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The top-floor playroom has coloring book–inspired wallpaper and open-air bookshelves.

Skylights illuminate the central staircase, which has new spindles. The Disc surface mount light fixtures from In Common With cast a subtle, warm glow at night.

Marble Clé tile, installed diagonally, creates a striking backdrop in the primary bathroom. The Alien Orb surface mount light is from In Common With.

The lively and bright primary bath is anchored by a painted blue-green double vanity that echoes the kitchen palette. Vertical Ray LED wall sconces by Stickbulb, a ceiling fixture from In Common With, and brass plumbing and hardware details complete the look.

Vertically installed petal-pink tile by Heath Ceramics softens the space. A sculptural Hollis + Morris fixture floats overhead.

In Philippe’s bedroom, a new internal window overlooks the staircase and adds a feeling of suspension. It also completes the “double facade,” with the first being the exterior facade cladding the opposing window.

On sunny days, new skylights and clear sightlines flood the second floor with light. At night, a striped green pendant light by Marset illuminates the compact space.

The unit has solar-powered lighting.

The rock outcropping in the backyard of this house in Victoria, British Columbia, influenced the design of the home’s addition.

The slim, steel staircase is designed to allow maximum light and sight-lines.

Yuan reconfigured the balcony layout and pulled the stairs to the side for safer circulation.

The team removed the brick at the fireplace and added a terrazzo hearth with custom brass. The angles of the walls made a traditional furniture layout awkward, so the designers opted to float the custom sofa in the center so circulation flows easily around it. Art by Carrie Crawford and pendants by Sistemalux.

The contrasting style of the original home and the 70s-era addition come together in this space, now with white oak wall paneling and a twenty-foot-long, seven-foot-wide custom sofa designed by Office of Tangible Space. The painting is by Kathan Zerzan.

Yuan relocated the utility functions to a peripheral area of the house and created a breakfast niche that overlooks the sunken den. It has sconces by L’aviva Home, a Sun At Six table, and upholstery by Johanna Gullichsen. The artwork is by Erin Lynn Welsh.

Yuan added skylights throughout the house to bring more light into the interior, including this one over the central island, which also has pendants by In Common With. The floors are by D’Hanis Terracotta Tile.

Before: This eccentric-amongst-its-neighbors San Antonio house was designed by Texas modernist O'Neil Ford in 1949, early in the architect's career.

A perpendicular wing houses the garage. The house has no air conditioning, relying on lake breezes and cross-ventilation for cooling. Each bedroom has a screened door that opens to the deck and an adjustable transom above the hallway door to encourage the circulation of air.

Large south-facing windows by Loewen and a high-efficiency Rais X wood-burning stove help to reduce energy demands.