Sunshades allow you to keep the view while reducing heat and glare. The light-filtering qualities of our sunshades include: Diffused light Reduced glare Reduced heat transfer Minimized UV ray penetration, which helps protect your wood floors and furniture

Sunshades allow you to keep the view while reducing heat and glare. The light-filtering qualities of our sunshades include: Diffused light Reduced glare Reduced heat transfer Minimized UV ray penetration, which helps protect your wood floors and furniture

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

Breakfast nook of the pantry.
Kitchen pantry - large modern u-shaped kitchen pantry idea in Los Angeles with open cabinets and white cabinets

Example of a 1950s home design design in Houston

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.

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

This LEED Platinum certified house reflects the homeowner's desire for an exceptionally healthy and comfortable living environment, within a traditional neighborhood. INFILL SITE. The family, who moved from another area of Wellesley, sought out this property to be within walking distance of the high school and downtown area. An existing structure on the tight lot was removed to make way for the new home. 84% of the construction waste, from both the previous structure and the new home, was diverted from a landfill. ZED designed to preserve the existing mature trees on the perimeter of the property to minimize site impacts, and to maintain the character of the neighborhood as well as privacy on the site. EXTERIOR EXPRESSION. The street facade of the home relates to the local New England vernacular. The rear uses contemporary language, a nod to the family’s Californian roots, to incorporate a roof deck, solar panels, outdoor living space, and the backyard swimming pool. ZED’s careful planning avoided to the need to face the garage doors towards the street, a common syndrome of a narrow lot. THOUGHTFUL SPACE. Homes with dual entries can often result in duplicate and unused spaces. In this home, the everyday and formal entry areas are one and the same; the front and garage doors share the entry program of coat closets, mudroom storage with bench for removing your shoes, and a laundry room with generous closets for the children's sporting equipment. The entry area leads directly to the living space, encompassing the kitchen, dining and sitting area areas in an L-shaped open plan arrangement. The kitchen is placed at the south-west corner of the space to allow for a strong connection to the dining, sitting and outdoor living spaces. A fire pit on the deck satisfies the family’s desire for an open flame while a sealed gas fireplace is used indoors - ZED’s preference after omitting gas burning appliances completely from an airtight home. A small study, with a window seat, is conveniently located just off of the living space. A first floor guest bedroom includes an accessible bathroom for aging visitors and can be used as a master suite to accommodate aging in place. HEALTHY LIVING. The client requested a home that was easy to clean and would provide a respite from seasonal allergies and common contaminants that are found in many indoor spaces. ZED selected easy to clean solid surface flooring throughout, provided ample space for cleaning supplies on each floor, and designed a mechanical system with ventilation that provides a constant supply of fresh outdoor air. ZED selected durable materials, finishes, cabinetry, and casework with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and no added urea formaldehyde. YEAR-ROUND COMFORT. The home is super insulated and air-tight, paired with high performance triple-paned windows, to ensure it is draft-free throughout the winter (even when in front of the large windows and doors). ZED designed a right-sized heating and cooling system to pair with the thermally improved building enclosure to ensure year-round comfort. The glazing on the home maximizes passive solar gains, and facilitates cross ventilation and daylighting. ENERGY EFFICIENT. As one of the most energy efficient houses built to date in Wellesley, the home highlights a practical solution for Massachusetts. First, the building enclosure reduces the largest energy requirement for typical houses (heating). Super-insulation, exceptional air sealing, a thermally broken wall assembly, triple pane windows, and passive solar gain combine for a sizable heating load reduction. Second, within the house only efficient systems consume energy. These include an air source heat pump for heating & cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation, and high efficiency appliances. Lastly, photovoltaics provide renewable energy help offset energy consumption. The result is an 89% reduction in energy use compared to a similar brand new home built to code requirements. RESILIENT. The home will fare well in extreme weather events. During a winter power outage, heat loss will be very slow due to the super-insulated and airtight envelope– taking multiple days to drop to 60 degrees even with no heat source. An engineered drainage system, paired with careful the detailing of the foundation, will help to keep the finished basement dry. A generator will provide full operation of the all-electric house during a power outage. OVERALL. The home is a reflection of the family goals and an expression of their values, beautifully enabling health, comfort, safety, resilience, and utility, all while respecting the planet. ZED - Architect & Mechanical Designer Bevilacqua Builders Inc - Contractor Creative Land & Water Engineering - Civil Engineering Barbara Peterson Landscape - Landscape Design Nest & Company - Interior Furnishings Eric Roth Photography - Photography

