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

Inspiration for a mid-sized rustic backyard concrete paver patio remodel in Richmond with a fire pit and no cover

We had a several challenges to face with this project. Not only did we need to update a dated landscape to accommodate two seemingly different design tastes (modern & minimalistic vs natural english garden), we were tasked with improving the property’s drainage, improving the driveway access, reducing water usage and plant maintenance, and fixing a crumbling wall. To marry the two design tastes, we started with the more modern elements of metal planters and softened the landscape with mass plantings of ornamental grasses and native sedge. These grasses act as a turf replacement that do not need to be mowed and require less regular watering. On each side of the yard we constructed new cedar fences to provide updated and additional privacy. In addition, we poured a new concrete wall to replace the existing retaining wall and play off the new modern vibe.

Inspiration for a cottage laundry room remodel in Houston

Easy access doors to your home and keep unwanted visitors out. Complete protection from break-ins, severe weather and other external forces. Reduces outside noise for peace and quiet at your home. Ensures the overall safety inside the access doors. To learn more about what Laneway & Access Doors can do for you visit our website at http://www.rollpro.ca/index.phtml or contact us at 1(905)-532-0017.

This beautiful, all-cedar privacy fence warmly welcomes visitors and keeps the eyes looking around the yard. The arbor extends over the patio to continue the green-black trim to better frame the white house. The HVAC units have been fenced in with a visual screen that lets airflow through - and the panels are removable for maintenance access. We also replaced the old planter boxes on the front windows.

Tuscan kitchen photo in San Diego

The hardwood throughout this space is reclaimed beech antique engineered wood. The feature in this great room is the unique fireplace. It is a custom made wood burning fireplace with dual stainless steel vent pipes, double layered ceramic glass with mechanically fan forced air to reduce exterior window temperature. It is a frameless glass design complete with single frameless sliding glass panel for fire chamber access.

Merrick Ales
Living room - modern open concept light wood floor living room idea in Austin with a media wall

Keeping items under the sink accessible is easier with shelving and on the door containment.

Minimalist bathroom photo in Phoenix

The hardwood throughout this space is reclaimed beech antique engineered wood. The feature in this great room is the unique fireplace. It is a custom made wood burning fireplace with dual stainless steel vent pipes, double layered ceramic glass with mechanically fan forced air to reduce exterior window temperature. It is a frameless glass design complete with single frameless sliding glass panel for fire chamber access.

Reduced depth vanity cabinet mounted on stainless steel furniture legs allows for easy cleaning and sanitary conditions. The single piece vanity sink by Kohler fits nicely on the vanity cabinet.

The hardwood throughout this space is reclaimed beech antique engineered wood. The feature in this great room is the unique fireplace. It is a custom made wood burning fireplace with dual stainless steel vent pipes, double layered ceramic glass with mechanically fan forced air to reduce exterior window temperature. It is a frameless glass design complete with single frameless sliding glass panel for fire chamber access.

This creative transitional space was transformed from a very dated layout that did not function well for our homeowners - who enjoy cooking for both their family and friends. They found themselves cooking on a 30" by 36" tiny island in an area that had much more potential. A completely new floor plan was in order. An unnecessary hallway was removed to create additional space and a new traffic pattern. New doorways were created for access from the garage and to the laundry. Just a couple of highlights in this all Thermador appliance professional kitchen are the 10 ft island with two dishwashers (also note the heated tile area on the functional side of the island), double floor to ceiling pull-out pantries flanking the refrigerator, stylish soffited area at the range complete with burnished steel, niches and shelving for storage. Contemporary organic pendants add another unique texture to this beautiful, welcoming, one of a kind kitchen! Photos by David Cobb Photography.

Looking for toy storage inspiration? Browse custom cabinets, cubbies, shelves, and playroom organization ideas that help keep toys accessible while reducing clutter.

Added perennial gardens, standard Hydrangea, reduced pachysandra beds, more lawn and steppers for clean access to help the owner care for the new garden.

Bathroom Universal Design considerations: * The master shower was designed with a curb-less/barrier-free entry * Grab bars were positioned in both bathrooms to reduce the likelihood of falls * Master shower has an extra long hand held shower head hose to easily reach a shower bench or chair * Shampoo niches were placed for easier access while standing or sitting in the shower

CASA 1O Contemporary on a Mid-century Scaffold. Largely unmodified since its design by Russell Forester and construction in 1957, the structure housed the original family until 2013. An intimate 1,910 square foot space, the house acquired a separate 600 square foot cottage in the 70’s designed by another architect. New owners purchased the house with the idea of keeping the original architect’s intent intact – the simple accommodation of everyday life with a focus on outdoor living only possible in Southern California. At the same time the house needed insulation, new electrical, plumbing, siding – everything but new studs and foundations. A single roof beam travels south from the north fireplace wall all the way to the bedrooms in the back. Functions occur to either side, with private access to exterior courtyards. How do we accentuate the uncomplicated while enhancing the qualities of the chosen materials? Contemporary applied to a mid-century scaffold. We focused on reduction, a few things performing many tasks. Each component, material or color performs more than one duty. Lighting is paramount, enhancing the design’s procession from front to back, north to south, public to private. Strip LED’s reinforce the beam’s linear presence and spot LED’s make punctuation points of the roof purlins. Hidden up and down-lights in the cabinets and elsewhere provide the rooms with a quiet glow. Exterior grass plantings give the only vertical dimension to the design, waving as the breeze moves them. All else is horizontal: caramelized bamboo siding, porcelain tile, roof line and ocean horizon. Architect: Heather Johnston Architect Landscaping: HJA Photography: Brady Architectural Photography