Remodel ideas

A table from Design Within Reach is surrounded by white Carl Malmsten chairs bought by Fredrik's grandmother in the 1960s. The couple recently added the two black chairs. Above is a pendant by Ravenhill Studio and partially seen at right is an artwork by Mary Neville.

A BoConcept sectional is joined by a Yngve Ekström lounge chair and ottoman and an Eames chair in the living area. The couple found the vintage Danish coffee table at a flea market, while the traditional Indian stools were purchased for their wedding. Whitewashed poplar clads the far wall.

Backsplash tile by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Mutina pairs with custom cabinetry and quartz cunters in the kitchen.

A corner of the office, which doubles as a guest bedroom, features an Ikea desk and a Henry Miller chair. The wall tile in the guest bath is from Mutina.

The couple's daughter reads in the cozy nook just inside the front door painted in a vibrant blue from Benjamin Moore. Of the storage area below, Fredrik says, "In Sweden, there's always a place to sit and take off your shoes. This is a version of that."

A hand-painted bench sits before a wall accented by wallpaper designed by Abigail Edwards. The vintage rug is Persian.

Floor Plan of Grafton House by Studio Nilsson

Hexagonal penny tile ascends from floor to ceiling in the skylit primary bathroom.

Dandelion cement tiles by Marrakech Design adorn the floor of the primary bathroom. The wall tile is from Daltile. The bed, seen in the mirror at right, is by Industry West.

Furniture designer Tom Deacon teamed up with pal and architect Andrew Jones to renovate his Toronto townhouse. “Architects tend to think of the building first, the interiors second, and last, the furniture. Our approach was the opposite,” Jones says.

“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.

"The kitchen is pretty small, so we were inspired by Japanese design where everything is highly organized,

A special finish brings out the grain in the kitchen's walnut cabinetry.

Sarah Butler and Mel Elias’s Siberian husky, Rooney, reclines in the renovated dining room of their Los Angeles home. The raised floor provides easy access to mechanical systems, something the house lacked as originally built.

The home’s previous owner, legendary acting coach Milton Katselas, turned a pair of 1940s cottages into a quirky concrete-and-steel pavilion with a guesthouse just behind it. An Electra bicycle from Trek is parked in front.

In the dining room, under one of six large industrial skylights, one of the massive hearths is ornamented with a single red tile. Though they don’t know why Katselas placed it there, Mel and designer/project manager Carter Bradley turned it into a motif that pops up unexpectedly elsewhere in the house.

In the kitchen, the countertops are Absolute Black wire-brushed granite from Walker Zanger, the cooktop and hoods are from Viking, the dishwashers are Miele, and the serious coffee setup (Mel is the former CEO of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf) includes an espresso machine from La Marzocco and grinders by Mazzer. Bradley designed the cherrywood veneer cabinetry, which was made and installed by Marmol Radziner, with a custom piece by Alaco Ladder Company.