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 radiative properties of the cool metal roofing reduced the amount of heat transfer into the house and thus the overall cooling costs of the home by 20%. Thin-film lightweight photovoltaic solar panels were attached without penetrating the roof to further increase the energy efficiency of this cutting edge home.

"Block 98% of harmful UV light and reduce heat transfer through glass—without plastic films. Elevate your wine storage with cutting-edge solutions. Reach out for free, expert planning and technical advice." Andrew Speer (Founder & CEO)

Got sun? Solar Shades reduce glare, UV light and heat transfer - all while letting you enjoy your view. They're easy to measure for and install, and the clean, simple lines work well in almost any room. Select the openness level for the amount of light blocking you need. Shown in Syntax/Latte (material# 13074). Also shown is a Flat Roman Shade in fabric Serpentine/Mist (material# 16528). Visit smithandnoble.com to order free samples.

Made with specially insulated Latitude glass, our SeasonGuard vinyl windows feature two layers of metallic coating and triple-pane glazing. That means they can dramatically reduce heat transfer to stabilize indoor temperatures. In other words, with SeasonGuard windows, your HVAC won’t have to work as hard to keep your home comfortable throughout the seasons.

Made with specially insulated Latitude glass, our SeasonGuard vinyl windows feature two layers of metallic coating and triple-pane glazing. That means they can dramatically reduce heat transfer to stabilize indoor temperatures. In other words, with SeasonGuard windows, your HVAC won’t have to work as hard to keep your home comfortable throughout the seasons.

Made with specially insulated Latitude glass, our SeasonGuard vinyl windows feature two layers of metallic coating and triple-pane glazing. That means they can dramatically reduce heat transfer to stabilize indoor temperatures. In other words, with SeasonGuard windows, your HVAC won’t have to work as hard to keep your home comfortable throughout the seasons.

Back view of beach house features new windows, exterior paint, balcony w/cable railing; the balcony also serves as the roof for the aluminum screen room below that was built on the new Azek decks. On the left side of the house a custom made awning was built using cedar and metal roofing to provide shelter to the side entrance and also reduces the heat that is transferred from being exposed to sun.

Wall coverings that help keep the noise down. Cork does it best. Install cork wall coverings today if you want walls that can help reduce noise transfer. Cork has a honeycomb cellular structure and each cubic centimeter contains roughly 40 million hexagonal cells that are saturated with air. These millions of cork cells creates a warm, comfortable, resilient surface that is anti-microbial as it is inherently resistant to molds, mildews, and common pests. Install cork wall coverings and you’ve got the perfect sound barrier that will reduce noise transfer from room to room. Peaceful and quiet. https://www.icorkfloor.com/store/product-category/cork-wall-tiles/cork-wall-tiles-6mm/

A custom pedestal proudly displays a bust of the homeowner’s father. The floor was carefully leveled to create continuous flow between hardwood, tile, and carpet. Pre-finished maple engineered hardwood floors were laid over a concrete slab, with a sound barrier in between layers to reduce transfer of sound to lower units.

Make a style statement. Accent the room with a burst of color or a pop of pattern - at a fraction of the cost of fabric shades. Easy to measure for and install, the only challenge is choosing just one of our stylish materials. Clean, simple lines work well in any room style.