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London-based practice Studio Ben Allen implemented prefab elements to recast a dark and dated Victorian terrace home for its longtime residents in just four days. The architects expanded the rear of the home, adding a new kitchen and two bathrooms. The entire update is swathed in a chromatic series of green-, blue-, and red-pigmented concrete.

What was once a single-family residence now comprises five different apartments, all of which are defined by distinct palettes that bring together dreamy, chromatic combinations with colorful ceramic tiles, ceiling artwork, and contrasting furnishings and painted walls.

In the living area of actor Vincent Kartheiser’s Hollywood cabin, redesigned by Funn Roberts to maximize every last inch of space, an Eames lounge chair and ottoman mix with a couch and coffee table by Cisco Home from HD Buttercup. The table in the main room is from West Elm.

The home’s high-efficiency windows are oriented to maximize natural light. At night, the floating, wood-burning fireplace creates a cozy gathering space among lounge chairs and faux-fur throws. Vintage rugs on the concrete floor add an additional layer of warmth and texture.

The green roof, wood cladding, and low profile help to integrate the home with its lush, natural surroundings.

If you frequently entertain guests in your home, or love holding long leisurely dinner parties on the weekends, it’s a good idea to keep these points in mind when designing or remodeling your kitchen. Here are some tips on how to turn this functional area into a space that's fit and fun for gatherings.

The restrained 820-square-foot interior is defined by the angular ceiling. Garlick left the prefabricated structural panels unfinished to save on material costs. A True North wood stove from Pacific Energy heats the house. Max, the family’s cat, naps on a vintage rug purchased on eBay.

Tom Givone's current weekend abode, nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, is—so far—his capstone project, a synthesis of personal taste, material experimentation, and historically sensitive restoration: a living laboratory for how to bring the vernacular past into the present.

In turning the second level of the garage behind their duplex into a multifunctional workspace without breaking the bank, Kyle Huberty relied on friends, family, and the community at large.

Marlatt built the cabinets in place from Russian Birch plywood, and the counters are a thin application of Neolith stone. The backsplash is glass, making for easy clean-up, and a few of the cabinet fronts are painted Masonite, for fun pops of color. The ceramics on the shelves are by Burgevin.

The designer created a teak built-in bench seat for the primary bathroom, where she installed lively Marmoreal flooring, teak vanities, and marigold Zellige shower tile.

In the kids' bathroom, Marmoreal flooring with a black background and green, gold, and green spots, a Nickey Kehoe-designed green-and-white shower curtain, pale green Farrow & Ball vanity paint, and brass fixtures add color and playful touches.

The island helps to define and separate the open-plan kitchen, dining, and living areas.

Husband-and-wife founders of Calico Wallpaper Rachel and Nick Cope show how easy it can be to put a personal, design-led touch on loft living—even when it’s a rental. When the Copes rented a Red Hook loft in an industrial 1860s warehouse, the couple turned their rental into a testing ground for their marbleized wallpaper business and installed wallpaper in each of their rooms. The custom pieces take inspiration from the loft’s immediate surroundings and characteristics—from the silver-and-gold marbled mural that complements the loft’s exposed structural beams to a color-gradient wallpaper in the primary bedroom that takes cues from the sunset seen from Red Hook.

Their carpenter Proedl built a lot of the storage and furniture in the apartment, including these concealed cubbies beneath the stairs—with room for a dry bar, of course.