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Architectural Digest •

This Prewar Apartment in Brooklyn Is a Sun-Kissed Postcard From Sweden

Jordan and Ethan Green remember everything about their first visit to what would become their next home: the spectacular ceiling height, the abundance of light, and the oak floors, still in great condition. “There was an aura of calm that we just couldn’t find anywhere else,” says Jordan, a strategy consultant, about the Brooklyn apartment, situated in a prewar building that once served as the headquarters for the Bell Telephone Company. For the couple, who both work long hours, mostly in the of...
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An Interior Designer’s LA Spanish Revival Evokes Her “Offbeat Chic” Aesthetic

Interior designer Julia Sobrepeña King is a firm believer in enjoying the chaos before the calm. “I’m an obsessive researcher, so I end up having to sort through lots of ideas and images before choosing a direction,” admits the AD PRO Directory member and founder of LA- and San Francisco–based full-service design firm Studio Roene. But last year, when it came time to redesign her 1920s pied-à-terre in LA’s Carthay Square, the frenzy, admittedly, reached a new standard of epic proportions for the...
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A Circa-1915 Minnesota Kitchen Steps Into the Light

“Dinged-up.” That’s how Cheryl and Cody recall the condition of their circa-1915 St. Paul, Minnesota, bungalow the first time they set foot inside a few years ago. Nonetheless, the couple—who share two kids, a dog, and some chickens—deemed it not too shabby. They saw it as an upgrade from their existing 900-square-foot condo and the perfect size for their growing brood. Convinced it was the right move, the couple decided to call off all bets and make an offer. “We loved the historic charm of the...
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A “Haunted” 860-Square-Foot Casita in Spain Gets a Colorful Second Life

Antonio Montilla isn’t scared of ghosts. “I’m intrigued by strange things,” admits the Spanish-born, London-based architect and furniture designer, who put his spooky side on show last year when scouting around for a pied-à-terre in Marbella, Spain. “The estate agent called it the ‘Horror House,’” he says of his current abode. “Apparently no one would spend longer than five minutes inside.” So obviously, he set out to be the exception. The longer-than-five-minute search paid off, because it gave...
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Inside a 340-Square-Foot NYC Apartment Full of Secret Storage

The architect Andrew Magnes likes to think he knows his neighbors, but it took him a soup-to-nuts home remodel for a long-time friend—a whole neighborhood away—to realize he might not know some as well as others. “Or not at all,” says the founder and principal of his Brooklyn-based architecture firm (AMA). “When it was time to bid out the project [to a general contractor], we came across Petro Benedyk from Stroybat. I had never met Petro, and I remember receiving his proposal and seeing that the...
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Inside a Century-Old LA Home Where the Sun Never Seems to Set

If there’s one thing Alex Anderson and Aaron Kravitz swear by, it’s the power of instinct. Ask the couple how they came to be Angelenos and they explain that it was thanks to a stroke of serendipity. “We never meant to move,” says Alex, who works in the creative field. “We started our home search here for fun after feeling priced out in San Francisco.” All virtually, mind you.
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This Eclectic London Home Nods to Its Owner’s Greek Heritage

James Arkoulis doesn’t take no for an answer, at least not in matters regarding his home. When the London-based interior designer and cofounder of interior design studio Howark Design couldn’t find a bathtub to his satisfaction, he decided to design one himself, lying supine day after day in an attempt to paint on the perfect floral details. The bathtub, of course, is merely a metaphor for his mind. He admits he never tires of reinventing, as was the case during the remodel of his and his husban
Architectural Digest •

This 590-Square-Foot Apartment in Poland Is a Midnight Blue Dream

Michal Pacułt has a knack for making the best of a bad bargain. When the Polish entrepreneur bought his first apartment (a 350-square-foot pad on the third floor of a Kraków high-rise), it didn’t matter that it was a tad too low for his liking. He reasoned that it was a matter of time before he moved some place higher (and happier). So when he found a top-floor flat in the same building not long after, he discounted its shortcomings and purchased it anyway.

