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Be selective about splurging. One of the hardest, yet potentially most satisfying, parts of staying on budget is learning where to save and where to splurge. There are certain items or pieces that are worthy of spending more on, whether it’s a sofa that will last you a decade or kitchen countertops that will really help improve the value of your home. Your contractor or other design professional can advise you on locations or pieces where a higher-quality product is important versus something more basic.

The home’s compact form and modest amounts of glazing add to its overall eco-friendliness. The white oak casework, which goes from floor to ceiling throughout much of the kitchen, was fabricated by Big Branch Woodworking for $22,000.

Northwest Corner

In the Norton family home in London’s Stoke Newington district, Jamie Norton and his sons, Miller, 3, and Ned, 7, enjoy a meal at a salvaged table and chairs found at a local vintage shop. The ceramics are by Richard Batterham.

Impromptu reading time in the open-plan kitchen is encouraged.

A clean, white palette is favored for the interior of the home. This minimal, “gallery-like” approach allows “changing daylight, art, furniture, and people to provide the color and motion,” says Klopf. Tanja similarly favors an all-white backdrop, relying on seasonally changing accent pieces like pillows, vases, or personal items to bring warmth and texture to the space. The home office nook in the family room offers a flexible workspace, and is accented by white Series 7 Arne Jacobsen chairs

In the office, which is part of the addition, a collection of vintage posters hangs above a Cbox file cabinet and a table from Blu Dot used as a desk. The rug is a Photon.

The Rod XL sofa by Piero Lissoni for Living Divani joins custom nesting tables, also designed by Di Stefano and Bongiorni and fabricated by Motta, in the refreshed living room.

“The house is a piece of origami made out of triangular shapes, which we then draped over the landscape,” says Arbel.