Fun final

The outdoor sofa is from Room and Board, and the loungers and dining set are vintage.

The revamped backyard now includes a trellis to offer shade on the patio and outdoor dining area.

Catarina Monsalve's home in Morongo Valley, California, just outside of Joshua Tree, was built in the 1970s. "It was a cookie cutter house and was literally a blank canvas as it had a total lack of character,

The cactus sculpture is a vintage prop sourced from Jonathan Pessin. The pendant is a hand-painted rice paper lantern from WonderValley. The coffee table is handcrafted from solid cherry wood and is vintage from Vintage on Point in Los Angeles.

The dining room's round window is mirrored in the fireplace design.

Alicia and David decided to replace the outdated heating elements with underfloor heating for added comfort.

Local artist John Bisbee created a decorative screen out of nails for the end of the base cabinet. Stuart built the drawers using traditional wood-on-wood slides and proportionally spaced dovetails, which operate differently in summer and winter. “Those idiosyncrasies effect the way you interact with it,” Stuart notes. “The kitchen is experiential in that way.”

“I like the darkness of walnut. Other woods tend to yellow if you don’t stain it, while walnut stays true to itself,” Caleb says. The white glass tile backsplash melds with the wall.

“Using only wood to form a cabinet results in artistic moments. Diagonals read as decorative, but these strong triangles are necessary when you’re not using plywood,” Caleb says. “It’s pure joy to use the kitchen, knowing that all parts of it are built with meaning and without compromise.

The perimeter countertop is made from waxed cold-rolled steel. “I like materials that get better with age; this will fill up with color,” Caleb says.

Old doors and mismatched hardware from an old nunnery in Massachusetts carry stories from the past forward. “There is something nice about living with reused materials and taking advantage of the hours of labor put into the old stuff we salvaged,” Caleb says.

In the first-floor bathroom, the mermaid backsplash Caleb carved plays off the Hygge & West “Mermaid” wallpaper.

The home’s modest size meant Caleb did not have to worry too much about material and labor costs. For example, all the interior walls are done in plaster, which is three-to-four times more expensive than drywall in Maine.

The renovation added two bathrooms, a large bedroom, a laundry room, and a workshop.