Michal soon discovered surprises he h
Architectural Digest •

This 968-Square-Foot Seaside Home in Poland Is Full of Colorful Surprises

Owning a summer home on the Polish coast had always been high on Agnes Berchem’s wishlist. But the Poland-raised, Luxembourg–based art collector and curator, who runs art gallery Galerie 39 alongside her husband, Remy, was wary of committing to just anything. (“Seaside or nothing” was her motto.) So when she found something by the sea in the northern Polish town of Puck, with room for the couple’s art at that, she took it as a sign (or two) from the universe. “It seemed perfect,” recalls Agnes.
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This 753-Square-Foot Apartment in Rome Is a Mediterranean Oasis

Italian interior designer Mirta Ottaviani is all for bringing a home into the present, but not at the cost of undoing its past, especially if said past includes framed vintage Vogue covers and a floor of entirely pink Portuguese marble. “Those are honestly the first things I noticed,” says Mirta of the 753-square-foot 1960s apartment in Rome’s Farnesina district she was recently entrusted to redesign, admitting, “I just couldn’t take my eyes off them.” As she later learned, she didn’t need to. T
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This 500-Square-Foot Trailer in Malibu Is a Warm and Woody Cocoon

Jason Osni, the founder of cannabis brand Old Pal, was never supposed to move into another trailer. The plan was to have his partner move into his old one, never for them both to move someplace new. “This is Jason’s third trailer in Paradise Cove, and he really only bought it because someone made an offer on his previous one,” says his partner, Amy Roberts, an editorial lead for a food and wellness company. Mind you, Jason didn’t initially take the offer seriously. “He told the realtor he’d only
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This 800-Square-Foot Basement Turned Into the Ultimate Weekend Hideaway

For many years, architect couple Jenny and Jeff Guggenheim dismissed the lower level of their Portland, Oregon, abode as an ugly (and unnecessary) appendage. “When we bought the home, we knew the basement was a huge asset but it was so far gone that we just shut the door and ignored it,” says Jenny, who makes up one half of Portland-based Guggenheim Architecture and Design Studio (her husband makes up the other). Designed as an apartment sometime in the late 1960s (complete with an indoor charcoal rotisserie!), the basement had lost its sheen over the years and largely stayed “out of sight, out of mind” for the string of homeowners that followed (it was mainly used for storage). That is, until 2020, when a major plumbing issue prompted the Guggenheims to pivot. “We realized it was a great opportunity to reclaim the space for an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and turn what was a dark, dank space into an expanded living area for our family,” Jeff reflects of the space built along with the rest of the home sometime in the 1940s.
Architectural Digest •

This Washington, DC, Town House Dials It Back to the ’90s

For one Washington, DC, couple, both in their early 30s, being stuck at home during the pandemic prompted the making of some major life decisions. “Both our jobs went fully remote. At the time we were living in a small two-bedroom and wanted to have enough space for us each to have our own office,” says one husband, who works in employee advocacy. No sooner had the quarantine rules been lifted than they approached AD PRO Directory member and interior designer Zoë Feldman of her eponymous DC-base
Clever by Architectural Digest •

Inside a West Village Apartment That Maximizes Every Square Inch

For one New York couple, finding the perfect apartment in the West Village was easier said than done. “We couldn’t find anything we liked,” says the wife. As she recalls, everything was either too old (hello dysfunctional layouts) or too new (think white here, there, and everywhere), and there was no finding an in-between. So when they chanced upon their current abode, a two-bedroom brownstone apartment in a time-worn building, they committed to look past its awkward laundry room layout, dated b
Architectural Digest •

This 1950s Los Angeles Home Is a Sanctuary for All Seasons

More often than not the best things in life happen when you least expect them. Or as one Los Angeles couple puts it: “when you’re out of town with zero cell phone reception.” Their current home, a two-story 1950s abode in the heart of sunny Brentwood, was a lucky find. “We never even visited. One of our parents went and saw the place for us and walked us through it via a spotty FaceTime. Lo and behold, we placed an offer the same day,” says the wife.
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This Couple’s Colorful, Pattern-Rich San Francisco Home Is Designed to Last Forever

The thing about living in an old property with great (if worn-out) bones is deciding when and how to give it a new lease on life. For one writer-photographer couple in San Francisco, the tipping point was the near death of their kitchen, which, as interior designer Christine Lin puts it, was, “shall we say, nonresponsive.” The Shingle-style house dates to 1906 and the couple, empty nesters with adult children, have lived in one of its three flats for years. “They really love the place and it is
Clever by Architectural Digest •

