This lovely breakfast room, overlooking the garden, is an inviting place to start your day lingering over Sunday morning coffee. I had the walls painted in a soft coral, contrasting with various wood tones in the armoire, table and shades. It is all tied together by keeping the chair covers and rug light in color. The crystal chandelier is an unexpected element in a breakfast room, yet, your not compelled to pull out the china and silver.

Family Room
Example of a large transitional dark wood floor and brown floor living room design in Chicago with multicolored walls and a standard fireplace

Peter Rymwid Photography
Dining room - transitional medium tone wood floor dining room idea in New York with beige walls

Example of a mid-sized trendy built-in desk medium tone wood floor and brown floor home office design in Dallas with beige walls and no fireplace

Example of a mid-sized cottage medium tone wood floor and beige floor powder room design in Other with furniture-like cabinets, white walls, quartzite countertops, red cabinets, an undermount sink and white countertops

Trendy eat-in kitchen photo in Denver with an undermount sink, glass-front cabinets, orange backsplash and stainless steel appliances

This loft apartment is on Portland’s NW 13th Avenue, one of Portland’s most interesting streets. Located in the recently transformed Pearl District, the street is a busy ensemble of shops and apartments housed in late-19th and early-20th-century loft warehouse structures, with the buildings largely intact as originally built, including special features such as water towers, loading docks, old brick, and original painted signs. Photos by Lincoln Barbour.

Daniel Shea
Example of a large trendy l-shaped medium tone wood floor enclosed kitchen design in New York with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, black backsplash, an island, an undermount sink and solid surface countertops

Living room - transitional medium tone wood floor and brown floor living room idea in Los Angeles with beige walls, a standard fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

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 huge transitional freestanding desk dark wood floor study room remodel in Los Angeles with gray walls

Photo-Jim Westphalen
Small country white two-story mixed siding exterior home photo in Other

Kitchen - contemporary l-shaped kitchen idea in San Francisco with stainless steel appliances, shaker cabinets, white cabinets and quartz countertops

2011 EcoHome Design Award Winner Key to the successful design were the homeowner priorities of family health, energy performance, and optimizing the walk-to-town construction site. To maintain health and air quality, the home features a fresh air ventilation system with energy recovery, a whole house HEPA filtration system, radiant & radiator heating distribution, and low/no VOC materials. The home’s energy performance focuses on passive heating/cooling techniques, natural daylighting, an improved building envelope, and efficient mechanical systems, collectively achieving overall energy performance of 50% better than code. To address the site opportunities, the home utilizes a footprint that maximizes southern exposure in the rear while still capturing the park view in the front. ZeroEnergy Design | Green Architecture & Mechanical Design www.ZeroEnergy.com Kauffman Tharp Design | Interior Design www.ktharpdesign.com Photos by Eric Roth

Example of a trendy medium tone wood floor dining room design in Seattle with white walls

LaCantina Doors Aluminum bi-folding door system
Patio - mid-sized contemporary backyard concrete patio idea in Cincinnati with a roof extension

Don't miss Landmark Performance Homes Newport plan for sale at 20077 Gertrude St. This is an open plan w/ side-load garage and circular drive. The entry opens to den/flex room and large kitchen featuring tile floors, custom cabinets, ss appliances & modern quartz counters. It features a large drop zone, lockers and walk-in closet off garage entry. 4 BR PLUS loft area upstairs, 5th BR/flex on main. Large master & spa bath with huge closet! Located in area w/ pool, fitness center, parks. Ready to occupy. Huge lot backs to trees & trail! Asking price: $465,490 Call Jana at 402-672-5550 for more details or to schedule a showing. ‪#‎buildalandmark‬

Example of an eclectic family room design in Salt Lake City with multicolored walls

Clarkson Great Room
Inspiration for a timeless living room remodel in Denver with beige walls, a standard fireplace and a tv stand