“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

The Jorgensen's Menlo Park home is a model of green design with features that are smart for everyone to consider. "Every project is different, but there are some universal things that will apply from project to project," says Feldman about designing a green home. "The first—and most obvious thing—is to always try to build less, to have a smaller house and be smart about how the rooms are designed and oriented so that you can get by with less space. Smart design will lead to a smaller building, but it won't feel smaller."

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

Illustration via drawastickman.com.

Inspirational spaces

Rian and Melissa Jorgensen's 2 Bar House in Menlo Park boasts all the usual green design suspects: energy-efficient lighting, good insulation, renewable material finishes, radiant heat, and the roof is pre-wired for future PV panels. Executed by Feldman Architecture, the house requires only natural lighting during the day which keeps energy costs way down. Still, the most stunning aspect of the green design is the living roof planted with succulents, aloe, viviums, and ice plants. "I'm absolutely glad that we did it," says Melissa. "It turned out so well and I really enjoy sitting up there and taking advantage of it as much as I can. It's very peaceful." Read more about this total remodel here.

The countertops in the kitchen are a mix of quartz surfaces and custom and salvaged stainless steel. "We use the kitchen all of the time, it turned out really nice," says Melissa. "It's very open, certainly one of the central focuses of the house, and is fun for entertaining."

The living room, dining room and kitchen are in one open space. The flooring is bamboo. The cabinetry is a mix of bamboo, walnut, and maple, and was fabricated by City Cabinetmakers out of San Francisco.

One of the witticisms found on livethesheendream.com.

Shelter No. 2, Broisson Architects, 2008 This prefab made mostly of recycled materials is modest, but not too modest for a spiral staircase. Three levels culminate in a large skylight, which filters natural light all the way down to the ground floor's hydroponic garden.

It Will Get Loud: A Small Speaker That's Big on Sound Home audio companies are managing to make speakers smaller, more portable, and more wallet-friendly while keeping sound quality as robust as their larger (and pricier) brethren. Soundfreaq's co-founder and creative director Matthew Paprocki will demo and deconstruct the award-winning Sound Stack and demo Sound Platform 2 to let you in on the technology behind making big sound come from a tiny package. See this Saturday, June 22, at 12:30 p.m. on the Demonstration Stage.

The couple asked Bryan Richards of Real Natives Landscape Design to incorporate drought-tolerant plants into the landscaping. Surrounding a table from CB2 are chairs from Design Within Reach.

The leftmost cabinet above the Duravit bathtub (equipped with KWC fixtures) occupies the space where a doorway once lead into the living room, creating unnecessary traffic from the home’s public spaces through to the master bedroom.The new bathroom features a minimal palette of white and teak. “It’s able to hold up on boat decks so is good for a bathroom,” Klug says. It also makes the heated floor that much nicer to walk on in the morning. Photo by Eric Roth

The interior is furnished with Lubi Daybeds from CB2, which Howell and Porter designed to include hidden cubbies behind and beneath the cushions.

Parked for lunch were Torchy's Tacos, Man Bites Dog, and Holy Cacao.

British artist Hannah Sawtell and technologist Avi Flombaum created sawbaum.com, where users can create visual collages using multiple vine streams. "We wanted it to look like a visual comic book, with overlapping panels," said Flombaum. "And we wanted it to be fun!" Photo courtesy Rhizome.

Ulysses word cloud poster from beautifulwordsbeautifulart.com.

Botanical Carden by Postcarden

Bag by Chester Wallace.

Photo by Ty Cole.

The Magnolia Handbag by Alchemy.

For privacy and quiet, the home's three bedrooms are situated the furthest from the street. Each faces its own courtyard.

The 510 Cabin is one of Leggitt's designs, executed with the help of student apprentices.

Elfa by the Container Store / containerstore.com

See Arch removed a wall to create a more spacious kitchen with a stronger visual connection to the dining area. The updated kitchen is outfitted with quartz countertops and Viking, Fisher Paykel, and Asko appliances.

"In some ways the strongest attributes of the house are probably the outside spaces,” says Court. The original cedar deck was replaced with Kebony decking that wraps around a century-old cherry tree. A pair of Andy rockers from Mamagreen face an ottoman by Kenneth Cobonpue. The accordion doors are a NanaWall SL-60 system that allows the main room of the guesthouse to open completely to the deck.

The end of the Parkmobiles bear the names of their creators and partners: CMG Landscape Architecture, Recology, and Gardners' Guild, Inc.

Anchoring a corner of the Design Lab floor was the trifecta of David Mast, Kendall Wilkinson, and Black Mountain Construction, who team up on design projects to create a seamless design-build experience for their clients. Here's Mast (center) discussing his "zen, less-is-more" design philosophy with two attendees.

“Technical products like hi-fi fit more easily into all kinds of surroundings than those old furniture look-alike ones.”—Dieter Rams, designer

Koto’s charred-timber workspace is an exercise in wabi-sabi design that embraces imperfection amid the natural world. The carbon-neutral structure is built from natural materials, and it can operate both on- and off-grid.

A Room & Board record console behind the couch is mixed with a vintage mushroom lamp and Flos Arco Floor Lamp.

Questions from your contractor mean that they have taken the time to review the construction documents or drawings and scope of work.

Monochromatic Cloudy pattern.

The open-plan ground floor allows the communal spaces to flow into one another. A wooden ladder accesses the lofted bedrooms.