We did very little landscaping, preferring to leave the site as wild and natural as possible. We did introduce some large rockwork for patios and walkways. Any new landscaping included native, drought-resistant plants that required little watering. PHOTO: Ignacio Salas-Humara

Paul came to us with a very tight site a couple of blocks from the town centre. A great lot, but the program required for the site was stretching the limits of the site. With the final design, we ended up being at 99.99% of our allowable buildable area! The home contains a compact two bedroom suite accessed from the rear of the property. Wrapping around this is a huge two car garage, with enough space for the owners trucks and motorbikes. The lounge and kitchen are open plan and have large doors out to the west. A double height entry creates a feature opening, with a single run of stairs up to the upper floor. Here, three large bedrooms and two bathrooms fill the space, some with vaulted ceilings. The master bedroom has sliding doors that open to a private west facing balcony. The craftmanship and skill in woodwork throughout the building is exemplary and a real testament to the skilled guy and girls at Tree Construction who built the home.

ZeroEnergy Design (ZED) created this modern home for a progressive family in the desirable community of Lexington. Thoughtful Land Connection. The residence is carefully sited on the infill lot so as to create privacy from the road and neighbors, while cultivating a side yard that captures the southern sun. The terraced grade rises to meet the house, allowing for it to maintain a structured connection with the ground while also sitting above the high water table. The elevated outdoor living space maintains a strong connection with the indoor living space, while the stepped edge ties it back to the true ground plane. Siting and outdoor connections were completed by ZED in collaboration with landscape designer Soren Deniord Design Studio. Exterior Finishes and Solar. The exterior finish materials include a palette of shiplapped wood siding, through-colored fiber cement panels and stucco. A rooftop parapet hides the solar panels above, while a gutter and site drainage system directs rainwater into an irrigation cistern and dry wells that recharge the groundwater. Cooking, Dining, Living. Inside, the kitchen, fabricated by Henrybuilt, is located between the indoor and outdoor dining areas. The expansive south-facing sliding door opens to seamlessly connect the spaces, using a retractable awning to provide shade during the summer while still admitting the warming winter sun. The indoor living space continues from the dining areas across to the sunken living area, with a view that returns again to the outside through the corner wall of glass. Accessible Guest Suite. The design of the first level guest suite provides for both aging in place and guests who regularly visit for extended stays. The patio off the north side of the house affords guests their own private outdoor space, and privacy from the neighbor. Similarly, the second level master suite opens to an outdoor private roof deck. Light and Access. The wide open interior stair with a glass panel rail leads from the top level down to the well insulated basement. The design of the basement, used as an away/play space, addresses the need for both natural light and easy access. In addition to the open stairwell, light is admitted to the north side of the area with a high performance, Passive House (PHI) certified skylight, covering a six by sixteen foot area. On the south side, a unique roof hatch set flush with the deck opens to reveal a glass door at the base of the stairwell which provides additional light and access from the deck above down to the play space. Energy. Energy consumption is reduced by the high performance building envelope, high efficiency mechanical systems, and then offset with renewable energy. All windows and doors are made of high performance triple paned glass with thermally broken aluminum frames. The exterior wall assembly employs dense pack cellulose in the stud cavity, a continuous air barrier, and four inches exterior rigid foam insulation. The 10kW rooftop solar electric system provides clean energy production. The final air leakage testing yielded 0.6 ACH 50 - an extremely air tight house, a testament to the well-designed details, progress testing and quality construction. When compared to a new house built to code requirements, this home consumes only 19% of the energy. Architecture & Energy Consulting: ZeroEnergy Design Landscape Design: Soren Deniord Design Paintings: Bernd Haussmann Studio Photos: Eric Roth Photography

Jack 'N Tool Box, Inc. was the General Contractor for the complete remodel of this commercial office space in downtown Santa Barbara Pueble Vieja District. A majority of the existing structure was demolished and rebuilt to create a modern office building in classic Santa Barbara Mediterranean architecture. Soft soils at the site required use of caisson foundations for the new access stairs.

Eye-Land: Named for the expansive white oak savanna views, this beautiful 5,200-square foot family home offers seamless indoor/outdoor living with five bedrooms and three baths, and space for two more bedrooms and a bathroom. The site posed unique design challenges. The home was ultimately nestled into the hillside, instead of placed on top of the hill, so that it didn’t dominate the dramatic landscape. The openness of the savanna exposes all sides of the house to the public, which required creative use of form and materials. The home’s one-and-a-half story form pays tribute to the site’s farming history. The simplicity of the gable roof puts a modern edge on a traditional form, and the exterior color palette is limited to black tones to strike a stunning contrast to the golden savanna. The main public spaces have oversized south-facing windows and easy access to an outdoor terrace with views overlooking a protected wetland. The connection to the land is further strengthened by strategically placed windows that allow for views from the kitchen to the driveway and auto court to see visitors approach and children play. There is a formal living room adjacent to the front entry for entertaining and a separate family room that opens to the kitchen for immediate family to gather before and after mealtime.

