Our clients wanted to explore all their options for creating a beautiful and practical new space, even if it meant moving a couple walls. This is where it pays to hire a company that offers both design and construction services! Our designer, Stephanie, worked closely with our contractor team to create a brand new layout that suited our clients style and practical needs. We determined we could make room for a spacious new walk-in shower by stealing some space from the guest bathroom on the other side of the wall (which we also remodeled). We also saved some space by installing a pocket door and a wall-hung toilet, which takes up less space than a traditional toilet. This freed up a ton of space for a large, custom double-vanity. Throw in some new lighting, a fresh coat of paint, and a new tile floor, and the result is a gorgeous new master bathroom that is almost completely unrecognizable!

An antique apothocary cabinet serves as the base for the kitchen island. Poliform cabinets create a minimal wall while hiding storage and appliances. Photo by Adam Milliron

This LEED Platinum certified house reflects the homeowner's desire for an exceptionally healthy and comfortable living environment, within a traditional neighborhood. INFILL SITE. The family, who moved from another area of Wellesley, sought out this property to be within walking distance of the high school and downtown area. An existing structure on the tight lot was removed to make way for the new home. 84% of the construction waste, from both the previous structure and the new home, was diverted from a landfill. ZED designed to preserve the existing mature trees on the perimeter of the property to minimize site impacts, and to maintain the character of the neighborhood as well as privacy on the site. EXTERIOR EXPRESSION. The street facade of the home relates to the local New England vernacular. The rear uses contemporary language, a nod to the family’s Californian roots, to incorporate a roof deck, solar panels, outdoor living space, and the backyard swimming pool. ZED’s careful planning avoided to the need to face the garage doors towards the street, a common syndrome of a narrow lot. THOUGHTFUL SPACE. Homes with dual entries can often result in duplicate and unused spaces. In this home, the everyday and formal entry areas are one and the same; the front and garage doors share the entry program of coat closets, mudroom storage with bench for removing your shoes, and a laundry room with generous closets for the children's sporting equipment. The entry area leads directly to the living space, encompassing the kitchen, dining and sitting area areas in an L-shaped open plan arrangement. The kitchen is placed at the south-west corner of the space to allow for a strong connection to the dining, sitting and outdoor living spaces. A fire pit on the deck satisfies the family’s desire for an open flame while a sealed gas fireplace is used indoors - ZED’s preference after omitting gas burning appliances completely from an airtight home. A small study, with a window seat, is conveniently located just off of the living space. A first floor guest bedroom includes an accessible bathroom for aging visitors and can be used as a master suite to accommodate aging in place. HEALTHY LIVING. The client requested a home that was easy to clean and would provide a respite from seasonal allergies and common contaminants that are found in many indoor spaces. ZED selected easy to clean solid surface flooring throughout, provided ample space for cleaning supplies on each floor, and designed a mechanical system with ventilation that provides a constant supply of fresh outdoor air. ZED selected durable materials, finishes, cabinetry, and casework with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and no added urea formaldehyde. YEAR-ROUND COMFORT. The home is super insulated and air-tight, paired with high performance triple-paned windows, to ensure it is draft-free throughout the winter (even when in front of the large windows and doors). ZED designed a right-sized heating and cooling system to pair with the thermally improved building enclosure to ensure year-round comfort. The glazing on the home maximizes passive solar gains, and facilitates cross ventilation and daylighting. ENERGY EFFICIENT. As one of the most energy efficient houses built to date in Wellesley, the home highlights a practical solution for Massachusetts. First, the building enclosure reduces the largest energy requirement for typical houses (heating). Super-insulation, exceptional air sealing, a thermally broken wall assembly, triple pane windows, and passive solar gain combine for a sizable heating load reduction. Second, within the house only efficient systems consume energy. These include an air source heat pump for heating & cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation, and high efficiency appliances. Lastly, photovoltaics provide renewable energy help offset energy consumption. The result is an 89% reduction in energy use compared to a similar brand new home built to code requirements. RESILIENT. The home will fare well in extreme weather events. During a winter power outage, heat loss will be very slow due to the super-insulated and airtight envelope– taking multiple days to drop to 60 degrees even with no heat source. An engineered drainage system, paired with careful the detailing of the foundation, will help to keep the finished basement dry. A generator will provide full operation of the all-electric house during a power outage. OVERALL. The home is a reflection of the family goals and an expression of their values, beautifully enabling health, comfort, safety, resilience, and utility, all while respecting the planet. ZED - Architect & Mechanical Designer Bevilacqua Builders Inc - Contractor Creative Land & Water Engineering - Civil Engineering Barbara Peterson Landscape - Landscape Design Nest & Company - Interior Furnishings Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Dedicated laundry room - mid-sized craftsman galley dedicated laundry room idea in San Francisco with shaker cabinets and dark wood cabinets

