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ZeroEnergy DesignThis 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
New England Design & ConstructionOpen transitional kitchen with modern white and gray cabinets and open shelving, custom cat storage for food, and exterior entryway and bicycle storage. Soapstone and engineered quartz counters shine against a zinc backsplash, with many hanging storage options as well as special appliances like pull-out beverage drawer and multiple ovens in the island.
LD DesignThe old tub was removed to allow for a walk-in shower sheathed in stone, with a glass enclosure, a heated marble floor, fittings by Kallista from Ann Sacks, and Mirror Ball pendant by Tom Dixon. Accessories are by Waterworks. The wall-hung vanity was designed by LD Design and custom made in rift-cut white oak in grey stain.
In the bath, the plumbing fixtures are Kallista by Ann Sacks. The toilet is Toto. The accessories are by Waterworks. The wall light over mirror is by Nessen Lighting. The pendant fixture is by Tom Dixon.
Peter Paris Photography
Hagstrom BuilderThe shower includes dual shower areas, four body spray tiles (two on each side) and a large glass surround keeping the uncluttered theme for the room while still offering privacy with an etched “belly band” around the perimeter. The etching is only on the outside of the glass with the inside being kept smooth for cleaning purposes.
The end result is a bathroom that is luxurious and light, with nothing extraneous to distract the eye. The peaceful and quiet ambiance that the room exudes hit exactly the mark that the clients were looking for.
JMS InteriorsLeaving clear and clean spaces makes a world of difference - even in a limited area. Using the right color(s) can change an ordinary bathroom into a spa like experience.
The Cabinetry and Tile StudioThis contemporary bath design uses StarMark Lyptus, Tempo Cabinetry.
Happy Floor 12”x24” tile was installed floor to ceiling in a vertical subway pattern.
Daltile Tiger Eye Bali was used for the waterfall accent behind the toilet and repeated in the shower.
The accent is repeated again in the mirror frame. The look is completed with a quartz countertop, wood looking tile floor, pebble mosaic shower floor and contemporary plumbing pieces.
Montecito LandscapePathways paved with crushed stone meander through this incredible space. We planted drought tolerant perennials; nepeta, euphorbia, pittosporum tobira wheelers dwarf, dymondia and lavender. Olive trees and Oaks surround this lovely garden.
TCP Custom Outdoor LivingThis family wanted a contemporary structure that blended natural elements with with grays and blues. This is a unique structure that turned out beautifully. We went with powder coated 6x6 steel posts hiding all of the base and top plates
creating a seamless transition between the structure and travertine flooring. Due to limitations on spacing we added a built-in granite table with matching powder coated steel frame. This created a unique look and practical application for dining seating. By adding a knee wall with cedar slats it created an intimate nook while keeping everything open.
The modern fireplace and split style kitchen created a great use of space without making if feel crowded.
Appliances: Fire Magic Diamond Echelon series 660 Grill
RCS icemaker, 2 wine fridges and RCS storage doors and drawers
42” Heat Glo Dakota fireplace insert
Cedar T&G ceiling clear coated with rope lighting
Powder coated posts and granite table frame: Slate Gray
Tile Selections:
Accent Wall: Glass tile (Carisma Oceano Stick Glass Mosaic)
Dark Tile: Prisma Griss
Light Tile: Tessuto Linen Beige White
Flooring: Light Ivory Travertine
3cm granite:
Light: Santa Cecilia
Dark: Midnight Grey
Kitchen Appliances:
30" Fire Magic Diamond Series Echelon 660
2 - RCS wine fridges
RCS storage doors and drawers
Fire Place:
36" Dakota heat glo insert
TK Images
Lisa Robazza DesignThe space under the stairs was made useful as a coffee bar and for overflow storage. Ample lighting and a sink make it useful for entertaining as well.
Photos: Dave Remple
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