Photography by Richard Mandelkorn
Kitchen/dining room combo - traditional medium tone wood floor and brown floor kitchen/dining room combo idea in Boston with white walls

This renovated brick rowhome in Boston’s South End offers a modern aesthetic within a historic structure, creative use of space, exceptional thermal comfort, a reduced carbon footprint, and a passive stream of income. DESIGN PRIORITIES. The goals for the project were clear - design the primary unit to accommodate the family’s modern lifestyle, rework the layout to create a desirable rental unit, improve thermal comfort and introduce a modern aesthetic. We designed the street-level entry as a shared entrance for both the primary and rental unit. The family uses it as their everyday entrance - we planned for bike storage and an open mudroom with bench and shoe storage to facilitate the change from shoes to slippers or bare feet as they enter their home. On the main level, we expanded the kitchen into the dining room to create an eat-in space with generous counter space and storage, as well as a comfortable connection to the living space. The second floor serves as master suite for the couple - a bedroom with a walk-in-closet and ensuite bathroom, and an adjacent study, with refinished original pumpkin pine floors. The upper floor, aside from a guest bedroom, is the child's domain with interconnected spaces for sleeping, work and play. In the play space, which can be separated from the work space with new translucent sliding doors, we incorporated recreational features inspired by adventurous and competitive television shows, at their son’s request. MODERN MEETS TRADITIONAL. We left the historic front facade of the building largely unchanged - the security bars were removed from the windows and the single pane windows were replaced with higher performing historic replicas. We designed the interior and rear facade with a vision of warm modernism, weaving in the notable period features. Each element was either restored or reinterpreted to blend with the modern aesthetic. The detailed ceiling in the living space, for example, has a new matte monochromatic finish, and the wood stairs are covered in a dark grey floor paint, whereas the mahogany doors were simply refinished. New wide plank wood flooring with a neutral finish, floor-to-ceiling casework, and bold splashes of color in wall paint and tile, and oversized high-performance windows (on the rear facade) round out the modern aesthetic. RENTAL INCOME. The existing rowhome was zoned for a 2-family dwelling but included an undesirable, single-floor studio apartment at the garden level with low ceiling heights and questionable emergency egress. In order to increase the quality and quantity of space in the rental unit, we reimagined it as a two-floor, 1 or 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a modern aesthetic, increased ceiling height on the lowest level and provided an in-unit washer/dryer. The apartment was listed with Jackie O'Connor Real Estate and rented immediately, providing the owners with a source of passive income. ENCLOSURE WITH BENEFITS. The homeowners sought a minimal carbon footprint, enabled by their urban location and lifestyle decisions, paired with the benefits of a high-performance home. The extent of the renovation allowed us to implement a deep energy retrofit (DER) to address air tightness, insulation, and high-performance windows. The historic front facade is insulated from the interior, while the rear facade is insulated on the exterior. Together with these building enclosure improvements, we designed an HVAC system comprised of continuous fresh air ventilation, and an efficient, all-electric heating and cooling system to decouple the house from natural gas. This strategy provides optimal thermal comfort and indoor air quality, improved acoustic isolation from street noise and neighbors, as well as a further reduced carbon footprint. We also took measures to prepare the roof for future solar panels, for when the South End neighborhood’s aging electrical infrastructure is upgraded to allow them. URBAN LIVING. The desirable neighborhood location allows the both the homeowners and tenant to walk, bike, and use public transportation to access the city, while each charging their respective plug-in electric cars behind the building to travel greater distances. OVERALL. The understated rowhouse is now ready for another century of urban living, offering the owners comfort and convenience as they live life as an expression of their values. Eric Roth Photo

This gorgeous kitchen is on display at our Bradford and Kent design center. A client favorite, we combined classic white cabinets with a siletone brown counter top and multi colored back splash. The glass inserts in the cabinetry, farmhouse sink and paneled appliances enhances the elegant feel.

