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In the kitchen, minimalism prevails. Jared notes that the use of plywood was loosely inspired by design seen in the 1960s Sonoma County Sea Ranch community. "It's something that one of my heroes, [architect] Barbara Bestor has done very well," he says.

Guess used inexpensive graded pine plywood so that he would get heavy grain patterns on the surfaces. One of the main goals in the kitchen was simplicity. To that end, he opted for a poured-in-place concrete island. "We didn’t know if we could afford to do that, but we found a great subcontractor [Nate Francis of Countertop Creations] here who had never really built anything like that," Guess says. "Because he was interested in giving it a shot and adding it to his portfolio, he didn’t charge an exorbitant amount of money because it was sort of an experiment for him as well." The kitchen features a GE Profile refrigerator and KitchenAid range, microwave, and dishwasher. The sink and faucet are from Kohler. The project's builder was Joe Doherty with Custom Homecrafters of Austin.

A bathroom in a guest room features a new take on traditional square two-tone tiles.

The home features one full bath and three partial baths.

A coat of Orange Aurora paint by Little Greene enlivens an Astonian Rimini clawfoot tub.

The juxtaposition of black and white is perhaps the most notable detail of the home’s interiors. In the guest bathroom, black and white tiles provide visual interest.

The leftmost cabinet above the Duravit bathtub (equipped with KWC fixtures) occupies the space where a doorway once lead into the living room, creating unnecessary traffic from the home’s public spaces through to the master bedroom.The new bathroom features a minimal palette of white and teak. “It’s able to hold up on boat decks so is good for a bathroom,” Klug says. It also makes the heated floor that much nicer to walk on in the morning. Photo by Eric Roth

The master bath has two sections—one with a toilet and shower stall, and one with a soaking tub.

Because they were working with a modest budget, Casework left the bathroom plumbing fixtures in their original locations (aside from the showerhead).

The frosted glass wall between the kitchen and the bathroom, which distributes light while protecting privacy, cost $160.

Bathrooms incorporate custom glazed tile and Imperial Danby stone quarried in Vermont.

Architects Anne Marie Lubrano and Lea Ciavarra limited the material selection in their renovation of a town house dating from 1899. The powder room on the first floor is located in a former waiting area (the previous resident used the level for his dental practice). It features a custom Alabastro marble sink and fixtures by California Faucets. The architects kept the original marble fireplace, paying homage to the structure’s history. Benjamin Moore’s Super White paint was applied to the ceiling and the White Dove hue to the walls. "Positioning the faucets on the side wall emphasizes the horizontal," Lubrano says. "Wall-mounted fixtures feel less grounded and materials can continue uninterrupted below. We wanted the spaces to feel light, spacious and light-filled."

The new master bathroom was expanded. The maroon sink was moved to a new location and has a more sculptural feel.

In this Toronto home, the windows of the combined laundry and bathroom looks out into a courtyard from the second floor.

A monolithic, imported stone vanity in the bathroom is accented by brass fixtures and hand-cut and crafted tile.

Spa-like bathrooms are the ideal place for a little R&R.