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Built-ins reduce the need for furniture.

Spaces are kept minimal to instill a sense of serenity. A Pilotta chair from Cassina is the only piece of furniture other than the built-in bench.

The lattice-like bookcase separating the living room and family room is part of a design approach that Cristián says “blurs the line between building and furniture.” The walls and floors are concrete in all of the units.

The bright, white eat-in kitchen features Leicht cabinetry, Miele appliances, and quartz countertops.

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 Bulthaup kitchen also features Calacatta quartzite countertops from Stone Fleury. A Float console table by Aleksandra Zee hangs along a wall opposite the bar stools.

One of the owners is a chef, so the kitchen, featuring HAY Revolver bar stools, naturally takes centerstage. Although it opens to the living room, the imposing butcher block ensures that cooks can be sealed away when maximum concentration is needed.

Thanks to an existing functional layout and adequate size, there wasn't much need to change the plan of the kitchen and the placement of appliances and plumbing.

Kasey and Nick chose to keep the long, reclaimed-marble countertop in the kitchen, which had been renovated by the previous owners of the 1954 Wendell Lovett home.

The bathroom tiles, a porcelain printed to look like terrazzo, are from Home Hardware. The oversized format gives the design heft, and Nicole had the contractors mix a custom grout color to make the transition between tiles feel seamless. The floors are heated—a surprisingly small investment at around $250.

The curved blue kitchen larder has a projecting “nose” that illuminates the worktop and a mirrored eye that “winks” each time the door is opened.

Breccia Capraia marble continues from the countertop to form the backsplash and open shelving.

Cheng opened up the kitchen to the main living spaces and gave it an uber-functional layout.

The faucets, which are made of copper plumbing fittings, reference the history of the building and its industrial roots.

A Carrara marble backsplash adds cool contrast and a sense of drama when set against the custom oiled-steel black cabinetry in the renovation of the kitchen in this A. Quincy Jones home in Los Angeles.