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/

Huge tuscan dark wood floor game room photo in Orlando with beige walls, no fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Orange County, CA - Dynamic Garage Doors include multifunctional door configurations not only for regular garages but garages that have been converted to home offices, playrooms, additional bedrooms, multipurpose rooms as well as man caves throughout the Southern California regions. This custom garage door project consisted of creating a newly renovated garage into a multipurpose room which would double as a home office as well as entertainment space for guests. The original overhead garage door was eliminated to open up the room space and give the interior of this garage a real room feel as opposed to a makeshift room with an obvious garage feel. Since the converted garage was to be used as an entertainment area as well as an office it became obvious to introduce bi-folding doors or former accordion doors that could be pushed out of the way to expand the indoors to the outdoors and thus expanding the entertainment to the exterior of the structure as well during those summer evening gatherings. The large glass panes allow ample natural light to bathe the interior of the room when being used as an office and can keep the room's climate under controlled when the accordion doors are completely closed. These custom bi-folding doors seal out the weather while allowing the outdoors in with a warm vivid shower of natural light. What a pleasure it must be to have a working office with staggering windows that can double as an entertainment center in the evenings and weekends! Dynamic Garage Doors aren't just garage doors, they are functional creations that come in unlimited configurations to suit your needs. Whether you're converting your garage to useful, liveable square footage or simply increasing your home's curb appeal with one of our world-class designed garage doors. We've got just the door solution for your garage! Call us today for project price consultation: (855) 343-DOOR

Inspiration for a cottage laundry room remodel in Salt Lake City

Example of a southwest laundry room design in New Orleans with shaker cabinets, gray cabinets, wood countertops, gray walls, a side-by-side washer/dryer and beige countertops

This multi-purpose and beautiful garage features a PremierGarage PremierOne flooring with a 1/4" chip in Smoke color. The garage cabinetry features custom fit upper cabinets in windswept pewter to allow for storage below for items such as a lawn mower. The slatwall provides versatility to move around different types of organizers and hooks to hold bikes, gardening equipment, tools and sports equipment. The white 4'x8' overhead rack in white can be used to store seasonal items. The workbench is custom built to exactly fit the niche in the wall. There is plenty of space and different accessories used to house items such as bikes and a snowblower.

New Additions to Hoover + Hill This project is a continuation of the renovation and updating work Flavin Architects had previously completed at the 1958 Wales house, designed by architect Henry Hoover and Walter Hill. Our clients, a young family, desired more space for guests, a home office, a yoga studio, and covered car parking. The challenge was to respect the architects’ original vision and not to interfere with the perfect cruciform plan of the house. To accomplish these goals, we converted the existing garage/workshop structure into a guest house and then designed a new, separate carport/storage building. The new carport building shares the low-slope gable of the original Hoover structure. The post and beam structure characteristic of Hoover’s design is updated through the use of galvanized steel posts and I beams. The galvanized beams cantilever to support a sheltered walkway leading from the parking to a guest house terrace defined in relationship to the three structures surrounding it. The terrace is paved in slate with a central rain garden. Wood lattice clads the carport, providing good ventilation and letting the building glow like a lantern at night. Our guest house renovation celebrates the unique structural timber ceiling of the original garage. We replaced opaque plywood trusses with a slender cable truss structurally engineered by Webb Structural Services. This cable truss allows for a view of the timber ceiling. A wall of glass facing the courtyard replaced the original garage door. A murphy bed in the rear room enables quick conversion from guest quarters to weight room.

Amplified Tiny House. L-shaped with two separrate structures. Main house (400 sq ft) is on foundation. Trailer section is 160 sq ft. Exterior furniture by Ecovet Furniture. Their furniture is custom built by veterans using reclaimed material from decommissioned trailers. Photo cred: Arshia Khan

Example of a mid-sized transitional light wood floor and brown floor utility room design in Nashville with an undermount sink, white cabinets, white walls, open cabinets, a side-by-side washer/dryer and brown countertops

a compact modern garage
Inspiration for a small contemporary detached one-car garage workshop remodel in Boston

Photo: Robert Burns ˙© 2015 Houzz
Urban shed photo in Portland

This East Troy home on Booth Lake had a few drainage issues that needed to be resolved, but one thing was clear, the homeowners knew with the proper design features, their property had amazing potential to be a fixture on the lake. Starting with a redesign of the backyard, including retaining walls and other drainage features, the home was then ready for a radical facelift. We redesigned the entry of the home with a timber frame portico/entryway. The entire portico was built with the old-world artistry of a mortise and tenon framing method. We also designed and installed a new deck and patio facing the lake, installed an integrated driveway and sidewalk system throughout the property and added a splash of evening effects with some beautiful architectural lighting around the house. A Timber Tech deck with Radiance cable rail system was added off the side of the house to increase lake viewing opportunities and a beautiful stamped concrete patio was installed at the lower level of the house for additional lounging. Lastly, the original detached garage was razed and rebuilt with a new design that not only suits our client’s needs, but is designed to complement the home’s new look. The garage was built with trusses to create the tongue and groove wood cathedral ceiling and the storage area to the front of the garage. The secondary doors on the lakeside of the garage were installed to allow our client to drive his golf cart along the crushed granite pathways and to provide a stunning view of Booth Lake from the multi-purpose garage. Photos by Beth Welsh, Interior Changes