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

DIRTT wall systems are incorporated in this eclectic home creating soft textures throughout. These walls also serve to absorb sound thereby reducing sound reflection when so many hard surfaces are present.

Living room - traditional living room idea in Chicago

Inspiration for a contemporary outdoor patio shower remodel in New York

Giovani Lunardi
This is an example of a mid-century modern landscaping in Portland.

Photo: Le Michelle Nguyen © 2015 Houzz
Inspiration for an eclectic bedroom remodel in San Francisco

This clean, contemporary home focuses on a lovely view of Lake Michigan, while featuring plenty of storage. Cabinets were done in a hickory wood, painted with white dove paint.

Great room - tropical great room idea in Miami with white walls

Concrete can be made to look like any substance. Tile, stone, wood, brick, etc. With unlimited color options, Ky-Kan Coatings can transform any room in your home or business using lightweight, beautiful concrete.

We used: Custom cherry cabinetry in Arts & Crafts Shaker style by Kabinart in Boulder and Espresso stains. Liberty Hardware Venetian bronze 1-1/2" cabinet knobs. KitchenAid Architect II Series 22 CF counter-depth French door refrigerator. KitchenAid Architect Series II 27" convection single wall oven. KitchenAid 36" 6-burner dual fuel freestanding commercial-style range. KitchenAid Architect II Series 24" dishwasher. Sharp Insight Pro Series 24" built-in microwave drawer (Model #KB6524PS). Crystorama Solaris 12" wide pendant lights in English bronze. Granite countertops in Brown Fantasy. 3"x6" polished marble backsplash. Paint colors: Walls: Glidden Silver Cloud 30YY 63/024 Ceilings/Trims/Doors: Glidden Swan White GLC23 Robert B. Narod Photography

Engineered cedar siding creates beautiful gray-blue tones at the exterior of the home, while adding a textural element to activate the simple exterior design.

Set in Montana's tranquil Shields River Valley, the Shilo Ranch Compound is a collection of structures that were specifically built on a relatively smaller scale, to maximize efficiency. The main house has two bedrooms, a living area, dining and kitchen, bath and adjacent greenhouse, while two guest homes within the compound can sleep a total of 12 friends and family. There's also a common gathering hall, for dinners, games, and time together. The overall feel here is of sophisticated simplicity, with plaster walls, concrete and wood floors, and weathered boards for exteriors. The placement of each building was considered closely when envisioning how people would move through the property, based on anticipated needs and interests. Sustainability and consumption was also taken into consideration, as evidenced by the photovoltaic panels on roof of the garage, and the capability to shut down any of the compound's buildings when not in use.

More Projects, welcome to website: www.maxdiashop.com, or INS: maxdia_home 1. Handmade with cotton and linen blended thick fabric. The color of the base fabric is cream. 2. Easily installed in minutes with all necessary hardware included, lift cords are on the right side. 3. Lifting track is made of a robust aircraft aluminum alloy. Each shade can be adjusted to any position due to our unique speed reducer and self-locking device. 4. Standard shade is unlined, can block out 65% of light, privacy lining and blackout lining can be selected for a custom order. 5. Attached to the headrail with a velcro strip that holds tightly for daily use but is easy to pull off when you want to wash them. They are great for people with dust allergies, families with small children or homeowners with pets.

More Projects, welcome to website: www.maxdiashop.com, or INS: @maxdia_home 1. Handmade with cotton and linen blended thick fabric. The color of the base fabric is cream. 2. Easily installed in minutes with all necessary hardware included, lift cords are on the right side. 3. Lifting track is made of a robust aircraft aluminum alloy. Each shade can be adjusted to any position due to our unique speed reducer and self-locking device. 4. Standard shade is unlined, can block out 65% of light, privacy lining and blackout lining can be selected for a custom order. 5. Attached to the headrail with a velcro strip that holds tightly for daily use but is easy to pull off when you want to wash them. They are great for people with dust allergies, families with small children or homeowners with pets.