lofts

A former factory for Alexander Thomson & Sons Pattern Makers—a company that made wooden forms which were then cast in metal for propellers—this old building now has a new second floor and an excavated cellar, which has increased its floor space from 3,500 square feet to a whooping 8,500 square feet.

A massive concrete hearth, placed just off center, anchors the living room. The Douglas fir floors have been painted a creamy white.

Antwerp Apartment by Anouk Taeymans is a Best Renovation nominee.

Bryan Cranston and his wife, Robin Dearden, relax on a Lagune sofa by Roche Bobois. The couple’s home occupies a beachfront site that they’ve owned for several years. The original structure, affectionately dubbed the “love shack” was born as 1940s-era military housing that in subsequent decades became an uneven hodgepodge that defied local permits and was slowly sinking into the sand.

Fiedler Marciano Architecture custom-designed the kitchen to complement the rest of the space, including the custom frames around the cabinets. "That kind of detail—that craft and kind of effort couldn’t happen without the best subcontractors we were fortunate to work with," says architect Martin Marciano.

The oversized custom made concrete trough sink sits on a bronze base with a beautiful patina, industrial coper piping and taps. The mirror, which is suspended from the ceiling by braided leather straps, was manufactured by PSS Design Cult. An xl oval NativeStone bathtub.

Madrid-based studio Ábaton Arquitectura renovated a forgotten stable in the Spanish province of Cáceres.

In the living room, ethereal white curtains soften the severity of the concrete walls.