This home in the Portland hills was stuck in the 70's with cedar paneling and almond laminate cabinets with oak details. (See Before photos) The space had wonderful potential with a high vaulted ceiling that was covered by a low ceiling in the kitchen and dining room. Walls closed in the kitchen. The remodel began with removal of the ceiling and the wall between the kitchen and the dining room. Hardwood flooring was extended into the kitchen. Shaker cabinets with contemporary hardware, modern pendants and clean-lined backsplash tile make this kitchen fit the transitional style the owners wanted. Now, the light and backdrop of beautiful trees are enjoyed from every room.

Design by #JGKB in McLean, Virginia. Photography by Bob Narod.

Originally a nearly three-story tall 1920’s European-styled home was turned into a modern villa for work and home. A series of low concrete retaining wall planters and steps gradually takes you up to the second level entry, grounding or anchoring the house into the site, as does a new wrap around veranda and trellis. Large eave overhangs on the upper roof were designed to give the home presence and were accented with a Mid-century orange color. The new master bedroom addition white box creates a better sense of entry and opens to the wrap around veranda at the opposite side. Inside the owners live on the lower floor and work on the upper floor with the garage basement for storage, archives and a ceramics studio. New windows and open spaces were created for the graphic designer owners; displaying their mid-century modern furnishings collection. A lot of effort went into attempting to lower the house visually by bringing the ground plane higher with the concrete retaining wall planters, steps, wrap around veranda and trellis, and the prominent roof with exaggerated overhangs. That the eaves were painted orange is a cool reflection of the owner’s Dutch heritage. Budget was a driver for the project and it was determined that the footprint of the home should have minimal extensions and that the new windows remain in the same relative locations as the old ones. Wall removal was utilized versus moving and building new walls where possible. Photo Credit: John Sutton Photography.

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 Cape Cod inspired custom home includes 5,500 square feet of large open living space, 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, working spaces for the adults and kids, a lower level guest suite, ample storage space, and unique custom craftsmanship and design elements characteristically fashioned into all Schrader homes. Detailed finishes including unique granite countertops, natural stone, cape code inspired tiles & 7 inch trim boards, splashes of color, and a mixture of Knotty Alder & Soft Maple cabinetry adorn this comfortable, family friendly home. Some of the design elements in this home include a master suite with gas fireplace, master bath, large walk in closet, and balcony overlooking the pool. In addition, the upper level of the home features a secret passageway between kid’s bedrooms, upstairs washer & dryer, built in cabinetry, and a 700+ square foot bonus room above the garage. Main level features include a large open kitchen with granite countertops with honed finishes, dining room with wainscoted walls, Butler's pantry, a “dog room” complete w/dog wash station, home office, and kids study room. The large lower level includes a Mother-in-law suite with private bath, kitchen/wet bar, 400 Square foot masterfully finished home theatre with old time charm & built in couch, and a lower level garage exiting to the back yard with ample space for pool supplies and yard equipment. This MN Greenpath Certified home includes a geothermal heating & cooling system, spray foam insulation, and in-floor radiant heat, all incorporated to significantly reduce utility costs. Additionally, reclaimed wood from trees removed from the lot, were used to produce the maple flooring throughout the home and to build the cherry breakfast nook table. Woodwork reclaimed by Wood From the Hood Photos - Dean Reidel Interior Designer - Miranda Brouwer Staging - Stage by Design

Retro, sage, green, checkered floor, Marmoleum, quartz, countertops, stacked laundry, mid century, under mount sink, stainless steel, corner sink

The breakfast area adjoins the clean and open cooking and prep area with easy access to all cooking equipment. The floors are Marmoleum, and provide a sustainable and easy to clean surface. Photography by Ocular Proof.

