Search results for "Sustainable approach" in Home Design Ideas

French country master double-sink drop-in bathtub photo in San Francisco with open cabinets, white cabinets, white walls, a vessel sink, marble countertops and white countertops

Custom 2 sided single bed with built in storage and trundle bed.
Recessed and surface mounted Kreon lighting fixtures throughout.
Photo by Lauren Coleman
Furniture by Holly Hunt

The Chairish Villa at The Colony is a celebration of authentic Palm Beach style, reimagined for today’s tastemaking and affluent guests. As America’s premier emporium for vintage and antique furnishings, Chairish is known for serving up historical design expertise with heaping sides of high/low chic and playful irreverence. Likewise, the Colony is celebrated the world over as a vintage mecca with a 100-year history of tastemaking residents.
This spirit of play guided our design approach, and the Chairish Villa fearlessly mixes historically significant, Palm Beach specific design themes with modern additions like contemporary art, mid-century furnishings and sophisticated layering to delight The Colony’s fashionable clientele. Chinoiserie motifs, animalia details, wicker, rattan, and breezy hues abound.
Palm Beach is a famed treasure trove of vintage and antique furnishings, offered by an extensive community of expert local purveyors. Almost all the furnishings selected by Chairish for the project were locally sourced from Chairish dealers within 5 miles from the hotel, making The Chairish Villa at The Colony both a fashionable and sustainable destination.
We used matching archival wallpaper and fabric pairings. This approach was specifically inspired by the Yellow Roses Room at the Flagler Mansion, and we sourced our textile, wallpaper, and trim pairings exclusively from our partner Schumacher Hospitality. Schumacher’s Del Tesoro pattern, based on a 19th-century French document, served as the project’s overall jumping off point. We also used Hydrangea Drape, which was inspired by a design of Hobe Erwin.
The villa features over 40 pieces of art: largely comprised of contemporary works from 20 artists from around the world, half of which were tapped to create original works specific to the space. This impressive showing is complemented by a small selection of vintage artwork as well. Noteworthy Artists include: Liz Marsh, Hope Olson, Brock DeBoer, Lia Burke Libaire, Venetia Syms, Ron Giusti, and Virginia Chamlee, among others.
Special thanks to our local partners for their incredible work on this project, particularly:
Catharine Willmer Interiors (Interior Design)
David’s Drapery Workroom (Window Treatments)
Associated Interior Designer Service (Upholstery)
Wallpaper by Wendy (Wallpaper Hanger/Installer)
Illume (Custom Lampshades)
Find the right local pro for your project

Our inspiration for this home was an updated and refined approach to Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Prairie-style”; one that responds well to the harsh Central Texas heat. By DESIGN we achieved soft balanced and glare-free daylighting, comfortable temperatures via passive solar control measures, energy efficiency without reliance on maintenance-intensive Green “gizmos” and lower exterior maintenance.
The client’s desire for a healthy, comfortable and fun home to raise a young family and to accommodate extended visitor stays, while being environmentally responsible through “high performance” building attributes, was met. Harmonious response to the site’s micro-climate, excellent Indoor Air Quality, enhanced natural ventilation strategies, and an elegant bug-free semi-outdoor “living room” that connects one to the outdoors are a few examples of the architect’s approach to Green by Design that results in a home that exceeds the expectations of its owners.
Photo by Mark Adams Media

Rather than starting with an outcome in mind, this 1,400 square foot residence began from a polemic place - exploring shared conviction regarding the concentrated power of living with a smaller footprint. From the gabled silhouette to passive ventilation, the home captures the nostalgia for the past with the sustainable practices of the future.
While the exterior materials contrast a calm, minimal palette with the sleek lines of the gabled silhouette, the interior spaces embody a playful, artistic spirit. From the hand painted De Gournay wallpaper in the master bath to the rugged texture of the over-grouted limestone and Portuguese cobblestones, the home is an experience that encapsulates the unexpected and the timeless.

Rebecca Lindenmeyr
Design ideas for a huge farmhouse full sun backyard landscaping in Burlington.
Design ideas for a huge farmhouse full sun backyard landscaping in Burlington.

The shape of the angled porch-roof, sets the tone for a truly modern entryway. This protective covering makes a dramatic statement, as it hovers over the front door. The blue-stone terrace conveys even more interest, as it gradually moves upward, morphing into steps, until it reaches the porch.
Porch Detail
The multicolored tan stone, used for the risers and retaining walls, is proportionally carried around the base of the house. Horizontal sustainable-fiber cement board replaces the original vertical wood siding, and widens the appearance of the facade. The color scheme — blue-grey siding, cherry-wood door and roof underside, and varied shades of tan and blue stone — is complimented by the crisp-contrasting black accents of the thin-round metal columns, railing, window sashes, and the roof fascia board and gutters.
This project is a stunning example of an exterior, that is both asymmetrical and symmetrical. Prior to the renovation, the house had a bland 1970s exterior. Now, it is interesting, unique, and inviting.
Photography Credit: Tom Holdsworth Photography
Contractor: Owings Brothers Contracting

