"I fell in love with the look of this apron sink from Home Depot and built the design around that," says Jenny Wolf of the compact main bathroom in her family's East Hampton cottage. She transformed the 55-square-foot space from dark to light and from worn-out to shipshape, courtesy of whitewashed, wood-paneled walls and accents of "mixed metals." Wolf runs Jenny Wolf Interiors of New York and kindly detailed her sources. Here's how to re-create the look.

Above: The space is just big enough for a glass-enclosed shower and is shared by Wolf, her husband, and their young daughter. Lumber for the shiplap paneling—cedar five-inch planks on the walls and two-inch planks on the ceiling—came from Home Depot.

The Basics

Above: Kohler's Bannon Wall-Mount Cast Iron Sink is $693.83 at Home Depot, available online only.

Above: The Rohl Country Wall-Mounted Bathroom Faucet is $417.75 in polished nickel from Faucet Direct.

Above: Restoration Hardware's aluminum-framed Submarine Inset Medicine Cabinet opens to reveal glass shelves in a mirrored interior built into the wall. It comes in two sizes and is currently on sale starting at $515 (marked down from $735).

Above: Kohler's Memoirs Toilet is $324.56 at Home Depot.

Above: The Franklin light from Schoolhouse Electric comes in three finishes, antique black (shown), matte bronze (closest to Jenny's version), and polished nickel; starting at $79. She pairs it with a Silver-Tipped Bulb; $7 from Schoolhouse Electric.

Finishes

Above: Shiplap five-inch vertical wood planks are painted in Benjamin Moore Decorator's White; Ben Interior Paint starts at $37.99 a gallon.

Above: The floor is tiled with 2-by-12-inch Montauk Black Natural Cleft Slate from the Complete Tile Collection, laid in a brick pattern. Inquire about pricing.

Hardware

Above: Rejuvenation modeled its Classic Brass Coat Hook after a 1910 design; $20 each. Also consider Brass Hat and Coat Hooks, $6 to $8 each, from The Hook Lady.

Above: Not identical but a good choice for the room, the Onefortythree Tissue-Roll Holder, $30, is made by Logan Hendrickson in his Las Vegas workshop, Onefortythree. For more colors, see Top Brass: A New TP Holder for the Glamorous Bath and check out our roundup of Indie Toilet-Paper Holders.

Above: The Ashley Norton Windsor Knob in a dark bronze patina is available via Simon's Hardware; inquire about pricing.

Accessories

Above: Cotton Geo Hammam Hand Towels are $8 (marked down from $10) each at West Elm.

Above: Crate & Barrel offers Glass Canisters in three sizes; the small (shown here) is $16.95. A set of three (one in each size) is $59.95.

Above: The Cotton Woven Bath Rug from Restoration Hardware comes in four sizes; the smallest, 17 by 24, is $27 (marked down from $39).

See more of Jenny Wolf's work at Jenny Wolf Interiors. For more design inspiration and sourcing ideas, explore our DIY Bath issue.

And find small-space-living ideas in 13 Radical Tiny Cottages and 10 Houses Made from Shipping Containers.

This post is an update; it originally ran on February 3, 2015, as part of our Humble Abode issue.

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• Design Sleuth: Picture Light as Over-the-Sink Illumination
• Dadaist Dream: The Marcel Duchamp–Inspired "Fountain" Decal
• Steal This Look: A Color-Drenched Bath in Somerset

What's the best color for an accent wall, and which wall should I paint? Answer: Any color, any wall. The goal here is to have fun with color, and the permutations of the accent wall are endless.

One thing to keep in mind: Whichever wall you choose, a bold color will end up defining the room, so think first about how you want that space to feel.

Read on for 10 very different interpretations of the accent wall.

Above: A red wall marks the boundary of this open living/dining space featured in House & Garden.

Above: A coral-orange wall anchors a living room by Karhard Architecture & Design, featured in Laws of Attraction: A Paint-by-Color-Wheel Apartment in Berlin.  

Above: Bold yellow indicates spatial transitions in a Barcelona apartment by Sergi Pons Architecte, featured in 5 Favorites: Yellow Accents.

Above: French designer Caroline Gomez uses bright colors to great effect throughout her Bordeaux home, including a perky yellow-green in the dining room. For the rest of her color choices, see The Power of Pastels: A Color-Blocked Family Loft in France.

Above: A minty wall in a Berlin bedroom via Swedish/German real estate agency Fantastic Frank. 

Above: A sky blue half-wall defines the kitchen in the same Berlin apartment by Karhard Architecture & Design.

Above: Architect Jen Turner used Farrow & Ball's Blue Ground as an accent wall behind her bed in her renovated Brooklyn carriage house. See the rest of the transformation in The Architect Is In: Tips from Jen Turner's Grand DIY.

Above: Interior architect Remy Meijers used pale gray paint to define a room within a room in a remodeled mansion in The Hague. See more in History and Modern Glam in The Hague.

Above: A dramatic double-height dark blue wall in the Metrolofts project by Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory member Incorporated Architecture & Design. 

Above: Defined by a single black wall, a child's bed fits neatly under the stairs in A Whimsical Family Loft in Brooklyn: Whale Wallpaper Included.

Above: A white kitchen island stands out against a black back wall in this Paris loft by Septembre Architecture. For more, see A Place for Everything: A 900-Square-Foot Loft for a Family of Four.

For more color stories, see:

• 10 Favorites: Living with Shocking Color
• Remodeling 101: How to Choose the Perfect White Paint
• Rhapsody in Blue: A Roundup of Favorite Color Posts
• 9 Foolproof Ideas to Add Color to a Flower Garden

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• Living with the Litter Box: 12 Solutions for the Cat Lover
• Expert Advice: 11 Tips for Making a Room Look Bigger
• Table of Contents: Greatest Hits of 2015

We're a bunch of cat fanciers here at Remodelista—we love our felines, but not their litter boxes. Here are a dozen ways to conceal the dreaded kitty loo.

Fellow cat lovers: Please let us know if you've come across any genius solutions in the Comments section.

Above: Dana Miller of House Tweaking came up with a cat-box solution involving an Ikea Pax cabinet with an added side entrance; see the DIY at House Tweaking.

Above: Chicago DIY blogger Marti Palermo of Project Palermo hid her litter box in a closet—take a look at Cat Hole: Litter Box Closet Cat Door.

Above: In a Tel Aviv family apartment, architect Tula Amir came up with a clever solution: a cutout in the kitchen leads to a tunnel to a utility area where the cat box lives (plus a sprayer for washing out the pan).

Above: Belgian architect Bham Design Studio created this litter box niche under a stairway in a residence for a cat lover.

Above, L and R: In a Tel Aviv apartment, interior designer Liat Evron slotted a washer/dryer and a cat box under a bathroom sink console.

Above: A cat door under a built-in banquette provides indoor/outdoor access (if you added hinges to the bench top you could hide the litter box beneath it). See more of the London townhouse design in our post Platform 5 Architects Keep Books and Cat in Mind. 

Above L and R: A kitty loo concealed in a drawer and a climbing wall in a house by Japanese firm Asahi Kasei.

Above: For the tiny apartment urban dweller: an Ikea Stuva box with a hole cut in the back becomes an instant cat box/side table, an Ikea hack via The Gold Standard.

