First Home

In summer, trees help to filter out some of the heat during the warmer days.

One of the two bedrooms on the ground floor.

The tables on the ends of the storage aisles can be workspaces for employees, thanks to power outlets and USB plugs.

It is important to remember that just because you use an item regularly doesn't mean it has to be displayed. If the item doesn't match the other kitchenware you're opting to showcase, it won't naturally blend in.

When Matthew Trzebiatowski and his wife Lisa designed their own home in Arizona, they created a bathroom whose extreme aesthetic matched the area’s extreme climate. The Trzebiatowskis’ bathroom retains the spirit of Arizona heat with its shocking magenta ceilings, floors, and walls. The vanity is anything but—featuring art instead of a mounted mirror—and is made from sanded and sealed OSB, a waste material typically used in framing.

Photo by Anders Hviid

Azevedo shoehorned a small bathroom next to the kitchen, under the dormer. The etched translucent glass lets light into the main living area and serves as one side of the shower. Photo by Susanne Friedrich.

The house’s small square footage also necessitated that the bathroom do double duty as the laundry room.

The bathroom’s width and reinforced handrails accommodate Wansbrough’s needs.

The Salvatori marble tiles in the bathroom were added at the last minute, once everyone was confident that they would not put the project over budget.

A family enlists Brooklyn design-build firm MADE to renovate a brownstone using surplus and salvaged materials for a budget-conscious patina. In the kitchen, the island and cabinets, fashioned from remilled Douglas-fir beams salvaged from upstate New York, sport inexpensive drawers from Ikea.

Cubby holes under the kitchen counter house cookbooks. The cabinets are made from salvaged wood. "The kitchen is where they like to be at home," Bischoff says. "That's why it's in the middle of the floor plan."

Open shelves in the kitchen reveal a glimpse of the staircase.

The marble mantelpiece was one of the only salvageable elements in the home. The family cat—who made this shelf her home—was a favorite surprise of visitors on the tour.

The master bedroom.

The Warren Street Townhouse kitchen.

The previous skylight was smaller, and "junky." Architect Joseph Tanney created a sculptural new form: "We made it bigger, and sort of like a James Turrell," he says.