Photo credit: Scott McDonald @ Hedrich Blessing 7RR-Ecohome: The design objective was to build a house for a couple recently married who both had kids from previous marriages. How to bridge two families together? The design looks forward in terms of how people live today. The home is an experiment in transparency and solid form; removing borders and edges from outside to inside the house, and to really depict “flowing and endless space”. The house floor plan is derived by pushing and pulling the house’s form to maximize the backyard and minimize the public front yard while welcoming the sun in key rooms by rotating the house 45-degrees to true north. The angular form of the house is a result of the family’s program, the zoning rules, the lot’s attributes, and the sun’s path. We wanted to construct a house that is smart and efficient in terms of construction and energy, both in terms of the building and the user. We could tell a story of how the house is built in terms of the constructability, structure and enclosure, with a nod to Japanese wood construction in the method in which the siding is installed and the exposed interior beams are placed in the double height space. We engineered the house to be smart which not only looks modern but acts modern; every aspect of user control is simplified to a digital touch button, whether lights, shades, blinds, HVAC, communication, audio, video, or security. We developed a planning module based on a 6-foot square room size and a 6-foot wide connector called an interstitial space for hallways, bathrooms, stairs and mechanical, which keeps the rooms pure and uncluttered. The house is 6,200 SF of livable space, plus garage and basement gallery for a total of 9,200 SF. A large formal foyer celebrates the entry and opens up to the living, dining, kitchen and family rooms all focused on the rear garden. The east side of the second floor is the Master wing and a center bridge connects it to the kid’s wing on the west. Second floor terraces and sunscreens provide views and shade in this suburban setting. The playful mathematical grid of the house in the x, y and z axis also extends into the layout of the trees and hard-scapes, all centered on a suburban one-acre lot. Many green attributes were designed into the home; Ipe wood sunscreens and window shades block out unwanted solar gain in summer, but allow winter sun in. Patio door and operable windows provide ample opportunity for natural ventilation throughout the open floor plan. Minimal windows on east and west sides to reduce heat loss in winter and unwanted gains in summer. Open floor plan and large window expanse reduces lighting demands and maximizes available daylight. Skylights provide natural light to the basement rooms. Durable, low-maintenance exterior materials include stone, ipe wood siding and decking, and concrete roof pavers. Design is based on a 2' planning grid to minimize construction waste. Basement foundation walls and slab are highly insulated. FSC-certified walnut wood flooring was used. Light colored concrete roof pavers to reduce cooling loads by as much as 15%. 2x6 framing allows for more insulation and energy savings. Super efficient windows have low-E argon gas filled units, and thermally insulated aluminum frames. Permeable brick and stone pavers reduce the site’s storm-water runoff. Countertops use recycled composite materials. Energy-Star rated furnaces and smart thermostats are located throughout the house to minimize duct runs and avoid energy loss. Energy-Star rated boiler that heats up both radiant floors and domestic hot water. Low-flow toilets and plumbing fixtures are used to conserve water usage. No VOC finish options and direct venting fireplaces maintain a high interior air quality. Smart home system controls lighting, HVAC, and shades to better manage energy use. Plumbing runs through interior walls reducing possibilities of heat loss and freezing problems. A large food pantry was placed next to kitchen to reduce trips to the grocery store. Home office reduces need for automobile transit and associated CO2 footprint. Plan allows for aging in place, with guest suite than can become the master suite, with no need to move as family members mature.

The clients for this small bathroom project are passionate art enthusiasts and asked the architects to create a space based on the work of one of their favorite abstract painters, Piet Mondrian. Mondrian was a Dutch artist associated with the De Stijl movement which reduced designs down to basic rectilinear forms and primary colors within a grid. Alloy used floor to ceiling recycled glass tiles to re-interpret Mondrian's compositions, using blocks of color in a white grid of tile to delineate space and the functions within the small room. A red block of color is recessed and becomes a niche, a blue block is a shower seat, a yellow rectangle connects shower fixtures with the drain. The bathroom also has many aging-in-place design components which were a priority for the clients. There is a zero clearance entrance to the shower. We widened the doorway for greater accessibility and installed a pocket door to save space. ADA compliant grab bars were located to compliment the tile composition. Andrea Hubbell Photography

Modern custom home nestled in quiet Arcadia neighborhood. The expansive glass window wall has stunning views of Camelback Mountain and natural light helps keep energy usage to a minimum. CIP concrete walls also help to reduce the homes carbon footprint while keeping a beautiful, architecturally pleasing finished look to both inside and outside. The artfully blended look of metal, concrete, block and glass bring a natural, raw product to life in both visual and functional way

This back porch had sun glare and heat problems from mid afternoon until sunset. We installed three motorized Eclipse Shading System exterior Solar Screens to solve the problem. With the push of a button they can raise or lower one, two or all three screens to make their porch usable. The screen has a 5% openness, blocking 95% of the heat and glare, yet it maintains their views.