Above L: A litter box concealed in a utility closet by Klopf Architects. Above R: Designer and Canadian House & Home editor Suzanne Dimma says, "My signature design move for clients with cats is a litter box cubby configured into built-ins by a front or back door." Photograph via Canadian House & Garden.

Above: Designed by Elips Design of London, the Catteux Litter Box Cabinet has two separate compartments (the smaller one on the left is for supplies and the larger one on the right is for the litter box), a discrete side entrance, and tiny venting holes on top; contact the firm directly for ordering information. (For a similar solution built from Ikea parts—a Faktum wall cabinet, Applad white door, and Besta push opener—go to Ikea Hackers).

Above: An Ikea hack via Gizmodo: a combination kid's desk and hidden cat toilet made from a piece of MDF and a pair of Ikea lockers (with a cat flap inserted). 

Dog owners, take a look at Remodeling 101: How to Build a Dog-Friendly House. Also check out our gift guides for the Feline Fanatic, Part 1 and Part 2, and for the Dog Lover.

Worried about pets who eat houseplants? Read Gardenista's report: Will a "Poisonous" Plant Really Kill Your Pet?

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on March 19, 2015, as part of our Weekend Projects issue.

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• 10 Favorites: Accent Wall Ideas
• Expert Advice: 11 Tips for Making a Room Look Bigger
• Table of Contents: Greatest Hits of 2015

All of us at Remodelista have been trying to banish plastic from our lives for a while now, some more successfully than others. But without succumbing to containers with plastic parts, such as lids, how best to stow leftovers and kitchen staples? My clean-living brother, Rob, posed the question, and here are our answers.

Above: Julie has her eye on Kaico Enamel Canisters from Japan. Made of scratch-resistant enameled steel, they have a vacuum seal and range from $45 to $55 at Muhs Home. For more on the line, see Kaico Cookware by Koizumi Studio.

Above: As a longtime collector of old kitchen things, my pick goes to Anchor's Vintage Glass Food Storage lidded boxes made from the company's original 1932 molds. They can be heated in the oven and microwave, and they stack well in the fridge.

N.B.: Vintage glass refrigerator containers are plentiful on eBay and Etsy in a range of shapes, sizes, and colors, often for less than $10. Also notable but pricier: Vintage Jadeite Refrigerator Containers. Take a look at Martha Stewart's Collection.

Above: Megan uses Indian tiffin boxes as lunch boxes and also as leftovers containers—read her Object Lesson on the Trusty Tiffin Box. This Stainless Steel Two-Tier Mini Tiffin is $12 from Rodale's. 

Above: We singled out Weck Storage Jars from Germany in the Remodelista book as one of our everyday favorites. They come in a variety of sizes (a sampling from Schoolhouse Electric shown here, priced from $3 to $8). Sarah swears by her Weck collection for containing everything from last night's pasta to soup and dried beans. She also likes 16-ounce Ball Jars for storing food, and notes, "The Weck tops fit on the Ball jars too, so really useful."

Above: Designed in 1953 by Kaj Franck, these ceramic, Finnish-modern classics have been reintroduced by Iittala in colors to match Franck's Teema Tableware. Oven- and microwave-safe, Purnukka Jars are $31.75 for the 2.4-inch-tall size and $39.75 for the 4.7-inch-tall size from Panik Design.

Above: A tiffin spin-off, the stainless-steel Divided Airtight Container has four compartments and is 7 5/8 inches in diameter; $30 from Provisions.

Above: Another classic canning jar, Le Parfait Jars from France are currently available in the three largest sizes shown here, $8.95 to $15.95 at Crate & Barrel.

Above: A favorite of Megan's—and available at her shop, Ancient Industries—the Ice-Box Box, she says, is "for lashings of mash and peas," and ideal "for those who have no intention of ever attending a Tupperware party." Made by revived LA pottery Bauer, they're 5 3/4 inches in diameter, 2 1/2 inches tall, and designed to stack; $46 each. Bauer also offers the containers in 15 colors.

Above: "It's hard to find containers that are countertop worthy," says Janet. "I'm thinking about replacing mine with these Enamel Canisters by Riess." Made in Riess's century-old factory in Austria, they have ash lids with airtight seals and come in four sizes; $38 to $58 in white or green at Joinery. See more kitchenware by Riess in Object Lessons: The Pastel Enamel Pot.

Above: A great cling wrap alternative, Bee's Wrap is organic cotton muslin that's impregnated with bee's wax, jojoba oil, and tree resin—it warms to the touch and gets malleable and then stiffens and seals. Yes, it's washable and reusable. Cheryl and Janet both swear by it for wrapping cheese, fruit, and vegetables, and for covering bowls ("It's slightly adhesive; think Post-it note glue," says Cheryl). It's available in a range of sizes, including a Bee's Baguette Wrap. A good starter, Bee's Wrap in 3 Sizes is $20 from Provisions. The line is also sold directly by Bee's Wrap.

Read about a similar product in Justine's post Banish the Plastic Wrap: Bees to the Rescue.

Above: Portland, Oregon, studio potter Lillith Rockett makes these wheel-thrown Flat-Lidded Ceramic Containers of translucent porcelain with glazed interiors and unglazed, polished exteriors. For counter display and table use, they start at $130.

For more ideas, including some good-looking glass options with plastic lids, see 10 Easy Pieces: Food Storage Containers.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on January 14, 2015, as part of our Kitchen Secrets issue

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• 10 Easy Pieces: Utility Sinks

One of the best things about having friends who cook (apart from the obvious benefit of the great meals they whip up) is that you can learn so much from them. I have managed to add to my culinary skills over the years just from watching, or better still, cooking alongside such friends. When I received a copy of Heidi Swanson’s latest cookbook, Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel, I was taken with the way she had divided the book into recipes from different areas of the world. Each chapter begins with a pantry list of relevant ingredients, and it got me wanting to know more about her batterie de cuisine and what little tidbits I could learn from her kitchen. Although she has shared plenty of her ideas over the years on her website 101 Cookbooks, I was angling more for a behind-the-scenes look. With that in mind, I swung by the San Francisco home she shares with her partner, Wayne Bremser. Not so surprisingly, there were some good takeaways.

Photography by Heidi Swanson.

Remodelista: Your kitchen is pretty simple and spacious. You don’t have a lot of things in it, do you?
Heidi Swanson: Yeah, I like the kitchen as a blank slate; a place that evolves over time. I keep it as a neutral space that changes personality according to what's in season.

Above: A simple white space decorated with bunches of oregano, fennel in a vase, and a sprig of drying peppercorns over the window.

RM: Do you always have herbs on hand?
HS: I’ll keep whatever herbs I pick up at the market out on the counter, and they change a lot throughout the year. A friend just brought me some fennel, which I’ll use for cooking, and those are peppercorns hanging from the window. Sometimes there are four or five different bouquets around.

RM: Let’s talk about your marble countertops. I think you launched the whole white-marble-as backdrop look that's so prevalent on cooking sites. 
HS: The thing I get the most questions about is the marble. People are obsessed with the marble, and they seem really preoccupied with it being perfect. I don’t do any sealing, as I like to have it as clean and chemical-free as possible. I do pastry here, and if I do get some lemon juice on the counters they'll get some etching but I don’t beat myself up about it. There are two things I’m careful with, and that’s saffron and turmeric. Even with micro-drops, you’ll end up with yellow freckles. That’s really the only thing that I’m careful with—and maybe red wine, but we don’t really drink that much red. It’s not the end of the world if there are some etching marks. I cook in here a couple of times a day and I like a kitchen that is being used—it’s not meant to be a show kitchen. 

