This modern green home offers both a vacation destination on Cape Cod near local family members and an opportunity for rental income. FAMILY ROOTS. A West Coast couple living in the San Francisco Bay Area sought a permanent East Coast vacation home near family members living on Cape Cod. As academic professionals focused on sustainability, they sought a green, energy efficient home that was well-aligned with their values. With no green homes available for sale on Cape Cod, they decided to purchase land near their family and build their own. SLOPED SITE. Comprised of a 3/4 acre lot nestled in the pines, the steeply sloping terrain called for a plan that embraced and took advantage of the slope. Of equal priority was optimizing solar exposure, preserving privacy from abutters, and creating outdoor living space. The design accomplished these goals with a simple, rectilinear form, offering living space on the both entry and lower/basement levels. The stepped foundation allows for a walk-out basement level with light-filled living space on the down-hill side of the home. The traditional basement on the eastern, up-hill side houses mechanical equipment and a home gym. The house welcomes natural light throughout, captures views of the forest, and delivers entertainment space that connects indoor living space to outdoor deck and dining patio. MODERN VISION. The clean building form and uncomplicated finishes pay homage to the modern architectural legacy on the outer Cape. Durable and economical fiber cement panels, fixed with aluminum channels, clad the primary form. Cedar clapboards provide a visual accent at the south-facing living room, which extends a single roof plane to cover the entry porch. SMART USE OF SPACE. On the entry level, the “L”-shaped living, dining, and kitchen space connects to the exterior living, dining, and grilling spaces to effectively double the home’s summertime entertainment area. Placed at the western end of the entry level (where it can retain privacy but still claim expansive downhill views) is the master suite with a built-in study. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a second full bathroom, and laundry. The flexibility of the space—crucial in a house with a modest footprint—emerges in one of the guest bedrooms, which doubles as home office by opening the barn-style double doors to connect it to the bright, airy open stair leading up to the entry level. Thoughtful design, generous ceiling heights and large windows transform the modest 1,100 sf* footprint into a well-lit, spacious home. *(total finished space is 1800 sf) RENTAL INCOME. The property works for its owners by netting rental income when the owners are home in San Francisco. The house especially caters to vacationers bound for nearby Mayo Beach and includes an outdoor shower adjacent to the lower level entry door. In contrast to the bare bones cottages that are typically available on the Cape, this home offers prospective tenants a modern aesthetic, paired with luxurious and green features. Durable finishes inside and out will ensure longevity with the heavier use that comes with a rental property. COMFORT YEAR-ROUND. The home is super-insulated and air-tight, with mechanical ventilation to provide continuous fresh air from the outside. High performance triple-paned windows complement the building enclosure and maximize passive solar gain while ensuring a warm, draft-free winter, even when sitting close to the glass. A properly sized air source heat pump offers efficient heating & cooling, and includes a carefully designed the duct distribution system to provide even comfort throughout the house. The super-insulated envelope allows us to significantly reduce the equipment capacity, duct size, and airflow quantities, while maintaining unparalleled thermal comfort. ENERGY EFFICIENT. The building’s shell and mechanical systems play instrumental roles in the home’s exceptional performance. The building enclosure reduces the most significant energy glutton: heating. Continuous super-insulation, thorough air sealing, triple-pane windows, and passive solar gain work together to yield a miniscule heating load. All active energy consumers are extremely efficient: an air source heat pump for heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation (ERV), and high efficiency appliances. The result is a home that uses 70% less energy than a similar new home built to code requirements. OVERALL. The home embodies the owners’ goals and values while comprehensively enabling thermal comfort, energy efficiency, a vacation respite, and supplementary income. PROJECT TEAM ZeroEnergy Design - Architect & Mechanical Designer A.F. Hultin & Co. - Contractor Pamet Valley Landscape Design - Landscape & Masonry Lisa Finch - Original Artwork European Architectural Supply - Windows Eric Roth Photography - Photography

Large trendy indoor tile and custom-shaped indoor pool photo in Stuttgart

Photo: Rikki Snyder © 2014 Houzz
Eclectic home office photo in New York

Plenty of counters in this modern coastal kitchen where homeowner wanted striking dark countertops.
Mid-sized beach style u-shaped brown floor and dark wood floor kitchen photo in Bridgeport with an undermount sink, white cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island, gray countertops and recessed-panel cabinets

Kyle Caldwell photography
Bedroom - large country master carpeted bedroom idea in Boston with beige walls

Elegant l-shaped dark wood floor, brown floor and vaulted ceiling kitchen photo in Minneapolis with a farmhouse sink, beaded inset cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, stone slab backsplash, colored appliances, an island and white countertops

Mallorca in Wrought Iron by Shaw Floors.
Mid-sized elegant master carpeted and multicolored floor bedroom photo in Orange County with beige walls and no fireplace

This landscape of this transitional dwelling aims to compliment the architecture while providing an outdoor space for high end living and entertainment. The outdoor kitchen, hot tub, tiered gardens, living and dining areas as well as a formal lawn provide ample space for enjoyment year round. Photographs courtesy of The Richards Group.

