Daylighting with clerestories and solar tubes reduce daytime lighting requirements for baths and dressing areas
Mid-sized minimalist master gray tile and porcelain tile porcelain tile, gray floor and single-sink bathroom photo in Atlanta with flat-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, white walls, an integrated sink, quartz countertops, white countertops and a built-in vanity

For amazing audio reproduction, we installed Sonus Faber left-center-right speakers, REL sub bass systems, Totem surrounds, and Bel Canto monoblock amplification. To ensure that the sound reaches ears exactly as intended, we specified Cinematech acoustical treatment. This was also the perfect application for Audioquest cabling. Using the skills we learned at Sumiko, we meticulously set the soundstage—a process that took two 3-hour visits to reach perfection. For video, we chose an ultra-high performance 1080p Wolf projector that rivals most 4k projectors on the market, and a Wolf video processor. Special attention was given to the high-voltage system in an effort to reduce the noise floor. We had the Romex electrical lines removed, and replaced with direct-to-panel jacketed electrical lines with 4 x 20 amp circuits, protected with SurgeX, and terminated with Furutech electrical outlets from Japan. Between this and the equipment, we used IsoTec power conditioning. Photo by CinemaTech

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.

We install custom shades to your specifications using high quality components manufactured by SW Sun Control. Our sun shades will reduce wind, sun damage and harmful UV rays while preserving your view of the outdoors. Perfect for sliders, patio covers, pergolas, and windows, these beautiful, easy-to-use, durable vinyl mesh screens block up to 97% of sun, wind, and mist yet let in soft, filtered light and air. Whether you need protection from the elements or you want to enjoy the sun, our sun shades retract smoothly, giving you complete control of your outdoor space. With so many options to choose from we can accommodate any budget, no project is too large or too small. Consider your options and let us help you improve the way you live outdoors!

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 film reduces heat gain in the hot months and heat loss in the cold months.
Mid-sized traditional white two-story mixed siding exterior home idea in Other with a shingle roof

Transform your family room effortlessly depending on whether you want to relax, play games, read, or watch TV together. Unclutter the coffee table and reduce confusion with the simplicity of a single remote the entire family can use to control everything: TV, music, streaming content, DVD player, lights, shades and temperature. Home entertainment equipment can be concealed so you only see and hear it when you want to and your family room keeps the sense of style you desire.

Description: Installation of Mechoshade motorized screen roller shades throughout this residence. This property is on a corner lot and therefore needs privacy from all 4 sides. The client installed a Control4 system and incorporated the window coverings into the project by way of the Mechoshade IQ motors and wireless zigbee cards. This installation also incorporated the new Mechoshade corner bracket system which staggers the roller shades into the corner, (one above the other) to reduce the light gaps down to less than 1”. Considering that the windows had only silicone between the glazing in the corners, this bracket was paramount in maintaining the best degree of privacy possible. A custom MDF pocket was created at the ceiling (approx. 10” deep) to house the shading system. Combined with a custom painted aluminum closure panel at the bottom of the shade pocket, the shades were barely visible thru a narrow slot at the back wall when they were in the opened position.

This outdoor living room offers the homeowners a quiet and secluded place to rest and unwind. A neighbouring Black Walnut Tree reduced the overall functional usability of this backyard, and the idea for an outdoor living room was developed. The pocket doors can be screens or can be switched to glass windows when the weather turns colder, offering extended use of the outdoor room during the shoulder seasons.

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.

Improve focus and comfort in your home office with our cordless cellular blinds for large windows. These off-white, light-filtering honeycomb blinds are designed to reduce glare on computer screens, creating a better environment for work, reading, and study. Beyond managing light, they provide noise reduction, fostering a quieter atmosphere essential for concentration, while their energy-efficient design helps maintain a comfortable room temperature all year round. This functional addition perfectly complements a modern, minimalist home office aesthetic.