Above: Heidi's preferred pots include copper saucepans (L) and a clay bean pot (R).

RM: Go-to pots and pans? 
HS: Generally speaking, I am more of a fan of individual pots versus sets, and I try and buy individual pieces. I have a clay pot for beans that I picked up at Rancho Gordo (for something similar, see our post on Bram Clay Pots in Sonoma), and I love that it goes from the stovetop to the table. I mostly cook with de Buyer copper pans—they're super responsive and beautiful and I love cooking in them, but I’m not obsessive about polishing them; I like the patinas they develop over time. 

RM: Do you like your Viking oven?
HS: I’m not an appliance geek; the Viking came with the house and it’s been great. I expect appliances to do their job; I just want them to perform and work. I need it to be accurate and on point, which is really important when I am making recipes and testing. I do use a thermometer in the oven to double check the temperature to make sure it’s consistent.

Above: Heidi's go-to culinary add-ins at the ready.

RM: You refer to this corner in the kitchen as “the neighborhood of tasty bits and treats.”
HS: I have a few things around that allow me to throw together a quick-ish meal on a day-to-day basis. We are here in our kitchen a lot, but I also spend a lot of time in the Quitokeeto studio, so it’s nice to pack a lunch and then have something left over for that night or the weekend. These are things that I can just add to a bowl of grains or a salad. I like these crispy shallots that I just made that I can throw on a salad or, say, if it were spring and I brought some nice asparagus home from the market, I can quickly saute them, then flare them out with some toasted almonds and add a spice blend. I try to keep things around so I am not completely cooking from zero. 

Above: Heidi stores her spices in glass jars with pink washi tape labels.

HS: I like to store my spices in glass containers. It's better than a thousand spice baggies crammed in a drawer, but I do lose my battle with the spice situation. I pick up spices one at a time, so I've always got a bit of spice creep going on; bags of poppy seeds and sesame seeds, just whatever I’ve come across.

Above: Heidi keeps her knives out in the open, stored on magnetic knife racks that Wayne made. She likes the rack so much that she commissioned the Jacob May Bleached Maple Knife Strip, available on Quitokeeto. 

RM: Knife obsession?
HS: This Nakiri Knife is a beauty, and I use it a lot. It’s a Japanese hand-forged knife and I use it for vegetables. It’s quite thin so I can’t do a winter squash, and I steer clear of anything that may crack it, but it's great for so much. I’ll wipe it clean as soon as it’s done and put it aside. If I go somewhere, say to someone’s cabin, I’ll use the box it came in. 

RM: You have quite a pile of chopping boards.
HS: Yeah, I use them for cutting boards and as serving boards, and I’ve accumulated a few over the years. There are some Jacob May boards and one from Nikole Herriott and some others I’ve picked up. I love all of them and use them in different ways depending on what I am doing. 

RM: Do you have a specific board for garlic and onions?
HS: Ha, no way—that would never work here. I cook a lot with friends in this kitchen and I don’t see communicating that vision to whoever is here. People just grab what they need.

Above: A pile of mismatched linens, fresh from the dryer.

RM: Do you have any preferred linens?
HS: It’s a mixed bag. I’ll pick some vintage linens up at the Alameda Flea Market, and my friend Chanda gave me some. I don’t do matchy, and we use them, so they stain. If we sit down for lunch, I’ll literally pull the linens out of the dryer and I’ll fold them and put them right on the table; I’m definitely not ironing my linens.  

Above: Less is more when it comes to dinnerware.

RM: What about plates and dishes?
HS: I keep a collection of hand-thrown bowls and market finds, but I don’t have a lot of one thing. I do have enough to have people over. I am not into matchy-matchy, and I keep things for a long time. It’s not about accumulating things—I only add it if makes sense. A lot of things come from people I know, people I have a relationship with, like the ceramics and boards and some of the ingredients. It’s comfortable to be surrounded by these things and inspiring to work with them.  

Above: A collection of beans and grains stored in jars, with one jar devoted to remainders.

RM: How do you typically store your food?
HS: For beans and grains, I try to buy in bulk and I will put each different one in a jar—I use mostly leftover jars that I save for this use. Sometimes I have some stragglers left in a jar, so I started dumping my leftover beans and grains into a single jar. When it gets full, I throw together a soup. In a perfect world, I would cook the different beans individually, but say it’s a Sunday night, I just throw them all in together and cook until the one that takes the longest is done. 

RM: What’s in your fridge right now?
HS: Really? What’s in my fridge? Well, there’s some ancho chile relish and some orange tahini salad dressing. I always keep a salad dressing in the fridge that I can chuck on a quinoa bowl, or at this time of year I will roast some cherry tomatoes down that I can then throw on anything from a frittata to a grain bowl. They’re just good flavor additions. There’s some nuts I had out on the counter, but since I am not going to go through them I popped them in the fridge. I’ll do the same with grains. Yesterday I made some coconut rice. Since there’s only two of us, I’ll cook extra then freeze it and thaw out for lunch later. I’ll do the same with beans. If I have vegetables that I am not using immediately, I’ll prep them, then put them in a bag and use within a couple of days.

Above: Notes for an upcoming recipe lie beside a Nakiri knife next to the stovetop. The waffles are breakfast leftovers (made for Heidi's nephew, Jack) waiting to be turned into croutons.

RM: Do you always take notes?
HS: If I think I am going to develop a recipe, I do my best to make notes as I’m cooking. I never wait until after and try and reconstruct the process on paper. I also jot down things that resonate, like the great beet salad we just had, so I don’t forget. I’ll add little photos, too. Right now I'm developing a recipe for whipped green chile goat cheese, so I'm taking notes on that.

Above: A copper pan doubles as a sound amplifier for Heidi's iPhone.

RM: Any other kitchen tips?
HS: This might not be be very Remodelista, but if I’m here by myself I’ll listen to a podcast. Kitchens can be loud, so I’ll throw the phone into a copper pan and it acts like a speaker. When I’m at the studio, I’ll use a ceramic bowl. 

Above: Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel is the latest cookbook from Heidi Swanson and is available from Amazon for $16.49. We're giving away one copy to a reader; enter the contest on Gardenista here.

For more on Heidi, see our post on her prior book, Super Natural Every Day. To read about another food blogger/photographer, see our post on Beth Kirby's Kitchen Remodel.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on September 15, 2015, as part of our Urban Life issue.

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• Remodeling 101: The Viking vs. Wolf Range
• 15 Ideas to Steal from Vintage Kitchens
• 16 Tricks for Maximizing Space in a Tiny Kitchen, Urban Edition

A roundup of ingenious kitchen spaces—some no larger than a closet—that are minuscule yet functional (and full of ideas to steal).

1. Do Away with Cabinet Hardware

Above: Uncluttered countertops, lofty ceilings, and hardware-free cabinetry make this kitchen in the Villa Piedad in Spain by architect Maria Badiola seem larger; via Huh Magazine. We like handle cutouts as an alternative; for ideas, go to 10 Favorites: Cutout Kitchen Cabinet Pulls.

