New plantings at the far end of the patio help screen the long view
This is an example of a small traditional landscaping in Milwaukee.

Located on the front lines of a public beach walkway, this elegant artist residence layers public and private spaces in order to dynamically connect one’s lifestyle with the regenerative power of nature. The material language shifts between glass, oak, and stone as it explores concepts of porosity, translucence,and privacy. One of the home’s most notable elements is the strategic removal of living square footage to create a spa courtyard on the third level. Tucked away behind a terracotta screen and surrounded by lush vegetation on all sides, the spa acts as a private oasis in the heart of the home for reflection and reconnection. Despite rigid parameters, the home packs cutting edge engineering and design techniques into every centimeter of space. The result is a razor thin roof and floor plane delicately balanced atop massive stone walls. By reducing the density of these elements both above and below, the architecture is able to breathe and expand into its unobstructed views of the ocean and breathtaking sunsets.

An evergreen backdrop provides privacy from neighbors, while a mix of deciduous trees and shrubs provides interesting heights and textures. A mix of perennials was recently planted for fall, winter, and early spring interest, as well as to help keep the ground covered and reduce weed pressure.

This 1970’s rambler was due for a significant update to the kitchen and bathrooms. With three kids and a busy travel schedule, this family needed a space that would work well for making the most of precious family time at home. The existing dining room was separated from the kitchen by an extra stair to the basement. This was removed so that the front and back of the house could be open to each other, while also improving the connection to the living room. The extra-large garage was reduced in size, with some of the space being converted into a mudroom. And finally, the connection to the garage was transformed into a simple and spacious slate floored back entry, with improved access to an existing screened porch on the back of the house. The kitchen space is wide enough for a rolling island trolley, which can be put away during larger functions.

Context Norbert and Robin had dreamed of retiring in a Passive House-certified home overlooking the Lubberland Creek Preserve in Southeastern New Hampshire, and they’d done their homework. They were interested in using four integrated Zehnder America (www.zehnderamerica.com) technologies to make the 1,900 square foot home extremely energy efficient. They didn’t miss any opportunity to innovate or raise the bar on sustainable design. Our goals were focused on guaranteeing their comfort in every season, saving them money on a fixed income, and reducing the home’s overall impact on the environment as much as possible. Response The home faces directly south and captures sunlight all winter under tall and vaulted ceilings and a continuous band of slim-lined, Italian triple-pane windows and doors that provide gorgeous views of the wild preserve. A second-story office nook and clerestory provide even deeper views, with a little more privacy. Zehnder, which previously sold its innovative products only in Europe, took on the project as a test house. We designed around Zehnder’s vent-based systems, including a geothermal heat loop that heats and cools incoming air, a heat pump cooling system, electric towel-warmer radiators in the bathrooms, and a highly efficient energy recovery ventilator, which recycles heat and minimizes the need for air conditioning. The house effectively has no conventional heating system—and doesn’t need it. We also looked for efficiencies and smart solutions everywhere, from the lights to the windows to the insulation. The kitchen exhaust hood eliminates, cleans, and recirculates cooking fumes in the home’s unique kitchen, custom-designed to match the ways Norbert likes to prepare meals. There are several countertop heights so they can prep and clean comfortably, and the eat-in kitchen also has two seating heights so people can sit and socialize while they’re working on dinner. An adjacent screened porch greets guests and opens to the view. A roof-mounted solar system helps to ensure that the home generates more energy than it consumes—helped by features such as a heat pump water heater, superinsulation, LED lights and a polished concrete floor that helps regulate indoor temperatures. Photo credit Chris Smith

