This 2-car garage, 6,000 sqft custom home features bright colored walls, high-end finishes, an open-concept space, and hardwood floors.
Expansive arts and crafts two-storey green exterior with concrete fiberboard siding.

Peter Landers Photography
Inspiration for an expansive traditional three-storey exterior in London with stone veneer.

Beautiful French inspired home in the heart of Lincoln Park Chicago. Rising amidst the grand homes of North Howe Street, this stately house has more than 6,600 SF. In total, the home has seven bedrooms, six full bathrooms and three powder rooms. Designed with an extra-wide floor plan (21'-2"), achieved through side-yard relief, and an attached garage achieved through rear-yard relief, it is a truly unique home in a truly stunning environment. The centerpiece of the home is its dramatic, 11-foot-diameter circular stair that ascends four floors from the lower level to the roof decks where panoramic windows (and views) infuse the staircase and lower levels with natural light. Public areas include classically-proportioned living and dining rooms, designed in an open-plan concept with architectural distinction enabling them to function individually. A gourmet, eat-in kitchen opens to the home's great room and rear gardens and is connected via its own staircase to the lower level family room, mud room and attached 2-1/2 car, heated garage. The second floor is a dedicated master floor, accessed by the main stair or the home's elevator. Features include a groin-vaulted ceiling; attached sun-room; private balcony; lavishly appointed master bath; tremendous closet space, including a 120 SF walk-in closet, and; an en-suite office. Four family bedrooms and three bathrooms are located on the third floor. This home was sold early in its construction process. Nathan Kirkman

Arthur Rutenberg Homes - http://arhomes.us/Castellina109
Photo of an expansive tropical one-storey stucco white exterior in Tampa with a gable roof.

Party Palace - Custom Ranch on Acreage in Ridgefield Washington by Cascade West Development Inc. This home was built for a family of seven in 2013. Some of the biggest elements that shaped the design of this home were the need for a large entertaining space, enough room for each member of the family to have privacy and to create a peaceful oasis for the parents. Cascade West Facebook: https://goo.gl/MCD2U1 Cascade West Website: https://goo.gl/XHm7Un These photos, like many of ours, were taken by the good people of ExposioHDR - Portland, Or Exposio Facebook: https://goo.gl/SpSvyo Exposio Website: https://goo.gl/Cbm8Ya

Photo of an expansive modern three-storey white exterior in Other with a flat roof.

Photography: Nathan Schroder
Expansive mediterranean two-storey exterior in Dallas with a gable roof.

Peter Kerze
This is an example of an expansive country two-storey exterior in Other with wood siding and a gable roof.

Photo of an expansive transitional two-storey white exterior in Austin with stone veneer.

The Outdoor Lights designed the outdoor and landscape lighting for this Connecticut home designed by Summerour Architects. Interior design by Beth Webb Interiors, Landscape design by Planters Garden and ironwork by Calhoun Metalworks. Photography by Mali Azima.

Christopher Marona Door and shutter detail
Photo of an expansive traditional two-storey beige exterior in Albuquerque with stone veneer.