Images by Nic LeHoux Designed as a home and studio for a photographer and his young family, Lightbox is located on a peninsula that extends south from British Columbia across the border to Point Roberts. The densely forested site lies beside a 180-acre park that overlooks the Strait of Georgia, the San Juan Islands and the Puget Sound. Having experienced the world from under a black focusing cloth and large format camera lens, the photographer has a special fondness for simplicity and an appreciation of unique, genuine and well-crafted details. The home was made decidedly modest, in size and means, with a building skin utilizing simple materials in a straightforward yet innovative configuration. The result is a structure crafted from affordable and common materials such as exposed wood two-bys that form the structural frame and directly support a prefabricated aluminum window system of standard glazing units uniformly sized to reduce the complexity and overall cost. Accessed from the west on a sloped boardwalk that bisects its two contrasting forms, the house sits lightly on the land above the forest floor. A south facing two-story glassy cage for living captures the sun and view as it celebrates the interplay of light and shadow in the forest. To the north, stairs are contained in a thin wooden box stained black with a traditional Finnish pine tar coating. Narrow apertures in the otherwise solid dark wooden wall sharply focus the vibrant cropped views of the old growth fir trees at the edge of the deep forest. Lightbox is an uncomplicated yet powerful gesture that enables one to view the subtlety and beauty of the site while providing comfort and pleasure in the constantly changing light of the forest.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated a voluntary program for manufacturers of decorative wood burning fireplaces to encourage them to produce clean wood-burning appliances that reduce air pollution. Dare to design... the fireplace of your dreams, while being environmentally friendly. The FP7-LM Antoinette wood fireplace already qualifies for phase II of that program which aims emission levels at or below the target of 5.1 g/kg (approximately 70 percent cleaner than unqualified models). Thus, you can benefit from a product with low particulate emissions. Moreover, another advantage of this Valcourt fireplace is its guillotine door that disappears to allow you to load wood on the fire or relax with the crackle of the open fireplace. The fire screen is also on a guillotine mechanism so you can close it when the ceramic glass door is open. Why Antoinette? Finally, a positive historical reference to the guillotine! The guillotine door and clean front gives you the flexibility to design your fireplace in any way that suits you. The Antoinette is a truly versatile fireplace and is all about giving you the ability to design your dreaming fireplace.

This innovative cottage house design offers an interactive floor plan suitable for single-family or duplex living. With two floors and a garage, it maximizes space while maintaining a cozy atmosphere. The ground floor features a welcoming front screened porch and a spacious kitchenette with an eating bar and butler's pantry for functionality. Storage under the dining room and an upper deck enhance convenience, with plenty of sunlight and ventilation from windows on both sides. The bedroom includes a walk-in closet and a bathroom with wet and dry zones for practicality and comfort. Parking for one car and storage on an elevated slab optimize space usage. Thoughtful touches like the reduced porch, expansive front deck, and storage under the stairs add to the appeal. Overall, this beautifully adorned cottage charms visitors with its functionality and aesthetic appeal.

We install custom shades to your specifications using high quality components manufactured by SW Sun Control. Our sun shades will reduce wind, sun damage and harmful UV rays while preserving your view of the outdoors. Perfect for sliders, patio covers, pergolas, and windows, these beautiful, easy-to-use, durable vinyl mesh screens block up to 97% of sun, wind, and mist yet let in soft, filtered light and air. Whether you need protection from the elements or you want to enjoy the sun, our sun shades retract smoothly, giving you complete control of your outdoor space. With so many options to choose from we can accommodate any budget, no project is too large or too small. Consider your options and let us help you improve the way you live outdoors!

This energy efficient home, designed for a modern family, includes a private office near the kitchen, ground floor guest bedroom suite, and spacious kitchen. The house contains nearly 5,000 square feet of living space on four levels. The outward scale is reduced by the detached garage’s varying roofline and shingle siding texture. A geothermal HVAC system along with in-flow radiant heating is utilized.

by CHENG Design, San Francisco Bay Area | Modern kitchen with warm palette through color and materials: wood, concrete island, custom copper hood, concrete countertops, bamboo cabinetry, hardwood floors | Photo by Matthew Millman

Home design - contemporary home design idea in Sydney

The color selections that guide the entire garden.
Inspiration for an eclectic landscaping in Portland.