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The new kitchen borrowed space and light from the original courtyard. The spirit of the courtyard remains with the buffer between the kitchen and the exterior wall. The cabinets are from Ikea, the countertops are quartzite, and the grill top is from Bertazzoni.

Recycled Altrock work surfaces and larch cabinetry define the kitchen design.

A couple takes a minimalist approach to their Brooklyn apartment, focusing on supple materials, subtle gradations of color, and custom finishes by local craftsmen. The Mandayam–Vohra family gathers under one of Workstead’s signature three-arm chandeliers, shown here in its horizontal configuration. Bartenschlager designed the white cabinets and is responsible for the walnut counters both on the kitchen island and near the stove.

The project team excavated a portion of the backyard to create a sunken patio that seamlessly meets the grade of the interior living spaces. The interior flooring is large-scale honed basalt tile (24" x 48" in size), which becomes 24" x 48" flamed basalt tile at the exterior patio.

The expansive new kitchen has a generous sliding glass door to the yard and cabinetry is outfitted in plain-sawn walnut. "The wood is close in tone to the existing mahogany woodwork, but it has a more expressive grain," says Chadbourne. "We used it at all new cabinetry in flat, flush panels. The walnut’s grain character is the design element rather than the cabinetry construction details."

For the new addition, new brick syncs with the old, while blackened steel provides a modern counterpoint to the historic facade.

Bespoke storage lines the left wall of the kitchen. The hand-turned white-oak knobs complements the cabinetry and centralized island.

Boasting exposed beams, the kitchen also has custom white-oak cabinetry built by Philadelphia Woodworking Co. An oversized picture window overlooks the backyard garden.

The portal to the pantry is flanked by tall storage cabinets and a built-in Fisher & Paykel Professional Series refrigerator and freezer.

ROAR Architects updated a former women’s refuge in London’s Kentish Town Conservation Area into two interconnected flats for a brother-and-sister duo. Housed in a historic Victorian, each of the flats have their own entrance. The interiors are also differentiated by their distinct color palettes and materials, which the architects designed to reflect the personality of each sibling.

An elegant steel-framed glass door sweeps out from a dramatic entryway.

The architects set up a cozy reading nook off the kitchen, with furnishings picked by Santos. Positioned as it is beside the big windows, the spot benefits from the views outside, and enables family members to chat easily while cooking.

Built-in shelving under the stairs to the mezzanine level provides the resident with extra storage.

The curve in the dining room cabinetry was carved out to hug the dining room table. "The clients wanted lots of storage and were initially concerned about the curve, but appreciated that it was needed for the flow of the plan," says architect Ben Peake, "so we managed to fit more storage into the dining room and living room pieces, and now they love the curve just as much as we do."

The home’s four bathrooms are tiled with custom ceramic tiles in four different colors. The pink upstairs bathroom is the only one with a tub.

Glass partitions framed in powder-coated metal slide back to make flexible use of the floor plan in a 1,206-square-foot apartment, where color blocking the rooms also help break up the different spaces. The pink walls of the living room tie into the pink furniture in other rooms, keeping a sense of continuity while still differentiating between areas.