Mark Compton
Example of a mid-sized 1960s u-shaped light wood floor and beige floor eat-in kitchen design in San Francisco with flat-panel cabinets, blue cabinets, quartzite countertops, paneled appliances, an island, white countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash and an undermount sink

Block the sun and maintain your view! Our large selection of interior solar screens is the ideal solution to your indoor natural lighting needs. Allow the proper amount of sunlight in while creating the perfect environment in your home. Utilize the interior solar screens to reduce the sun’s glare while saving money by blocking the heat from entering the room. Choose from a variety of fabrics that can blend with their surroundings or feature them as a design aspect in the room. Our interior solar screens are best for windows, glass doors, and sunrooms. Maintain your view while blocking harmful UV rays.

RDZ Photography
Inspiration for a small transitional single-wall porcelain tile laundry closet remodel in Ottawa with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, laminate countertops, white walls and a side-by-side washer/dryer

www.seeinseeout.com
Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary full sun front yard stone formal garden in Dallas for spring.

The clients for this small bathroom project are passionate art enthusiasts and asked the architects to create a space based on the work of one of their favorite abstract painters, Piet Mondrian. Mondrian was a Dutch artist associated with the De Stijl movement which reduced designs down to basic rectilinear forms and primary colors within a grid. Alloy used floor to ceiling recycled glass tiles to re-interpret Mondrian's compositions, using blocks of color in a white grid of tile to delineate space and the functions within the small room. A red block of color is recessed and becomes a niche, a blue block is a shower seat, a yellow rectangle connects shower fixtures with the drain. The bathroom also has many aging-in-place design components which were a priority for the clients. There is a zero clearance entrance to the shower. We widened the doorway for greater accessibility and installed a pocket door to save space. ADA compliant grab bars were located to compliment the tile composition. Andrea Hubbell Photography

Block the sun and maintain your view! Our large selection of interior solar screens is the ideal solution to your indoor natural lighting needs. Allow the proper amount of sunlight in while creating the perfect environment in your home. Utilize the interior solar screens to reduce the sun’s glare while saving money by blocking the heat from entering the room. Choose from a variety of fabrics that can blend with their surroundings or feature them as a design aspect in the room. Our interior solar screens are best for windows, glass doors, and sunrooms. Maintain your view while blocking harmful UV rays.

Traci D'Alessio aia | leed ap | ncarb trace architecture + design, llc
Eat-in kitchen - large mediterranean l-shaped brown floor and medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen idea in Cincinnati with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, granite countertops, white backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Tall cedar privacy screens block views to the side yard, and create a backdrop for a blooming front yard perennial garden with Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (Aster).

Modern custom home nestled in quiet Arcadia neighborhood. The expansive glass window wall has stunning views of Camelback Mountain and natural light helps keep energy usage to a minimum. CIP concrete walls also help to reduce the homes carbon footprint while keeping a beautiful, architecturally pleasing finished look to both inside and outside. The artfully blended look of metal, concrete, block and glass bring a natural, raw product to life in both visual and functional way

Example of a mid-sized transitional master gray tile, white tile and stone tile porcelain tile and gray floor drop-in bathtub design in Raleigh with recessed-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, gray walls, an undermount sink, solid surface countertops and a hinged shower door

Christopher Davison, AIA
Example of a large l-shaped medium tone wood floor and brown floor eat-in kitchen design in Austin with shaker cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, wood countertops, gray backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Block the sun and maintain your view! Our large selection of interior solar screens is the ideal solution to your indoor natural lighting needs. Allow the proper amount of sunlight in while creating the perfect environment in your home. Utilize the interior solar screens to reduce the sun’s glare while saving money by blocking the heat from entering the room. Choose from a variety of fabrics that can blend with their surroundings or feature them as a design aspect in the room. Our interior solar screens are best for windows, glass doors, and sunrooms. Maintain your view while blocking harmful UV rays.