2. Use a Monochrome Palette (Kitchen Faucet Included)

Above: In Mischa Lampert's tiny NYC studio, even the kitchen faucet is white, creating a blank canvas. Photograph by Genevieve Garruppo via Lonny.

3. Install a Cantilivered Table

Above: A cantilevered table in the tiny Wroclaw, Poland, kitchen of architect Ewa Czerny of 3XA saves precious floorspace (one leg is better than two); via Architizer.

4. Consider an All-in-One Kitchen Unit

Above: A truly tiny Avanti 30-Inch Complete Compact Kitchen with Refrigerator at the Spruceton Inn. Photograph via A Journal.

5. Use a Tiny Kitchen Island as Room Divider

Above: In the Old Homestead in Provincetown, designers Kristin Hein and Philip Cozzi of Hein + Cozzi built a small kitchen island that defines a kitchen area without breaking up the loftlike feel of the space. See more at Low-Key Luxury: The New Old Homestead in Provincetown.

6. Choose a Skinny Fridge 

Above: A tiny kitchen by Ore Studios has a refrigerator that measures a mere 24 inches wide. See more at 5 Favorites: Skinny Refrigerators.

7. Make a DIY Wall-Mounted Wire Storage Rack

Above: Make a DIY $38 Wire Pot Rack That's Perfect for a Compact Kitchen via A Beautiful Mess.

8. Source a High-Style Folding Table

Above: The Table Plus from UK-based Magnet Kitchens offers an extra work or dining surface and includes storage space. The leather pockets are handy for stashing mail and magazines.

9. Think Like a Puzzle Maker

Above: A tiny kitchen by Mesh Architectures occupies a nook in a 300-square-foot art dealer's studio. Bonus points: The high-mounted oven includes a drop-down feature. See Remodelista's Favorite Space-Saving Appliances for Small Kitchens.

10. Build a Tall and Slim Bar Counter

Above: A tall, slim table serves as a seating counter in the tiny kitchen of Karlijn de Jong, via Lisanne van de Klift.

11. Install a Bar Sink

Above: Karin Montgomery Spath used a tiny bar sink and slotted in a two-burner cooktop to create a mini kitchen in an Auckland space. See more at Small-Space Living: An Airy Studio Apartment in a Garage. Photograph by Matthew Williams.

12. Hang Utensils on the Wall as Art

Above: A galley kitchen in London by Mlinaric, Henry & Zervudachi features walls of framed photographs and—ingeniously—kitchen implements either hung from hooks or mounted directly on the wall for immediate access.

13. Consider a Radiant Electric Cooktop Surface

Above: The look of this minimalist Stockholm apartment is streamlined by a smooth surface electric cooktop. Photograph via Design Attractor.

14. Use Vertically Stacked Subway Tile

Above: In a London apartment, architect Charles Mellersch tiled the walls in vertically stacked subway tiles to create a sense of loftiness.

15. Spec an Integrated Sink and Countertop 

Above: An integrated stainless sink/countertop in a revamped Oakland carriage house by Christi Azevedo provides a seamless work area. See more at A California Carriage House Transformed. 

16. Use Every Inch of Vertical Real Estate

Above: When Danielle Arceneaux overhauled her Park Slope kitchen, she added an additional shelf above her cabinets and gained space for displaying her bowl collection. See more at Reader Rehab: Danielle's DIY Kitchen Remodel for Under $500.

For more small-space living ideas, see Radical Downsizing: High/Low Mini Kitchens and Race-Car-Style Appliances for the Compact Kitchen.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on September 18, 2015, as part of our Urban Life issue.

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• Remodeling 101: The Viking vs. Wolf Range
• 15 Ideas to Steal from Vintage Kitchens
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What do you do when you're not at work? Brooklyn ceramic artist Suzie Ryu and painter/furniture designer Kana Philip both have demanding jobs by day—she does marketing for architecture site Architizer and he's the cofounder of just-launched content-sharing platform 8. At night, they create things for their online design shop, Trollhagen & Co. As for weekends, they can be found in Chatham, New York, making a dent on their DIY house remodel. Take a look at what they were able to accomplish in two weekends for just under $350. 

Photography by Suzie Ryu.

Above: Suzie and Kana arrive every Friday night to their 1930s house, known as The Schoolhouse because it has an 1812 school attached to it. ("The school was rolled down the road after the house was built," says Suzie.) They only have 48 hours there every week, but they manage to get a lot done. After setting up their bedroom, they opened up the 1980s kitchen in the main house by removing the dark upper cabinets and replacing them with open shelving and Ikea pot racks. They painted the lower cabinets white and left the speckled laminate counter and fixtures as is.

Here's Suzie's description of the open-shelf prep: "First we measured the length and depth we wanted. We decided to run two six-inch-deep boards across our brackets to have an approximate shelf depth of twelve inches. We knew we wanted to run one shelf along the whole length of the wall and have a shorter one running over the sink but not over the stove, so we took our measurements accordingly."

Above: The shelves are Home Depot pine boards that the couple painted with a roller for speed and then brush-finished because they prefer a handmade look. They used Home Depot's Behr Ultra Pure White paint in matte on the walls and shelves. (Suzie notes that in hindsight it would have been smart to paint the under shelves matte and the top gloss for easy cleaning.) The brackets are Ikea's Ekby Valter design in birch—a mere $4 each—and the hanging bars are Ikea's Bygel Rail (over the sink) and Grundtal Rail (over the stove) with companion Bygel and Gundtal S hooks.

Like the look? See our post Ultimate Budget Storage: 10 Kitchens with Ikea's Grundtal Rail System.

Above: The shelves are stocked with Suzie's own ceramics that she sells at Trollhagen & Co., including, on the top shelf, the Harvest Bowl, two-toned Saturday Carafe, and, on the lower shelf, Harvest Dishes and Porcelain Berry Bowl—all, alas, currently sold out. Stay tuned: The couple are at work on furniture and textiles for the shop and also plan to showcase some of their friends' designs.

Above: Vintage blue enamelware collected locally and white enamelware from Valley Variety in Hudson, New York.

Above: Suzie replaced the existing leaky faucet with a Glacier Bay Single-Handle Pull-Down Sprayer Faucet that she picked out at Home Depot—"it was $170, our biggest expense." She did the installation herself by watching YouTube videos on how to remove an old faucet and put in a new one (here's one she recommends).

In Progress

Above: The cabinets awaiting paint. They would receive two coats of brushed-on Behr Ultra Pure White in matte from Home Depot. Suzy and Kana like the look of the hardware-free paneled drawers and doors now that they're white and say they're holding up well.

Before

Above: The compact kitchen overlooks the sun porch, which Suzy and Kana turned into their bedroom. 

Above: The cupboard and vent removal took place over a winter weekend (during which three pipes burst), and the wall spackling, sanding, and painting the following weekend.   

See more DIY kitchen overhauls. 

• Abbey and Phil's Farm Kitchen Rehab for Under $500
• Reader Rehab: Danielle's Kitchen Makeover for Under $500
• Ikea Upgrade: Sarah Sherman Samuel's Semi-handmade Kitchen Remodel
• Ask the Experts: Kitchen Remodeling Advice from Jersey Ice Cream Company

And on Gardenista, read Michelle's kitchen wisdom in 10 Mistakes to Avoid When You Remodel.

N.B.: This post is an update; it originally ran on March 19, 2015, as part of our Weekend Projects issue.

