Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Price: $279,000

The midwestern city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is hardly at the top of the list of design-oriented cities, but that hasn't kept the industrial and product designer Joey Ruiter from setting up shop there. Part of the draw is certainly the affordable housing stock, like this $279,000 ranch house that Ruiter transformed with a slick monochrome design. Mixing the charms of the midcentury original with a futuristic kitchen, a hypermodern bathroom, and black-and-white super-sized wall graphics, this place is a diamond in the rough, nevermind the two acres of wooded land, three bedrooms, and a three-car garage.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.