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The firm raised the height and increased the width of the new opening between the kitchen and dining room.

Curtis completely overhauled the shelving, changing the shapes of the niches and covering them in micro-cement.

The primary bath features a Kaldewei bathtub and custom shower artwork by Sara Bright.

The addition of an alfresco tub is perfect for relaxing on starry desert evenings.

It’s hard to believe, but this trendy stay was purchased by Kathrin and Brian Smirke at a tax auction for $7,000. While it sounds like a great deal, the 1957 property was abandoned—and it needed to be stripped to the studs and completely rebuilt. The DIY interiors now are teeming with photo opps—from stylish vignettes to an outdoor tub constructed from a water trough.

The guest bathroom was enlarged and finished with Moroccan plaster.

The guest bedroom is heavenly thanks to a custom, low platform bed, custom linen curtains, Watt & Veke pendant lights, and side tables from Wisteria.

One of the largest construction challenges was the plumbing in the showers. "After our bathrooms were finally completed, we found water leakage coming out the base of both the showers," says Elaine. "Nothing seemed to solve the problem. It turned out it was a faulty plumbing job, so we had to open up the showers, fix the plumbing, and redo all the tadelakt." This set their timeline back by months.

The couple repositioned the shower and toilet in the master bath.

The palette and furnishings are inspired by nature and the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. "We wanted people to feel relaxed right when they walked in, so we kept the interiors noble and focused on texture and subtleties in design," says Elaine. The living room features the Neva sofa by Sixpenny, a 19th-century Naga coffee table from India, and leather side chair from Restoration Hardware.

The kitchen cabinets are custom-made from 100-year-old wood purchased at Sliverado Salvage. There’s a breakfast nook and a nine-foot island finished in Tadelakt, a waterproof plaster often used in Moroccan architecture, creating a communal and open space that flows into the living room. "Tadelakt is such a beautiful material and provides an old-world, earthy feeling, but using it is very labor-intensive," says Elaine.

When the couple purchased the home, there was no landscaping besides some local shrubs and Joshua trees. They decided to give the backyard a calming vibe with a saltwater hot tub. "It’s an invigorating experience, showering and soaking under an open sky so close to nature," she says. The saltwater uses fewer chemicals than chlorine, and helps relieve swelling and aching joints for hikers.

The couple added a coat of black paint and cedar siding to give the home a cleaner, more modern look. "The house already had wide and low eaves, providing protection from the sun, and we added new spray-foam insulation, so the black exterior actually does not pose too much of an issue with the desert heat," she says. A new Cor-Ten steel fence blocks the view of the neighbor's roof, but doesn't interfere with the landscape.

Husband-and-wife team Elaine and Stanley Yang of real estate and development firm Mini Inno discovered this 2,000-square-foot ranch home, and set about transforming it into an idyllic weekend retreat. Built in 1966, the home sits on 3.6 acres and, while the bones were good, it was a bit outdated in terms of style. The revitalized, Moroccan-inspired retreat is a sanctuary worthy of its soothing surroundings.

Packed with personality, this retooled shed by Best Practice Architecture might just be the cutest little ADU in Texas.

“For this design, we wanted to maintain the twin pitched element from the front facade while modernizing everything in the interior and showcasing a distinct design aesthetic that homeowners are used to seeing in the Hollywood Hills or Westside,” says Cheng.

Before: Modus Development bought the 1921 house in Highland Park in 2021, for its proximity to York Blvd and walking distance to Occidental College.

An oak beam spans the room, and a custom fireplace was created by Noor El-Mohandes.

The couple created a built-in dinette, with an adjustable table, that converts to a queen-size bed.