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Great Falls, VA
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Pristine Acres
Leading Northern Virginia Custom Outdoor Specialist- 10x Best of Houzz

Converted from an existing Tuff Shed garage, the Beech Haus ADU welcomes short stay guests in the heart of the bustling Williams Corridor neighborhood.
Natural light dominates this self-contained unit, with windows on all sides, yet maintains privacy from the primary unit. Double pocket doors between the Living and Bedroom areas offer spatial flexibility to accommodate a variety of guests and preferences. And the open vaulted ceiling makes the space feel airy and interconnected, with a playful nod to its origin as a truss-framed garage.
A play on the words Beach House, we approached this space as if it were a cottage on the coast. Durable and functional, with simplicity of form, this home away from home is cozied with curated treasures and accents. We like to personify it as a vacationer: breezy, lively, and carefree.

Madrona Passive House, a new Seattle home designed by SHED Architecture & Design and built by Hammer & Hand, combines contemporary design with high performance building to create an environmentally responsive and resource-efficient house.
The home’s airtight, super-insulated building envelope and passive design minimize energy consumption while providing superior thermal comfort to occupants. A heat recovery ventilator supplies constant fresh air to the home’s interior while recovering 90% of thermal energy from exhaust air for reuse inside. A rooftop solar photovoltaic array will provide enough energy to offset most, perhaps all, of the home’s energy consumption on a net annual basis. To manage stormwater the project employs permeable pavers for site hardscape and two cisterns to capture and control rainwater from the home’s roof and the green roof on the garage.
By investing in sustainable site development strategies, efficient building systems and an advanced envelope, the project aims to respect the home’s environmentally critical site and achieve one of the world’s most demanding building energy standards: Passive House.
Photos by Mark Woods Photography.

The goal of the project was to create a more functional kitchen, but to remodel with an eco-friendly approach. To minimize the waste going into the landfill, all the old cabinetry and appliances were donated, and the kitchen floor was kept intact because it was in great condition. The challenge was to design the kitchen around the existing floor and the natural soapstone the client fell in love with. The clients continued with the sustainable theme throughout the room with the new materials chosen: The back splash tiles are eco-friendly and hand-made in the USA.. The custom range hood was a beautiful addition to the kitchen. We maximized the counter space around the custom sink by extending the integral drain board above the dishwasher to create more prep space. In the adjacent laundry room, we continued the same color scheme to create a custom wall of cabinets to incorporate a hidden laundry shoot, and dog area. We also added storage around the washer and dryer including two different types of hanging for drying purposes.

View Haus 5 is an innovative approach to infill development on a narrow site. All homes were designed to Passivhaus standards and one of them has been certified. In response to the site's topography the townhouses are terraced in a single structure. A common walkway connects the site from 25th Avenue E to the alley widening at the center of the site to form a common courtyard. The courtyard is terraced to separate home entries in section from the surface of the courtyard. Decks created to be similar to front porches border the courtyard along with thoughtful landscaping.
The massing is modulated to create a structure that is well-scaled to its surroundings. Parking is minimized on the site through its location at the rear alley and setting it below the structure. To minimize impact on adjacent sites, a single enclosed stair penthouse is located at the center of the site, integrated with the design's approach to interlocking masses of varying materials. The exterior materials includes reclaimed brick and wood, ebonized wood and painted cement board panels.

Example of a minimalist u-shaped concrete floor, gray floor and wood ceiling kitchen design in Other with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, an island and white countertops

Transitional freestanding desk medium tone wood floor and brown floor study room photo in DC Metro with black walls

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Great Falls, VA
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Pristine Acres
Leading Northern Virginia Custom Outdoor Specialist- 10x Best of Houzz

March 2020 marked the launch of LIVDEN, a curated line of innovative decorative tiles made from 60-100% recycled materials. In the months leading up to our launch, we were approached by Palm Springs design firm, Juniper House, for a collaboration on one of the featured homes of 2020 Modernism Week, the Mesa Modern.
The LUNA series in the Medallion color on 12x12 Crystallized Terrazzo tile was featured as the main kitchen's backsplash. The LUNA was paired with matte black cabinetry, brass hardware, and custom mid-century lighting installations. The main kitchen was packed with color, texture and modern design elements.

Our client, with whom we had worked on a number of projects over the years, enlisted our help in transforming her family’s beloved but deteriorating rustic summer retreat, built by her grandparents in the mid-1920’s, into a house that would be livable year-‘round. It had served the family well but needed to be renewed for the decades to come without losing the flavor and patina they were attached to.
The house was designed by Ruth Adams, a rare female architect of the day, who also designed in a similar vein a nearby summer colony of Vassar faculty and alumnae.
To make Treetop habitable throughout the year, the whole house had to be gutted and insulated. The raw homosote interior wall finishes were replaced with plaster, but all the wood trim was retained and reused, as were all old doors and hardware. The old single-glazed casement windows were restored, and removable storm panels fitted into the existing in-swinging screen frames. New windows were made to match the old ones where new windows were added. This approach was inherently sustainable, making the house energy-efficient while preserving most of the original fabric.
Changes to the original design were as seamless as possible, compatible with and enhancing the old character. Some plan modifications were made, and some windows moved around. The existing cave-like recessed entry porch was enclosed as a new book-lined entry hall and a new entry porch added, using posts made from an oak tree on the site.
The kitchen and bathrooms are entirely new but in the spirit of the place. All the bookshelves are new.
A thoroughly ramshackle garage couldn’t be saved, and we replaced it with a new one built in a compatible style, with a studio above for our client, who is a writer.

