Search results for "Prototypes" in Home Design Ideas

This gracious residence on the National Register of Historic Places created an opportunity to indulge in historically accurate details while creating a sunny space for a family's day-to-day living. The renovation expanded the kitchen into the home's former mud room and butler's pantry, creating an expansive space inspired by french bakery styling and incorporating salvaged historic decorative tile, mahogany cabinets and Carrara marble counter tops alongside restored upper cabinets and a custom butcher block island with zinc-lined flour bins. Photos by Photo Art Portraits

Example of a huge transitional gray tile powder room design in Miami with flat-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, marble countertops, a one-piece toilet and an undermount sink
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Inspiration for a farmhouse l-shaped medium tone wood floor and brown floor open concept kitchen remodel in New Orleans with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, granite countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

This is a 50'' Orton Style Rumford Fireplace at my home in Oxford,CT.
A Rumford Firplace is made with either a straight rear wall or a slanted one. The slanted ones are the better heaters and I just proved "the more efficient" as they do not have a bigger throat area than the straight variety. The book "The Forgotten Art of Building a Good Fireplace" written bu Vrest Orton in the late 60's descibes the slanted variety well and that is where they picked up the name. He did not invent them rather he wrote of what he witnessed as being nice enjoyable good heating Rumfords .
It uses my self made damper and burns all winter long with the damper blade at only a 1-3/4'''' gap opening.
This represents a throat area to fireplace opening area of 1 to 30 a achievement that recently left the top authority on Rumford Fireplaces in awe and disbelief as his straight backed Rumfords only get to a 1:20 ratio. Although he remained skeptical and wanting more explicit videos and refusing to sign a nondisclosure agreement, he wanted to know if I could do the same with his chosen styled Rumfords.
With a large or small fire the damper stays fixed.
Weather is a non issue, even foggy drizzly nights do not effect this fireplace. There are videos at FCasini on You Tube showing the 50'' burning along with my basement 36'' Orton which I did experimenting last winter . The basement [never used before] has no face, so I affixed a steel panel on it to see if it could burn at the same ratio as my 50'' which uses my self made 30 year old damper.
Iinstead it has a custom vestal damper which I cut the front off as I occasionally do when the budget is limited.
It burned good at a 1 to 26 ratio which is way above the 1/17 that Straight Back Rumfords normally do although their very best is 1/20 ..both of which depend on the use of the highly suggested Tee Pee Fire which will assist any fireplace in smoke evacuation due to solely emitting the smoke form the high end of the standing logs!
Both of my fireplaces certainly can use this style fire but I enjoy the horizontal log cabin style because of the easy loading and longer lasting fire per load.
This winter I am going to affix a glass panel to get a good look at the throat and inner breast chamber while the fireplace is burning. This will be done in my third [ also un faced like the basement] Rumford. This one uses an outside chimney that is about 18' tall, much shorter than the other two and not as warm an environment being the other two are interior chimneys. I am anxious to see if it will compete with a lesser draft ?
I have been searching the patent data base and to date there is nothing close to even resemble the way I get these slanted fireplaces to pass the smoke through such a ridiculously thin throat which I call "The Gates Of Hell".
The prototype is complete and installed into this fireplace which is in it's second year of performance testing and doing better than I expected, in fact before installing it last week I cleaned the throat and chimney and damper blade which hasn't been done in 6 years. This did help the performance a lot as the passage is so thin any build up greatly slows it down from the added viscosity ie flow drag.
For those that don't understand the benefit of a 1:30 ratio it is half the loss of heated air up the chimney and results in a 50% increase in heat efficiency.
This equals a 100% enjoyment factor for anyone whom takes fireplace burning seriously like have done and do for the past 30 years!
The house doesn't get sucked cold!

Example of a trendy single-wall wet bar design in Los Angeles with no sink and dark wood cabinets

Morning routines shouldn’t involve a traffic jam at the sink. The 2025 Houzz Bathroom Trends Study found that 65 percent of U.S. renovators now choose a double-sink vanity to skip the wait. Designers agree: Titan Builders dubbed 2025 “the year of bigger, storage-packed double vanities,” forecasting dual-basin setups in family, guest, and even powder baths. As KBIS 2025 launches land, prototypes for 2026 layer in spa-grade wood, built-in outlets, and planet-friendly finishes. In this guide, we rank six standout models and show you how to size, install, and enjoy a clutter-free, two-sink future.
Methodology and selection criteria
A well-planned double-sink vanity keeps busy morning routines calm and clutter-free.
Before we crowned any winners, we mapped the entire 2024–2026 double-sink (dual-basin) market. That meant parsing KBIS exhibitor releases, scraping bestseller lists from Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Wayfair, and reviewing designer short lists in trade magazines. The sweep produced 110 candidate vanities, giving us visibility into every style, price tier, and material in play.
We then scored each model against six weighted factors that continue to matter long after installers leave:
- Build quality – 25 percent.Solid hardwood frames, dovetail drawers, and furniture-grade plywood backs, never particleboard in disguise.
- Design versatility – 20 percent.Lines and finishes that suit modern, classic, or farmhouse baths without dating quickly.
- Sustainability – 15 percent.FSC-certified wood, CARB 2 compliance, and low-VOC finishes for healthier air.
- Storage efficiency – 15 percent.Deep drawers, tilt-outs, or power cubbies that corral countertop clutter.
- Value for money – 15 percent.Fair street price for the materials, stone tops, sinks, and soft-close hardware included.
- Brand reputation and warranty – 10 percent.Manufacturers with responsive support and at least a one-year parts guarantee.
- Footprint: 72 W × 22 D × 36 H in. (183 × 56 × 91 cm)
- Crated weight: 506 lb / 230 kg
- Street price: about $2,575 with marble top and basins, Q4 2025
- Footprint: 48 W × 22 D in. (122 × 56 cm)
- Height: 34.8 in. (88 cm) with backsplash
- Sliding barn door plus 3 drawers
- Pre-drilled 8-in. faucet spacing, sinks included
- Footprint: 60 W × 21 D × 34 H in. (152 × 53 × 86 cm)
- Integrated power: 4 AC + 2 USB, UL-listed
- Crated weight: 300 lb / 136 kg
- Street price: about $2,349 at Home Depot, Q4 2025
- Footprint: 72 W × 22 D in. (183 × 56 cm)
- Height: 34 in. (86 cm) plus 4 in. backsplash
- Counter: 1 in. Carrara marble, apron-front sinks included
- Hardware: oil-rubbed bronze, soft-close doors and drawers
- Footprint: 60 W × 22 D × 34 H in. (152 × 56 × 86 cm)
- Construction: solid poplar and plywood, waterfall quartz top
- Integrated slim power bank, soft-close doors and drawers
- Target price: just under $2,300 with top and basins

