Ron Rosenzweig www.rons-prophoto.com
Inspiration for a small timeless built-in desk medium tone wood floor home office remodel in Miami with white walls

Photo by Lucy Call
Open concept kitchen - craftsman l-shaped light wood floor and beige floor open concept kitchen idea in Salt Lake City with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, dark wood cabinets, wood countertops, green backsplash, subway tile backsplash and an island

This lakefront home's kitchen draws from traditional Swedish design and style. A deep basin sink and calm color palette branch from cabinets to tile backsplash and articulate fixtures. All elements combine and bathe in the gorgeous natural light reflecting off the lake outside. Like a picture frame around a work of art, this kitchen complements, rather than competes, with the element the owners loved most: the view. Photos by: Jeff Roberts Project by: Maine Coast Kitchen Design

Inspiration for a contemporary l-shaped dark wood floor eat-in kitchen remodel in Los Angeles with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, an island, stainless steel appliances and an undermount sink

Amoura Productions Sallie Elliott, Allied ASID
Living room - large mediterranean open concept carpeted living room idea in Omaha with beige walls, a standard fireplace, a stone fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Example of a cottage dark wood floor enclosed dining room design in San Francisco with beige walls

Enclosed dining room - mid-sized transitional dark wood floor enclosed dining room idea in Philadelphia with beige walls and no fireplace

Eric Roth Photography
Elegant l-shaped light wood floor eat-in kitchen photo in Boston with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, stainless steel appliances, white backsplash and green walls

Joe Fletcher Photography
Dining room - transitional dark wood floor dining room idea in San Francisco with white walls

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. Photography: Eric Roth Photo

kyle caldwell
Example of a farmhouse medium tone wood floor kitchen design in Boston with an island, a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, stainless steel appliances and gray countertops

Professionally Staged by Ambience at Home http://ambiance-athome.com/ Professionally Photographed by SpaceCrafting http://spacecrafting.com

Photo: Rikki Snyder © 2015 Houzz
Country brick floor and red floor sunroom photo in New York with a standard fireplace and a standard ceiling

hardscaping, 1.4 minus gravel walkway, rock garden, water features, waterfall, pondless, outdoor living space, outdoor seating, concrete pavers, flagstone hardscaping

Cella Architecture - Erich Karp, AIA Laurelhurst Portland, OR This new Tudor Revival styled home, situated in Portland’s Laurelhurst area, was designed to blend with one of the city’s distinctive old neighborhoods. While there are a variety of existing house styles along the nearby streets, the Tudor Revival style with its characteristic steeply pitched roof lines, arched doorways, and heavy chimneys occurs throughout the neighborhood and was the ideal style choice for the new home. The house was conceived with a steeply pitched asymmetric gable facing the street with the longer rake sweeping down in a gentle arc to stop near the entry. The front door is sheltered by a gracefully arched canopy supported by twin wooden corbels. Additional details such as the stuccoed walls with their decorative banding that wraps the house or the flare of the stucco hood over the second floor windows or the use of unique materials such as the Old Carolina brick window sills and entry porch paving add to the character of the house. But while the form and details for the home are drawn from styles of the last century, the home is certainly of this era with noticeably cleaner lines, details, and configuration than would occur in older variants of the style.

Photo: Whitney Lyons © 2014 Houzz
Inspiration for a mid-sized modern l-shaped concrete floor eat-in kitchen remodel in Portland with flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash and white walls

Example of a transitional home office design in New York with gray walls and a corner fireplace

Inspiration for a contemporary patio remodel in Las Vegas with a pergola

Example of a trendy u-shaped kitchen design in San Francisco with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, dark wood cabinets, gray backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and white countertops