Designers gave the house a wood-and-steel façade that blends traditional and industrial elements.Photography by Eric Hausman
Designers gave the house a wood-and-steel façade that blends traditional and industrial elements. This home’s noteworthy steel shipping container construction material, offers a streamlined aesthetic and industrial vibe, with sustainable attributes and strength. Recycled shipping containers are fireproof, impervious to water and stronger than traditional building materials. Inside, muscular concrete walls, burnished cedar beams and custom oak cabinetry give the living spaces definition, decorative might, and storage and seating options.
For more than 40 years, Fredman Design Group has been in the business of Interior Design. Throughout the years, we’ve built long-lasting relationships with our clients through our client-centric approach. When creating designs, our decisions depend on the personality of our clients—their dreams and their aspirations. We manifest their lifestyle by incorporating elements of design with those of our clients to create a unique environment, down to the details of the upholstery and accessories. We love it when a home feels finished and lived in, with various layers and textures.
While each of our clients and their stories has varied over the years, they’ve come to trust us with their projects—whether it’s a single room to the larger complete renovation, addition, or new construction.
They value the collaborative team that is behind each project, embracing the diversity that each designer is able to bring to their project through their love of art, travel, fashion, nature, history, architecture or film—ultimately falling in love with the nurturing environments we create for them.
We are grateful for the opportunity to tell each of clients’ stories through design. What story can we help you tell?
Call us today to schedule your complimentary consultation - 312-587-9184

The Chairish Villa at The Colony is a celebration of authentic Palm Beach style, reimagined for today’s tastemaking and affluent guests. As America’s premier emporium for vintage and antique furnishings, Chairish is known for serving up historical design expertise with heaping sides of high/low chic and playful irreverence. Likewise, the Colony is celebrated the world over as a vintage mecca with a 100-year history of tastemaking residents.
This spirit of play guided our design approach, and the Chairish Villa fearlessly mixes historically significant, Palm Beach specific design themes with modern additions like contemporary art, mid-century furnishings and sophisticated layering to delight The Colony’s fashionable clientele. Chinoiserie motifs, animalia details, wicker, rattan, and breezy hues abound.
Palm Beach is a famed treasure trove of vintage and antique furnishings, offered by an extensive community of expert local purveyors. Almost all the furnishings selected by Chairish for the project were locally sourced from Chairish dealers within 5 miles from the hotel, making The Chairish Villa at The Colony both a fashionable and sustainable destination.
We used matching archival wallpaper and fabric pairings. This approach was specifically inspired by the Yellow Roses Room at the Flagler Mansion, and we sourced our textile, wallpaper, and trim pairings exclusively from our partner Schumacher Hospitality. Schumacher’s Del Tesoro pattern, based on a 19th-century French document, served as the project’s overall jumping off point. We also used Hydrangea Drape, which was inspired by a design of Hobe Erwin.
The villa features over 40 pieces of art: largely comprised of contemporary works from 20 artists from around the world, half of which were tapped to create original works specific to the space. This impressive showing is complemented by a small selection of vintage artwork as well. Noteworthy Artists include: Liz Marsh, Hope Olson, Brock DeBoer, Lia Burke Libaire, Venetia Syms, Ron Giusti, and Virginia Chamlee, among others.
Special thanks to our local partners for their incredible work on this project, particularly:
Catharine Willmer Interiors (Interior Design)
David’s Drapery Workroom (Window Treatments)
Associated Interior Designer Service (Upholstery)
Wallpaper by Wendy (Wallpaper Hanger/Installer)
Illume (Custom Lampshades)

Sponsored
Great Falls, VA
View Our Spotlight Story!
Pristine Acres
Leading Northern Virginia Custom Outdoor Specialist- 10x Best of Houzz

Elements such as solar design, energy efficient appliances, a rainwater catchment system that supplies all the water and healthier eco-friendly materials – repurposed bowling alley lanes for countertops in the kitchen and recycled wood used throughout – are just a few of the sustainable features incorporated into this innovative design approach.
Photography by: Kevin Meechan

The cylindrical steel water bubbler forms the beginning of the water journey that travels from the upper landscape to the lower level around the back of the house.
Landscape Contractor: Robert Hanss, Inc.
Steel Fabrication: Wovensteel and Richard Duca
Water Systems: Pond Creations by Sean
Photo by Susan Teare.
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