2011 NARI CAPITAL COTY GRAND AWARD WINNER A single family home in Oakton, VA built in late 80’ was occupied by family of four for 10 years. The owner wishes to expand the living space, finish the basement, add a sunroom/breakfast area addition, eliminate the deck and put in a screen porch. Also convert the laundry room to office/mudroom area. It took months of planning to get into the final design. We have implemented a plan that had a two story back addition (both basement level and first level). This required removing the cinder block wall of basement to add the seamless addition, and removing the entire first level back wall of kitchen to open up kitchen into sunroom. The major challenge was to re-route all duct work going to second level, add ducts for basement and first level to existing system. Then add a second HVAC system in attic for entire second level. Then change all load structure for tow story addition to side wall and new walls to have entire width opened up. The basement has gained a new bar area, a total new bathroom with shower and large vanities and all amenities, media area with gas fireplace and mantel surrounded with matching cherry bookcases and granite tops, recess lights, surround sound system, wood floor and steps, new sewer ejection system due to their difficult septic tank. The new French doors lead into back bricked patio The first floor gained this new 16’x20’ cathedral ceiling sunroom/breakfast addition surrounded with large arched windows and French slider leading into new screen porch. The kitchen lay-out gained three more feet in width. Also by removing partition wall between kitchen and existing family room. The first floor now has total open floor plan. The fireplace in existing family room was converted to gas and got marble surround and new mantel. All bulkhead and part of partition walls contained massive plumbing and electrical that needed to be relocated in order to implement the new kitchen layout. This design has much more appliances and a beautiful large furniture style island that is the focal point of this kitchen done in espresso color cherry cabinetry and contrasting light color exotic stove top lighted by two crystal chandeliers. The wrap around of cherry cabinetry in the kitchen with expended cabinetry into butler area and bookcases and bench in sunroom has given this couple lots to fill in. The entire first floor and leading stairs to second floor and part of the second floor was all covered with new 5” wide exotic Santos Mahogany wood floors and new railings. The powder room has been reconfigured to allow larger hallway and with new furniture style vanity this powder room even small than before but has better layout and space. The old Laundry room and has been converted to a 10’x15’ area of multipurpose space. On the left wall there are locker style cabinetry and bench. One the left wall built in and desk area with tones of storage space. The washer and dryer are install into a closet, away from site. A set of French doors were installed into the new back deck and screen porch. The large porcelain floors made the space look even larger and more utilitarian. Use of cherry cabinetry on deck and bookcase with recess lighting scaled up look of the space. The new kitchen, family room and sun room with the rich cherry cabinetry and darker granite top, tumbled marble backsplash and wide board mahogany floors, upper scale stainless steel appliances and furniture style distressed look darker wood Island and light granite have made this project a breathtaking one. The added side screen porch done with Trex decking and cathedral ceiling covered in beaded panel and corner gas fireplace all around covered with Ledgestone has given this family a place to retire in for all those autumn afternoons and much more. The major overhaul of this home from replacement of all existing doors and windows, flooring, crown molding and trim, stairs, entire first floor reface, new siding , new roofing, new electrical, new HVAC, entire new basement, bathroom, mud room, screen porch and lots more makes these owner proud to stay in this home for years to come.

'Ash Grey' Quantum Quartz benchtops and splashback. By Cahill Building Group.

Designed by Karlene Hunter Baum 2006 ASID Award Winning Residential Design Lion Mountain

The classic 5,000-square-foot, five-bedroom Blaine boasts a timeless, traditional façade of stone and cedar shake. Inspired by both the relaxed Shingle Style that swept the East Coast at the turn of the century, and the all-American Four Square found around the country. The home features Old World architecture paired with every modern convenience, along with unparalleled craftsmanship and quality design. The curb appeal starts at the street, where a caramel-colored shingle and stone façade invite you inside from the European-style courtyard. Other highlights include irregularly shaped windows, a charming dovecote and cupola, along with a variety of welcoming window boxes on the street side. The lakeside includes two porches designed to take full advantage of the views, a lower-level walk out, and stone arches that lend an aura of both elegance and permanence. Step inside, and the interiors will not disappoint. The spacious foyer featuring a wood staircase leads into a large, open living room with a natural stone fireplace, rustic beams and nearby walkout deck. Also adjacent is a screened-in porch that leads down to the lower level, and the lakeshore. The nearby kitchen includes a large two-tiered multi-purpose island topped with butcher block, perfect for both entertaining and food preparation. This informal dining area allows for large gatherings of family and friends. Leave the family area, cross the foyer and enter your private retreat — a master bedroom suite attached to a luxurious master bath, private sitting room, and sun room. Who needs vacation when it’s such a pleasure staying home? The second floor features two cozy bedrooms, a bunkroom with built-in sleeping area, and a convenient home office. In the lower level, a relaxed family room and billiards area are accompanied by a pub and wine cellar. Further on, two additional bedrooms await.

Designed by Marie Meko, Allied ASID Builder: Nor-Son, Inc.