More Stories from Remodelista

• 11 Money-Saving Remodeling Strategies from a Hollywood House Flipper
• The Shingled House DIY: Easy Burlap Shades (for Less Than $20 Each)
• DIY: Tea-Dyed Wrapping Paper from LA's Doyenne of the Perfect Present

Sometimes we're so busy looking into the future that we forget to revisit the greatest hits of the past. Here are 15 ideas from old-fashioned kitchens worth incorporating into your own setup.

Above: An enamel farmhouse sink with a drainboard provides space for washing and drying plus elbow room to cook. This one is in the Queens, New York, kitchen of Aesthetic Movement founders Jesse James and Kostas Anagnopoulos (the cafe-au-lait bowls are from their housewares line Sir/Madam). Source a vintage sink from a salvage dealer near you, or consider the 42-Inch Cast-Iron Wall-Hung Kitchen Sink with Drainboard, $995.95, from Signature Hardware. Tour this apartment in Calm and Collected. 

Above: An enamelware wall-hung soap dish keeps sinks clutter- (and slime-) free, and is also ideal for storing scrub brushes. See Julie's version in A Mini Kitchen Makeover, and source your own on eBay. Photograph via Martha Stewart.

Above: Store dishes tidily within reach in a wall-hung plate rack. For sources, see 10 Easy Pieces: Kitchen Plate Racks and Design Sleuth: The Stainless Steel Indian Dish Rack. Photograph via Fleaing France. 

Above: For sink-side hand drying, the roller towel on a wooden rack is ideal for kitchens, bathrooms, and laundries. Shown here, Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen's Wood Towel Holder (£28), and Roller Towel (£28 for two) from Labour & Wait in London. Ancient Industries sells a similar Wood Towel Roller for $45. See Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen Air Their Dirty Laundry.

Above: Work-of-art vintage stoves are the ultimate hearths. And they're often scaled to fit small kitchens. This one is at the Hudson Milliner, a B&B in Hudson, New York (see Steal This Look: Hudson Milliner Kitchen). Reconditioned vintage ranges can be sourced from Savon Appliance in LA, which specializes in Wedgewood and O'Keefe & Merrit (Julie once lived with a vintage O'Keefe & Merrit and loved it). Antique Appliances of Clayton, Georgia, is another source. For a list of vintage range dealers across the country, go to Retro Renovation.

Above: A boon for any kitchen, large or small: a pullout cutting board. Kitchen cabinet specialists Wood-Mode make a range of built-in storage designs, including a Pullout Chopping Block. Photograph via J. Ingerstedt.

Above: Isn't it time to bring back a little pattern underfoot? This black-and-white tile design is in the kitchen of the Hudson Milliner B&B. Note that gray grout helps hide the dirt. 

Above: The easy alternative to a root cellar? A classic hanging straw basket (with wide vents for air circulation), such as this one in Justine's Old Cape Cod Cottage. See Gardenista's 10 Easy Pieces: Onion and Garlic Baskets for sources. And explore Justine's house in the Remodelista book. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

Above: A British favorite that deserves to be discovered here: the pulley laundry drying rack positioned above the range to catch the hot air. This one is in deVOL's Shaker Kitchen. See Object Lessons: The Sheila Maid Clothes Airer for a history and sources. 

Above: In a kitchen by San Francisco architect Malcolm Davis, an open-to-the-outdoors California pantry is designed for fruit and vegetable storage. (See more at Steal This Look: Malcolm Davis Kitchen in SF.)

Above: When did the broom closet become a luxury? The perfect cleaning supplies cupboard, broom closets make perfect use of the narrow space next to the fridge. This one is in Jesse James and Kostas Anagnopoulos's New York apartment (see first photo).

Above: No need to go digging for a bottle opener when you have one waiting on the wall. Rejuvenation offers a range of vintage examples, including the Grand Prize Lager Beer Bottle Opener, $24.

Above: Old-fashioned, under-the-shelf cup hooks let you keep your mug handy (and on display). Photograph via Walnut Farms in East Sussex.

Above: A black-and-white checked floor somehow never looks tired. This easy-on-the-legs painted wood version is in Mark Lewis Interior Design's Tufnell Park project. See Steal This Look: A Classic English Kitchen for an Oscar-Winning Costume Designer.

Above: A working fireplace in the kitchen: the ultimate luxury? We think so; see more at A Floating Farmhouse in Upstate New York.

For more kitchen takeaway, go to:

• 15 Life-Changing Storage Ideas for the Kitchen
• 11 Design Details to Steal from High-End Bespoke Kitchens
• 14 Kitchen Storage Tricks to Steal from the Bathroom
• 11 Kitchen Islands Gone Glamorous

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on February 6, 2015, as part of our issue called The Humble Abode.

More Stories from Remodelista

• Remodeling 101: The Viking vs. Wolf Range
• 16 Tricks for Maximizing Space in a Tiny Kitchen, Urban Edition
• Secrets from the Swanson Kitchen, SF Edition

The offerings in professional-style ranges for the home kitchen have multiplied over the years, but two of the standard bearers still reign: Viking and Wolf. Similar in price points, features, and cooking power, they seem more alike than different. How to choose? It might just come down to the looks. 

As the first brand to bring commercial-type cooking equipment into the home, Viking has name recognition as well as a reputation for reliability and quality. Also known for high performance in the pro-style market, Wolf challenged Viking with a wider array of high-output burners and heavy-duty components. The race continues. Viking has upped its cooking power. And Wolf has introduced a few features where it once fell short, such as a self-cleaning oven.

Are you already a Viking or Wolf devotee? Share your experience in the Comments section below. 

Above: Viking was the range of choice in a kitchen by Commune. “We wanted it to feel like a chef’s kitchen, with a touch of the industrial,” the designers say. For a full view, see Steal This Look: An Exotic Tiled Kitchen by LA Design Firm Commune. Photography by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

How are Viking and Wolf ranges alike? 

Both are American made, offer gas and dual-fuel pro-style ranges in sizes from 30 to 60 inches wide, have self-cleaning ovens, burners with high BTUs, and are available with different burner configurations. Even Consumer Reports offers similar reviews of the two brands, praising their burner auto-reignition features and low-heat cooktops (a detail where big-powered burners have failed in the past), while criticizing the placement of the oven in relation to the floor (too low for both makes). And because their price points are comparable, cost is not a deciding factor.

Above: Remodelista's Francesca has a Viking in the galley kitchen of her Brooklyn townhouse (featured in the Remodelista book). She has cooked on both Wolf and Viking ranges, but prefers the latter. "The Wolf definitely lives up to its name: It's fierce, and powerful; maybe a little too powerful for me," Francesca says. "I have the Viking, which must have a lower BTU, but it's plenty for me. I've owned three Vikings and two are great, one has some quirks. I would buy a Viking again for the classic design and functionality." Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

What are some of the key differences between Viking and Wolf ranges?

Finishes

Above: Sick of stainless? Viking wins in this category. It offers ranges in a choice of colors, including black, white, red (shown here), burgundy, gray, and cobalt. Wolf ranges are available only in a brushed stainless finish.

Knobs

Above: Don't underestimate the power of Wolf's signature red knobs. Remodelista editor in chief Julie has a six-burner Wolf range in her kitchen on Cape Cod. "This is kind of embarrassing, but I bought it for the cheery red knobs," she says. That said "it's more than 10 years old and I think we've only had to service it once." 

