Tactics for Renovating a Small Space

A geographic lime-green tile pattern was incorporated into the bathroom to complement the sink, which was found in an architectural salvage yard and retains its original color. Photo by Alan Gastelum.

No whiteware here. In this moody apartment in Berlin, multi-toned charcoal gray subway tiles make up the backsplash, which contrasts with the pop of rosy color on the kitchen cabinets.

PATH partnered with local woodworkers Benjamin Klebba, of Phloem Studio, and Bren Reis, of Earthbound Industries, to build furniture and cabinetry into the walls.

A couch—upholstered by local firm Revive Upholstery & Design—slides out on hidden casters and transforms into a full-size bed (with the headboard doubling as a linen cupboard) where guests can sleep. The dining table tucks under a shelf when it’s not pulled out for meals. There’s even vertical storage for canvases for this Portland couple's teenage daughter.

Tasked with transforming a 93-square-foot brick boiler room into a guesthouse, architect and metalworker Christi Azevedo flexed her creative muscle. The architect spent a year and a half designing and fabricating nearly everything in the structure save for the original brick walls. "I treated the interior like a custom piece of furniture," she says.

Architect Philip Ryan placed fluorescent bulbs that mimic daylight in the ceiling alcove of his Brooklyn apartment. The glow reflecting down the walls makes the room feel more expansive.

Iason Vassiliou, Maria Voutsina, and their daughter, Angeliki, relax in a landing-level office at their apartment in Athens, Greece.