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Two new structures were also built in the backyard, and connected to the main house via the landscape plan by Lilyvilla Gardens. One is a 485-square-foot guest house, and the other is a 375-square-foot workshop for the owner, who’s a bike builder. They have the same exterior siding as the main house: rough-sawn tongue and groove cedar.

Influenced by late Swedish architect Bengt Warne’s naturhus concept (in short, a house built in an agricultural greenhouse), Roja Brimalm and Johan Holmstedt worked with architect Fredrik Olson at Tailor Made Architects to design their home southwest of Stockholm.

Inside Moshe Safdie & Uribe Schwarzkopf’s Qorner building, near Quito’s La Carolina Park, Juan Alberto Andrade and Maria Jose Vascones outfitted a 300 square-foot studio with in-built modules that transform the space into a kitchen, bedroom or workspace on a whim. “The project is born from the need to solve, through architectural strategies, the spatial and formal limitations of this new way of living, that relates directly to urban and social mobility,” explain the architects.

In the main house kitchen, a puffy arched tile mimics the arches in other locations of the house, like the entrance patio of the ADU.

At the base of the stairs, a fiddle leaf fig tree reaches for the exposed ceiling and a bubble light pendant hanging from the second story.

The new, attached ADU is rented out as a passive source of income that is helping Amanda finance the project.

One of the largest construction challenges was the plumbing in the showers. "After our bathrooms were finally completed, we found water leakage coming out the base of both the showers," says Elaine. "Nothing seemed to solve the problem. It turned out it was a faulty plumbing job, so we had to open up the showers, fix the plumbing, and redo all the tadelakt." This set their timeline back by months.

In an effort to maximize space, the architects skipped bulky walls, instead utilizing curtains on curved tracks that allow the residents to manipulate the interiors on a whim.

For the redesign of a 430-square-foot flat built in the 1970s, Madrid firm BURR Studio integrated all the main facilities of the home into a central core. “The toilet is the only element that can be isolated,” notes the firm. “The rest of the areas merge into one another so that the tenants essentially sleep in the bathroom, as well as shower in the living room.”

Ample storage is provided in the kitchen area and the steps leading up to the bed.

Marita spray painted the ceiling fan to match the rest of the room. The chairs in the eating nook are from Article.

In her daughter’s room “She’s a Wildflower Wallpaper” from Lust Home joins a different color on every wall, all from Sherwin Williams, including “Blue Lapis,” “California Lilac,” “Spring Azalea,” and “Deep Carnation.” The ceiling light is from Sazerac Stitches.

Marita inherited the clawfoot tub from a neighbor and surrounded it with Zia Tile.

Marita painted the kitchen floor in a checked pattern, and added Rifle Paper Co “Peacock Wallpaper” in Emerald to go with the kitchen cabinets painted Benjamin Moore "Forest Green.

Photographer Richie Davis occupies the 700-square-foot studio upstairs.

The rooftop terrace is covered by the greenhouse roof and features a long dining table surrounded by secondhand chairs from a community center and a pink kitchen used for preparing food when entertaining. The couple hope to add cooking facilities in the future. “It’s a great place for parties,” says Margit. “I haven’t grown anything up here yet, but I’ll start this spring.”

The kitchen island and cabinets at this Melbourne renovation are made of recycled timber, taking cue from the wooden bookcase that designer Kim Kneipp installed during the home’s first restyling.