Inspiration for a mid-sized mediterranean gray floor kitchen remodel in Minneapolis with shaker cabinets, quartz countertops, multicolored backsplash, stainless steel appliances and gray cabinets

Screened porch - The home of Rob and Lydia Mondavi designed by Caroline Rolader of Reu Architects for The Mondavi Home Collection.
Beach style porch idea in Atlanta

Photographer: Michael Del Rossi
Example of a 1960s home design design in Boston

Kids' bedroom - bedroom coastal gender-neutral medium tone wood floor and brown floor kids' bedroom idea in Boston with white walls

Photo by Joy von Tiedemann
Example of a classic medium tone wood floor and brown floor living room design in Toronto 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. Photography: Eric Roth Photo

This classic home located on a ravine in Hamilton underwent a major renovation which included a large two-story addition at the back. The area available for backyard was significantly reduced. This challenged the Betz design team to create a plan that could accommodate a pool as well as entertaining areas.

The landscape installation was performed by Fine Garden Creations.
Inspiration for a front yard landscaping in Philadelphia.

For this all-inclusive project the home was fully landscaped, front and back. The extensive use of hardscapes helps to reduce maintenance, while the richly planted borders add contrasting touches of colour and texture.

Inspiration for a mid-sized timeless backyard stone patio remodel in Orlando with a roof extension

Even tho the space is limited having a reduced depth cabinet as a small island, gives them a drop zone directly in front of the fridge and stove.
Eat-in kitchen - mid-sized craftsman u-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen idea with recessed-panel cabinets, an island, an undermount sink, light wood cabinets, granite countertops, multicolored backsplash, glass tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Our designer has achieved a stylish look by combining dark cabinets and light-colored marbles.

Lincoln Farmhouse LEED-H Platinum, Net-Positive Energy OVERVIEW. This LEED Platinum certified modern farmhouse ties into the cultural landscape of Lincoln, Massachusetts - a town known for its rich history, farming traditions, conservation efforts, and visionary architecture. The goal was to design and build a new single family home on 1.8 acres that respects the neighborhood’s agrarian roots, produces more energy than it consumes, and provides the family with flexible spaces to live-play-work-entertain. The resulting 2,800 SF home is proof that families do not need to compromise on style, space or comfort in a highly energy-efficient and healthy home. CONNECTION TO NATURE. The attached garage is ubiquitous in new construction in New England’s cold climate. This home’s barn-inspired garage is intentionally detached from the main dwelling. A covered walkway connects the two structures, creating an intentional connection with the outdoors between auto and home. FUNCTIONAL FLEXIBILITY. With a modest footprint, each space must serve a specific use, but also be flexible for atypical scenarios. The Mudroom serves everyday use for the couple and their children, but is also easy to tidy up to receive guests, eliminating the need for two entries found in most homes. A workspace is conveniently located off the mudroom; it looks out on to the back yard to supervise the children and can be closed off with a sliding door when not in use. The Away Room opens up to the Living Room for everyday use; it can be closed off with its oversized pocket door for secondary use as a guest bedroom with en suite bath. NET POSITIVE ENERGY. The all-electric home consumes 70% less energy than a code-built house, and with measured energy data produces 48% more energy annually than it consumes, making it a 'net positive' home. Thick walls and roofs lack thermal bridging, windows are high performance, triple-glazed, and a continuous air barrier yields minimal leakage (0.27ACH50) making the home among the tightest in the US. Systems include an air source heat pump, an energy recovery ventilator, and a 13.1kW photovoltaic system to offset consumption and support future electric cars. ACTUAL PERFORMANCE. -6.3 kBtu/sf/yr Energy Use Intensity (Actual monitored project data reported for the firm’s 2016 AIA 2030 Commitment. Average single family home is 52.0 kBtu/sf/yr.) o 10,900 kwh total consumption (8.5 kbtu/ft2 EUI) o 16,200 kwh total production o 5,300 kwh net surplus, equivalent to 15,000-25,000 electric car miles per year. 48% net positive. WATER EFFICIENCY. Plumbing fixtures and water closets consume a mere 60% of the federal standard, while high efficiency appliances such as the dishwasher and clothes washer also reduce consumption rates. FOOD PRODUCTION. After clearing all invasive species, apple, pear, peach and cherry trees were planted. Future plans include blueberry, raspberry and strawberry bushes, along with raised beds for vegetable gardening. The house also offers a below ground root cellar, built outside the home's thermal envelope, to gain the passive benefit of long term energy-free food storage. RESILIENCY. The home's ability to weather unforeseen challenges is predictable - it will fare well. The super-insulated envelope means during a winter storm with power outage, heat loss will be slow - taking days to drop to 60 degrees even with no heat source. During normal conditions, reduced energy consumption plus energy production means shelter from the burden of utility costs. Surplus production can power electric cars & appliances. The home exceeds snow & wind structural requirements, plus far surpasses standard construction for long term durability planning. ARCHITECT: ZeroEnergy Design http://zeroenergy.com/lincoln-farmhouse CONTRACTOR: Thoughtforms http://thoughtforms-corp.com/ PHOTOGRAPHER: Chuck Choi http://www.chuckchoi.com/

Even tho the space is limited having a reduced depth cabinet as a small island, gives them a drop zone directly in front of the fridge and stove.
Example of a mid-sized arts and crafts u-shaped medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen design with recessed-panel cabinets, an island, an undermount sink, light wood cabinets, granite countertops, multicolored backsplash, glass tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Photography: Dan Piassick
Transitional dark wood floor hallway photo in Dallas with white walls

This family in Markham with grown children wanted to transform their backyard into a low-maintenance retreat for recreation and entertaining. With hardscapes reducing maintenance, perimeter areas feature flowers and shrubs to add colour, texture and soften the look. (16 x 32, rectangular)

design: Studio TOOP, 2013 location: Rotterdam, NL status: built in 2014, Weldam Groenprojecten photo: Hans Clauzing, 2014 Our good friend Gerda is an avid photographer with a special interest in nature photography and butterflies. She also suffers from a lung disease that sometimes leaves her less mobile and able to head out to pursue this passion. A garden to take pictures in, even when you're not up to heading further out into the world. That was the main goal of this garden. With limited means and the use of affordable materials we created a wheel chair friendly garden that offers ample space for both human and wild life.

Adding a penthouse perch to this 1899 row house with a harbor view demanded unusual tactics. To circumvent municipal limitations on floor area, a section of floor was removed from one level and “transferred” to the roof as a new studio space. To comply with local height limitations, an innovative structure of solid wood studs was deployed to reduce floor and ceiling thicknesses to the bare minimum. Aside from creating the desired rooftop refuge, these gymnastics also created a dynamic cascade of interior living spaces for an urban designer and his family. Photos by Bruce Buck.

The ecoLite™ Window Series from ProVia® has been independently tested and certified. An Intercept™ Blackline glazing system improves thermal performance for less heat loss, warmer glass temperatures and reduced interior condensation. ProVia’s ecoLite vinyl windows come with our Lifetime Limited Warranty on materials and workmanship, which includes a 20-year warranty on glass seal failure.