Apartment inspiration

Mile End Road Apartment by Vine Architecture

"The general color scheme used is neutral, so as to enhance the original features," says the firm. Sage green wall paint makes the terra-cotta ceiling pop.

Once hidden away in closed quarters, the kitchen has been moved to a more open and central location in the home, blending historic elements with modern additions.

A look at the floor lamp by Pulpo Lighting, coffee table by Cassina, armchair by Mod: Ro, and ottoman by Fritz Hansen.

Completed in 2008, the Mountain Dwellings is the second of BIG’s three projects in Ørestad, a new neighborhood in Copenhagen where development is attracting many new inhabitants. The result does looks like a mountain—hence the building’s name and the inspiration for the mural of Mount Everest that adorns the 82-foot-high facade.

The architecture studio custom-made all the storage and shelving systems, ensuring that they would fit snuggly into every corner of the home.

A Taiwanese expat couple purchased a 1,352-square-foot apartment near the river in the Taiwan’s New Taipei City, and reached out to interior design firm KC Design Studio to help them turn it into a stylish, modern home. Industrial elements like steel, brick, and exposed concrete harmonize with vintage accents: in the open kitchen, wood-paneled sliding doors conceal dark cabinetry. These combine with a sleek, dark counter and a shiny, bronze-clad island for a luxe effect.

The fixed-gear bicycle hanging above the couch serves as an art piece; Chen no longer rides the bike. Le Corbusier Projecteur 165 pendant lights hang in the corner.

Antwerp Apartment by Anouk Taeymans is a Best Renovation nominee.

Walden 7 is one of Taller de Arquitectura’s pioneering housing projects, designed to address the problems of modern city living—in particular, how to balance communal spaces with privacy. Located just outside Barcelona, the complex features five interior courtyards and 446 residences spread across 18 towers of 14 stories each. The towers are modular, but they are arranged in an organic, unsystematic form and connected via communal spaces and bridges to create distinct identities.

Dortheavej Residence by Bjarke Ingels Group

The living room features the birch plywood table with circular voids that inspired the kitchen design.

The bedroom is enclosed in a cube clad in unlacquered brass. The floors are wide-plank European white oak.

As if undertaking an archaeological dig, architect Carles Oliver peels back layers of his home over the course of three years. Cities that are inundated by tourists, such as Palma de Mallorca, Spain, can suffer severe housing shortages that call for the reappropriation of unused space. Architect Carles Oliver undertook just this task, rehabbing an old, empty building with a budget of just over $21,000. Through an urban sharecropping contract, the work on the home was done in exchange for three years of rent.

After architect Andrew Berman renovated a 2,800-square-foot, two-bedroom SoHo loft, designer Justin Charette fitted out the interior with minimalist furnishings and built-ins to complement the landmark building’s industrial and historical features—including a pressed tin ceiling and exposed wood beams. Designed as a pied-à-terre for a bicoastal client, the converted loft retains its high ceilings and tall windows that flood the open-plan interior with natural light while introducing a more streamlined aesthetic that includes a neutral palette of white oak, exposed brick walls painted white, and sleek contemporary furnishings—many of which were sourced from local New York designers and makers.