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The bathtub is surrounded by 3x6 tiles from Daltile. The white oak plywood shelving is a repeating motif throughout. “I custom designed these for each room, but they are all the same style and details – I wanted something that looked high-end, but didn't break the bank,” says Beaulieu.

The upstairs showers are particularly ingenious: Operable skylights loom above, and perforated, galvanized-steel platforms open up to spacious, sunken bathtubs.

Oil your wooden kitchen tools and cutting boards. Most mineral oils will do the trick—and they’ll give your wooden widgets a much longer life. Make sourdough bread. If you’ve got some yeast in your pantry, and it’s not too old, get down to perfecting that sourdough bread recipe. You could also start a kombucha culture, or pickle any hearty vegetables you’ve got lying around. Make a pantry meal. If you can’t get to the supermarket, think about making some Spanish rice and beans from canned or dry goods. Perfectly simple. Label absolutely everything. KonMari your entire kitchen, while you’re at it. Know where and what everything is, and get rid of anything you don’t use for a perfectly uncluttered and organized kitchen.

The bright, California sun floods into the house through oversized windows cut out into varying shapes. Though they are large, the windows are placed strategically to maximize privacy.

The design team added glass doors in the kitchen that open onto a new freestanding “oversized, beach cabana–like” pavilion.

Sun Volt With the roof angled at 43 degrees, the architects lined the southern slant of the house with solar panels to collect as many rays as possible. Karanesheva and Witzmann started with four, but then added 23 more, all by Systaïc; the company gave them a deal since theirs was its first installation in France. The panels now collect far more energy than the home actually needs, a precious resource that the pair sells back to the power company. systaic.com

The Bigelows both like to cook and knew from the beginning that a kitchen island was essential. Custom FSC-certified wood cabinets with Makore wood veneer stand over a statuarietto marble countertop and De Sousa Hughes stools. The Cypree pendant lights are from LBL Lighting.

A crescent-shaped hillside home in Los Angeles by midcentury architect Raul F. Garduno is on the market for $11,995 million.

The curvilinear pool follows the site-specific curvature of the house, two design elements rarely found in the Beverley Hills area.

The raked red cedar ceiling is one of the couple’s favorite aspects of the home. They are particularly enamored with “the small shadow lines we created in the junction between the raked ceiling and the plaster bulk heads…it’s such a tiny detail that tightens everything up.”

Moving on-site to the remote countryside location during the construction process enabled the firm to engage with all of the craftspeople on the project, from the blacksmith to the structural engineers and timber framers, who’s workshop was nearby.

Outside, Dino and Cynthia (pictured) revamped the grounds with new landscaping and seating areas. Like the LifeStraw water-filtering picture (shown), the couple’s remodel reflects a pairing of Scandinavian simplicity and award-winning functionality.