This photo is of the golf cart garage and sustainable driveway with moisture-sensored irrigation. The driveway consists of spread out pavers and artificial grass. The gutter system is designed to water the landscape.

New Custom Home
Photo of a small traditional two-storey grey exterior in New York with vinyl siding and a gable roof.

This 2,000 square foot vacation home is located in the rocky mountains. The home was designed for thermal efficiency and to maximize flexibility of space. Sliding panels convert the two bedroom home into 5 separate sleeping areas at night, and back into larger living spaces during the day. The structure is constructed of SIPs (structurally insulated panels). The glass walls, window placement, large overhangs, sunshade and concrete floors are designed to take advantage of passive solar heating and cooling, while the masonry thermal mass heats and cools the home at night.

Modern Desert Home | Guest House | Imbue Design
Inspiration for a small industrial one-storey exterior in Salt Lake City with metal siding.

Nancy Hill
Photo of a small grey exterior in New York.

Design ideas for a small modern one-storey house exterior in Other with wood siding, a shed roof, a shingle roof and a grey roof.

Design ideas for a small mediterranean one-storey stucco white house exterior in San Francisco with a flat roof and a mixed roof.

Exterior front of remodeled home in Homewood Alabama. Photographed for Willow Homes and Willow Design Studio by Birmingham Alabama based architectural and interiors photographer Tommy Daspit. See more of his work on his website http://tommydaspit.com All images are ©2019 Tommy Daspit Photographer and my not be reused without express written permission.

Photo by Andrea Calo
Design ideas for a small country one-storey blue house exterior in Austin with mixed siding, a hip roof and a shingle roof.

This house is discreetly tucked into its wooded site in the Mad River Valley near the Sugarbush Resort in Vermont. The soaring roof lines complement the slope of the land and open up views though large windows to a meadow planted with native wildflowers. The house was built with natural materials of cedar shingles, fir beams and native stone walls. These materials are complemented with innovative touches including concrete floors, composite exterior wall panels and exposed steel beams. The home is passively heated by the sun, aided by triple pane windows and super-insulated walls. Photo by: Nat Rea Photography

Guest House
Inspiration for a small transitional two-storey exterior in Jacksonville with mixed siding and a gable roof.

A successful design build project by Red House. This home underwent a complete interior and exterior renovation including a shed dormer addition on the rear. All new finishes, windows, cabinets, insulation, and mechanical systems. Photo by Nat Rea Instagram: @redhousedesignbuild

photos by Liisa
Small contemporary two-storey exterior in Sydney with wood siding.

Design ideas for a small traditional one-storey stucco white exterior in Orlando with a gable roof.

Next Stage Design + Build, San Jose, California, 2022 Regional CotY Award Winner, Residential Addition Over $250,000
This is an example of a small midcentury one-storey stucco blue house exterior in Other with a gable roof, a shingle roof and a black roof.

Design + Built + Curated by Steven Allen Designs 2021 - Custom Nouveau Bungalow Featuring Unique Stylistic Exterior Facade + Concrete Floors + Concrete Countertops + Concrete Plaster Walls + Custom White Oak & Lacquer Cabinets + Fine Interior Finishes + Multi-sliding Doors

After Transformation: For this project, the original stone basement remained along with the exterior walls, roof framing, and 1" wood sheathing! The rest was gutted and modernized. 1870's Farmhouse is located on a revitalized 400-acre farm in Delafield, WI. It has been transformed into a fully organic farm with its own CSA program and incorporates cows, sheep, draft horses, and chickens.

Photos by Mark Ballard 2BR, 2BA Seashell Cottage
Inspiration for a small arts and crafts one-storey red house exterior in Wilmington with concrete fiberboard siding, a hip roof and a shingle roof.

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