After six years of living in their Huntley IL home, Chris and Meghan were tired of their dark, dingy, outdated kitchen and it was finally time for a long-anticipated change. “The kitchen is the place where we live, it’s where we do everything,” Meghan said. “It was important that it be a space where we wanted to be.” Meghan loves cooking and enjoys including their girls in healthy meal prepping, this led them to want a brighter, more enjoyable kitchen with increased functionality and improved storage. For Chris especially, the laundry room was an entirely dysfunctional eyesore. “We had a washer and a dryer, but it was all kind-of cobbled together!” Chris said. “There were always laundry piles everywhere, we weren’t really sure what we wanted to do in there, but it was time for us to make a change.” The mess of the space was stressful every time they walked in the door from the garage each day. Kids’ backpacks and shoes piled up haphazardly in the makeshift boot-bench closet left the family feeling disorganized and stressed. They needed space for folding clothes and locker cubbies to help keep the family organized. Having known Christine and Todd in the Huntley community for years, Chris and Meghan were familiar with their work. “We already trusted them personally and having seen their projects for years we knew they did top notch work. After we reviewed the initial round of designs, we knew that hiring them was definitely the right choice,” Meghan and Chris said. Although Chris had done a lot of work in their home himself, the kitchen and laundry room renovation was such a large undertaking that he didn’t want to steal time away from his family to spend what would surely be many long weekends doing the job himself. “That would not have been a wise choice for us,” Chris laughed. “Our designer, Michelle was very, very, easy to work with; anything we wanted to see or weren’t sure about, she went above and beyond to make this easy for us. She was easy to get hold of and always quick to respond,” the couple said. Michelle pulled ideas that mirrored the couple’s taste and style and was adept at directing the couple to limited choices that didn’t overwhelm them and kept the process moving. “I have a hard time making decisions. Michelle made the decision-making process so easy. I loved how she listened to what I liked and then presented three great options for me to choose from,” Meghan said. The main objectives for the kitchen were better storage solutions, they wanted the space to reflect their lifestyle and taste, and they wanted it to last for years with low maintenance. One of the first steps in creating a more functional kitchen was relocating the refrigerator, creating an improved workflow for the busy family. “We didn’t know that we could even move the refrigerator to a new location where it is now, that was something that we never would have thought of,” Chris said. “The new refrigerator location makes the kitchen feel so much bigger. We didn’t add any space, but our whole kitchen with the new design just seems like it’s so much larger than before!” Meghan said. The perimeter mist colored cabinets helped warm and brighten the entire room, while the graphite colored cabinets on the island added contrast. Using this fresh, clean color palette satisfied the couple’s desire for a bright space that was the exact opposite of what they had before. Organization accessories were also added to the cabinets such as a spice drawer tray and roll outs to create hidden convenience. “I absolutely love the hidden spices – it makes cooking so much more enjoyable!” Chris said. “And all the pull outs, and the double trash bin, who would think you could get so excited about organization!” the couple said in unison. One thing they hated in their original kitchen was how dark the space felt. Added lighting on the ceiling with the new light fixtures combined with the lighter cabinetry colors throughout solved this problem. “Our new kitchen has this warm, almost cozy feeling that our old kitchen never had, it’s just a space that I love spending my time in now,” Meghan said. The light airy feeling was accentuated with the use of floating white shelves on either side of the decorative range hood. “We have so much cabinetry space, the new design is amazing we actually have more storage space than we will ever need,” Meghan said. The island was extended to create more work surface and added space for stool seating. “The new island changes how we live. Now the kids can be in the kitchen with us, doing homework, eating breakfast, and the three of us have special dinners there when Chris is working late,” Meghan said. The Carrara Marmi Quartz countertops were chosen because they are, not only beautiful, but are made from hard-working material that doesn’t require maintenance. The white subway tile backsplash that wraps to the ceiling behind the focal point cooktop range/hood compliments the crisp white countertops perfectly, while brushed brass hardware and light fixtures keep the design fresh and new. The couple had a few fears at the beginning of the project, as most homeowners do. Their biggest fear was being out of their kitchen and laundry room for an extended time. The crew made it very easy for the family to work in a limited space keeping the washer and dryer hooked up the majority of the time, and also getting appliances working with minimal downtime. “They above and beyond accommodated us to get us through the process,” Meghan said. “They did a great job making sure we were as comfortable as possible throughout the process,” Chris added. “Our project manager DJ did a great job. He was very good at updating us on schedule changes, getting guys in as quickly as possible. Everyone that stepped in the house was nice and did great work,” said Chris. They thought Advance’s carpenter was phenomenal and were impressed when he took a conceptual idea from a photograph and worked with designer Michelle to create a one of a kind range/hood that has become the topic of conversation with friends and family who visit the new kitchen. “He was in our house literally every day for several weeks. He was easy to work with and good at what he did,” Meghan and Chris said. The focal point of the kitchen; a hand-crafted, custom-built ventilation hood was clad with handpicked reclaimed barnwood. Advance Design’s carpenter built the framework and the cladding to create a one-of-a-kind design element that the couple loves. “I think it was especially fun for him to create something unique from scratch, showcasing his talent in this area,” Meghan said. “I love that my kitchen is not like everyone else’s. I got to pick out the wood on my hood and watch it being built and was able to choose what pieces of wood went where on it. It’s totally unique.” Red Oak flooring was toothed-in throughout the kitchen and the rest of the first floor anywhere changes were made. Then the whole floor was refinished to tone down the orange undertones in the existing floor stain, ultimately changing the color complexion of the entire first floor. The result is a completely new feeling to the entire home. Renovating the laundry room was extremely important to Meghan and Chris, but they had trouble visualizing what the possibilities were for the seemingly small space. Michelle produced beautiful 3D illustrations that helped them envision the space in a whole new way. “I must have told Michelle 100 times that I am a visual person, seeing the designs in 3D made it so easy to make decisions and see what we could really do with our space,” Meghan said. A dividing wall and doorway were removed between the existing laundry room and hallway formerly containing a coat closet, providing space to design specialized graphite colored cabinetry matching the kitchen island to house custom storage cubbies for each family member. Adding the tall utility cabinetry in the new laundry area helped solve the storage issue, tucking away cleaning supplies, household items, and even the cat got its own cubby. “I love how everything is now hidden in its own space. I can’t tell you how much I hated coming home and seeing everything sitting around on counters,” Chris said. Electrical outlets were planned for the inside of utility cabinets, so devices could charge in hidden locations. Stacking the washer and dryer allowed for wider countertop space to provide a folding area and a special space for clothes to hang. “The way I do laundry has been completely transformed! I can actually fold clothes and hang them now right out of the washer and dryer,” Meghan said. “The end result in the kitchen and the laundry/mud room was an updated light and bright space, with a smarter work flow that better meets the needs of this family,” Michelle said. “I would totally recommend Advance Design,” Meghan said. “Sometimes I sit and just look at my kitchen and laundry room and think ‘Wow, I can’t believe I get to live here!’ It’s an understatement to say we love our new space.”