Wolf ranges are available with red, black, or stainless knobs; Viking's latest knobs are stainless (black and white have been offered on some recent models). 

Warranties

Both companies offer strong warranties. The Wolf Residential Warranty provides two-year coverage for all parts and labor, along with five-year limited coverage on certain parts. Viking offers a Three-Year Signature Warranty with full coverage for all indoor cooking appliances.

Burners

Above: Wolf ranges have dual-stacked sealed gas burners with two tiers of flames: One delivers high heat; the other comes on for low-heat settings. Julie likes "the super firepower and the fact that it's easy to adjust the flame to a low simmer" on her Wolf range.

Above: Introduced in 2014, the Viking 7 Series ranges feature 23,000-BTU "elevation" burners with brass flame ports adapted from the Viking Commercial product line. They also offer a "VariSimmer" setting for even simmering at low temperatures. 

Do Wolf and Viking offer a variety of appliances?

Wolf and Viking seem to have differing philosophies when it comes to their product lines. In 2013, Viking became part of the Middleby Corporation, the largest food-service equipment manufacturer in the world. Since then, the company has introduced more than 60 new products. Wolf, meanwhile, is part of Sub-Zero, a third-generation, family-owned company that prides itself on focus: "While other brands divide their attention among everything from trash compactors to vacuum cleaners, Sub-Zero and Wolf remain committed to refining and mastering their specialties: the world’s finest refrigeration and cooking appliances."

This is important to consider if you're outfitting your entire kitchen and want to stick to the same brand for either aesthetic or cost reasons (some distributors offer favorable pricing when purchasing suites of appliances). But this can cut both ways. "The reason I got a Wolf the second time around was because we had other Viking appliances that were bad," says Michelle, editor in chief of Gardenista. "Those appliances soured us on the brand, even though we thought the Viking stove performed well."

Above: A Wolf range surrounded by Shaker cabinets (painted in Benjamin Moore Amherst Gray) in an LA kitchen designed by Martha Mulholland—see LA Story: Mix and Match Garden for a Spanish Colonial. Photography by Laure Joliet.

Which is easier to clean, a Viking or Wolf stovetop?

That's a point of debate here at Remodelista, but, truth be told, they're likely comparable: Both Wolf and Viking ranges now come with sealed burner pans that make cleaning easier.

Remodelista's Sarah lives in a house that came with a 30-inch Viking gas range: "Besides being great to cook with," she says, "I love the pullout tray beneath the burners for easy cleaning." 

When it comes to cleaning, I, too, had a good experience with Viking. In my Seattle remodel several years back, I chose a Viking range top with sealed burners, which, combined with removable burner grates, made for easy cleaning (and no fear of spillage creeping into unknown depths). 

Above: Michelle specced a Wolf range in her Mill Valley kitchen redo. (Read why she does not recommend putting in a marble backsplash behind the stove.) Photograph by Liesa Johannssen for Remodelista.

Michelle has had both a Viking and Wolf range. She put a Wolf in her recent remodel and admits to liking it better than the Viking in part because of the cleaning issues. "The stovetop on the Viking was harder to clean. I can't remember the exact configuration, but for some reason food and liquids were able to drip down the burner covers and get stuck around the wiring. Impossible to really clean," says Michelle. "This is not true of the Wolf. The Wolf burner design is really smart—the removable burner rings fit tightly and prevent drips down into the stove parts."

Where do I buy Viking and Wolf ranges? 

Sales of Viking and Wolf appliances are limited to dealers within defined geographical limits of the buyer. This means that they're not available for online purchase if you live more than a specified number of miles from a seller's location. Refer to the Viking dealer locater and the Wolf dealer locater to find the vendors nearest to you. 

Both Wolf and Viking have tools to help with kitchen design and inspiration. Viking has a free iPad App, while Wolf offers an online kitchen gallery and curated kitchen collection. 

Above: Last year Viking introduced the 7 Series, a new line of pro ranges for the home with features taken from the company's commercial line, such as elevated 23,000-BTU burners with brass flame ports, commercial griddles, and gentle-close oven doors, to name a few. The Viking 7 Series 36-Inch Dual Fuel Range is $10,839 through Viking dealers.

Above: The Wolf Dual Fuel 36-Inch Range (DF366) with six burners is $9,200 (or $10,180 with griddle or charbroiler option) through Wolf Dealers.

Are there other brands to consider?

There are so many professional-style ranges on the market that the burden of choice can be overwhelming. We've rounded up some favorites in different categories to help narrow the field. 

• Reduced-Size Ranges
• 7 High-Style Italian Kitchen Ranges
• 6 Chateau-Style Cooking Ranges
• 10 Easy Pieces: 36-Inch Gas Cooktops
• 10 Easy Pieces: Freestanding 36-Inch Ranges

Interested in outfitting your kitchen with American-made products? See:

• 13 American-Made Appliances, from Countertop Mixers to Ranges to Refrigerators
• 15 Made-in-America Kitchen Classics
• 7 Sources for American-Made Hardware
• Henrybuilt's Custom Kitchen Systems

And for another appliance comparison, see The Great Vacuum Debate: Miele vs. Dyson.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on March 12, 2015, as part of our California Cool issue.

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• 15 Ideas to Steal from Vintage Kitchens
• 16 Tricks for Maximizing Space in a Tiny Kitchen, Urban Edition
• Secrets from the Swanson Kitchen, SF Edition

"Reuse, restore, recycle" is a familiar mantra, but 25 years back, Amanda Pays was one of the early adapters. An actress turned designer (she's currently appearing in the TV series The Flash, revisiting a role she first played in 1990), you might not expect frugality to be central to her mission. But thriftiness without sacrifice is Amanda's longstanding MO: "I grew up in London and the English countryside. My father was a theatrical agent, but he also flipped houses as a hobby. He gave me the appreciation for saving old things and spending sensibly."

Amanda bought her first house in London when she was 22: "I paid £45,000 and sold it two years later for £185,000. Voila!" Since then, over the course of dozens of remodels for her own family and clients—and in the past 12 months alone, three house flips—she's figured out how to create made-to-last design without ever breaking the bank. Here are her secrets.

Above: Amanda and her husband (and fellow in-the-trenches house fixer) Corbin Bernsen, in the kitchen of an LA flip house off Mulholland Drive that they overhauled in three months. It sold the first day it went on the market. (Read about how the two collaborate in our Expert Advice post Corbin Bernsen: Star Handyman.) The light is the $195 Isaac 1 Pendant from Schoolhouse Electric. Photograph by Laure Joliet for Remodelista.

1. Buy as much as possible at flea markets.

"Never buy new unless you really have to," says Amanda. "When I first work on a project, I look for ways to use what's already there, such as windows and moldings. And when it comes to the furnishings, I start by pulling out things I already own and making new use of them. Then I shop at flea markets and swap meets—I like the monthly Long Beach Antique Market—and Habitat for Humanity ReStores.

Old things, in addition to being better made and more affordable than new, have more to say—they have soul. One item I'm always on the lookout for are old metalwork stools; I use them at kitchen islands, and I never pay more than $15 apiece. I also buy things like soap dishes and wall hooks when I travel. I'm eternally on the hunt. Recently, when I was filming in Vancouver, I returned home with a suitcase full of $4 steel bin pulls from a vintage hardware store called The Source. Our own kitchen has metal handles that we bought at the Rose Bowl: 50 of them for $25."

