Renovate

After: "We wanted to restore the missing components back to their 1890s original form, while inserting additive elements that would transform a schoolhouse with classrooms into a building for apartments and modern day living," says Brian Rome, the principal of Rome Office.

After: "This garden buffer area serves as a way to get light inside and also act as an acoustic and privacy barrier from the street," says the firm.

The living room’s showpiece is a Zircon stove by Malm; its flue snakes 25 feet to the ceiling. “We really wanted the fireplace to be the anchor within this large space,” says Raj. A rust velvet Lenyx sofa from CB2 provides a punch of color within the minimalist palette. Nearby is a custom maple credenza by Croft House. The white-trimmed windows are from Loewen and the white paint throughout is Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore.

The custom-designed white maple modular coffee table can be kept together as one piece, or separated to form stools or smaller tables. "Each of the four cubes is slightly different, with a storage recess or dividing panel for stowing books, magazines, pillows, or other objects," says Thomas.

From the garden, an illuminated view into the bi-level extension.

To create a strong connection between the home and the spacious rear garden, the couple emphasized spaces at the rear of the home and added full-height sliding pocket doors for unobstructed views of the garden.

When Pablo Pérez Palacios’ Mexico City–based architecture firm PPAA was tasked with building an apartment tower to meet La Colonia Roma's need for additional housing, he faced a problem familiar to developers in historic neighborhoods everywhere. The site was occupied by a dilapidated home that dates to 1925, and local laws required that the facade and part of the structure be maintained. PPAA’s innovative approach was to cut the original three-story home in half, preserving enough of the building to front the street and hold two apartments replete with classic Victorian details like high ceilings and restored millwork. In the back of the lot, they designed a sleek eight-story apartment tower that would hold an additional nine apartments, for a total of 11 units. Not bad for a site that was previously an uninhabited single-family house.

The open living/dining area gives a good impression of Tas’s catholic approach to decorating, which includes mixing Panton chairs with antiques and homemade pieces.

The kitchen countertops are black quartz, offering a strong visual contrast to the plywood. “Leïla and Xavier enjoy having friends over to sit at the kitchen island, which is the center of the space,” says architect Catherine Milanese.

The couple journeyed to Denmark to

Up House by CumuloLimbo Studio

Morrison and her two greyhounds pose with her brother and roommate, Michael Anthony Morrison—an artist who is also responsible for much of her art collection.

After: When designer Michael Corsar converted a late Victorian utility building in Suffolk into a home for his friend Sandy Suffield, he kept the charming features, like the 17-foot ceilings, while making the space habitable after years of neglect. Deben Joinery built the kitchen cabinetry. The vintage Optima pendants are by Danish designer Hans Due.