A cluttered suburban laundry room gets a makeover—cubbies and dog-wash station included. Photography by S. Brenner
Inspiration for a rustic l-shaped beige floor laundry room remodel in Denver with flat-panel cabinets, a side-by-side washer/dryer and beige countertops

Jay Mangum Photography
Garden shed - small contemporary detached garden shed idea in Raleigh

Photo Credit - David Bader
Garage - farmhouse four-car garage idea in Milwaukee

This East Troy home on Booth Lake had a few drainage issues that needed to be resolved, but one thing was clear, the homeowners knew with the proper design features, their property had amazing potential to be a fixture on the lake. Starting with a redesign of the backyard, including retaining walls and other drainage features, the home was then ready for a radical facelift. We redesigned the entry of the home with a timber frame portico/entryway. The entire portico was built with the old-world artistry of a mortise and tenon framing method. We also designed and installed a new deck and patio facing the lake, installed an integrated driveway and sidewalk system throughout the property and added a splash of evening effects with some beautiful architectural lighting around the house. A Timber Tech deck with Radiance cable rail system was added off the side of the house to increase lake viewing opportunities and a beautiful stamped concrete patio was installed at the lower level of the house for additional lounging. Lastly, the original detached garage was razed and rebuilt with a new design that not only suits our client’s needs, but is designed to complement the home’s new look. The garage was built with trusses to create the tongue and groove wood cathedral ceiling and the storage area to the front of the garage. The secondary doors on the lakeside of the garage were installed to allow our client to drive his golf cart along the crushed granite pathways and to provide a stunning view of Booth Lake from the multi-purpose garage. Photos by Beth Welsh, Interior Changes

Orange County, CA - Garage conversions are gaining popularity in heavily populated areas such as Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and many other urban regions throughout the state of California. Many homeowners are converting their garages into actual liveable square footage. Some of the garage conversions we've seen include but are not limited to Home Offices, Playrooms, Man Caves, Entertainment Rooms, Guest Suites and/or Multipurpose Quarters. For this particular project located in Studio City, CA we were generously commissioned by our client to replace the existing roll-up garage door to actual swing-open carriage style doors featuring safari style windows for added ventilation while the children play inside the safe environment and protection of the newly converted garage. What a fantastic way to keep your kids within your supervision without them destroying your fine furniture or disturbing your peace! The garage door conversion for this home consisted of removing the existing roll-up garage door with all the track, springs and weather seal to start with a fresh, clean opening ready to receive the newly handcrafted carriage doors. Designing the carriage doors and keeping the home's original architectural essence was of utmost importance to us and the client. We also suggested awning style or safari style windows for ventilation as the garage was converted to a playroom and needed some air flow while being used. Additionally, the windows were designed to be larger than the standard carriage door size to allow more light inside the room during the day. At night, the lights inside shine through the traditional style window mullions with a warm glow that fills the exterior of the home. Preserving the traditional craftsmanship of authentically built carriage doors is always a priority when custom crafting and designing real carriage doors. Dynamic Garage Door is a true design consultation firm who also happens to manufacture world-class carriage doors and professionally installs them throughout the state of California while shipping outside of the state. Get a real carriage door conversion project price at: (855) 343-DOOR

A minimal insertion into a densely wooded landscape, the Collector’s Pavilion provides the owners with an 8,000 sf private fitness space and vintage automobile gallery. On a gently sloping site in amongst a grove of trees, the pavilion slides into the topography - mimicking and contrasting the surrounding landscape with a folded roof plane that hovers over a board formed concrete base. The clients’ requirement for a nearby room to display a growing car collection as well as provide a remote area for personal fitness carries with it a series of challenges related to privacy and security. The pavilion nestles into the wooded site - finding a home in a small clearing - and merges with the sloping landscape. The building has dual personalities, serving as a private and secure bunker from the exterior, while transforming into a warm and inviting space on the interior. The use of indirect light and the need to obscure direct views from the public right away provides the client with adequate day light for day-to-day use while ensuring that strict privacy is maintained. This shifting personality is also dramatically affected by the seasons - contrasting and merging with the surrounding environment depending on the time of year. The Collector’s Pavilion employs meticulous detailing of its concrete to steel to wood connections, exploring the grounded nature of poured concrete in conjunction with a delicate wood roof system that floats above a grid of steel. Above all, the Pavilion harmonizes with it’s natural surroundings through it’s materiality, formal language, and siting. Overview Chenequa, WI Size 8,000 sf Completion Date May 2013 Services Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Design

Landmark Photography
Inspiration for a country black floor mudroom remodel in Minneapolis with white walls