Whole house concept
Switch position of kitchen and bedroom to put the pantry close to the garage and to put the kitchen closer to the patio/outdoor cooking area. Assuming that the garage is on the north side, orient the house so it's longer east to west in order to provide a south-facing roof for solar panels. Add garden room/passive heating on the south side. Add windows for good views of sunrise/sunset. Add window-seat on stairs landing. Add a screened porch. Add a basement. https://www.houzz.com/magazine/warm-contemporary-style-for-active-empty-nesters-stsetivw-vs~140594686?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u14687&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery4_4&newsletterId=14687
The mudroom includes a built-in bench with hooks on the wall above. The window offers a view of the driveway. “The mudroom is excellent for parties,” April says. “Now people can come in, put their stuff down, and we can serve them right from the bar.” The bar area includes a hammered stainless steel sink, a wine refrigerator, an ice maker, a paneled dishwasher and cabinets for glasses and entertaining supplies. Butler's pantry to left leads to dining room. Kitchen behind camera. https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/117408972?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u9996&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery0_0&newsletterId=9996
Stepping back inside, the kitchen is wide open to the great room and also enjoys expansive views of the surrounding woods and the Great Smoky Mountains. The island provides a nice transition between the great room space and the kitchen and can serve as a buffet when the drop-leaf table is serving a dinner group. The island is different from the rest of the cabinet in that it is painted gray and has a countertop of thick, leathered Fantasy Brown marble, which is harder than most marbles and is sometimes marketed as a quartzite. The tall white cabinet between the two spaces is the beverage station. The couple wanted spring water readily available but hated the look of water coolers. “And I’m really lazy in the mornings, but I want my coffee,” Starla says. Inside the cabinet is a system that holds a 5-gallon water bottle cooler and hot-water system and a Keurig, so it’s all one easy stop to get it ready in the morning. https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/114266122?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u9127&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery2&newsletterId=9127
For occasions when they have extra dinner guests, they decided on a drop-leaf table that doubles as a sofa table and a dining table that can seat 12. Scott crafted the table from maple wood that was reclaimed from a 70-year-old boxcar. https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/114266122?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u9127&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery2&newsletterId=9127
“The insulation was the heart of the project because we wanted a house that would be easy to close and open up and that would have low utility costs." “We decided to insulate everything in this farm with glass wool and thin insulation. To avoid being dependent on fossil fuels, the main house has been equipped with an air-to-air heat pump, and the other buildings have electric radiators by Verlec that use very little energy and can be switched on by smartphone when we’re setting out from Paris. It’s very convenient.” The utility costs are about $3,300 per year for water, electricity and heating. “At the end of the day, this farm is cheaper to heat than my [2,153-square-foot] apartment in Boulogne,” Dupuis says. https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/113885389?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u9127&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery10&newsletterId=9127
https://www.houzz.com/hznb/photos/kitchen-of-the-week-evolution-design-build-floor-plan-phvw-vp~166598832
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