Mid-sized transitional l-shaped open plan kitchen in Austin with a double-bowl sink, shaker cabinets, grey cabinets, granite benchtops, white splashback, subway tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, medium hardwood floors, with island, brown floor and grey benchtop.

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

Photo of a large contemporary l-shaped open plan kitchen in San Francisco with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium wood cabinets, marble benchtops, stainless steel appliances, light hardwood floors, with island and beige floor.

Séparation entre la cuisine et le salon avec une grande verrière
Inspiration for a mid-sized modern u-shaped open plan kitchen in Bordeaux with light hardwood floors, beige floor and white benchtop.

Beth Singer Photographer, Inc.
Design ideas for a large contemporary galley open plan kitchen in Detroit with flat-panel cabinets, grey cabinets, multi-coloured splashback, dark hardwood floors, with island, brown floor, panelled appliances, limestone benchtops and stone tile splashback.

Diana Cotovan
Industrial galley open plan kitchen in Essex with flat-panel cabinets, grey cabinets, white splashback, laminate floors, with island and beige floor.

This is an example of a large transitional l-shaped open plan kitchen in San Francisco with a single-bowl sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, grey splashback, panelled appliances, light hardwood floors, with island, brown floor and marble benchtops.

There is nothing better than beautiful natural lighting, custom marble countertops and countertop accessories to add a sense of personal style to a home. Floor to ceiling custom cabinetry create a chic look as well as lots of storage space.

Suzanne Scott
Mid-sized transitional l-shaped open plan kitchen in San Francisco with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, grey splashback, mosaic tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, dark hardwood floors, with island and brown floor.

Inspiration for a large modern galley open plan kitchen in Los Angeles with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, stainless steel appliances, light hardwood floors, with island and beige floor.

Photo of a mid-sized contemporary l-shaped open plan kitchen in Minneapolis with a double-bowl sink, flat-panel cabinets, grey cabinets, quartz benchtops, white splashback, stainless steel appliances, light hardwood floors, with island and brown floor.

Architect: Tim Brown Architecture. Photographer: Casey Fry
Large country galley open plan kitchen in Austin with an undermount sink, white splashback, subway tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, with island, blue cabinets, marble benchtops, grey floor, concrete floors, white benchtop and shaker cabinets.

Amazing transformation in a small space! Aspen Kitchens opened two doorways make the space flow from the dining to the living room. We used taupe cabinets on the perimeter and dark alder cabineits on the island to create an open farmhouse kitchen with furniture elements.

Project by Wiles Design Group. Their Cedar Rapids-based design studio serves the entire Midwest, including Iowa City, Dubuque, Davenport, and Waterloo, as well as North Missouri and St. Louis. For more about Wiles Design Group, see here: https://wilesdesigngroup.com/

This is an example of a large industrial galley open plan kitchen in New York with shaker cabinets, medium wood cabinets, wood benchtops, concrete floors, grey floor and with island.

This is an example of a mid-sized modern galley open plan kitchen in San Francisco with an undermount sink, black cabinets, black splashback, stone slab splashback, stainless steel appliances, concrete floors, with island and flat-panel cabinets.

Walk on sunshine with Skyline Floorscapes' Ivory White Oak. This smooth operator of floors adds charm to any room. Its delightfully light tones will have you whistling while you work, play, or relax at home. This amazing reclaimed wood style is a perfect environmentally-friendly statement for a modern space, or it will match the design of an older house with its vintage style. The ivory color will brighten up any room. This engineered wood is extremely strong with nine layers and a 3mm wear layer of White Oak on top. The wood is handscraped, adding to the lived-in quality of the wood. This will make it look like it has been in your home all along. Each piece is 7.5-in. wide by 71-in. long by 5/8-in. thick in size. It comes with a 35-year finish warranty and a lifetime structural warranty. This is a real wood engineered flooring product made from white oak. It has a beautiful ivory color with hand scraped, reclaimed planks that are finished in oil. The planks have a tongue & groove construction that can be floated, glued or nailed down.

Large modern single-wall open plan kitchen in New York with a double-bowl sink, flat-panel cabinets, grey cabinets, solid surface benchtops, brown splashback, stainless steel appliances, concrete floors and with island.

Design ideas for a mid-sized transitional l-shaped open plan kitchen in Omaha with an undermount sink, white cabinets, granite benchtops, white splashback, stainless steel appliances, dark hardwood floors, with island, subway tile splashback and recessed-panel cabinets.