Above L: Amanda found these brass taps at a hardware stall in a Marrakech market. Above R: Antique brass hooks found at the bottom of a bin on a recent day trip from France to La Bisbal, Spain.

2. Build shelves from scaffolding wood. 

"Along with liking antiques, I like the look of old wood. But reclaimed timber has gotten to be expensive and overused. A while back, Corbin and I noticed our builder's old scaffolding boards—and he was happy to sell them to us for $10 a plank. We made several shelves (and brackets too) from each. They're all over our house. We even used them as stair treads. Builders, I've found, are happy to sell their scaffolding or trade it for new boards."

Above: The Jenn-Air range (from Sears) in Amanda and Corbin's own Studio City, California, kitchen is flanked by shelving and brackets built from scaffolding wood. The island was put together from two flea market workman's benches. "We added a stainless top and a shelf underneath," she says. "The whole thing cost $200." For a detailed tour of the space, go to "The California King-Size Kitchen" in the Remodelista book. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

Above: An antique dining table and €30 ($33) chairs (found in a wicker store in Las Bisbal, Spain) at Amanda and Corbin's family house in the Languedoc region of France, near where her mother and two sisters live. Amanda and Corbin have been slowly and cost-consciously renovating indoors and out for the past four years. Photograph by Camilla More.

3. Use drop cloths for curtains and slipcovers.

"I have a default for window treatments: I always make Roman shades from cotton canvas drop cloths that I get at Koontz Hardware. I like the ones that aren't too yellow, but I'm not picky. The shades are incredibly simple—you can get them stitched at a dry cleaner that offers sewing. I also use drop cloths for slipcovers."

4. Use pipes as curtain rods and towel rails.

"I never go looking for rods—whether for curtains or towels or closets or handrails. I like the look of plumbing pipe, and I cap it off with standard cast-iron pipe flanges."

Above: Amanda turned a shed into a bunkhouse for her four sons. It has drop-cloth curtains, shades, and slipcovers. Take a tour in Backyard Bunkhouse, Hollywood Royal Family Edition. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

Above: Corbin made this bedside shelf from scaffolding wood.

Above: The bunkhouse closets have pipe railings and hardware-store handles.

5. Find appliance bargains by buying on sale and in bulk.

"I don't buy fancy appliances, but I do buy reliable, good-looking ones. For a long time, I went to Sears and got great deals by purchasing a lot of pieces at once and getting bulk discounts—sometimes as much as 30 percent off. Lately, I've been going to Costco and Home Depot—I watch online for sales and strike then.

For flip houses, I generally stick to a $5,000 budget for range, hood, fridge, and dishwasher. It breaks down as $1,500 for the range (I just bought two Ancona Gourmet Series 36-Inch Ranges at Costco), $600 for the hood (I buy the interior and then build it out), $2,000 for the fridge (I like the industrial handle on this Stainless Steel Maytag French Door Refrigerator from Home Depot), and $800 for the dishwasher (such as this Maytag from Home Depot)." 

I don't put washing machines and dryers in my flip houses, but at home I spend a bit more on them because I have a big family, so our machines have to be workhorses. Ours are Kenmore Elite from Sears. Another source that I use to buy appliances as well as bathroom fixtures is Build.com—it carries everything and my builder has an account that gets us a 10 to 20 percent discount."

Above: Amanda and Corbin's laundry room has a Kenmore washing machine and dryer (both now discontinued models) from Sears. Learn all about the detailing in Rehab Diary: Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen Air Their Dirty Laundry. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

6. Shop at hardware stores.

"Koontz Hardware is my go-to spot for so many things: I find wall-mounted laundry faucets (great for kitchen and bathroom sinks), $99 chrome gooseneck faucets, old-fashioned galvanized steel garbage cans (for storing things like dog food), and, of course, piping, paint, and drop cloths."

Above: The laundry room sink, a refinished vintage design, came from Square Deal Plumbing Supplies in LA. It has a faucet from Koontz Hardware. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

Above: The room's ample storage includes ventilated shelves modeled after old British laundries and inexpensively made from narrow Douglas fir boards by Amanda's builder. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

7. Take a high/low approach to lighting. 

"I use lighting of all sorts, old and new. I like simple porcelain sconces from the hardware store and also often use Ikea's basic lighting (ceramic designs that don't have a lot of small parts). But I mix these with statement-making pieces: a splashy antique chandelier, a brass globe light. My favorite source is a place in North Hollywood called Practical Props, which sells restored vintage, reproduction, and new lighting—in 2013, it was voted the best lighting store in LA by Los Angeles magazine.

Above L: In a flip house she's working on right now, Amanda plans to splash out with Thomas O'Brien's Extra Large Hicks Pendant light, $798, over the kitchen island. Above R: Elsewhere in the house, she's using Etsy seller Ind Lights' $55 Brass and Steel Sconces.

8. Source stone at remnant yards.

"I love using natural stone, and I buy it affordably by shopping the way French chefs do—before planning anything, I see what's available. I go to stone yards and fabricators in the San Fernando Valley and look for marble, soapstone, and quartz remnants and returns. I find pieces of Carrara left over from a kitchen island that cost $80 and are big enough for a bathroom sink counter. In kitchens, I often balance stone, such as on an island, with counters made of Caesarstone—it's well priced, durable, and comes in a huge color palette."

Learn all about Caesarstone in Remodeling 101: Engineered Quartz Countertops. Also see our Remodeling 101 posts on Marble Countertops and Soapstone Countertops.

9. Use outdoor materials indoors. 

"I love placing outdoor things, like garden sinks and stone pavers, inside—they're priced lower than indoor materials and beyond rugged. Plus they add a surprise element."

Above: Amanda and Corbin's own master bath has a floor paved in Pennsylvania irregular blue flagstones (from Prime Masonry Materials), a vintage tub, and drop cloth Roman window shades. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

Above: Amanda turned a paneled wood box from a swap meet into a his-and-hers laundry hamper in the master bath. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

10. Apply stealth color. 

"Paint is well-known as the cheapest and quickest way to make over a room. It has the same impact as tile but is so much more affordable; and if you use semigloss or gloss, it's washable. All the elements in your remodel—floors, walls, countertops, hardware, lighting—have to come together. Once they do, I go in at the end of every project and add paint statements: a borderline in a quiet room, a color around a window frame, a band of paint instead of a tiled backsplash, a stripe on the bottom of the front door—a bit of wow."

Above: The two-toned WC is one of Amanda's signatures. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.

Above: Picking out a grout shade for a flip house bathroom. "I never spend more than $2 to $5 a square foot for tile," says Amanda. "And I love pairing basics, such as subway tile, with different colored grouts to make it more dynamic." Photograph by Laure Joliet for Remodelista.

Above: A yellow-painted exclamation point on Amanda's flip house off Mulholland Drive.

11. Stay on budget by resisting random splurges.

"When you're filling in the details for your remodel, you fall in love daily with unexpected things you suddenly think you can't live without. But if you only have so much to spend—or are already deep in borrowed money—it's important to set a budget and stick to it. Pin your pricey find, or a take a picture, then walk away—and keep looking. I guarantee you'll turn up something within your range that excites you just as much. Remodeling is a treasure hunt."

Above: After overhauling a house, many couples vow, "Never again," but Amanda and Corbin say, "What's next?" Photograph by Laure Joliet for Remodelista.

