Matt Clawson
Example of a classic exterior home design in San Francisco

Neutral tones, rich textures, and great art give this living room it's inviting feel. Knoll sofa and chrome chairs. Fireplace is open to both living and dining spaces. Antique coffee table mixes it up. Photos: Emily Redfield

Photo: Hoi Ning Wong © 2014 Houzz
Example of a transitional powder room design in San Francisco

Today's city living requires that exterior spaces serve as flexible, multi-purpose outdoor rooms. This patio was designed to suit the client's need for a gathering space, parking and increased privacy. A bluestone patio defined an outdoor dining room and enhanced the existing architectural vocabulary. A structural lawn, capable of bearing the weight of a truck, provided flexible parking. A grape trellis, matched with small evergreen shrubs, increased privacy while native plants were selected to attract birds and butterflies while reducing water use.

This modern green home offers both a vacation destination on Cape Cod near local family members and an opportunity for rental income. FAMILY ROOTS. A West Coast couple living in the San Francisco Bay Area sought a permanent East Coast vacation home near family members living on Cape Cod. As academic professionals focused on sustainability, they sought a green, energy efficient home that was well-aligned with their values. With no green homes available for sale on Cape Cod, they decided to purchase land near their family and build their own. SLOPED SITE. Comprised of a 3/4 acre lot nestled in the pines, the steeply sloping terrain called for a plan that embraced and took advantage of the slope. Of equal priority was optimizing solar exposure, preserving privacy from abutters, and creating outdoor living space. The design accomplished these goals with a simple, rectilinear form, offering living space on the both entry and lower/basement levels. The stepped foundation allows for a walk-out basement level with light-filled living space on the down-hill side of the home. The traditional basement on the eastern, up-hill side houses mechanical equipment and a home gym. The house welcomes natural light throughout, captures views of the forest, and delivers entertainment space that connects indoor living space to outdoor deck and dining patio. MODERN VISION. The clean building form and uncomplicated finishes pay homage to the modern architectural legacy on the outer Cape. Durable and economical fiber cement panels, fixed with aluminum channels, clad the primary form. Cedar clapboards provide a visual accent at the south-facing living room, which extends a single roof plane to cover the entry porch. SMART USE OF SPACE. On the entry level, the “L”-shaped living, dining, and kitchen space connects to the exterior living, dining, and grilling spaces to effectively double the home’s summertime entertainment area. Placed at the western end of the entry level (where it can retain privacy but still claim expansive downhill views) is the master suite with a built-in study. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a second full bathroom, and laundry. The flexibility of the space—crucial in a house with a modest footprint—emerges in one of the guest bedrooms, which doubles as home office by opening the barn-style double doors to connect it to the bright, airy open stair leading up to the entry level. Thoughtful design, generous ceiling heights and large windows transform the modest 1,100 sf* footprint into a well-lit, spacious home. *(total finished space is 1800 sf) RENTAL INCOME. The property works for its owners by netting rental income when the owners are home in San Francisco. The house especially caters to vacationers bound for nearby Mayo Beach and includes an outdoor shower adjacent to the lower level entry door. In contrast to the bare bones cottages that are typically available on the Cape, this home offers prospective tenants a modern aesthetic, paired with luxurious and green features. Durable finishes inside and out will ensure longevity with the heavier use that comes with a rental property. COMFORT YEAR-ROUND. The home is super-insulated and air-tight, with mechanical ventilation to provide continuous fresh air from the outside. High performance triple-paned windows complement the building enclosure and maximize passive solar gain while ensuring a warm, draft-free winter, even when sitting close to the glass. A properly sized air source heat pump offers efficient heating & cooling, and includes a carefully designed the duct distribution system to provide even comfort throughout the house. The super-insulated envelope allows us to significantly reduce the equipment capacity, duct size, and airflow quantities, while maintaining unparalleled thermal comfort. ENERGY EFFICIENT. The building’s shell and mechanical systems play instrumental roles in the home’s exceptional performance. The building enclosure reduces the most significant energy glutton: heating. Continuous super-insulation, thorough air sealing, triple-pane windows, and passive solar gain work together to yield a miniscule heating load. All active energy consumers are extremely efficient: an air source heat pump for heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation (ERV), and high efficiency appliances. The result is a home that uses 70% less energy than a similar new home built to code requirements. OVERALL. The home embodies the owners’ goals and values while comprehensively enabling thermal comfort, energy efficiency, a vacation respite, and supplementary income. PROJECT TEAM ZeroEnergy Design - Architect & Mechanical Designer A.F. Hultin & Co. - Contractor Pamet Valley Landscape Design - Landscape & Masonry Lisa Finch - Original Artwork European Architectural Supply - Windows Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Inspiration for a timeless home design remodel in Minneapolis

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

This existing outdoor space was transformed using a mix of new and re-purposed materials. A Ne Trex deck makes better use of the space while keeping maintenance to a minimum. The dry- laidre- purposed blue- stone pavers provide good drainage to reduce standing water and mosquitoes in this urban back yard. The existing mature trees were combined with new plantings of ferns, perennials and vines to add dimension and texture to the outdoor area and soften the lines of the fence. The new seating area is perfect for BBQ'ing and dining al- fresco.