Strategically angled on the site, this custom home (located near Park City, UT) maximizes the views from every room on the west side of the house. Balancing HOA requirements with client programming desires can present challenges, but the Architect provides solutions that both satisfy HOA design guidelines and client wishes... all within the client's budget.

The design promotes healthy lifestyles by providing primary living on one floor, no materials containing volatile organic compounds, energy recovery ventilation systems, radon elimination systems, extension of interior spaces into the natural environment of the site, strong and direct physical and visual connections to nature, daylighting techniques providing occupants full integration into a natural, endogenous circadian rhythm. Incorporation¬¬¬ of daylighting with clerestories and solar tubes reduce daytime lighting requirements. Ground source geothermal heat pumps and superior-to-code insulation ensure minimal space-conditioning costs. Corten steel siding and concrete foundation walls satisfy client requirements for low maintenance and durability. All lighting fixtures are LEDs.

2013 Integrity Red Diamond Achiever Award winner: Deltec Homes Distributor: Marvin Concepts Products Used: Wood-Ultrex® Casement & Awning, Inswing French Door, and Sliding French Door. Marvin® windows and doors. This home sits on a National Wildlife Federation Certified Habitat. It was built on concrete pilings to minimize site disturbance, and required a large amount of windows to capture the brilliant views of the terrain and the natural world around it. Integrity products helped the home achieve NC Healthy Built Home designation while still maximizing natural light and breathtaking views.

Farmhouse hallway photo in New York

First home, savvy art owners, decided to hire RBD to design their recently purchased two story, four bedroom, midcentury Diamond Heights home to merge their new parenthood and love for entertaining lifestyles. Hired two months prior to the arrival of their baby boy, RBD was successful in installing the nursery just in time. The home required little architectural spatial reconfiguration given the previous owner was an architect, allowing RBD to focus mainly on furniture, fixtures and accessories while updating only a few finishes. New paint grade paneling added a needed midcentury texture to the entry, while an existing site for sore eyes radiator, received a new walnut cover creating a built-in mid-century custom headboard for the guest room, perfect for large art and plant decoration. RBD successfully paired furniture and art selections to connect the existing material finishes by keeping fabrics neutral and complimentary to the existing finishes. The backyard, an SF rare oasis, showcases a hanging chair and custom outdoor floor cushions for easy lounging, while a stylish midcentury heated bench allows easy outdoor entertaining in the SF climate. Photography Credit: Scott Hargis Photography

At LEICHT, we seamlessly blend German engineering with a deep passion for design to turn kitchen dreams into reality. Our LEICHT Costa Mesa kitchens are meticulously crafted to cater to each client’s unique lifestyle and requirements, guaranteeing a genuinely personalized journey from inception to perfection.

This client loved wood. Site-harvested lumber was applied to the stairwell walls with beautiful effect in this North Asheville home. The tongue-and-groove, nickel-jointed milling and installation, along with the simple detail metal balusters created a focal point for the home. The heavily-sloped lot afforded great views out back, demanded lots of view-facing windows, and required supported decks off the main floor and lower level. The screened porch features a massive, wood-burning outdoor fireplace with a traditional hearth, faced with natural stone. The side-yard natural-look water feature attracts many visitors from the surrounding woods.

This area has a bit more controlled design with just the prairie dropseed next to the rocks. Very attractive prairie grass that leans over in an attractive fashion.

We were asked to improve the curb appeal of this home set at the bottom of a steep decline and to provide an additional 3 parking spaces which required a heavy duty timber retaining wall. Drainage was an issue due to the adjacent wetland. This site was challenging in every way.

A floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinet uses one existing kitchen wall to organize everyday groceries without adding a separate room. The open cabinet shows adjustable wood shelves, while the surrounding kitchen run keeps the footprint relationship clear. AI-assisted planning concept; final cabinet dimensions, door swing, materials and site conditions require project-specific review.

At LEICHT, we seamlessly blend German engineering with a deep passion for design to turn kitchen dreams into reality. Our LEICHT Costa Mesa kitchens are meticulously crafted to cater to each client’s unique lifestyle and requirements, guaranteeing a genuinely personalized journey from inception to perfection.

Some projects require mid-stream corrections once we’ve done our free on-site consultation and prepared a cost estimate, and Brian’s New York home theater installation was one of them. He had found us thanks to our recommendations and reviews on Angie’s List; after we put together a plan of action for his desired home theater and satellite TV/speaker installations, some changes had to be made due to suggestions and requests from his interior designer, as well as budget constraints.

The aerial view shows the shape of the house and the relatively small solar array required for it to reach net zero. This net zero house is designed to be both simple and complex with the different wings moving toward different orientations on the site for both view and privacy purposes.

The guesthouse of our Green Mountain Getaway follows the same recipe as the main house. With its soaring roof lines and large windows, it feels equally as integrated into the surrounding landscape. Photo by: Nat Rea Photography