Kitchen stove knobs are at the front, thereby increasing accessibility for access from a wheelchair or sitting position. Multiple Shelving units increase accessibility and create storage. Natural light is abundant in this kitchen as well as overhead lighting, reducing our risk for falls. Rug offers non skid surface, color contrast, and comfort. microwave is placed for easy access without having to carry a hot/heavy food tray over head.

The Mendocino 760 Prefabricated ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) is an efficiently designed modern 2 bedroom / 1 bathroom home built completely out of teak grown on deforested cattle lands through reforestation efforts. The structure, floors, exterior cladding, interior walls, ceilings, doors, millwork, and cabinetry are all made out of sustainably-grown teak wood. You are capturing carbon and reducing your footprint while gaining rental income and increasing the value of your property. -Furniture-grade finishes -Teak exterior cladding -Teak wide plank floor -Teak Ceiling -Teak doors, millwork, and cabinetry -Solar option available -760ft2 home with 230ft2 deck -Site plan, design, engineering, and permit coordination included

ShadeFX complemented the sophisticated pergola design by adding a beige waterproof retractable shade. The combination of painted hardware, reduced canopy drop and hidden cable stabilizers, make it appear as though the pergola and shade are a single cohesive unit.

Always on HVAC has an unwavering commitment to meeting, no.. EXCEEDING our client’s HVAC needs. With many years of experience and a wealth of industry knowledge to boot, our team of professionals will use an extensive range of approaches for the projects we take on. We have acquired the necessary certifications and experience for installing ductless mini-split systems. We take great pride in assisting homeowners and businesses who are looking to replace their old systems with ones that produce clean energy, which further reduces your carbon footprint!

ShadeFX complemented the sophisticated pergola design by adding a beige waterproof retractable shade. The combination of painted hardware, reduced canopy drop and hidden cable stabilizers, make it appear as though the pergola and shade are a single cohesive unit.

The backyard of this house was a no-man’s land when the owners moved in. With little more than a few established trees and a big, noisy air-conditioning unit, the yard was an almost open canvas bordering the Los Padres National Forest in a high-fire zone. We installed a large infiltration swale to capture as much rainfall as possible from the house rain gutters, so the water can be stored in the soil where plants can access it, reducing the amount of irrigation this landscape needs. Plantings obscure the air-conditioning unit, and a water feature was installed so the sound of trickling water would drown-out its sound. The plants we chose are drought tolerant and attractive to native birds and insects. We paid special attention to the plantings nearest to the house, keeping them fairly low growing as to not create a fire ladder beneath the eves. The plants also hold a good deal of moisture in their stems and leaves and are easily kept free of desiccated material, making them fire-wise plants that can actually reduce the chances of the property burning in the event of a nearby wildfire.

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.

Operable louvers open and close to provide sun and rain protection at your convenience. Dramatically reduce temperatures of the shaded space and use optional roll down shades available for additional sun control or insect control. Flexible shading systems durable for heat, heavy wind, rain and snow. Free-standing units or affixed to your pre-existing structure, these systems can be custom built in any shape.

Operable louvers open and close to provide sun and rain protection at your convenience. Dramatically reduce temperatures of the shaded space and use optional roll down shades available for additional sun control or insect control. Flexible shading systems durable for heat, heavy wind, rain and snow. Free-standing units or affixed to your pre-existing structure, these systems can be custom built in any shape.

Exterior dimensions (in) 51.5 L x 36.25 W x 33.75 H Inspired by ancient Japanese traditions of soaking in Ofuro tubs, the True Ofuro Japanese style bathtub is a ‘sit and soak’, solid surface bathtub, featuring a deep design for a full-body immersion. Crafted in Italy, this immaculately sculpted tub is available with an optional inline water heater and digital control panel with temperature display, which will reduce water consumption and provide for a prolonged soaking experience at very comfortable temperatures. One of the True Ofuro's key features is it's carefully designed elevated rim for improved bathers neck and head support, and the convenient ergonomic seating, which allows the body to be comfortably emerged to maximum water capacity. The international industrial design team, commissioned by Aquatica to create this product, used advanced CAD tools, modeling and repeated testing with real size prototype units, in order to reach the optimal balance between ergonomic comfort and visual appeal for this one of a kind bathtub. Thanks to the AquateX™ material, this Japanese soaking tub retains heat for much longer and has a silky and smooth surface. Besides being one of our most space conscious bathtubs, the freestanding and petite construction of this Japanese style bathtub means that it can be installed pretty much anywhere in your bathroom.

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

ShadeFX complemented the sophisticated pergola design by adding a beige waterproof retractable shade. The combination of painted hardware, reduced canopy drop and hidden cable stabilizers, make it appear as though the pergola and shade are a single cohesive unit.

The Portland 560 Prefabricated ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) is an efficiently designed modern 1 bedroom/1 bathroom home built completely out of teak grown on deforested cattle lands through reforestation efforts. The structure, floors, exterior cladding, interior walls, ceilings, doors, millwork, and cabinetry are all made out of sustainably grown teak. You are capturing carbon and reducing your footprint while gaining rental income and increasing the value of your property.

Whisper-quiet cellar cooling unit The compressor-free mechanism makes this wine cooling system whisper-quiet. Generating only 23dBA, the Cube° emits as little noise as an office computer. No moving parts are required since cooling is simply achieved through the movement of electrons, resulting in a soundless wine cellar cooling system. Ultra-silent fans located inside and outside the wine cellar are used for highly efficient thermal exchange. They represent the system’s single source of the noise. With a simple touch of the screen, the velocity of the fan may be modified thus reducing the unit’s sound level. The Cube° now makes it possible to install your wine cellar virtually anywhere, whether in a condo, an apartment or in a space where having a noisy unit is simply out of the question.

The primary bedroom at project Dundas. We reduced the bedroom size slightly but framed a new closet for our client in order to make up for the reduction. We also decided to go with a trimless door to give the condo unit a more contemporary feel.

-Most of residence has glass doors, walls and windows overlooking the ocean, making ceilings the best surface for creating architectural interest -Raise ceiling heights, reduce soffits and integrate drapery pockets in the crown to hide motorized translucent shades, blackout shades and drapery panels, all which help control heat gain and glare inherent in unit’s multi-directional ocean exposure (south, east and north) -Patterns highlight ceilings in major rooms and accent their light fixtures

The primary bedroom at project Dundas. We reduced the bedroom size slightly but framed a new closet for our client in order to make up for the reduction. We also decided to go with a trimless door to give the condo unit a more contemporary feel.

Operable louvers open and close to provide sun and rain protection at your convenience. Dramatically reduce temperatures of the shaded space and use optional roll down shades available for additional sun control or insect control. Flexible shading systems durable for heat, heavy wind, rain and snow. Free-standing units or affixed to your pre-existing structure, these systems can be custom built in any shape.

Operable louvers open and close to provide sun and rain protection at your convenience. Dramatically reduce temperatures of the shaded space and use optional roll down shades available for additional sun control or insect control. Flexible shading systems durable for heat, heavy wind, rain and snow. Free-standing units or affixed to your pre-existing structure, these systems can be custom built in any shape.