Favorites

Before: The couple didn't find the downstairs very usable in its previous state.

The architects kept the fixture layout to save on budget, swapping in a Duravit tub and toilet with lavatory fixture, tub filler and shower head and controls by DornBracht.

"Intense color immersion,

The tile is the 1X1 Seta Cielo tile from Nemo.

"Because it's simple, and because it's everywhere, it's immersive,

Now the couple can look out at the city from the farthest corner of the kitchen. In the dining room, a Muuto light hangs above the dining table, bench, and chairs by Hay.

The electric range and stove hood are both by Wolf, with a Subzero refrigerator and Cove dishwasher. The Franke sink has a DornBracht faucet and Muuto pendant overhead. The island light is by Lambert & Fils.

Tall cabinets to the left of the door now serve as the pantry, and an extended counter is useful. The backsplash is Caesarstone.

ApplePly plywood is made in Eugene, Oregon, in a nod to the Pacific Northwest, where Peter and Georgia are from.

The 300-square foot living room is located on the main floor and overlooks the front yard; it opens up directly to the entryway and into the dining room.

When designing the shutters, privacy was a concern, but so was allowing the right amount of daylight in, especially on rainy, gloomy days. Leader and Sarah liked the way the circular cutouts created balls of light that danced around the room.

The shutters create the right balance between new and old and daylight and privacy. “Her kitty can still sunbathe with the light that does stream in and the holes create a fun effect that bounces around the space when the shutters are closed,

The almost-entirely tallowwood kitchen is custom. Muuto pendant lights, bar stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, a Vola faucet, and a ceiling fan by Beacon Lighting finish the room.

The completed gallery wall includes portraits mixed with abstracts. "If I had to identify a theme for my collection, it's LGBTQ+ art," Marc says. Such pieces include works picturing queer subjects and by queer artists.

The once dim, cramped kitchen in this 1963 Eichler in San Jose, California, now features luxe vinyl tiling, white slab fronts from Semihandmade, and a dual-pane window, courtesy of Cathie Hong Interiors.

The small home was purposefully designed to accommodate entertaining friends. Much of the entertaining took place in the central kitchen, which is connected with the outdoor spaces and has views beyond the laneway.

“I’m the queen of Ikea cabinets,” laughs Jade. She commissioned custom birch-veneer plywood for the doors from L.A.’s Anderson Plywood. While she was budget-conscious in many ways, she also is willing to splurge where it counts. “Hardware is where I spend money. That’s where people touch and feel it,” she says. “It’s important to me that it feels significant.” Here, pulls and knobs come from Mockett. The countertop is a man-made resin from Arizona Tiles in La Quinta.

“The house is kind of crooked, with rough floors, and no fancy finishes—but it has lots of personality,” says architect Francisco Mesquita Moura.