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Vintage lover Sarah Benson worked with local firm Bright Designlab to gently update her 1925 home in Portland, Oregon. In the kitchen, Moroccan cement tiles featuring a blue Hex Dot pattern by Popham Designs cover the floor.

Above the dining room’s Hodgson & Barker Antiques table—found on eBay—are ceramic pendant lights from Hand & Eye Studio. The architect acquired the wood chairs secondhand.

Pros: Concrete countertops are durable, resistant to heat, and can be less expensive than natural stone, especially when completed as a DIY project. Cons: Concrete must be sealed before being used; otherwise, its porous nature means that it will stain very easily.

Yumi (left) and Maya (right) cheese around on the steps leading into the front door. Inside, there is ample space for removing and leaving one's shoes, another Japanese element.

Composed of primarily steel, this prefab home has sufficient outdoor space. Photo by: Daniel Hennessy