another century of urban living, offering the owners comfort and convenience as they live life as an expression of their values. Eric Roth Photo

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

The open-air foyer at the main entry of the home serves as a picture window framing the bay and jungle behind it. All the home's corridors and hallways are open-air, intended to reduce the air conditioning load and improve the home's energy efficiency.

Great Room / Master Suite addition onto farmhouse. Project located in Perkasie, Bucks County, PA.
Example of a large farmhouse beige two-story stucco gable roof design in Philadelphia

Photography by Keen Eye Marketing
Small transitional gray tile and white tile dark wood floor and brown floor alcove shower photo in Charleston with a one-piece toilet, gray walls, a pedestal sink and a hinged shower door

We started as a kitchen remodel but discovered there was mold in the majority of the exterior walls as well as the attic. The mold was caused by a number of problems but namely because the waterproof paper wrap on the house had deteriorated and was moisture to pass through the stucco and into the wood framing. In addition there was a leaking air conditioner condenser in the attic that was draining saturating the wood above the master bedroom. The mold was causing health problems it became clear we needed to replace a large majority of the framing and prevent future problems. So we went from a kitchen addition/remodel to rebuilding the majority of the home and adding 800sqft; including a new bedroom, expanding the master bedroom and bath as well as a walk-in closet. In anticipating for aging in place, we installed a walk-in shower with a bench and grab bars to allow for future wheelchair access and reduce trip hazards.

We started as a kitchen remodel but discovered there was mold in the majority of the exterior walls as well as the attic. The mold was caused by a number of problems but namely because the waterproof paper wrap on the house had deteriorated and was moisture to pass through the stucco and into the wood framing. In addition there was a leaking air conditioner condenser in the attic that was draining saturating the wood above the master bedroom. The mold was causing health problems it became clear we needed to replace a large majority of the framing and prevent future problems. So we went from a kitchen addition/remodel to rebuilding the majority of the home and adding 800sqft; including a new bedroom, expanding the master bedroom and bath as well as a walk-in closet. In anticipating for aging in place, we installed a walk-in shower with a bench and grab bars to allow for future wheelchair access and reduce trip hazards.

We started as a kitchen remodel but discovered there was mold in the majority of the exterior walls as well as the attic. The mold was caused by a number of problems but namely because the waterproof paper wrap on the house had deteriorated and was moisture to pass through the stucco and into the wood framing. In addition there was a leaking air conditioner condenser in the attic that was draining saturating the wood above the master bedroom. The mold was causing health problems it became clear we needed to replace a large majority of the framing and prevent future problems. So we went from a kitchen addition/remodel to rebuilding the majority of the home and adding 800sqft; including a new bedroom, expanding the master bedroom and bath as well as a walk-in closet. In anticipating for aging in place, we installed a walk-in shower with a bench and grab bars to allow for future wheelchair access and reduce trip hazards.

This single family home sits on a tight, sloped site. Within a modest budget, the goal was to provide direct access to grade at both the front and back of the house. The solution is a multi-split-level home with unconventional relationships between floor levels. Between the entrance level and the lower level of the family room, the kitchen and dining room are located on an interstitial level. Within the stair space “floats” a small bathroom. The generous stair is celebrated with a back-painted red glass wall which treats users to changing refractive ambient light throughout the house. Black brick, grey-tinted glass and mirrors contribute to the reasonably compact massing of the home. A cantilevered upper volume shades south facing windows and the home’s limited material palette meant a more efficient construction process. Cautious landscaping retains water run-off on the sloping site and home offices reduce the client’s use of their vehicle. The house achieves its vision within a modest footprint and with a design restraint that will ensure it becomes a long-lasting asset in the community. Photo by Tom Arban