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Offering a completely different look, this svelte version features an exhaust hood and modern hardware.

It’s a good idea to read reviews about specific pieces before buying them, which can help prepare you for the unexpected.

The window partition motif is repeated in the kitchen, allowing for communication between kitchen and living area. Gray cabinetry and white Silestone counters fit in alongside vibrant yellow pendants by MUUTO and a retro, light-blue Smeg refrigerator.

Master suite and breezeway off of the pool courtyard

The doors of the primary suite pocket behind the redwood to allow the space to extend to the pool courtyard

Primary Suite with the glass doors closed

Breezeway to the primary bedroom beyond that opens up to the pool courtyard through a pocketing glass door

In Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights, this townhouse by Etelamaki Architecture has a spa-like bathroom with mixed materials that include a slate wall behind the double sinks, which are suspended on a teak vanity. The freestanding tub sits on a raised wooden bed that continues up the wall behind it. Photo by Mikiko Kikuyama

Architect and interior designer Oskar Firek created this black and white bathroom in a loft apartment in Krakow, Poland. Rustic wooden floors ground the black tile walls and cabinet, which contrast with the white shower and fixtures that round out the space. Photo by Oskar Firek

Overlooking Portage Bay in Seattle, this house was designed by Heliotrope Architects for a bachelor who longed for a simple bathroom with a Japanese-style hinoki tub that was installed in front of the windows for the water views. Photo by Aaron Leitz

Located in Singapore, the 31 Blair Road house by ONG&ONG keeps it minimal without being stark or clinical. A floating cabinet holds two sinks and the large, rectangular shower is sealed with seamless glass panels, all under a slanted ceiling with a skylight. Photo courtesy of ONG&ONG

Melbourne is the location of the Canny-designed Lubelso Hawthorn Concept Home where one of the bathrooms has large, soft grey tiles on the floor that continue up the sides of the shower walls. A skylight above the shower keeps the space full of light. Photo by Derek Swalwell

The pair painted the upstairs master bedroom white, and added a G55 sling chair and leather baskets from their recent design collections. The carpet is from a souk in Casablanca, and the bedcover is from Zara Home. Atop the vintage cup-board is an artwork by Vereecke’s father. Verheyden incorporated all-new woodwork of his design into the room.

For their new kitchen, Michaël Verheyden and Saartje Vereecke incorporated a Smeg cooktop, oven, and range hood, stainless steel cabinets from Habitat, and personal accessories like a prototype goblet.

As much as the owners and Roberts wanted – and needed – to modernize the home, they also tried to honor some of its historical touches. They preserved the mantel, and replaced the plaster crowns on the parlor level. The antique chaise is by Lisa Sherman, and the walls are painted pavilion gray by Farrow & Ball.

The original home’s dilapidated rear wall was in such poor condition that Roberts called it “an opportunity in disguise.” She removed the wall and built a two-story addition that features double-glazed windows and sliding doors for unified entertaining inside and in the garden.