See more of Amanda's work at Amanda Pays Design, and take a look at our posts.

• Rehab Diary: Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen Air Their Dirty Laundry
• Backyard Bunkhouse, Hollywood Royal Family Edition
• Expert Advice: Corbin Bernsen, Star Handyman

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• Before & After: The $350 DIY Kitchen Overhaul in Two Weekends
• The Shingled House DIY: Easy Burlap Shades (for Less Than $20 Each)
• DIY: Tea-Dyed Wrapping Paper from LA's Doyenne of the Perfect Present

This week the Gardenista team revisits the greatest gardening hits of 2015.

Above: A look at the favorite plants of Charles and Ray Eames at the iconic modernist house in A Modern Garden: At Home with Charles and Ray Eames.

Above: Gardenista's 10 favorite succulents and the secrets to caring for them in 10 Easy Pieces: Best Succulents.

Above: Get the look of a 19th-century greenhouse with Hardscaping 101: Steel Factory-Style Windows and Doors.

Above: Macramé artist Emily Katz has an impressive collection of houseplants; see them in Still Life with Houseplants: Macramé Artist Emily Katz in Portland, Oregon.

Above: An 800-square-foot brick house in North London swaps a front lawn for a giant vegetable garden in Garden Visit: The Little House at No. 24a Dorset Road.

More Stories from Remodelista

• Trending on Gardenista: Xmas with a Foreign Accent
• 10 Easy Pieces: Firewood and Log Storage
• Trending on Gardenista: DIY Holiday Decor, International Edition

A new wave of entrepreneurs is taking on Ikea, cutting out the middlemen and offering flat pack furniture direct to consumers and, in some cases, at below-Ikea prices.

Akron Street

Above: The Draper Desk is $485.

Founders Lulu Li and Hansley Yunez named their company after the street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they had their first apartment. Their first collection of furniture is made of FSC-certified white oak from the Appalachians, and the furniture itself is produced in the Shandong Province in northern China. "We spent a lot of time finding the right manufacturer, and we're happy to be working with one that has produced for several prominent European and Japanese brands." Most pieces take less than 15 minutes to assemble and are shipped flat pack.

Artifox

Sarah Carpenter and Dan Mirth, the St. Louis–based founders of Artifox, are "devoted to rethinking home and office products; our mission is to merge technology with the art of handcrafted goods." The idea for the company came about after the two found themselves frustrated with the choices in office furniture; "the new mobile lifestyle requires products with multiple functions."

Above: The Desk01 in maple is made in the US from solid maple hardwood and includes a built-in mobile charging station, a storage cabinet for cables and drives, a removable powder-coated writing surface, and aircraft-grade aluminum hardware; $1,800 (it's also available in walnut for $2,000).

Above: The Standing Desk01 in maple is $2,000 (in walnut it's $2,200). The company also offers an elegant wall-mounted Bicycle Rack in maple or walnut for $250.

Biggs & Quail

London-based Will Biggs and Sean Quail met at school and have been friends and collaborators ever since. In 2013, "dissatisfied with poor design of mainstream furniture," they launched Biggs & Quail, a furniture company with "a focus on enduring quality, practicality, and elegant simplicity." 

Above: The full range, available from Biggs & Quail. Prices start at £175 ($258) for the Pyramid Table and Stool and go up to £1,250 ($1,842) for the walnut Chest of Drawers.

Above: The Midcentury Modern Coffee Table with hairpin legs is £250 ($368). 

Campaign Living

What happens when an Apple engineer who's worked on the design of the iPhone goes furniture shopping? Brad Sewell, the founder of just-launched furniture company Campaign, was a student at the Harvard Business School when he discovered how grim the marketplace is for midpriced furniture. Sewell left B-School to found Campaign, a flatpack upstart offering a three-piece suite of slipcovered furniture, with prices starting at $495. "We make furniture that lives, moves, and grows with you" is his company's mantra. "Clean lines, classic proportions."

Above: Campaign offers an Armchair for $495, a two-seater Loveseat for $745, and a three-seater Sofa for $995. Pre-orders will ship in November 2015; go to Campaign to reserve.

Above: The packaging can be reused when you move.

Greycork

Founded by an earnest group of RISD grads and a product designer, Greycork aims to provide you with a "living room shipped in a box," with pieces made of solid ash wood with foam cushions covered in polyester. The Greycork Living Room Set includes a sofa ($450) and chaise ($300), coffee table ($125), side table ($75), and bookshelf ($180). 

Above: The team describes the aesthetics as "Japanese American"; the pieces are constructed from ash and fiberboard, with polyester upholstery. To order, go to Greycork.

Whackpack Furniture

Bucks New University design graduate Brendan Magennis founded Whackpack Furniture in response to the "nomadic lifestyles and shrinking apartment sizes" of his generation. The furniture requires no screws or glue and can be assembled with "just a few hearty whacks of a mallet," he says.

Above: Using a Japanese woodworking technique called a "hell joint," Magennis designed a small line of tables and stools that be easily assembled (and disassembled). 

For more next-generation interiors companies, see Bedding Disrupters: Luxury Linens for Less, and Mattress Disrupters: 7 Upstart Companies.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on September 22, 2015, as part of our Fall Forecast issue.

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Madrid architect Camino Alonso compares her 290-square-foot prefab house to a Monopoly game piece. Designed for two—and portable, no less—it's so cleverly laid out that there's plenty of storage. Really.

If you have a spot to put it—and live within driving distance of the Madrid factory that makes it—you can buy your own tiny house. Prices start at €21,900 (about $24,000).

The secret to making the space feel airy? High ceilings. With its steep roof line, the house departs deliberately from the cargo-container look. After we spotted the design on Architizer, we had to take a look around.

Photography via Ábaton Architects. 

Above: Alonso, a partner at Ábaton Architects, based her design on the silhouette of the house piece in Monopoly: "It doesn’t belong to any certain culture, but anybody would understand it as a house," she told Architizer.

Above: The prefab gets delivered via flatbed truck and takes only a day to assemble. The design received Architizer's A+ Award for Living Small and Single-Family House.

Above: The facade has gray cement boards over a timber frame and works well in both natural and urban settings. In contrast, interior panels are whitewashed Spanish fir, and the frames of the large window and door are black steel. 

Above: Thanks to the pitched roof, the ceiling at its height is 11.5 feet. "We studied the proportions to make sure that the sensation when you're sitting in the sitting room is a sensation of being in a house," says Alonso.  

Above: A side wall is detailed with a center window that swings outward to open.

Above: The house features stealth storage, including built-in shelves and cabinets, and is available in a variety of floor plans, all with bath, kitchen, and bedroom. 

Above: The mini (but lofty) kitchen.

Above: Alonso's prefab is ready for delivery six to eight weeks after an order is placed. For more information, including options for solar panels and water tanks, go to Ábaton.

Would you like to live small? Some of our favorite cabins and cottages are tiny. For instance:

• The Studio Apartment, Garage Edition
• A Tuscan Cliffside Aerie
• Backyard Bunkhouse, Hollywood Royal Family Edition
• An Island Cabin, Sauna Included

For small-space advice, see Erin's 10 Tips for Living in 240 Square Feet and read her Survival Guide.

This post originally appeared on Gardenista on January 9, 2015, as part of the New Start issue.

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