The 1,500 sq. ft. GO Home offers two story living with a combined kitchen/living/dining space on the main level and three bedrooms with full bath on the upper level. Amenities include covered entry porch, kitchen pantry, powder room, mud room and laundry closet. LEED Platinum certification; 1st Passive House–certified home in Maine, 12th certified in U.S.; USGBC Residential Project of the Year Award 2011; EcoHome Magazine Design Merit Award, 2011; TreeHugger, Best Passive House of the Year Award 2012 photo by Trent Bell

Elegant kitchen photo in Boston

Screened porch is 14'x20'. photos by Ryann Ford
Elegant screened-in porch photo in Austin with decking and a roof extension

James F. Wilson / courtesy BUILDER Magazine
Contemporary exterior home idea in Orlando

Various shades of blue were used to create this serene, modern space. Built in cabinetry house computer equipment, filing cabinets, and misc storage. The built in window seat also has fiiing cabinets below.

Eichlers...homeowners seem to love them and hate them. They love them for their mid-century modern look, they hate them when it comes time to heating them and cooling them. Adding a Rollamatic retractable roof above the atrium creates valuable indoor space and helps reduce the power bill.

Powder room with table style vanity that was fabricated in our exclusive Bay Area cabinet shop. Ann Sacks Clodagh Shield tiled wall adds interest to this very small powder room that had previously been a hallway closet.

A Nana door corner, clerestory windows, and Velux skylights provide natural lighting for this modern Bay Area artist studio built by award-winning general contractor, Wm. H. Fry Construction Company.

Elegant dark wood floor and brown floor dining room photo in Chicago with gray walls

Large trendy u-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen photo in San Francisco with an undermount sink, louvered cabinets, dark wood cabinets, quartzite countertops, subway tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances

The Yin-Yang House is a net-zero energy single-family home in a quiet Venice, CA neighborhood. The design objective was to create a space for a large and growing family with several children, which would create a calm, relaxed and organized environment that emphasizes public family space. The home also serves as a place to entertain, and a welcoming space for teenagers as they seek social space with friends. The home is organized around a series of courtyards and other outdoor spaces that integrate with the interior of the house. Facing the street the house appears to be solid. However, behind the steel entry door is a courtyard, which reveals the indoor-outdoor nature of the house behind the solid exterior. From the entry courtyard, the entire space to the rear garden wall can be seen; the first clue of the home’s spatial connection between inside and out. These spaces are designed for entertainment, and the 40 foot sliding glass door to the living room enhances the harmonic relationship of the main room, allowing the owners to host many guests without the feeling of being overburdened. The tensions of the house’s exterior are subtly underscored by a 12-inch steel band that hews close to, but sometimes rises above or falls below the floor line of the second floor – a continuous loop moving inside and out like a pen that is never lifted from the page, but reinforces the intent to spatially weave together the indoors with the outside as a single space. Scale manipulation also plays a formal role in the design of the structure. From the rear, the house appears to be a single-story volume. The large master bedroom window and the outdoor steps are scaled to support this illusion. It is only when the steps are animated with people that one realizes the true scale of the house is two stories. The kitchen is the heart of the house, with an open working area that allows the owner, an accomplished chef, to converse with friends while cooking. Bedrooms are intentionally designed to be very small and simple; allowing for larger public spaces, emphasizing the family over individual domains. The breakfast room looks across an outdoor courtyard to the guest room/kids playroom, establishing a visual connection while defining the separation of uses. The children can play outdoors while under adult supervision from the dining area or the office, or do homework in the office while adults occupy the adjacent outdoor or indoor space. Many of the materials used, including the bamboo interior, composite stone and tile countertops and bathroom finishes are recycled, and reinforce the environmental DNA of the house, which also has a green roof. Blown-in cellulose insulation, radiant heating and a host of other sustainable features aids in the performance of the building’s heating and cooling. The active systems in the home include a 12 KW solar photovoltaic panel system, the largest such residential system available on the market. The solar panels also provide shade from the sun, preventing the house from becoming overheated. The owners have been in the home for over nine months and have yet to receive a power bill.

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/

Kitchen Storage Pantry in Bay Area European Style Cabinetry made in our artisanal cabinet shop with a wonderful Hafele Gourmet Pantry for kitchen storage.

Blue and white bathroom with fixed glass block window, glass shower enclosure, shower shelf niche, and recycled glass mosaic tiles. Recyled Glass Mosaic Tile: Elida Ceramica Elida Glass Mosaic Ocean White floor tile: American Olean Chloe Pinwheel Mosaic Subway Tile: American Olean - Profiles 3 x 6 Sink: Kohler Caxton Faucet: Grohe 33 170 Europlus Collection - Single Handle Lavatory Faucet - Modern Theme - Ceramic Disc Valve - Pop-Up Included Paint: Kelly Moore Prairie Day light blue KM3130-1 Glass Block Window: Pacific Glass Block

My favorite farmhouse kitchen.. :)
Example of a mid-sized country l-shaped medium tone wood floor kitchen design in Louisville with a farmhouse sink, stainless steel appliances, shaker cabinets, wood countertops, white cabinets, white backsplash, ceramic backsplash and an island

Whether you're looking for new windows and doors or just want your old ones replaced, our handymen will provide efficient and professional service that you want with the quality of workmanship you expect. Our professionals can guide you through various options for upgrading or updating your windows and doors to more energy-efficient models, repairing or replacing door frames or hardware, and choosing the right style to fit your home's look and budget. The best part? You get the peace of mind that comes with a written 100% satisfaction guarantee. Our Craftsman can repair and replace your door frames, window trim and hardware. We can also upgrade your doors and windows to more energy-efficient models. Sliding doors French doors Pocket doors And More! Installing new windows and doors is one of the easiest ways to increase your home's value--and the upgrade can save you money on your annual power bill.

Photo: Paul Hultberg Solar array on roof sells power back to power company resulting in credit power bills, gutters channel rainwater to 3 cisterns in basement for landscape irrigation, all lighting is LED

This is an example of a modern drought-tolerant river rock landscaping in San Francisco.

Tessa Neustadt
Mid-sized mountain style dark wood floor utility room photo in Los Angeles with shaker cabinets, gray cabinets, wood countertops, white walls and a stacked washer/dryer