Block the sun and maintain your view! Our large selection of interior solar screens is the ideal solution to your indoor natural lighting needs. Allow the proper amount of sunlight in while creating the perfect environment in your home. Utilize the interior solar screens to reduce the sun’s glare while saving money by blocking the heat from entering the room. Choose from a variety of fabrics that can blend with their surroundings or feature them as a design aspect in the room. Our interior solar screens are best for windows, glass doors, and sunrooms. Maintain your view while blocking harmful UV rays.

Photo credit: Scott McDonald @ Hedrich Blessing 7RR-Ecohome: The design objective was to build a house for a couple recently married who both had kids from previous marriages. How to bridge two families together? The design looks forward in terms of how people live today. The home is an experiment in transparency and solid form; removing borders and edges from outside to inside the house, and to really depict “flowing and endless space”. The house floor plan is derived by pushing and pulling the house’s form to maximize the backyard and minimize the public front yard while welcoming the sun in key rooms by rotating the house 45-degrees to true north. The angular form of the house is a result of the family’s program, the zoning rules, the lot’s attributes, and the sun’s path. We wanted to construct a house that is smart and efficient in terms of construction and energy, both in terms of the building and the user. We could tell a story of how the house is built in terms of the constructability, structure and enclosure, with a nod to Japanese wood construction in the method in which the siding is installed and the exposed interior beams are placed in the double height space. We engineered the house to be smart which not only looks modern but acts modern; every aspect of user control is simplified to a digital touch button, whether lights, shades, blinds, HVAC, communication, audio, video, or security. We developed a planning module based on a 6-foot square room size and a 6-foot wide connector called an interstitial space for hallways, bathrooms, stairs and mechanical, which keeps the rooms pure and uncluttered. The house is 6,200 SF of livable space, plus garage and basement gallery for a total of 9,200 SF. A large formal foyer celebrates the entry and opens up to the living, dining, kitchen and family rooms all focused on the rear garden. The east side of the second floor is the Master wing and a center bridge connects it to the kid’s wing on the west. Second floor terraces and sunscreens provide views and shade in this suburban setting. The playful mathematical grid of the house in the x, y and z axis also extends into the layout of the trees and hard-scapes, all centered on a suburban one-acre lot. Many green attributes were designed into the home; Ipe wood sunscreens and window shades block out unwanted solar gain in summer, but allow winter sun in. Patio door and operable windows provide ample opportunity for natural ventilation throughout the open floor plan. Minimal windows on east and west sides to reduce heat loss in winter and unwanted gains in summer. Open floor plan and large window expanse reduces lighting demands and maximizes available daylight. Skylights provide natural light to the basement rooms. Durable, low-maintenance exterior materials include stone, ipe wood siding and decking, and concrete roof pavers. Design is based on a 2' planning grid to minimize construction waste. Basement foundation walls and slab are highly insulated. FSC-certified walnut wood flooring was used. Light colored concrete roof pavers to reduce cooling loads by as much as 15%. 2x6 framing allows for more insulation and energy savings. Super efficient windows have low-E argon gas filled units, and thermally insulated aluminum frames. Permeable brick and stone pavers reduce the site’s storm-water runoff. Countertops use recycled composite materials. Energy-Star rated furnaces and smart thermostats are located throughout the house to minimize duct runs and avoid energy loss. Energy-Star rated boiler that heats up both radiant floors and domestic hot water. Low-flow toilets and plumbing fixtures are used to conserve water usage. No VOC finish options and direct venting fireplaces maintain a high interior air quality. Smart home system controls lighting, HVAC, and shades to better manage energy use. Plumbing runs through interior walls reducing possibilities of heat loss and freezing problems. A large food pantry was placed next to kitchen to reduce trips to the grocery store. Home office reduces need for automobile transit and associated CO2 footprint. Plan allows for aging in place, with guest suite than can become the master suite, with no need to move as family members mature.

Designed by Jessica Soto Photo by Randall Perry
Kitchen - traditional kitchen idea in Boston with raised-panel cabinets, gray backsplash and stainless steel appliances