This remodeled vacation house by the side of Lake Montauk in New York comes from Murdock Young Architects.

With the new elegant and pared down remodel, the interior has a new loft-like and airy feel, due to its very light palette of just grey and white, and the vast open spaces.

Sun-bleached gray driftwood is used to make the storage units that divide the space.

The new kitchen has the clean lines of commercial kitchens in pared down stainless steel and white.

The floors are simply wooden planks painted gray. The walls and furniture are stark white.

The honed driftwood is used both inside and out, creating a beach-cottage-style flow between the interiors and exteriors.

Previously, the exterior was of a mundane suburban house. Many houses built in the region in the ’40s and ’5os almost ignored the lake views.

The remodel capitalizes on its waterfront location to realize it as a haven for the holidays.

Via Chic Tip

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Montauk Lake Remodel Realizes Potential of Lakeside Location

My name is Ron Benshoshan and this is my new apartment. It’s located in Tel-Aviv, Israel. My girlfriend and I bought it a few months ago. We are in our late 20s, I’m an industrial design student and she is a production assistant. As you can see in the before-pictures, the flat was in bad bad shape. We had a limited budget so we decided that we would design the place on our own. We bought the best materials our budget could get us, and built most of what you can see in the pictures.

The kitchen was closed off and stuffy. We tore down the wall and merged the kitchen, living room and dining are in to one mutual area. We like having people over and we wanted them to be able spread around comfortably but still be in that same mutual area. We wanted a white clean kitchen with a small island.

In the living room we put up a brick wall with 2 spot-lights to show all the imperfections of the bricks. Beneath the TV is a floating unit which I built. I wanted a big clock on the wall made of an item that repeats its self in cycles of 12. Eventually time was the answer! So I put up 12 classic-looking alarm clocks which I painted candy apple green. I also made the big bulb light with the red cords above.
Big windows light up the whole place and play well with the 2 shades of gray in the dining area. I fabricate a white collapsible table with bare metal legs that were grinded down so they would all shine differently from each other. The 2 chairs were found in the garbage. A bit of sanding, paint and a visit to the upholsterer and we now have two lovely 60 year old chairs with a modern touch.

After we put in the niche in the wall, we had some dead space between it and the original wall, so I fabricated an enclosed bar that slides into the wall. It’s made of OSB wood, one of my new favorites.

The bathroom was split up in to 2 smaller rooms. One was just the toilet and sink and the other was the bath. We joined the 2 rooms in to one long area. Where the toilet was is now a large shower. Above the bath was a permanent storage area. Not permanent anymore… I wanted a nice sleek faucet that would double up as a towel holder so I made one to that exactly. It’s connected to wall and separated from the tap.

In the extra room I put up a vertical playing area for my 2 cats, now they don’t mess with my couch anymore. Painted one wall in red with a few stripes to compliment the corner and installed a wall to wall closet on the other side for lots of storage area. I fabricated a small table and made a metal pipe table lamp. Once the sun hits the red wall, the whole room lights up.

The bedroom had an enclosed balcony at the end of it which was connected to the other room (red). We tore down that wall, closed the door and made a big bedroom. At the end of it we put in 2 closets, one for each. Covered the floor with nice wood and painted 2 walls a nice bold green that works well with the floor.

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80 m² canvas – TLV

When you want to warm up your house you flip a switch and it starts to release slow-release heat stored in very dense ceramic bricks. Because you can set it to use electricity at night at low night time rates, it is the cheapest form of heating.

The way that this kind of heater works is that electricity heats coils that radiate heat to extremely dense adjacent ceramic bricks that store the heat in a supercharged thermal mass. Once they reach their maximum core temperature, they won’t charge anymore. At that point, the heaters’ controls won’t accept more power from the grid.

But, now that we are all trying to lower our carbon footprints, some groups are looking at a new use for this ability to store night time power. Why? In much of the world, wind blows more at night.

Cheap night time coal power is increasingly being displaced by cheap (or even sometimes actually free!) night time wind power. Excess wind power on the grid at night is such a problem that utilities sometimes have had to shut down wind farms at night because because there’s been nowhere to send the electricity. Till now.

