Love It or Hate It? Tile Countertops

Only glass separates Farmer and Kozely from their backyard (and Celtic cross reproduction) when they shower. The shower floor is ipe wood; the walls are covered in one-inch-square travertine mosaics.

Pastel blue tile and Driklolor paint in the soft, pink Pillow hue add a touch of playfulness to the kid’s bathroom. A Flower Pot pendant light from Verner Panton hangs above the round mirror and wall-mount faucet.

Original blue tile lines the counter and backsplash in one of the two bathrooms.

“It’s kind of a moody, dark bathroom,” says Tang. An inset walnut mirror custom-designed by Tang mingles with zellige tiles by Mosaic House. The vanity sconces are theater wall lights from Germany by Cosack, sourced via 1stdibs.

Grey describes the patina process for the faucet and shower fixtures: “You get unfinished or un-lacquered brass, and then you boil vinegar and dip them in there. Then I put it in a bag with an egg and let it sit out for a couple of weeks. Then I opened it up, which was pretty disgusting, but it did the trick.”

One of the home's bathrooms features wallpaper from Etsy retailer AwallonDesign.

Spanish firm Gon Architects and designer Ana Torres renovated this 69-foot-long Madrid flat to include a yellow-tiled bathroom, salmon-hued bedroom reading nook, and bright-blue kitchen stand. The home’s colorful corners are tied together by white passages and subtle wood floors.

The color is repeated in the main floor’s guest bathroom, adding an unexpected twist to basic white tiles. “Everyone has black or white grout,” says Marc, “but red is different and goes with the ’60s theme of the house.”

For the redesign of a 430-square-foot flat built in the 1970s, Madrid firm BURR Studio integrated all the main facilities of the home into a central core. “The toilet is the only element that can be isolated,” notes the firm. “The rest of the areas merge into one another so that the tenants essentially sleep in the bathroom, as well as shower in the living room.”

An architect by profession, Roche removed as many partitions as he could when recasting the apartment’s interior, preferring transparency. He custom-made the red room divider from bungee cords.

Keep the Home Fires Burning Using wood for heat and energy keeps the Wadhams’ environmental footprint small and helps avoid the use of coal- or nuclear-powered electricity. Come winter, the couple relies on an Esse wood-burning stove for cooking, heating, and feeding a set of small radiators. In summer, they use the stove’s electric component, which is powered by solar energy.

Delicate attention to detail and bespoke elements defines the kitchen.

Cornflower blue hexagonal tiles form the backsplash in this blue kitchen, where the tiles continue onto the countertop (often a great way to save on your budget), which is edged in copper. The blue cabinets are a solid color in contrast to the variegated tones of the tiles.

The original kitchen, complete with Krisel-designed pegboard cabinetry, remains in place.