Context Norbert and Robin had dreamed of retiring in a Passive House-certified home overlooking the Lubberland Creek Preserve in Southeastern New Hampshire, and they’d done their homework. They were interested in using four integrated Zehnder America (www.zehnderamerica.com) technologies to make the 1,900 square foot home extremely energy efficient. They didn’t miss any opportunity to innovate or raise the bar on sustainable design. Our goals were focused on guaranteeing their comfort in every season, saving them money on a fixed income, and reducing the home’s overall impact on the environment as much as possible. Response The home faces directly south and captures sunlight all winter under tall and vaulted ceilings and a continuous band of slim-lined, Italian triple-pane windows and doors that provide gorgeous views of the wild preserve. A second-story office nook and clerestory provide even deeper views, with a little more privacy. Zehnder, which previously sold its innovative products only in Europe, took on the project as a test house. We designed around Zehnder’s vent-based systems, including a geothermal heat loop that heats and cools incoming air, a heat pump cooling system, electric towel-warmer radiators in the bathrooms, and a highly efficient energy recovery ventilator, which recycles heat and minimizes the need for air conditioning. The house effectively has no conventional heating system—and doesn’t need it. We also looked for efficiencies and smart solutions everywhere, from the lights to the windows to the insulation. The kitchen exhaust hood eliminates, cleans, and recirculates cooking fumes in the home’s unique kitchen, custom-designed to match the ways Norbert likes to prepare meals. There are several countertop heights so they can prep and clean comfortably, and the eat-in kitchen also has two seating heights so people can sit and socialize while they’re working on dinner. An adjacent screened porch greets guests and opens to the view. A roof-mounted solar system helps to ensure that the home generates more energy than it consumes—helped by features such as a heat pump water heater, superinsulation, LED lights and a polished concrete floor that helps regulate indoor temperatures. Photo credit Chris Smith

This residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine. Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home. The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living. This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut. Photography by Kevin Kunstadt

Established in 2005, Stonebridge at Rankin’s Lake is proud to be Duke Energy’s “First All-Electric Energy Star Certified Community” in South Carolina. Each home has been constructed with strict guidelines to insure each individual home will receive it’s own Energy Star certificate which in turn results in a reduced rate from Duke Energy on the energy bill for the life of the home. Through a partnership between the architecture firm, Chapman Design Group, Inc. and it’s construction arm, Icon Construction of South Carolina, Inc., special emphasis is placed on quality construction, methods and design details a well as a stringent construction quality control standard. The total efforts, skills, resources provide unyielding commitment directed toward building superior homes that will bring our homeowners many years of comfortable and carefree living. This 107 home community was created on a 43 acre property that was planned into two phases. Approximately 17 of these acres are to be left natural, providing the feel of an established neighborhood from the very beginning. The featured attraction is Rankin’s Lake. It is approximately 4 acres in size and was once a well-known fishing lake in Anderson in the 1940s and 50s. A stone bridge will adorn its spillway and will be constructed during the second phase of the project. The traditional style streetscape is enhanced with grass medians separating curb lines and sidewalks. This feature is accentuated in intermittent Alee Elm Trees and decorative post streetlights throughout the neighborhood. Every front and side lawn as well as all common areas continue to be maintained on a weekly basis by a private landscape maintenance company. This perpetual maintenance provided through the Homeowner’s Association insures a constant harmonious look throughout the entire community. From day one, several development principles were established and achieved: • The development’s concept was designed with all water front lots facing into Rankin’s Lake to have the street running between the homes and the lake. With this concept, it allows all of the neighborhood residents and their guest to take advantage of the pathways as well as enjoy to natural scenery of the lake each time the upon entering and exiting the neighborhood. This became a positive selling point as it encouraged the selection of building sites deeper into the development once you passed the lake. • The design concept of the development was to create a variation of the traditional home neighborhood where the homes, all with front porches are intentionally built closer to the sidewalk lined streets to encourage neighborly interaction. • Plans were designed with the garages at the rear of the lot as to make the neighborhood less about cars and more about the home and it’s residents. This was prioritized due to many subdivisions today are designed in such a way the home’s primary feature is a front facing garage which often have two cars in the driveway… hence, Stonebridge at Rankin’s Lake want to provide an alternative. • Each home design includes a spacious front porch, a screened porch and or a sunroom to encourage neighborly interaction and casual living. • The floor plans include both 2 and 3 bedroom plans with 2 to 3.5 baths with all master suites remaining on the main level. The entire development would have only Energy Star Certified homes.