So a test starting this week on Vinalhaven Island, Maine will replace the dirty fuel oil heaters in six of the Vinalhaven Island residents’ homes with clean renewable wind powered electric heaters.

The researchers will add smart grid technology to these Steffes Thermal Electric Storage heaters, to be able to turn them on or off from a remote location, based on wind generator output, grid demand, and the spot price of power, that fluctuates with the demand on the grid. This could be the future of renewable energy storage: distributed energy storage.

Each heater can store enough electricity to heat the interior up to 1,200 degrees F.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Of course, nobody wants a raging hot house at 3 AM in the wee hours while the wind is howling outside. That doesn’t happen. Space-age insulation keeps the exterior from heating above 160 degrees F, and enough is stored inside the units to provide 24 hours of gradual warmth on demand.

What a perfect way to store a half hour’s worth of 3 AM gale-force gusts of wind energy. Turn it into long languidly toasty mornings…  And afternoons…  And evenings…

Source: YorkGoesGreen
More Green HomeDesignFind from Susan Kraemer: Journalists on Twitter

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Could Your Home Be Warmed With Night-Time Wind Power?

So often buildings have huge view windows, but once the realization of the need for shade arises, they just get curtained from inside, blocking the views. It’s sad.

How much more useful it would be to use an awning to capture all that free sunshine, with adjustable solar shades. A shade that you could wind outwards from inside would be just perfect, like this Solar Awning design by xClinic to be tested at a pilot installation on the Bronx River Arts Center (BRAC) and NYU student housing.

But this design goes one better than a simple solar shade. It is a complete mini ecosystem…
…that makes its own complete closed-loop environment; providing not just solar power over the window to shade and power at the same time,  but also, inside the eaves – a bird sanctuary from the city’s harsh environment – and a vegetable garden window box  – under the window.

In a commercial downtown area, with maybe fifty to hundred feet of a sheer vertical space, the solar generation could really add up, and in that environment birds really do lack alternatives for nesting spots because we are edging them out of our cities.

So, underneath the awning, a space for bird nesting and rehabilitation is created using the awning supports for structure, with a little netting strung between the two supports to create habitats for bird species otherwise being pushed out of urban areas. The bird droppings from the nesting area will nourish the little garden, instead of going to waste on the city’s streets.

And what to run off those three or four solar panels on each window? Here’s an Airconditioner that Uses Just 600 watts – 3 or 4 Solar Panels.

Image: xClinic
Source: Ecolect

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Solar Awnings-Plus for Commercial Buildings

image: s. murray construction

Remodeling your attic can gain you some extra living square footage you can use for a home office, guest room, children’s playroom, and even for a bathroom. What was considered only a storage space can now increase your home’s comfort and square footage.

First of all it is necessary to consult a specialist to check if your attic is suitable for remodeling. Is it structurally sound? Does my home’s electrical system, water pipes and air conditioning units allow for remodeling the attic?

The second thing you should do is set a budget. Consider a realistic sum to throw into this undertaking; the money spent should be at least equal to the benefits you’ll get from remodeling the attic.

Make a list of the supplies you’ll need, including prices; conform with the budget.

image: apartment therapy

Look at your attic’s walls. Do they need refinishing? If yes, then think about drywall or paneling. Advantages and shortcomings: drywall – cheaper but requires more work; paneling – more expensive than drywall, but easier to install.

What about the floor? Generally floor covering is determined by the room’s purpose. If you decide to make out of your old attic a brand new bedroom or children’s playroom, carpet is the best choice. For a home office or a guest room hardwood flooring is perfect. Though it’s pricier, it’s durable and will repay in time.