Example of a transitional kitchen design in San Francisco

This 1956 John Calder Mackay home had been poorly renovated in years past. We kept the 1400 sqft footprint of the home, but re-oriented and re-imagined the bland white kitchen to a midcentury olive green kitchen that opened up the sight lines to the wall of glass facing the rear yard. We chose materials that felt authentic and appropriate for the house: handmade glazed ceramics, bricks inspired by the California coast, natural white oaks heavy in grain, and honed marbles in complementary hues to the earth tones we peppered throughout the hard and soft finishes. This project was featured in the Wall Street Journal in April 2022.

This project is a skillion style roof with an outdoor kitchen, entertainment, heaters, and gas fireplace! It has a super modern look with the white stone on the kitchen and fireplace that complements the house well.

Located in the idyllic town of Darien, Connecticut, this rustic barn-style home is outfitted with a luxury Kalamazoo outdoor kitchen. Compact in size, the outdoor kitchen is ideal for entertaining family and friends. The Kalamazoo Hybrid Fire Built-in Grill features three seriously powerful gas burners totaling 82,500 BTUs and a generous 726 square inches of primary grilling surface. The Hybrid Grill is not only the “best gas grill” there is – it also cooks with wood and charcoal. This means any grilling technique is at the homeowner’s disposal – from searing and indirect grilling, to rotisserie roasting over a live wood fire. This all stainless-steel grill is hand-crafted in the U.S.A. to the highest quality standards so that it can withstand even the harshest east coast winters. A Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Built-in Cooktop Cabinet flanks the grill and expands the kitchens cooking capabilities, offering two gas burners. Stainless steel outdoor cabinetry was incorporated into the outdoor kitchen design for ample storage. All Kalamazoo cabinetry is weather-tight, meaning dishes, cooks tools and non-perishable food items can be stored outdoors all year long without moisture or debris seeping in. The outdoor kitchen provides a place from the homeowner’s to grill, entertain and enjoy their picturesque surrounds.

Photography - Eric Moore
This is an example of a traditional full sun gravel vegetable garden landscape in Los Angeles.

This master bath was remodeled to allow for two vanities and a freestanding tub. The original master bath was dark and very outdated and featured mauve tile in the shower and a pink marble countertop. Space was borrowed from an adjoining kid's bathroom and an extra wide hallway to give the master bathroom more space. The client loved the thought of using blue as an accent and the layout of the bathroom created the perfect spot to feature a hand glazed blue accent tile. Carrara marble was used on the vanity walls as well as a chimney wall at the end of the tub and the shower. The result is a picture perfect bathroom to relax and enjoy!

We specialize in Picturesque Framing and Wainscoting of Staircases. We have been doing this for countless fine homes in Northern Westchester. We practice precision and exactness for great corners and entryway WOW! Call us for an estimate. 914-490-1218. So if you live in Bedford Hills, Bedford, Armonk, North Salem, Katonah, Yorktown Heights, Cortlandt, Pound Ridge or nearby towns, we are your professional for repairs and painting that will last 10 years and more! Call us today for your complimentary project estimate. For more on us: See us at our website: http://www.raulspainting.com North Salem Portfolio: http://raulspainting.com/exterior.html Pound Ridge Portfolio: http://raulspainting.com/exterior.html Yorktown Heights Portfolio: http://raulspainting.com/exterior.html Exterior House painting and Repairs: http://raulspainting.com/exterior.html Interior Painting: http://raulspainting.com/interior.html About us: http://raulspainting.com/aboutus.html

Bathroom - transitional bathroom idea in Denver

Designs2Go Classic Glass 2 Tier Round End Table is the perfect complement to any living room decor. Featuring an open modern design that provides 2 glass shelves for decoration, collections or art objects. Surely will provide years of enjoyment

Photo: Rikki Snyder © 2016 Houzz
Pool - traditional pool idea in New York

Our commitment to quality construction, together with a high degree of client responsiveness and integrity, has earned Cielo Construction Company the reputation of contractor of choice for private and public agency projects alike. The loyalty of our clients, most with whom we have been doing business for many years, attests to the company's pride in customer satisfaction.