This paver patio was specially designed to reduce heat island effects and cut costs by placing pavers only where they have purpose, and blend the pool with a natural landscape.

Drawing from Sarah Susanka's Not-So-Big House principles, we designed the living room to be multi-purpose defined by the grand staircase and our "reading cave" alcove. Knotty hickory flooring, craftsman trim and walnut accents gives the home American character. This home is built to European Passive House standards to drastically reduce our energy use by 70%, then we added solar panels on the garage to become Net-Zero energy use for the year and carbon footprint of Zero for the home. Energy bills for the home are $10.77 per month (the minimum grid connection fee). Photos: Jen G. Pywell

bruce damonte
Example of a minimalist home design design in San Francisco

Example of a trendy sunroom design in Ahmedabad

interior design by Tanya Yeung at Analogue Design Studio ; millwork by John Ozimec at Laneway Studio ; landscaping by Living Space Landscape ; art consulting by Mazarfox ; construction by C4 Construction ; photography by Arnaud Marthouret at Revelateur Studio

We expanded the mudroom 8' into the garage to reduce how crowded the space is when the whole family arrives home at once. 4 closed off locker spaces keep this room looking clean and organized. This room also functions as the laundry room with stacked washer and dryer to save space next to the white farmhouse apron sink with aberesque tile backsplash. At the end of the room we added a full height closet style cabinet for additional coats, boots and shoes. A light grey herringbone tile on the floor helps the whole room flow together. Walnut bench and accent shelf provide striking pops of bold color to the room.

Shosh vant Verlaat Designer / Project Manager
Photo of a mid-sized modern partial sun front yard concrete paver driveway in Miami.

MULCH is an optional layer of material applied to the surface of an area of soil mostly around trees, flowers and plants. The purpose of mulch is the following: - To conserve moisture - To improve the fertility and health of the soil (for that reason we prefer to use mulch instead of retail fertilizer around flowers and vegetable plants.) - To reduce weed growth (some weeds could still go through mulch if the weed control fabric has not been placed under the mulch.) - To increase the visual appeal of the area

The in-law suite kitchen could only be in a small corner of the basement. The kitchen design started with the question: how small can this kitchen be? The compact layout was designed to provide generous counter space, comfortable walking clearances, and abundant storage. The bold colors and fun patterns anchored by the warmth of the dark wood flooring create a happy and invigorating space. SQUARE FEET: 140

The design of this home was driven by the owners’ desire for a three-bedroom waterfront home that showcased the spectacular views and park-like setting. As nature lovers, they wanted their home to be organic, minimize any environmental impact on the sensitive site and embrace nature. This unique home is sited on a high ridge with a 45° slope to the water on the right and a deep ravine on the left. The five-acre site is completely wooded and tree preservation was a major emphasis. Very few trees were removed and special care was taken to protect the trees and environment throughout the project. To further minimize disturbance, grades were not changed and the home was designed to take full advantage of the site’s natural topography. Oak from the home site was re-purposed for the mantle, powder room counter and select furniture. The visually powerful twin pavilions were born from the need for level ground and parking on an otherwise challenging site. Fill dirt excavated from the main home provided the foundation. All structures are anchored with a natural stone base and exterior materials include timber framing, fir ceilings, shingle siding, a partial metal roof and corten steel walls. Stone, wood, metal and glass transition the exterior to the interior and large wood windows flood the home with light and showcase the setting. Interior finishes include reclaimed heart pine floors, Douglas fir trim, dry-stacked stone, rustic cherry cabinets and soapstone counters. Exterior spaces include a timber-framed porch, stone patio with fire pit and commanding views of the Occoquan reservoir. A second porch overlooks the ravine and a breezeway connects the garage to the home. Numerous energy-saving features have been incorporated, including LED lighting, on-demand gas water heating and special insulation. Smart technology helps manage and control the entire house. Greg Hadley Photography

Pool design- Harry Thompson Baja entry in quartzite, re-purposed ledge stone and masonry scraps for rustic wall behind pool, water fall spa with buckskin flagstones as path leading back to the residence, steps around both sides of pool to next level up, minimized lawn areas Photo-Martin Mann