The SIX is a 52-unit affordable housing project provides a home, support services and rehabilitation for disabled veterans. It is located in the MacArthur Park area of Los Angeles. McArthur Park has one of the highest densities in the USA with over 38,000 people per square mile and a total population of 120,000 people in 2.72 square miles. Offering shelter and comfort, the SIX breaks the prescriptive mold of the traditional shelter by creating public and private "zones" in which private space is deemphasized, in favor of large public areas. The organization of the space is intended to transform the way people live-away from a reclusive, isolating layout towards a community-oriented, interactive space. The ground level contains offices, support spaces for the veterans, bike storage and parking while the second level has a large public courtyard. Surrounded by four levels of housing units with balconies wrapped with a wood screen made from recycle planking the courtyard has large openings with green roofs that visually connects the space to the street on the lower level beyond. This allows the tenants to enjoy a secured open space while still connecting to the larger community. The uppermost level has a green roof, large public patio and edible garden with panoramic views of the area. The SIX distinguishes itself from most conventionally developed projects in that it incorporates energy efficient measures that exceed standard practice, optimize building performance, and ensure reduced energy use during all phases of construction and occupancy. The planning and design emerged from close consideration and employment of passive design strategies. These strategies include: locating and orienting the building to control solar cooling loads; shaping and orienting the building for exposure to prevailing winds; shaping the building to induce buoyancy for natural ventilation; designing windows to maximize day lighting; shading south facing windows and minimizing west-facing glazing; designing windows to maximize natural ventilation; utilizing low flow fixtures and storm water management; shaping and planning the interior to enhance daylight and natural air flow distribution. These passive strategies alone make this building 50% more efficient than a conventionally designed structure.

It’s likely that your television is the epicenter of your home entertainment space. Allow us to transform the centerpiece of your home’s leisure with a stylish entertainment center. With our endless array of designs, we can offer a freestanding system or a built-in wall unit that can house all of your media center components, including flat screen televisions, gaming and audio equipment. Entertainment centers also keep electronics neat and organized by hiding unsightly cords and providing a designated area to store all of your remotes, reducing clutter.

Main Line Kitchen Design has a different business model than other kitchen showrooms, designers, and cabinetry dealers. The difference helps us to do five important things better than our competitors. The kitchens we sell are better designed and our designers are more experienced. This is because we insist on showing customers designs we recommend, BEFORE, we do a design they request. This way, final designs tend to be more collaborative and professional. Our designers are more experienced because they are better paid and design with more cabinet brands than at other dealers. Our pricing for cabinets is less than other cabinet dealers. This is because we do not have a showroom open to the public, and we require a small deposit and a screening before we accept customers. This helps our designers spend their time more effectively. And, it eliminates 80% of the overhead kitchen showrooms spend on staffing, larger displays, and on a curbside location. We carry more brands of cabinetry than other dealers. This is possible because we display one cabinet for each brand we sell. Through glass countertops clients can examine a brands construction quality, and we display the door styles and finishes of our brands. Instead of the larger displays customers see in traditional showrooms, our customers can view 5 million kitchens on Houzz.com, or the hundreds of our kitchen renovations we show on Houzz, our web site, and in framed photos on the walls of our office building. Kitchen construction is often better organized and generally costs less. This is because we recommend general contractors free of charge. They supervise construction from scheduling to completion. This eliminates a middleman, reduces delays, and eliminates the fees that almost all showrooms and home centers charge their customers. We are also happy to work with any contractor a customer finds on their own. If we haven’t worked with that contractor before they may need more of our direction, but both companies can benefit from working together and possibly referring each other in the future. Less problems arise, and if they do, they are handled more quickly. This is because every kitchen we sell is reviewed by at least 3 kitchen designers during the ordering process. Our Operations Manager Ed Sossich checks orders and schedules all warehouse and home deliveries. Our delivery manager Mark Mitten supervises every delivery and checks in each cabinet and part. And our CRM system, Monday, prompts each person responsible for each phase of a customer’s kitchen with automated alerts. This keeps things moving, even during supply chain disruptions, and ensures no step is overlooked. Main Line Kitchen Design’s company slogan is “The world of kitchen design is changing . . . “. We pride ourselves on being innovative in everything we do. From our web site and how we advertise, to the gift we send each customer upon the completion of their kitchen. Our business model helps us receive 100’s of 5-star reviews, and makes our kitchen projects more enjoyable for everyone. We look forward to working with you.

