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The remodel included the formation of an inset porch to protect entrants from the weather, with a cheery yellow door behind an iron gate.

“One of the reasons we clicked a lot was because they were really interested in having local furniture designers or craftspeople be involved in the interior design and the furnishings, and I'm always interested in bringing in local talent,” says Joshi-Gupta, who opted for this butterfly wallpaper by designer Sean Yseult, New Orleans local and also the bass player for the band White Zombie.

The screened porch is right off the living spaces, and serves as a family hub, especially for meals and entertaining. “That was something that we specifically wanted: a screened porch that could protect us from the mosquitoes, which are atrocious in the Gulf South at certain times of the year,” says Charlie. “Just being able to open up the French doors and play music and have food on the table – it created a great entertaining space that keeps you close to the house but has its own tranquil separation.” Joshi-Gupta outfitted the room with a concrete table and transparent outdoor chairs.

This mixed media artwork by Courtney Simon de Montfort is 11.5 feet long, in order to wrap the corner of the dining nook off of the kitchen. “Courtney’s mixed media piece is threads sewn into wood and based on a smaller piece the clients loved in our studio gallery,” says Joshi-Gupta. “We decided that it should be an asymmetrical piece that spans the two walls and the corner. The art gives the viewer different views from different vantage points.”

Textured porcelain tile by Terratinta Ceramiche changes throughout the day, thanks to a skylight in the bathroom.

“They were the lightest possible way to support the roof,” says Anton of the raw steel rafter ties in the newly vaulted living room. It’s a detail they’d first used in their ADU several years before.

Lee Buchanan of Lee Build created a screen of white ash slats beside the kitchen as well as the entry. "The stairs are beautifully integrated into the kitchen so the kids and I are always talking and someone is always sitting on the bottom steps,

Renovated in stages over the course of a decade, a home in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood proves the power of thoughtful design using humble materials.

Vintage French doors open to a new lanai surrounded by custom screen doors designed by the project architect, Studio West. The dining table and chairs put the “modern” in John’s self-described “modern gnostic nouveau” style.

The house has two full kitchens, one on each floor. The downstairs kitchen—the one for “the riffraff,” jokes John—is reached through an original pointed arch and features blue and white concrete tiles from Granada Tile and bright white cabinetry. A selection from John’s extensive collection of glass purses is on display above the open shelving. “I love Murano glass and came across these inexpensive purses on eBay and Etsy, so I just started collecting them,” he explains. “Mitchell had the idea to mount them on the wall and make them into planters.”

Actor, writer, and producer John Cameron Mitchell stands at the back door to his home in the Bywater section of New Orleans, a city he felt drawn to as more and more theater friends moved there and he began to seek a laid-back alternative to New York. But not entirely laid-back: The house, formerly owned by a mystic religious society, includes a 45-foot ballroom complete with stage, where John hosts parties and performances. “I always wanted a venue,” he says, “but not the business.”