4,000 feet above sea level in the Southern California desert town of Yucca Valley rests this magnificent steel house prototype from Blue Sky Homes.
The project showcases ASC Building Products’ Iron Ox corrugated wall panel and Design Span® hp standing seam metal roofing.
Iron Ox is made from unpainted and untreated steel which allows the surface to rust and form a natural iron oxide finish. This provides a stunning, aged appearance.
The project also includes a host of other steel products from ASC Building Products’ sister companies, AEP Span and ASC Steel Deck, including structural steel composite floor deck and over 1,200 feet of AEP Span cold-formed structural Cee Sections.
Photo credit: Nuvue Interactive

Timber framed cedar porch addition on an existing deck.
This is an example of a craftsman porch design in Cleveland.
This is an example of a craftsman porch design in Cleveland.

Calbridge Homes
Inspiration for a large modern galley wet bar remodel in Calgary with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets and dark wood cabinets
Inspiration for a large modern galley wet bar remodel in Calgary with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets and dark wood cabinets

Photo: Margot Hartford © 2017 Houzz
Inspiration for a contemporary home office remodel in New York
Inspiration for a contemporary home office remodel in New York

Single Patient Rooms designed like Hotel Suites and based on the Officehomes(tm) Workforce Housing concept for work-live studios
Small trendy bedroom photo in New York
Small trendy bedroom photo in New York

4,000 feet above sea level in the Southern California desert town of Yucca Valley rests this magnificent steel house prototype from Blue Sky Homes.
The project showcases ASC Building Products’ Iron Ox corrugated wall panel and Design Span® hp standing seam metal roofing.
Iron Ox is made from unpainted and untreated steel which allows the surface to rust and form a natural iron oxide finish. This provides a stunning, aged appearance.
The project also includes a host of other steel products from ASC Building Products’ sister companies, AEP Span and ASC Steel Deck, including structural steel composite floor deck and over 1,200 feet of AEP Span cold-formed structural Cee Sections.
Photo credit: Nuvue Interactive

Photographer Tertius Bune.
Yves Klein, Table D'Oree. 1961 Gold Leaf and Plexi. Pair of Chairs are by Nanna Ditzel. Fiberglass. Denmark 1960.
Inspiration for a contemporary living room remodel in New York
Inspiration for a contemporary living room remodel in New York

Shaker style kitchen in Sunnyvale. The kitchen features built in Sub-Zero appliances, lots of soft close drawers, and floating shelves with LED lighting.

We replaced an aging redwood deck and concrete pool deck with pavers.
Example of a large minimalist backyard concrete paver patio kitchen design in Sacramento with a pergola
Example of a large minimalist backyard concrete paver patio kitchen design in Sacramento with a pergola

Like many West Coast cities, Seattle is facing a severe housing shortage at a time when labor and material costs have skyrocketed. Combined with a lack of available dirt, housing vacancy rates stubbornly hover under 5%.
A response to this housing perfect storm has been the evolution of a new housing prototype called a detached Auxiliary Dwelling Unit (DADU). This is commonly referred to as a Mother-in-Law (MIL) unit. As the name implies, this is a small, self-contained housing type that allows for additional housing to be built on an existing lot, creating greater density within our urban fabric. Generally thought of as either starter housing or aging-in-place concepts, these are extremely efficient floor plans that squeeze all the basic living functions into a compact space while envisioning the urban fabric as one's living room. In the case of our little DADU, our footprint is 20' x 20' and provides a ground level garage/music studio and an upper level apartment.
The misconception of these structure - thanks in large part to the misinformation campaign of the Not-So-Big-House movement - is the smaller translates into cheaper. Since these are essentially small houses, the truth is these are very expensive structures on a cost/sf basis. We conceptualized this structure as inexpensively as we could think of and it still ended up costing more than $400,000 or around $500/sf.

NorthShore Development Group - Custom Home Builders in Chicagoland
Bathroom - transitional bathroom idea in Chicago
Bathroom - transitional bathroom idea in Chicago
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