The SIX is a 52-unit affordable housing project provides a home, support services and rehabilitation for disabled veterans. It is located in the MacArthur Park area of Los Angeles. McArthur Park has one of the highest densities in the USA with over 38,000 people per square mile and a total population of 120,000 people in 2.72 square miles. Offering shelter and comfort, the SIX breaks the prescriptive mold of the traditional shelter by creating public and private "zones" in which private space is deemphasized, in favor of large public areas. The organization of the space is intended to transform the way people live-away from a reclusive, isolating layout towards a community-oriented, interactive space. The ground level contains offices, support spaces for the veterans, bike storage and parking while the second level has a large public courtyard. Surrounded by four levels of housing units with balconies wrapped with a wood screen made from recycle planking the courtyard has large openings with green roofs that visually connects the space to the street on the lower level beyond. This allows the tenants to enjoy a secured open space while still connecting to the larger community. The uppermost level has a green roof, large public patio and edible garden with panoramic views of the area. The SIX distinguishes itself from most conventionally developed projects in that it incorporates energy efficient measures that exceed standard practice, optimize building performance, and ensure reduced energy use during all phases of construction and occupancy. The planning and design emerged from close consideration and employment of passive design strategies. These strategies include: locating and orienting the building to control solar cooling loads; shaping and orienting the building for exposure to prevailing winds; shaping the building to induce buoyancy for natural ventilation; designing windows to maximize day lighting; shading south facing windows and minimizing west-facing glazing; designing windows to maximize natural ventilation; utilizing low flow fixtures and storm water management; shaping and planning the interior to enhance daylight and natural air flow distribution. These passive strategies alone make this building 50% more efficient than a conventionally designed structure.

This residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine. Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home. The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living. This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut. Photography by Kevin Kunstadt

Native Edge Landscape, LLC
Photo of a small modern backyard landscaping in Austin for summer.

Main Line Kitchen Design has a different business model than other kitchen showrooms, designers, and cabinetry dealers. The difference helps us to do five important things better than our competitors. The kitchens we sell are better designed and our designers are more experienced. This is because we insist on showing customers designs we recommend, BEFORE, we do a design they request. This way, final designs tend to be more collaborative and professional. Our designers are more experienced because they are better paid and design with more cabinet brands than at other dealers. Our pricing for cabinets is less than other cabinet dealers. This is because we do not have a showroom open to the public, and we require a small deposit and a screening before we accept customers. This helps our designers spend their time more effectively. And, it eliminates 80% of the overhead kitchen showrooms spend on staffing, larger displays, and on a curbside location. We carry more brands of cabinetry than other dealers. This is possible because we display one cabinet for each brand we sell. Through glass countertops clients can examine a brands construction quality, and we display the door styles and finishes of our brands. Instead of the larger displays customers see in traditional showrooms, our customers can view 5 million kitchens on Houzz.com, or the hundreds of our kitchen renovations we show on Houzz, our web site, and in framed photos on the walls of our office building. Kitchen construction is often better organized and generally costs less. This is because we recommend general contractors free of charge. They supervise construction from scheduling to completion. This eliminates a middleman, reduces delays, and eliminates the fees that almost all showrooms and home centers charge their customers. We are also happy to work with any contractor a customer finds on their own. If we haven’t worked with that contractor before they may need more of our direction, but both companies can benefit from working together and possibly referring each other in the future. Less problems arise, and if they do, they are handled more quickly. This is because every kitchen we sell is reviewed by at least 3 kitchen designers during the ordering process. Our Operations Manager Ed Sossich checks orders and schedules all warehouse and home deliveries. Our delivery manager Mark Mitten supervises every delivery and checks in each cabinet and part. And our CRM system, Monday, prompts each person responsible for each phase of a customer’s kitchen with automated alerts. This keeps things moving, even during supply chain disruptions, and ensures no step is overlooked. Main Line Kitchen Design’s company slogan is “The world of kitchen design is changing . . . “. We pride ourselves on being innovative in everything we do. From our web site and how we advertise, to the gift we send each customer upon the completion of their kitchen. Our business model helps us receive 100’s of 5-star reviews, and makes our kitchen projects more enjoyable for everyone. We look forward to working with you.

Living in a smaller space has its challenges. Give yourself the privacy you need with privacy window film for your Beverly Hills condo. Privacy window film is an easy, affordable way to add decorative privacy to flat glass. As you can see here, in this condo, the privacy film acts a separator between rooms, creating reduced visibility without shutting out views completely. Learn more here:

After New shower with subway tile and industrial hanging light
Inspiration for a mid-sized cottage master gray tile and cement tile ceramic tile bathroom remodel in New York with a wall-mount sink, beaded inset cabinets, a two-piece toilet and white walls

The owners wanted to convert the original loft into a Rec Room, so it was important to be able to close off the space to reduce natural light. Sliding barn doors and a shorter stretch of railing accomplished this goal.

Designer Screen Shades are the ultimate solution for glare caused by the changing season. The diffuse the light making it softer and not as harsh as it enters your home. The shades will also product your furnishings from the outside rays.