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Cubic bookshelves do double duty as a dividing wall and as a sliding door opening up to a hidden bath.

Bathroom

Uncovering the original concrete surfacing of the columns, which are unusually thick thanks to the building’s original industrial function, was a major undertaking. Covered in successive layers of white paint, a team worked for over a week to expose the concrete, revealing the space’s gritty character.

In the bathroom, a teak live-edge countertop and custom yellow cabinet support a double wash basin by Duravit. A mirror from Restoration Hardware hangs below custom lights, designed by the homeowner for a steampunk look.

In the bathroom, a thin pane of glass separates the shower; an Aquaplane sink by Lacava hovers above a built-in vanity illuminated by a lean Adelphi light by Oxygen Lighting; and blue-green glass penny tiles by Terra Verre decorate the floor. The absence of a door, combined with windows on two sides, makes the bathroom feel like a continuation of the overall space.

Maira wallpaper from the 70s adorns the guest bathroom. When they knocked down several interior walls, Sawatzky and Flanders were left with tons of lath—the thin, irregular strips of softwood that provided the base for wall plaster. With the help of a demolition contractor, they sorted out the cleanest pieces to reuse. The couple clad the box on the second floor that contains their bathroom and closets with the lath, nail-gunning each piece to the walls.

Canary yellow doors keep the house from feeling austere. The sliding function also saves space.

Prioritize either storage or easy cleaning. While extra storage is always nice, it is important to note freestanding vanities are also known for being harder to clean, since there are more corners and nooks where dust can hang out around them.

This bathroom, tiled in bright blue mosaic to offset the home’s limited materials and color palette, calls for a simple vanity. The sinks, toilets, and tubs are by Villeroy & Boch, while the faucets and towel rails are by Grohe and Avenir, respectively.

White tiles envelop the en suite master bathroom.

The upstairs showers are particularly ingenious: Operable skylights loom above, and perforated, galvanized-steel platforms open up to spacious, sunken bathtubs.

The duo added custom redwood cabinetry on the dining area side. The pendants are from Birchwood Lighting.

“I believe Jones designed these houses to be living things. They’re not museums," says architect and resident Bruce Norelius.

For their A. Quincy Jones house in Los Angeles, architect Bruce Norelius and his partner, Landis Green, retained and restored core elements, such as the living room’s redwood paneling and concrete-block wall.

“Indah feels immense pride, especially for the late structural addition she hugs and calls her zigzag column,” Kathryn says. “We faceted it in the vein of one of our favorite sculptors, Constantin Brâncusi.”

At night, the moon-shaped back window (opposite) is a beacon for neighbors paddling by.

Concrete and travertine slabs were installed on the exterior, alongside an ipe deck with mahogany railings.

“We often hear that our homes don’t look like prefab,” says architect Meelena Oleksiuk Turkel. “But there’s no reason high quality, good design and prefabrication can’t work together.” Mulmur Hills Farm, for example, makes use of thermally modified ash cladding that contributes to both durability and beauty.