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A built-in sofa and vintage 1964 George Mulhauser "Mr. Chair

Mauricio Ceballos X Architects

In 2009 on a quiet Los Angeles corner, Mel Elias found a severely water-damaged, crumbling 5,000-square-foot house hidden behind a tangle of overgrown vegetation. Its former owner, the late Hollywood acting coach Milton Katselas, had filled his property with industrial skylights and enormous, wood-burning fireplaces. The glass-and-concrete construction was framed by high ceilings, rusted steel beams, and varied elevations across the single-story plan. Thanks to an 11-year long, multiphase renovation by designer Carter Bradley, the home—with all of its quirks and character—shines again.

The concrete wall behind the porch provides a backdrop for the wood stove and privacy from the road.

An 11-foot-wide trifold glass door opens the art studio to the landscape, where rolling hills surround a large glassy pond.

Rain shower

The tiny budget still allowed room for some strategic splurges, such as the vivid green Verde Ming marble in the house’s only bathroom

In the principal bedroom, a freestanding marble bathtub is positioned in front of a glass wall at the entrance to the en suite bathroom. “I never take baths,” the owner admits. “But whoever lives here after us will expect a large tub in a house like this.”

The bathroom has been entirely clad in large Fior di Bosco marble panels, creating a simple backdrop for the arrangement of plants overlooked by the tub.

A section of the facade—a cross between a shoji screen and a barn door—slides open. Planter boxes contain edible varieties that fuel Mary’s culinary explorations.

Home to architect Michael Artemenko, co-director of FIGR Architecture Studio—along with his wife Emma and their young daughter—this renovated heritage home in the Melbourne suburb of Cremorne uses a portal-like corridor painted a vibrant pink to connect the original period home to a new wing.

Living, dining, and kitchen spaces flow into one another in the soaring great room. Here, the Sacramento firm placed new, polished concrete slabs over the original ones to alleviate unsightly cracks.

Marita is an avid reader, clocking about a book a day, so she built this bookcase for her family’s collection and painted it a bright plum shade.

When the trees leaf out, the overhauled guest cabin, the couple’s “Scandinavian dream cabin in the woods,” is hidden from view from the main house, making for a private retreat.

In the living room, CH22 Wishbone chairs by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Søn and a vintage steamer lounge flank a custom marble coffee table. The Horse Fair, by Dutch painter Willem Carel Nakken, rests on the fireplace, and antique grain shovels lean nearby.