Though most of the home's interior comes without a splashy designer's name attached, the bathroom is kitted out with a toilet, sink, and bath/shower from Jasper Morrison's line for Ideal Standard. The cabinets are from an Ikea kitchen system.

The opposite wall of the kitchen features built-in Siemens appliances and concealed storage. The custom INTERIOR-iD cabinets feature mitered doors, and brass trim, which passes fluidly around the edge of the doors, terminating at the back wall.

The thrill of a home renovation can quickly be diminished by unforeseen circumstances, stretched budgets, and other unexpected issues. The good news is that most of the time these problems can be mitigated, if not avoided entirely, by keeping an eye out for warning signals. Read on as we go through essential home renovation tips to consider before kicking off your own revamp.

The staircase is about 46 feet tall from top to bottom.

A flat roof and all-white interior unifies the home's three volumes.

The Lais designed their house to be theirs forever. As such, they were able to make design moves that made sense for themselves but that wouldn't have high resale value, like the Japanese-style master bathroom in the middle of the second floor instead of off of the master bedroom. The traditional setup features bath stools from Muji for washing off.

Lassen designed all the furniture with the exception of a few items, like the vintage Chairman armchair by Henrik Tengler and white IKEA sofas. “To keep it simple, we only used natural colors from wood inside, with everything else being white,” Lassen says.

Turin designed the bed, console, and side tables in the master bedroom. The room gets plenty of illumination through the windows, which she had remade to match the 1925 detailing and covered in translucent Trevira fabric curtains by Rogers and Goffigon. “They provide privacy but lots of light comes through.”

The hallway’s matte-white paint is a crisp backdrop to refurbished details like the balustrade.

Marcus Lee and Rachel Hart’s wonderful wooden home sits at the end of a quiet London lane and politely turns its back on the workshops next door.

Corporate high-flyers and admitted neat freaks Bruce Thatcher and Kirsty Leighton couldn’t handle the chaos anymore. Read more about this Victorian terrace in London here.

Their design took four months to construct. And much like their later project on the same property, the Nest, the EDGE cabin features a protective, movable screen: when not in use, these white oak panels slide inwards to sheild the cabin windows and doors.

Fabian plays with Morten in the yard, which features a spacious lawn and a greenhouse.

Seen in the architectural context of its London neighborhood, the house is all the more extraordinary: compact, materially innovative, and easy on the eyes.

The formerly dark basement kitchen now feels much lighter, thanks to the addition of white oak floor boards, bright plaster walls, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in garden views.

On the opposite side of the veneer wall, a coat closet helps act as a space divider, while defining the entryway. Frequent collaborators, MWAI describes their relationship with INTERIOR-iD as “more fun than work." The architecture team treated the home’s custom pieces as “building blocks” to help define and partition space, while serving critical and specific functions.

Konishi and Gaffney's bedroom is fairly austere, though a pair of dormers let in lovely natural light.

The interior showcases the roof's laminated wood beams. A Panton chair takes the seat of honor at the dining table.

Pros: Concrete countertops are durable, resistant to heat, and can be less expensive than natural stone, especially when completed as a DIY project. Cons: Concrete must be sealed before being used; otherwise, its porous nature means that it will stain very easily.

“The client wanted an interior space where you could read the materiality of the building elements like understanding the ingredients in a recipe,” principal architect Elizabeth Webster explains. The extension features distinctly textured materials: an exposed timber ceiling, painted brick walls, and polished concrete floors. Warm lighting by Brinklicht unifies the space.

Architect Gregory Phillips connected the original house to a new modern extension that doesn’t interfere with the surrounding houses. “I try to be true to the location,”he explains, “so it doesn’t seem like some spaceship has landed.”

You may think that a library has to be its own room, but books can be stored and read just about anywhere. Lining a hallway with books turns it into a library that you’ll walk through, and be inspired by, every day. Cabinets below provide extra storage and even a place to sit and read.

The kitchen is situated in a sunken basement, underneath the staircase’s walnuts steps. The same joiner who built the house’s timber elements built the white cabinetry which are finished in a 40% gloss lacquer. Silestone countertops and integrated appliances maintain the space’s simple lines. Additional storage is fitted under the staircase.

Kaffeine Tozer refurbished the interior and exterior of this tiny retail space in Fitzrovia, preserving the existing shopfront and painting it jet-black.

This Nordic kitchen shows why white spaces aren't all the same. Frosted glass and veiny marble offset the milky Eames shell chairs in this photo from @tinashome.

In the kitchen, glossy white MDF and quartz countertops allow for maximum light reflection, as do the white walls and ceilings. The stools are from Zone Maison.

Completed in 2009, the E.D.G.E comprises two modules that contain the mechanical areas (including the kitchen and bathroom) joined together with walls of glass and white oak panels.

The flat is approximately 195-square-feet, forcing a level of economy in the design. This hallway leads to the entrance, as well as provides access to a storage room and bathroom.

In the flat’s living room, midcentury modern art and furniture harmonize with the rich floor tiles, opulent molded ceilings. and original pine wood doors. Prints by Gordon Matta-Clark line the wall near a 1950s Danish dining table that’s paired with Eames chairs. A painting by Kuuti Lavonen hangs above a pink chair and ottoman by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

Ethan Schussler built his first tree house at 12 years old. His tree house in Sandpoint, Idaho, sits 30 feet above the ground and can be accessed by an "elevator" consisting of a bicycle that, when pedaled, ascends a pulley system to the top.

In the kitchen, white MDF cabinets stow tools. A Lebanese cedar island and stainless-steel countertops provide ample work space—and a place to display treasured items, such as the Buono V60 drip kettle by Hario. The island features a Franke sink with a Vola faucet. The oven is by Siemens.

The architects’ two young children occupy this bright bedroom, furnished with Ikea beds. Another custom lamp illuminates the space.

The office looks out on the spacious deck.

The renovated industrial compound is clad in metallic bronze-glazed bricks from Modular Clay Product, which match the neighboring Victorian terrace homes. The reflective bricks change in appearance as the sun moves through the sky, but always echo the Bronze Casements by Vale windows.

Designer Christiane Hogner, Bruxelles

“We have described the house as an urban cabin and this captures the essential character we were seeking to achieve,” says architect Charles Thomson. “Because the plan is so tight, it was critical that every part was considered carefully. But we also wanted spaces that were simple and flexible to accommodate the typical range of family activities.”