Mid-sized transitional open concept dark wood floor living room photo in Toronto with a standard fireplace, a wood fireplace surround, a wall-mounted tv and gray walls

Trendy exterior home photo in DC Metro

Transitional living room photo in Austin

Inspiration for a rustic brown one-story wood gable roof remodel in Seattle

Modern loft renovation. Spacious master bedroom walk-in closet with playful wallpaper and efficient custom storage. Photos by Eric Roth. Construction by Ralph S. Osmond Company. Green architecture by ZeroEnergy Design. http://www.zeroenergy.com

Minimalist living room photo in Edmonton

Our pioneer project, Casita de Tierra in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, showcases the natural building techniques of a rubble trench foundation, earthbag construction, natural plasters, earthen floors, and a composting toilet. Our earthbag wall system consists of locally available, cost-efficient, polypropylene bags that are filled with a formula of clay and aggregate unearthed from our building site. The bags are stacked like bricks in running bonds, which are strengthened by courses of barbed wire laid between each row, and tamped into place. The walls are then plastered with a mix composed of clay, sand, soil and straw, and are followed by gypsum and lime renders to create attractive walls. The casita exhibits a load-bearing wall system demonstrating that thick earthen walls, with no rebar or cement, can support a roofing structure. We, also, installed earthen floors, created an indoor dry-composting toilet system, utilized local woods for the furniture, routed all grey water to the outdoor garden, and maximized air flow by including cross-ventilating screened windows below the natural palm frond and cane roof. Casita de Tierra exemplifies an economically efficient, structurally sound, aesthetically pleasing, environmentally kind, and socially responsible home.

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

Inspiration for a contemporary gray floor, exposed beam and vaulted ceiling living room remodel in Austin with white walls, a standard fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Lincoln Barbour Photography
Inspiration for a large timeless master mosaic tile and white tile porcelain tile and beige floor freestanding bathtub remodel in Portland with recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, beige walls, an undermount sink, quartzite countertops and a hinged shower door

Covered with a mirror, this unique product adds a touch of luxury and blends in with any modern or traditional design style to safely bring total warmth to your bathroom while warming your towels. An ecological, economical, and silent model with very high energy efficiency, featuring a powder-coated steel structure and an Olycale® stone plate on the front. The positioning of the CINIER Olycal® stone towel warmer in your bathroom is important to maximize its energy efficiency. The large surface area of CINIER bath towel warmers and the Olycal stone allow the radiator to emit heat evenly and maintain a safe maximum temperature of 150°F/65°C for greater comfort and safety. Order the luxury contemporary Origin bath towel warmer radiator today to add elegance to your bathroom!

Alcove bathtub - mid-sized farmhouse master gray tile and ceramic tile ceramic tile alcove bathtub idea in Minneapolis with flat-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, a two-piece toilet, gray walls, an undermount sink and quartzite countertops

Photo: Ten Ten Creative
Wet bar - transitional single-wall dark wood floor and brown floor wet bar idea in Dallas with shaker cabinets, black cabinets, black backsplash, subway tile backsplash and gray countertops

This kitchen renovation was made more economical by refacing the existing cabinets and building custom face frames, and drawer fronts with barn wood. The custom-made barn wood box beam visually separates the living room/entry way from the kitchen/dining room in this open concept living space. It is positioned with large black-painted steel brackets.

Georgia Coast Design & Construction - Southern Living Custom Builder Showcase Home at St. Simons Island, GA Built on a one-acre, lakefront lot on the north end of St. Simons Island, the Southern Living Custom Builder Showcase Home is characterized as Old World European featuring exterior finishes of Mosstown brick and Old World stucco, Weathered Wood colored designer shingles, cypress beam accents and a handcrafted Mahogany door. Inside the three-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot showcase home, Old World rustic and modern European style blend with high craftsmanship to create a sense of timeless quality, stability, and tranquility. Behind the scenes, energy efficient technologies combine with low maintenance materials to create a home that is economical to maintain for years to come. The home's open floor plan offers a dining room/kitchen/great room combination with an easy flow for entertaining or family interaction. The interior features arched doorways, textured walls and distressed hickory floors.

Ateliers CINIER crafts the finest Minimal bath towel warmer radiator in Europe, proudly offered to you by PSCBATH. A luxury European bath towel warmer radiator like no other. In addition to being economical, very quiet, and efficient, the Minimal bath towel warmer radiator by Cinier brings sobriety thanks to its finishes. It is crucial to carefully position the CINIER’s Olycal® stone bath towel warmer radiator in your bathroom for optimal energy efficiency. The Olycal stone and large surface area of the CINIER bath towel warmers allow the radiator’s heat output to radiate in a homogeneous pattern. It also remains at a reasonable temperature of 150°F/65°C maximum, ensuring a higher level of comfort and safety. It safely provides total heat comfort in your bathroom while warming your towels. Furthermore, it is the best material for radiating heat into your bathroom with maximum energy efficiency.

Ian Dawson, C&I Studios
Inspiration for a small modern master gray tile and ceramic tile ceramic tile walk-in shower remodel in Baltimore with a vessel sink, a two-piece toilet and gray walls

Photo: Lauren Andersen © 2018 Houzz
Kitchen - eclectic kitchen idea in San Francisco

Long time clients who are "empty nesters" downsized from a larger house to this new condominium, designed to showcase their small yet impressive collection of modern art. The space plan, high ceilings, and careful consideration of materials lends their residence an quiet air of sophistication without pretension. Existing furnishings nearly 30 years old were slightly modified and reupholstered to work in the new residence, which proved both economical and comforting.