Photo credit: Scott McDonald @ Hedrich Blessing 7RR-Ecohome: The design objective was to build a house for a couple recently married who both had kids from previous marriages. How to bridge two families together? The design looks forward in terms of how people live today. The home is an experiment in transparency and solid form; removing borders and edges from outside to inside the house, and to really depict “flowing and endless space”. The house floor plan is derived by pushing and pulling the house’s form to maximize the backyard and minimize the public front yard while welcoming the sun in key rooms by rotating the house 45-degrees to true north. The angular form of the house is a result of the family’s program, the zoning rules, the lot’s attributes, and the sun’s path. We wanted to construct a house that is smart and efficient in terms of construction and energy, both in terms of the building and the user. We could tell a story of how the house is built in terms of the constructability, structure and enclosure, with a nod to Japanese wood construction in the method in which the siding is installed and the exposed interior beams are placed in the double height space. We engineered the house to be smart which not only looks modern but acts modern; every aspect of user control is simplified to a digital touch button, whether lights, shades, blinds, HVAC, communication, audio, video, or security. We developed a planning module based on a 6-foot square room size and a 6-foot wide connector called an interstitial space for hallways, bathrooms, stairs and mechanical, which keeps the rooms pure and uncluttered. The house is 6,200 SF of livable space, plus garage and basement gallery for a total of 9,200 SF. A large formal foyer celebrates the entry and opens up to the living, dining, kitchen and family rooms all focused on the rear garden. The east side of the second floor is the Master wing and a center bridge connects it to the kid’s wing on the west. Second floor terraces and sunscreens provide views and shade in this suburban setting. The playful mathematical grid of the house in the x, y and z axis also extends into the layout of the trees and hard-scapes, all centered on a suburban one-acre lot. Many green attributes were designed into the home; Ipe wood sunscreens and window shades block out unwanted solar gain in summer, but allow winter sun in. Patio door and operable windows provide ample opportunity for natural ventilation throughout the open floor plan. Minimal windows on east and west sides to reduce heat loss in winter and unwanted gains in summer. Open floor plan and large window expanse reduces lighting demands and maximizes available daylight. Skylights provide natural light to the basement rooms. Durable, low-maintenance exterior materials include stone, ipe wood siding and decking, and concrete roof pavers. Design is based on a 2' planning grid to minimize construction waste. Basement foundation walls and slab are highly insulated. FSC-certified walnut wood flooring was used. Light colored concrete roof pavers to reduce cooling loads by as much as 15%. 2x6 framing allows for more insulation and energy savings. Super efficient windows have low-E argon gas filled units, and thermally insulated aluminum frames. Permeable brick and stone pavers reduce the site’s storm-water runoff. Countertops use recycled composite materials. Energy-Star rated furnaces and smart thermostats are located throughout the house to minimize duct runs and avoid energy loss. Energy-Star rated boiler that heats up both radiant floors and domestic hot water. Low-flow toilets and plumbing fixtures are used to conserve water usage. No VOC finish options and direct venting fireplaces maintain a high interior air quality. Smart home system controls lighting, HVAC, and shades to better manage energy use. Plumbing runs through interior walls reducing possibilities of heat loss and freezing problems. A large food pantry was placed next to kitchen to reduce trips to the grocery store. Home office reduces need for automobile transit and associated CO2 footprint. Plan allows for aging in place, with guest suite than can become the master suite, with no need to move as family members mature.

Design ideas for an expansive mediterranean one-storey stucco beige house exterior in Santa Barbara with a hip roof and a tile roof.

Brantley Photography
Design ideas for an expansive mediterranean two-storey beige exterior in Miami with a hip roof.

Custom built 2500 sq ft home on Gambier Island - Designed and built by Tamlin Homes. This project was barge access only.
Photo of an expansive contemporary one-storey brown house exterior in Vancouver with wood siding and a flat roof.

Leave a legacy. Reminiscent of Tuscan villas and country homes that dot the lush Italian countryside, this enduring European-style design features a lush brick courtyard with fountain, a stucco and stone exterior and a classic clay tile roof. Roman arches, arched windows, limestone accents and exterior columns add to its timeless and traditional appeal. The equally distinctive first floor features a heart-of-the-home kitchen with a barrel-vaulted ceiling covering a large central island and a sitting/hearth room with fireplace. Also featured are a formal dining room, a large living room with a beamed and sloped ceiling and adjacent screened-in porch and a handy pantry or sewing room. Rounding out the first-floor offerings are an exercise room and a large master bedroom suite with his-and-hers closets. A covered terrace off the master bedroom offers a private getaway. Other nearby outdoor spaces include a large pergola and terrace and twin two-car garages. The spacious lower-level includes a billiards area, home theater, a hearth room with fireplace that opens out into a spacious patio, a handy kitchenette and two additional bedroom suites. You’ll also find a nearby playroom/bunk room and adjacent laundry.

http://www.pickellbuilders.com. Photography by Linda Oyama Bryan. Stone and stucco French Provincial with slate and standing copper seam roofs, iron railing widow's walk, arch top windows, and hand hewn timbers and shutters.

Photo of an expansive country three-storey exterior in Boston with mixed siding.

new construction / builder - cmd corp.
This is an example of an expansive traditional three-storey stucco beige house exterior in Boston with a gable roof and a shingle roof.