This Interior Designer’s LA Bungalow Perfectly Embodies Her Maximalist Spirit

Francesca Grace is a city girl, but the kind that owns chickens, rides horses, and spends her free time scouting out the next swimmable lake. “I’m a grandma at heart,” says the interior designer, who also double-hats as a home stager under her eponymous brand Francesca Grace Home. One look inside her 1920s-inspired Silver Lake, Los Angeles, bungalow, and you know she isn’t wrong. “My last home was an actual 1920s build, but I was forced to say goodbye because the floorboards were falling apart,”
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An Artist Couple Transformed Their Century-Old LA Home Into a Colorful Work of Art

If history is anything to go by, Devon Oder and Adam Miller redecorate best under pressure. The year 2015 was when the LA-based artist couple first put the theory to the test. As newly expectant parents and newly minted homeowners of a circa-1932 home in LA’s Eagle Rock neighborhood, they were determined to renovate and move in before the birth of their baby. But their son, River, had other plans. He arrived early, and Adam moved in by the skin of his teeth while his wife and son recouped in hos
Clever by Architectural Digest •

This California Kitchen Is Like a Quaint Postcard From Italy

Though the whole home was in need of some TLC, it was clear that the kitchen needed it the most. The layout was cramped and closed it off from the living and dining areas. “We didn’t have the space or setting to host people here,” Ashley shares. The solution was clear—the walls had to go. And so they did, thanks to architect Steve Souder and interior designer Leah Vitrano, who stepped in to help the couple overhaul the space. “I remember one evening, while sitting in our previous kitchen, Steve
Clever by Architectural Digest •

This 1960s Atlanta Kitchen Keeps the Sunshine Close

There are two kinds of people in the world—those that love a turnkey home, and those that don’t. Ryan Abrams is a faithful member of the latter club. So much so that when he was hunting for a home in east Atlanta a few years ago, his main condition was finding one that was completely untouched. “I saw a lot of renovations that felt like easy flips, with poor paint and tile choices, and unfortunate layouts. When I saw this house, I immediately saw possibilities. It was nice to be able to make it
Clever by Architectural Digest •

This 100-Year-Old Brooklyn Town House Gets a Luminous New Kitchen

While other parts of the home were in great shape, the kitchen was a disaster. Situated inside a dingy shed-like addition between the living room and backyard, it was the exact opposite of what the couple had in mind. But, adding access to more sunlight would mean losing walls. So to help them build something better, the couple reached out to architect Alexandra Burr of AlexAllen Studio, whom they’d met through a mutual friend.

The end results is a light box—330 square feet of kitchen and dinin
Clever by Architectural Digest •

Inside a Whimsically Renovated English Apartment That’s Probably Not Haunted

Interior designer Sophie van Winden lives alone in her apartment in Margate, England, but she might not be the only soul that inhabits the place. “This area has many mediaeval crypts. The plumbers had to spend a fair bit of time under the floorboards sorting out all the pipes. One day they found a Victorian children’s pram, all rusted and bent. They were terrified!” she shares, insisting that despite the discovery, she is fairly (but not completely) certain that the home isn’t haunted.

Not that
Clever by Architectural Digest •

This Swedish Island Cottage Grows Out of the Woodland

This is a Stockholm story about the island of Torö, to be precise, although it begins on the mainland where one family—a couple and their kids, aged five and one, and one partner’s mother—is based. Tired of the city and desperate for a mid-pandemic respite, they set their sights on creating a year-round vacation home someplace slower, but in a sustainable, ecological, and cost-effective way. They found their answer in a 1970s two-bedroom cottage situated at the highest point in Torö, an isle on
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This 800-Square-Foot West Village Apartment Is a Colorful, Shapeshifting Space

Interior designer Juan Carretero isn’t one to settle, least of all in matters regarding his home. So when he came out of a nearly 20-year-old relationship and moved out of the home he shared with his ex-partner, finding a rental in Manhattan he could use as a pièd-a-terre (he had already established a primary residence in upstate New York) was top priority. It was an exercise easier said than done, and the more apartments he visited, the more disillusioned he became. “I toured dozens of dismembe
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