The bedroom is located on a mezzanine just below the roof of a church. The minimal decor and simple arrangement of the room reflect the client’s modest tastes. The small pewter spotlights and pendant by Holloways of London connect to an exposed galvanized conduit that is set against the brick above the bed.

This home in a former Chicago church fully utilizes an original stained-glass window in its light-filled kitchen.

The Trues host parties in the glass-walled structure, located steps from their vacation home, or they escape to it to catch some rays and read a book. Bill reclines on cushions hidden under the reclaimed-fir floorboards that are propped up with Sugatsune hinges.

On Vashon Island, about 20 miles southwest of Seattle, architect Seth Grizzle designed a 440-square-foot multiuse structure for his clients Bill and Ruth True.

Upstairs is a sleeping loft, accessible by a spiral staircase. A digital projector makes it possible for the couple to watch movies against the opposite wall.

"When I was furnishing the place, I made sure it’d also be a good place for art," Judin tells FvF. "After that, I considered my other passions: cooking, for example. My kitchen is the heart and center of the house."

When he moved in, Judin noticed that his existing furniture fit right into the new space—many pieces are also from the '50s. See more images here.

Because this house, in a converted 19th-century Singapore shophouse, is narrow and long (16 by 68 feet), the design team decided to create a huge open-air space to light the interior naturally. Two retractable motor-driven canvas canopies shelter the space during Singapore’s frequent rains. Photo by Richard Powers. Learn more about the challenges of the renovation.

Converted Gas Station (New Orleans, USA) For those journeying to the Crescent City, this may be the perfect place to refuel. The 2,000-square-foot station turned open loft space in Bayou St. John has been retrofitted with gas station-chic furnishings (sconces made out of headlights, drawer pulls created from hood ornaments) and boasts a hot tub and a rooftop deck. It’s self service, but it’s unlikely many guests will complain. Listing at Gas Station Modern Renovation Look

With the free-floating birch pod defining the space, and the massive Venetian chandelier accentuating the volume, the great room is, indeed, great. The Suarezes wanted the living area to be a place where the family could be occupied individually while still together. Bonnie works in the kitchen while Santiago (seated on an IKEA couch borrowed from one of their sons until they find something else) works on the computer.

The undulating white-cedar door is a replica of one Santiago admired at a sushi bar in Japan.

Church, who specializes in robotic assisted surgery, is also a skilled knitter.

A new office sits at the front of the house, and its moody walls and bookshelves contrast the other rooms' mostly light and neutral palette.

Chickens foraging in an enclosed garden with vertical planters.

Completed in May 2018, the Crossfield Street House is the residence of architect Jonathan Pile, his wife Katherine, and their five-year-old son.

Referencing the First Presbyterian Church’s slate roof, 12 + Alder makes nice to its divine neighbor.

This couple makes good use of limited space by using the front loft of their weekend home for both work and play.

In this updated 1950s Portland home, a light gray Neo sofa by Bensen harmonizes with warm wooden walls, ceilings, and floors, as well as a red-and-mustard-yellow vintage rug.

The box-shaped extension plays off the familiar farmhouse typology, creating a series of intriguing contrasts.

A painting by Ginger’s grandmother hangs above a midcentury dining set Ginger found on Craigslist.

A modular shelf system by Alu provides a more sculptural take on the classic bathroom vanity in this Toronto home.

Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand, and Pierre Jeanneret designed the LC4 Villa Church lounge for Cassina.

Image converted using ifftoany

Linda Taalman and Alan Koch, of Taalman Koch Architects, completed work on their glass iT House, a lovely, minimal home that tests the limits of living lightly on the land in the desert near Joshua Tree National Park. The bath and basin in the bathroom are by Duravit, and the orange wall is by Three Form.

Detail of the kitchen

The most dramatic view in the apartment, the First Presbyterian Church looms large in the Kovel living room.

The bathroom features white ceramic glazed penny tile and a Duravit toilet with a custom vanity.

Trinity Church, Boston, Massachussetts (1877) H.H. Richardson, a singular individual who made a practice of wearing monks' garb on a daily basis, created the Trinity Church in a style that became known as 'Richardsonian Romanesque'. The structure's rounded arches, broad earthbound tower supported by four piers, and articulated masonry, signaled an optimism and exuberance for solidity that has been repeated in churches and civic buildings across America.

The reinforced-concrete Church of St. Wenceslas, completed in 1930.

St. John's Lutheran Church.

Richard Meier, Jubilee Church (1996) American architect Richard Meier won a design competition held by the bishop of Rome to create a church for the far suburbs of the Italian capital. Meier’s design recalls ships in a harbor, with three airy sails of self-cleaning concrete fanning out from the main chapel. Most miraculous, perhaps, is that the company that developed the special concrete for this project suggested that the material actually fights pollution and absorbs noxious chemicals in car exhaust. Photo courtesy Jeffrey Montes, Creative Commons

The Jubilee Church in Tor Tre Teste, Italy, 1996-2003. (Copyright Scott Frances) “White is the most wonderful color because within it you can see all the colors of the rainbow. The whiteness of white is never just white; it is almost always transformed by light and that which is changing; the sky, the clouds, the sun and the moon.”

Seeking more space and a connection with the city, an artist and a designer turn an old Toronto storefront in Dundas West into a home and studio. Photo by Naomi Finlay.

A look at the small reading nook located on the level between the bedroom and ground floor.

Maldonado's interior design at The Deacon in Philadelphia, converted from a 1906 church.