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After: By knocking down a wall, they opened up the kitchen to the living room to create one great room, ideal for entertaining.

Madrid-based studio Gon transformed Santiago and Ángel’s two bedroom, 850-square-apartment into an airy one bedroom home with a library at its center.

The window placements balance the risk of temperature swings—which demands more artificial heating and cooling—with the room and its location within the house.

The back of the house opens up to the landscape and the northern light.

Tricia combined patinated metals with warm woods, limestone plaster, and matte finishes with a color palette of grays and sandy browns, plus accents of clay and deep green.

A unique spin art design in peach livens up the ceiling in a teen’s room.

"Knowing the clients and how they utilize their time, both the dining room and the sunroom were designed as multifunctional spaces," say the designers. For this space, instead of a buffet, they incorporated a custom bookshelf (not pictured), which holds games, books, and a cocktail station.

"Rooms required thoughtfully scaled and placed pieces," say the designers. "Because of the numerous large windows in every room of the house, the color choices and textures were chosen with inspiration from outside."

A staircase winds up through the center of the house. Its structural spine is made of cross-laminated timber, while the screen that encloses it is made from slats of South African pine. “The timber screen separates the stair from the surrounding space but still allows glimpses through,” says Douglas. “It recalls Japanese screens, especially at night when it lights up like a lantern.”

A light well, cut into the side of the house that shares a wall with its neighbor, brings illumination and air into the primary bedroom and bathroom.

“From the slate floors to the stone countertops, to the wood, brick, steel, and glass—all of it felt like something I wanted to celebrate,” says Derek.

The guest bathroom in the ADU features a sunken Roman tub clad in the same marigold zellige tile as the kitchen in the main house.

Two mustard Crescent swivel chairs and throw pillows from West Elm add a touch of color to the living area. Under the chairs, a steel plate from the original shipping container reminds everyone what the house used to be. The fireplace is Fire Drum 2 by Malm and the firewood holder is by David DeSantis.

In the open living/kitchen/dining area, the containers’ original apitong wood flooring, heavily sanded and sealed multiple times, complements the industrial austerity of the painted corrugated steel ceilings. The rug is vintage.

A lofted bunk room with six adult-sized beds offers space for extended family and friends to stay. Built-in mass plywood joinery and gable-end glazing gives the room a warmth and openness unusual for a loft space.

The second-floor space is reached via an external set of brick-and-concrete steps.