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Markmus Design peeled away previous renovations and ’70s wallpaper to create this colorful family home that blends work with play.

In the newly expanded bathroom, large panel tiles, custom cabinetry and a polished cement sink by Mallorcan company Huguet – a favorite of Aretio’s – exude a joyful contemporary Mediterranean feel.

The new kitchen-and-dining area connects to the living area and the rear yard.

Inside, workaday concrete floors contrast with the home's clean lines and soft touches.

A three-seater Ella sofa and footrest in Vega Anthracit by Sofacompany anchor the living room. The steel coffee table is by Lim and the rug is from Coral & Hive. The shelving and cabinets are custom from Holz Cabinetry. The lamp is from Vamp and the lampshade is from Skinny laMinx. The chairs are from Chair Crazy and the television is from Samsung.

The Cape Town house that architect Michael Lumby designed for his friends Robyn and Clint Campbell is clad in simple, inexpensive brick in varying patterns that allow its facade to curve. The facade has a similarly rough finish. “I wanted something that will age and patina with time and be low maintenance,” says Lumby.

Three-quarter partitions divide up the colorful, tiled bathroom into zones. Light pours through the skylight. “It’s a very hardworking little room,” says Dovey. “It’s my favorite place in the house.” Sandblasted glass creates privacy, without sacrificing light.

In their query letter, Ben and Sarah were clear that they wanted a home that could accommodate all of life’s messes. “We don't want a white display kitchen that only looks good when it's clean and not in use. We want our kitchen to be able to work hard. We love to cook and when we do, there are usually lots of things on the go and a mess being made.”

Tigg Coll Architects took a new approach to a straightforward town house renovation and expansion in London. The home’s rear extension has its own personality, with with pivoting glass doors, sharp red support beams, and a wood-burning fireplace. The overhanging concrete plinth acts as a hearth or, as Tigg imagines it, a sort of contemporary inglenook. Wood piles neatly between the beam and wall. The fireplace, a Stovax Riva 2, is flanked by a Lampe Gras wall lamp; firewood is cleverly stored in the narrow space between the fireplace and the red support beam, creating a fun moment of practical texture in the room.

Architect Alex Gil and his wife, Claudia DeSimio, affixed a 750-square-foot addition to the roof of a 19th-century Williamsburg townhouse, transforming their cramped third-floor apartment into a modern duplex. The original fireplace remains, but has been stripped down to exposed brick, as have the surrounding walls, creating an almost wainscot-like design of exposed brick with flat white drywall above.

"We bought very little and made as much as we could,

Once the children's playroom, the sitting area can be made private with an articulating cork wall, original to the home.

Nestled amongst native Araucaria trees, the cabin and its three elevated decks were carefully sited so as not to disturb any existing trees, which are protected by Chilean law. "This area is the only place on the planet where the Araucaria pine grows,

The dining area converts into a double bed. Natalie Crittenden at Haversack Leather did all the upholstery.