A sitting area with a fountain was created off the side of the patio. Renn Kuhnen Photography
Inspiration for a large timeless backyard stone patio fountain remodel in Chicago

Lisa Webb
Small arts and crafts l-shaped porcelain tile enclosed kitchen photo in Orange County with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, granite countertops, multicolored backsplash, stone slab backsplash, stainless steel appliances and no island

King Size Reclaimed Barn Wood Bed with Old Car Wheels and Rusted Pipes
Mid-sized mountain style guest carpeted bedroom photo with beige walls, a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

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

This classic Americana-inspired home exquisitely incorporates design elements from the early 20th century and combines them with modern amenities and features. This one level living plan features 12’ main floor ceilings with a family room vault and large barn doors over the fireplace mantel.

Example of a mid-sized urban open concept porcelain tile and gray floor living room design in Miami with gray walls

Douglas Johnson Photography
Example of a classic medium tone wood floor family room design in San Francisco with beige walls, no fireplace and a media wall

We created this beautiful accessible bathroom in Carlsbad to give our client a more functional space. We designed this unique bath, specific to the client's specifications to make it more wheel chair accessible. Features such as the roll in shower, roll up vanity and the ability to use her chair for flexibility over the fixed wall mounted seat allow her to be more independent in this bathroom. Safety was another significant factor for the room. We added support bars in all areas and with maximum flexibility to allow the client to perform all bathing functions independently, and all were positioned after carefully recreating her movements. We met the objectives of functionality and safety without compromising beauty in this aging in place bathroom. Travertine-look porcelain tile was used in a large format on the shower walls to minimize grout lines and maximize ease of maintenance. A crema marfil marble mosaic in an elongated hex pattern was used in the shower room for it’s beauty and flexibility in sloped shower. A custom cabinet was made to the height ideal for our client’s use of the sink and a protective panel placed over the pea trap.

Yoga Room/ Home Gym Hickory/pecan floors and grasscloth walls
Light wood floor home gym photo in San Francisco

Completed Tiny Home ready for Delivery.
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Entry hall - large coastal gray floor entry hall idea in Tampa with gray walls

Transitional home design photo in Austin

Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional enclosed concrete floor living room remodel in Calgary with no tv

Front facade/porch fully landscaped
Inspiration for a contemporary landscaping in Sacramento.

Bedroom - large transitional guest dark wood floor and brown floor bedroom idea in Boston with white walls and no fireplace

Matt Mansueto Photography
Example of a large transitional medium tone wood floor and brown floor enclosed kitchen design in Chicago with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, marble countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, paneled appliances and an island

Mid-sized elegant formal and open concept light wood floor and beige floor living room photo in Boston with beige walls, no fireplace and no tv

Lynn Bagley Photography
Inspiration for a bedroom coastal boy carpeted and beige floor kids' bedroom remodel in Sacramento with blue walls

Robert Farren Photography
Mid-sized transitional formal and enclosed dark wood floor living room photo in Boston with brown walls, no fireplace and no tv