Furnishing: choosing furniture for your freshly remodeled attic isn’t a big deal; it’s like furnishing a room with the same purpose on the lower levels. However, there is one thing you should take into consideration – the roof. It comes in various shapes and inclinations, so keep it in mind.

image: apartment therapy

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How to Convert an Attic

You could call designers Christine Ho Ping Kong and Peter Tan bold, but when they first moved in Toronto and bought a giant two-story concrete-block structure and decided to turn it into their home, most of the neighbors thought they were plain mad. Not the case anymore, the couple managed to transform the giant and lifeless structure into a warm adobe that comprises of a 30-foot-wide main floor that opens onto a broad, sunlit courtyard. Tan built the home largely by himself and along the way they changed the interiors by using mahogany, Douglas fir, or teak to bring in some class to the concrete. While the interiors were transformed with new found life, some green on the exterior added greater glow to the home, making the transformation complete. [via Dwell]

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Turning a Contractor’s Warehouse Into a Cozy Home

Who said doors have to be boring? A glass door can make miracles to a simple home. Artfully designed, the glass doors by Casali add beautiful décor accents in any interior and create a spectacular effect. Prettified by engraved and painted lines on a frosted background, the doors’ wings may seem heavy but they move smoothly on the sliding system. The double valance and stylish handles are made of brushed stainless steel and the wings – of tempered glass, so they are safe enough and come in a variety of appealing styles.

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Casali glass doors – art on glass

At Home Design Find, we’re big fans of items that make a home look better, and bigger fans of designs that are useful. The best designs have both of those traits, and that’s why we were really excited when we stumbled across Hidden Passageway.

Now, we don’t know about you, but there are few things we’d rather have in our houses than a secret passageway. Who doesn’t want to pull out Volume 8 of the Encyclopedia Britannica, only to reveal a hidden safe full of money? Creative Home Engineering is a company that specializes in hidden passages, and they have a wide range of products that can add security and charm to your home.

We all have precious items we want to protect, but a safe can be a bulky and unsightly addition to your room. The solution? This innocent looking Cherry cabinet opens to reveal a wall safe:

Banks getting too risky these days and need to take matters into your own hands? Drop a few grand on your own hidden vault, and stash the rest of your savings where only you can get to them.

Need something a bit smaller? This nice flower shelf disappears and becomes a safe place to store pistols, out of reach of your kids and out of sight from burglars.

For those of you who are building a new house, or just in the mood for some renovations, hidden passageways are a fun and unique idea to consider. So whether you’re playing a real life game of Clue or you’d just like to get some cool ideas for your home check out Creative Home Engineering.

Got any of your own ideas for creative home security features? We’d love to hear from you, leave a comment below:

Also check out the other projects they have created

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Stylish Security for your Home

Need a reason to do a home improvement? Just take a look at the Sliding Modena door by Bartels. An impressive door that is quite worthy of the praise it will receive once you add into your home. The Sliding Modena is a single door set on an A-Series wall mounted sliding track system. The system is also equipped with a stunning stainless overhead valance. You have your choice of 18 different glass types, textures, and colors. Now that’s great options in a glass door .

The Bartels door is a very nice choice for a closet, but will fit in perfectly with any modern clean space. It features a knob which also can be personalized. The door when closed looks like a normal door, but one slide to the left and you can easily see the uniqueness of this beautiful door. Learn more about the Sliding Modena door at Bartels.

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Bartels Sliding Modena Door

How many times have you looked up at your ceiling and gotten mad about having to get rid of a water stain or fix a crack in it. We are sure this has happened at some point in your life and you know how time consuming and hard it can be to repair a ceiling. A new ceiling by Alyos, is a great alternative to repairing or replacing the standard ceiling.

The Stretch Ceiling will give you a beautiful smooth ceiling in about day. No more mess with the Stretch Ceiling, installation is very clean and fast. Nothing has to be moved out of the room being worked on and it should only take a day to complete. There is also very little dust during installation.

The Ceiling is available in 7 colors; white stucco, beige dolce, green toscana, beige forte, blue azzuro, grey fumato and black matt. It can also be painted to suit your needs or use Alyos Design products with digital printing. If you are worried about bulk, don’t be. The Stretch Ceiling is very thin (0.35 to 0.39mm) but has a very high resistance to force. Contact Alyos for information on getting the Stretch Ceiling.

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Stretch Ceiling