Study
Inspiration for a transitional freestanding desk dark wood floor home office remodel in Dallas with gray walls

This barrier free (curbless) shower was designed for easy access. The perfect solution for the elderly or anyone who wants to enter the shower without any issues. The dark gray concrete look floor tile extends uninterrupted into the shower. Satin nickel fixtures and a teak shower stool provide some contrast. Walls are also built with plywood substrate in order to any grab bars if the situation ever arises. Photo: Stephen Allen

Bernard Andre
Example of a classic master gray tile drop-in bathtub design in San Francisco with recessed-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, gray walls, an undermount sink and a hinged shower door

When Cummings Architects first met with the owners of this understated country farmhouse, the building’s layout and design was an incoherent jumble. The original bones of the building were almost unrecognizable. All of the original windows, doors, flooring, and trims – even the country kitchen – had been removed. Mathew and his team began a thorough design discovery process to find the design solution that would enable them to breathe life back into the old farmhouse in a way that acknowledged the building’s venerable history while also providing for a modern living by a growing family. The redesign included the addition of a new eat-in kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, wrap around porch, and stone fireplaces. To begin the transforming restoration, the team designed a generous, twenty-four square foot kitchen addition with custom, farmers-style cabinetry and timber framing. The team walked the homeowners through each detail the cabinetry layout, materials, and finishes. Salvaged materials were used and authentic craftsmanship lent a sense of place and history to the fabric of the space. The new master suite included a cathedral ceiling showcasing beautifully worn salvaged timbers. The team continued with the farm theme, using sliding barn doors to separate the custom-designed master bath and closet. The new second-floor hallway features a bold, red floor while new transoms in each bedroom let in plenty of light. A summer stair, detailed and crafted with authentic details, was added for additional access and charm. Finally, a welcoming farmer’s porch wraps around the side entry, connecting to the rear yard via a gracefully engineered grade. This large outdoor space provides seating for large groups of people to visit and dine next to the beautiful outdoor landscape and the new exterior stone fireplace. Though it had temporarily lost its identity, with the help of the team at Cummings Architects, this lovely farmhouse has regained not only its former charm but also a new life through beautifully integrated modern features designed for today’s family. Photo by Eric Roth

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

Elegant kitchen photo in Columbus with raised-panel cabinets and gray cabinets

Allison Cartwright
Kitchen - contemporary l-shaped medium tone wood floor and brown floor kitchen idea in Austin with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, light wood cabinets, white backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and white countertops

Large trendy open concept light wood floor and beige floor living room photo in Phoenix with white walls, a ribbon fireplace, a tile fireplace and a media wall

David Land
Home office - coastal freestanding desk light wood floor home office idea in Jacksonville with gray walls

Matthew Niemann Photography www.matthewniemann.com
Example of a transitional open concept carpeted and gray floor living room design with gray walls

Jill Paider Photography
Inspiration for a transitional freestanding bathtub remodel in Los Angeles with an undermount sink, dark wood cabinets, a two-piece toilet and flat-panel cabinets

In 2014, we were approached by a couple to achieve a dream space within their existing home. They wanted to expand their existing bar, wine, and cigar storage into a new one-of-a-kind room. Proud of their Italian heritage, they also wanted to bring an “old-world” feel into this project to be reminded of the unique character they experienced in Italian cellars. The dramatic tone of the space revolves around the signature piece of the project; a custom milled stone spiral stair that provides access from the first floor to the entry of the room. This stair tower features stone walls, custom iron handrails and spindles, and dry-laid milled stone treads and riser blocks. Once down the staircase, the entry to the cellar is through a French door assembly. The interior of the room is clad with stone veneer on the walls and a brick barrel vault ceiling. The natural stone and brick color bring in the cellar feel the client was looking for, while the rustic alder beams, flooring, and cabinetry help provide warmth. The entry door sequence is repeated along both walls in the room to provide rhythm in each ceiling barrel vault. These French doors also act as wine and cigar storage. To allow for ample cigar storage, a fully custom walk-in humidor was designed opposite the entry doors. The room is controlled by a fully concealed, state-of-the-art HVAC smoke eater system that allows for cigar enjoyment without any odor.

Inspiration for a contemporary living room remodel in Tampa with blue walls, a ribbon fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

What do teenager’s need most in their bedroom? Personalized space to make their own, a place to study and do homework, and of course, plenty of storage! This teenage girl’s bedroom not only provides much needed storage and built in desk, but does it with clever interplay of millwork and three-dimensional wall design which provide niches and shelves for books, nik-naks, and all teenage things. What do teenager’s need most in their bedroom? Personalized space to make their own, a place to study and do homework, and of course, plenty of storage! This teenage girl’s bedroom not only provides much needed storage and built in desk, but does it with clever interplay of three-dimensional wall design which provide niches and shelves for books, nik-naks, and all teenage things. While keeping the architectural elements characterizing the entire design of the house, the interior designer provided millwork solution every teenage girl needs. Not only aesthetically pleasing but purely functional. Along the window (a perfect place to study) there is a custom designed L-shaped desk which incorporates bookshelves above countertop, and large recessed into the wall bins that sit on wheels and can be pulled out from underneath the window to access the girl’s belongings. The multiple storage solutions are well hidden to allow for the beauty and neatness of the bedroom and of the millwork with multi-dimensional wall design in drywall. Black out window shades are recessed into the ceiling and prepare room for the night with a touch of a button, and architectural soffits with led lighting crown the room. Cabinetry design by the interior designer is finished in bamboo material and provides warm touch to this light bedroom. Lower cabinetry along the TV wall are equipped with combination of cabinets and drawers and the wall above the millwork is framed out and finished in drywall. Multiple niches and 3-dimensional planes offer interest and more exposed storage. Soft carpeting complements the room giving it much needed acoustical properties and adds to the warmth of this bedroom. This custom storage solution is designed to flow with the architectural elements of the room and the rest of the house. Photography: Craig Denis

Jeri Koegel - 949-584-8525
Inspiration for a southwestern stucco exterior home remodel in Orange County

David Lauer
Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary master white tile and marble tile porcelain tile and white floor freestanding bathtub remodel in Denver with white walls

Large elegant l-shaped medium tone wood floor kitchen photo in Detroit with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, wood countertops, green backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island, medium tone wood cabinets and window backsplash

Picture Perfect House
Example of a cottage gray floor mudroom design in Chicago

Due to the limited space and the budget, we chose to install a wall bar versus a two-level bar front. The wall bar included white cabinetry below a white/grey quartz counter top, open wood shelving, a drop-in sink, beverage cooler, and full fridge. For an excellent entertaining area along with a great view to the large projection screen, a half wall bar height top was installed with bar stool seating for four and custom lighting. The AV projectors were a great solution for providing an awesome entertainment area at reduced costs. HDMI cables and cat 6 wires were installed and run from the projector to a closet where the Yamaha AV receiver as placed giving the room a clean simple look along with the projection screen and speakers mounted on the walls.