This home remodel is a celebration of curves and light. Starting from humble beginnings as a basic builder ranch style house, the design challenge was maximizing natural light throughout and providing the unique contemporary style the client’s craved. The Entry offers a spectacular first impression and sets the tone with a large skylight and an illuminated curved wall covered in a wavy pattern Porcelanosa tile. The chic entertaining kitchen was designed to celebrate a public lifestyle and plenty of entertaining. Celebrating height with a robust amount of interior architectural details, this dynamic kitchen still gives one that cozy feeling of home sweet home. The large “L” shaped island accommodates 7 for seating. Large pendants over the kitchen table and sink provide additional task lighting and whimsy. The Dekton “puzzle” countertop connection was designed to aid the transition between the two color countertops and is one of the homeowner’s favorite details. The built-in bistro table provides additional seating and flows easily into the Living Room. A curved wall in the Living Room showcases a contemporary linear fireplace and tv which is tucked away in a niche. Placing the fireplace and furniture arrangement at an angle allowed for more natural walkway areas that communicated with the exterior doors and the kitchen working areas. The dining room’s open plan is perfect for small groups and expands easily for larger events. Raising the ceiling created visual interest and bringing the pop of teal from the Kitchen cabinets ties the space together. A built-in buffet provides ample storage and display. The Sitting Room (also called the Piano room for its previous life as such) is adjacent to the Kitchen and allows for easy conversation between chef and guests. It captures the homeowner’s chic sense of style and joie de vivre.

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Photo: Heather Banks © 2015 Houzz
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Photography by Dustin Peck Photography
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Bed room area with queen size bed. 2 swing arm wall scones to save space of side tables. They are made of brass so add that stylish kick! Mid century home-office corner with a small desk and a classic mid century arm chair. Small rugs always add a touch of color and polish the entire room look without blocking it!

Werner Segarra
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With expansive fields and beautiful farmland surrounding it, this historic farmhouse celebrates these views with floor-to-ceiling windows from the kitchen and sitting area. Originally constructed in the late 1700’s, the main house is connected to the barn by a new addition, housing a master bedroom suite and new two-car garage with carriage doors. We kept and restored all of the home’s existing historic single-pane windows, which complement its historic character. On the exterior, a combination of shingles and clapboard siding were continued from the barn and through the new addition.

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Photo: Erika Bierman Photography
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An extraordinary WARHOL collection was the starting point of this project for a family with young kids in need of functional yet stylish interiors. Brightly colored, lacquered walls are the backdrop for the art which dictated the colors used. Custom built-ins and 3 dimensional walls add interest and definition to the spaces. A Missoni carpet connects the dots. Photography by: David Duncan Livingston

This expansive Victorian had tremendous historic charm but hadn’t seen a kitchen renovation since the 1950s. The homeowners wanted to take advantage of their views of the backyard and raised the roof and pushed the kitchen into the back of the house, where expansive windows could allow southern light into the kitchen all day. A warm historic gray/beige was chosen for the cabinetry, which was contrasted with character oak cabinetry on the appliance wall and bar in a modern chevron detail. Kitchen Design: Sarah Robertson, Studio Dearborn Architect: Ned Stoll, Interior finishes Tami Wassong Interiors

After returning from a winter trip to discover his house had been flooded by a burst second-floor pipe, this homeowner was ready to address the renovations and additions that he had been pondering for about a decade. It was important to him to respect the original character of the c. +/- 1910 two-bedroom small home that had been in his family for years, while re-imagining the kitchen and flow. In response, KHS proposed a one-story addition, recalling an enclosed porch, which springs from the front roof line and then wraps the house to the north. An informal front dining space, complete with built-in banquette, occupies the east end of the addition behind large double-hung windows sized to match those on the original house, and a new kitchen occupies the west end of the addition behind smaller casement windows at counter height. New French doors to the rear allow the owner greater access to an outdoor room edged by the house to the east, the existing one-car garage to the south, and a rear rock wall to the west. Much of the lot to the north was left open for the owner’s annual summer volley ball party. The first-floor was then reconfigured, capturing additional interior space from a recessed porch on the rear, to create a rear mudroom entrance hall, full bath, and den, which could someday function as a third bedroom if needed. Upstairs, a rear shed dormer was extended to the north and east so that head room could be increased, rendering more of the owner’s office/second bedroom usable. Windows and doors were relocated as necessary to better serve the new plan and to capture more daylight. Having expanded from its original 1100 square feet to approximately 1700 square feet, it’s still a small, sweet house – only freshly updated, and with a hint of porchiness. Photos by Katie Hutchison

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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

In the kitchen, the feeling is light and airy, thanks to a soft color palette and open shelving. Rather than create a massive center island, Kiel applied his handy work to an array of inexpensive materials, resulting in an island work table with open shelving. By keeping sight lines open down below, the kitchen gains a greater feeling of space. Wall Color, Lightest Sky, by Pantone for Valspar; Counter top, IKEA; Pendant Fixtures, Home Depot Photo: Adrienne DeRosa Photography © 2014 Houzz

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Interior Design- Herbert Acevedo Photography- Eric Roth
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