This tall, thin Pimlico townhouse was split across five stories with a dingy neglected courtyard garden to the rear. Our clients hired us to design a whole-house renovation and kitchen extension. Neighbouring houses had been denied planning permission for similar works, so we had our work cut out to ensure that our kitchen extension design would get planning consent. To start with, we conducted an extensive daylight analysis to prove that the new addition to the property would have no adverse effect on neighbours. We also drew up a 3D computer model to demonstrate that the frameless glass extension wouldn’t overpower the original building. To increase the sense of unity throughout the house, a key feature of our design was to incorporate integral rooflights across three of the stories, so that from the second floor terrace it was possible to look all the way down into the kitchen through aligning rooflights. This also ensured that the basement kitchen wouldn’t feel cramped or closed in by introducing more natural light.

This French country, new construction home features a circular first-floor layout that connects from great room to kitchen and breakfast room, then on to the dining room via a small area that turned out to be ideal for a fully functional bar. Directly off the kitchen and leading to the dining room, this space is perfectly located for making and serving cocktails whenever the family entertains. In order to make the space feel as open and welcoming as possible while connecting it visually with the kitchen, glass cabinet doors and custom-designed, leaded-glass column cabinetry and millwork archway help the spaces flow together and bring in. The space is small and tight, so it was critical to make it feel larger and more open. Leaded-glass cabinetry throughout provided the airy feel we were looking for, while showing off sparkling glassware and serving pieces. In addition, finding space for a sink and under-counter refrigerator was challenging, but every wished-for element made it into the final plan. Photo by Mike Kaskel

The flooring they chose in the main areas is a light toned wood by European Heritage. The study flooring is an unexpected cork by Solida in the color ‘antiquity’, and in the lavish master bathroom they installed a beautiful 1inch mosaic trim and 24x24 Calcatta stone flooring. In the gourmet kitchen, the design team selected quartz countertops and gas cooktops. The main cabinets are painted in ‘designer white’ and the island in a medium grey. Beasley & Henley created a modern atmosphere to reflect the area’s demand for upscale, urban residences. The interiors take advantage of the abundance of natural light with its western exposure and expansive windows. Cool colors of blue and grey make for a gorgeous bedroom.