Dining area of J. Prime Steakhouse on 1604 in San Antonio. Large west facing windows. Window Fashions of Texas installed our largest louver custom stained plantation shutters for easy control over light and heat coming thru these windows. When the shutters are closed, it really helps block the heat and keep the dining room cooler. The natural wood grain on these shutters practically glows with this custom stained color. Mary Pokorny

Eat-in kitchen - mid-sized coastal galley medium tone wood floor and brown floor eat-in kitchen idea in San Francisco with a farmhouse sink, raised-panel cabinets, brown cabinets, quartz countertops, black backsplash, ceramic backsplash, paneled appliances, an island and white countertops

This multifunctional Murphy bed bookshelf combines smart design with effortless style. When closed, it appears as a sleek built-in bookcase, perfect for displaying décor, books, or keepsakes. With a simple pull, it transforms into a comfortable bed, maximizing space without sacrificing beauty or function. Ideal for guest rooms, home offices, or multi-use spaces, this design offers a seamless balance of practicality and elegance.

This multifunctional Murphy bed bookshelf combines smart design with effortless style. When closed, it appears as a sleek built-in bookcase, perfect for displaying décor, books, or keepsakes. With a simple pull, it transforms into a comfortable bed, maximizing space without sacrificing beauty or function. Ideal for guest rooms, home offices, or multi-use spaces, this design offers a seamless balance of practicality and elegance.

Example of a huge farmhouse light wood floor and beige floor mudroom design in Salt Lake City with white walls and a medium wood front door

A new custom closet provided the lady of the house with ample storage for her wardrobe. Photography: Jason Stemple
Example of a mid-sized minimalist women's medium tone wood floor and brown floor dressing room design in Charleston with white cabinets and raised-panel cabinets

Tri-View Mirrored Cabinet – center door closed When versatile functionality and additional storage is needed, GlassCrafters’ Tri-View cabinet series delivers innovative design. Strength, utility and precision details unite to deliver practical cultivated beauty. Frameless front door mirror options include a flat mirror and upgradeable 3/4" beveled door. Cabinets can be surface mounted or recessed for a custom built in look.

The house at dusk, with a sloped roof volume and lit windows in the pines. Residential design by Strand Design, Minneapolis.
Example of a mid-sized trendy gray mixed siding house exterior design in Minneapolis with a shed roof and a metal roof

Mountain style concrete floor bedroom photo in Seattle with beige walls

An open tall panel reveals fitted shoe storage within the side of the entrance passage. Closely spaced wood shelves and smaller compartments make use of the narrow recess, while the pale outer door aligns visually with the surrounding white trim. Beyond the open cabinet, a bordered woven rug and a sequence of glass lanterns continue toward the distant living room, preserving the hall’s clear sense of direction. The warm storage interior adds a tactile contrast to the pale walls and shallow ceiling moldings. Light from the rooms ahead brightens the passage and gives the joinery depth. This practical detail combines discreet storage with a composed architectural setting, keeping everyday footwear close to the entrance and easy to organize.

KELVIN BING
Family room - modern family room idea in Singapore

Mid-sized transitional white brick gable roof idea in Nashville

Marcel Page marcelpagephotography.com
Eat-in kitchen - large transitional single-wall medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen idea in Chicago with medium tone wood cabinets, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, two islands, raised-panel cabinets and granite countertops

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

Jerrica Zaric Interior Design, LLC transformed a Milwaukee client's spare bedroom into a full dressing room. This is a photograph of the entryway into the room. Cube storage, a closet rack and baskets simplify and organize the client's closet. Curtains hand painted by Jerrica Zaric Interior Design. Photo by: Ryan Hainey http://www.ryanhainey.com/