Home Renovation Tip: Get an Understanding of What’s Already Around

When not in use as the headboard, the large redwood slab folds down to become a desk.

The Tower House is made up of tiny houses, clustered at the southern end of the property and clad in white steel panels and western red cedar shingles. Spinning off the living room on the north side of the main house, the children’s study sits separate from the other pavilions. On its upper level, Oxley netting forms a web on which the kids and their friends can sit and read with views of the leafy street and garden.

“What often happens in our relationship is I come to Funn with an idea and he makes it into something livable.” —Vincent Kartheiser

This open-concept Amsterdam loft features soaring 15-foot ceilings, an Eames lounge chair and ottoman, and a Jielde light. Throughout the home, Standard Studio architects Wouter Slot and Jurjen van Hulzen favored raw materials, including concrete, oiled oak, and hot-rolled steel, all of which complemented the original space's industrial feel. Tucked smartly underneath the loft, a compact home office features functional built-in shelving and an Eames DSR chair.

Though Bruce has thus far only managed a week or two here or there on the island, he's hoping to make it a more frequent—and extended—part of his regular routine. "I'm thinking about going out for a month to write," he says.

In the living area of actor Vincent Kartheiser’s Hollywood cabin, redesigned by Funn Roberts to maximize every last inch of space, an Eames lounge chair and ottoman mix with a couch and coffee table by Cisco Home from HD Buttercup. The table in the main room is from West Elm.

Raising the bed above floor level, architect Kyu Sung Woo converted this tiny studio into an open and comfortable home for Wonbo Woo. Photos by: Adam Friedberg

Kartheiser’s private courtyard includes a covered seating area and fire pit, designed by Roberts.

To inform the color palette for this interior renovation in Stockholm, NOTE Design Studio began with three inspirational images. The sculptural fireplace, covered in plaster, contrasts with oak parquet floors.

Designer in Brooklyn, New York "The pieces in the space are a combination of industrial reclaimed finds and bespoke, often both in the same item. The cabinets were a vintage medical find, powder-coated and set up on welded stilts. The mirror was commissioned from Made In Chinatown. Ceiling color and texture came through lots of trial and error in order to avoid the heavily toxic and arduous process normally involved in staining concrete. The mezzanine sign which marks the space was acquired through a long chain of inside jokes from a friend—I'm still unsure exactly of its origins, possibly the bygone New York Subway signage system."

Uninterrupted cement flooring was chosen for the mezzanine. The cement extends to the bed and bathtub block, while the exposed ductwork and black beams above dramatically accentuate the ceilings.

A social creature who seems to know everyone, Loft J occupant Jamil Malone has hosted several "alcohol-themed" parties and manages to wedge as many as 20 people into his studio. The gatherings are like gallery openings, with the walls of Malone's apartment displaying a roving selection of locally produced art.

Roberts found the Montauk black slate, which he continued in a second bath.

The sofa is a Karlstad sectional from Ikea. The 1,400-square-foot home contains a master bedroom and two guest rooms.

Loft B tenants Melissa and Keith Bishop downsized from a 3,000 square foot space to a cozy 720 square foot loft. "We downsized our lives," Melissa says. "We streamlined."

Designer Paola Navone transformed a 200-year-old factory in Umbria into an inviting home for Andrea Falkner-Campi and her husband. Once a tobacco-drying plant, and before that a silkworm farm, the home sits 90 miles north of Rome.

By burnishing historic details and adjusting the floor plan, multidisciplinary studio Loft Szczecin restored and transformed a loft in a warehouse that dates from before World War II. The living room rug is a Polish textile from the 1930s.

Futuristic floating stairs lead to the loft’s mezzanine. Throughout the lower level, natural stone was chosen for the flooring, laid at an irregular angle to add visual interest.

Concrete stairs leading up to a sleeping loft are illuminated with wall sconces.

Kartheiser's courtyard also includes a dry sauna with a ceiling made from 2,500 pieces of wood.

“I believe that whenever you’re hiring an artist, and Funn is an artist, he’s going to do his best work if he’s trusted,” says Kartheiser.

The bed was designed to hang from the ceiling and can be hoisted up and pulled down as needed.

In addition to reconstructing an open living room, Loft Szczecin had to subdivide four smaller spaces to create privacy in the expansive warehouse.

“We took away a very thick, heavy staircase that led to the loft, and designed one that had a much lighter look,” Wåhlin says. “The new one, made of steel, looks simple and indeed light—but is in fact super heavy and was a real challenge to construct.”

He worked with Kartheiser’s existing appliances in the kitchen, trading the old cabinetry for new teak.

With a built-in sofa and sleeping loft, ATLAS can accommodate three adult travelers.

The main bathroom is only partially separated from the sleeping area by a glass partition. The absence of opaque walls creates a feeling of openness and cohesion in the bright mezzanine space.

In the newly built media room, lower ceilings and natural wood flooring make for a straightforward character shift. “We always liked John’s minimalism,” adds Dave, and even such slight differentiation ably signals the transition to the home’s more private spaces.

Structural changes were immediately made to the original shell to bring in more natural light. The small windows on the front façade were dramatically replaced with a folding window assembly that stretches the entire width of the room. Skylights were cleverly added slightly beneath the peak pitch of the roof to funnel light towards the mezzanine, while still illuminating the main floor below. Warm, rich iroko wood spans the ceiling and wall, and also extends to the seating bench beneath the window.

The building was built in 1910. "It’s a pretty raw space with rough exposed brick, barrel vaulted ceilings, original hardwoods, and exposed ducting," Greenawalt says. "We tried to use industrial materials—stainless steel, perforated steel, brick—in a more refined way for the kitchen."

A large OSB structure with skylights, a bathroom, an enclosed baby’s room, and a master sleeping alcove dominates Ryan and Showalter’s Brooklyn loft.

In most of the loft, the original wood flooring and the herringbone pattern of the vaulted brick ceiling have been carefully preserved.

Everything from lighting to curtains to video and audio can be controlled from a smartphone, enhancing the loft’s sense of effortless elegance.

To update the kitchen for this apartment in the Leather District, Chris Greenawalt of Bunker Workshop and contractor Michel Beaudry created a clean-lined space. The space is designed to accommodate the client's busy schedule, which affords him little time for cooking.