Modern House

Dining Table and Floors

The family can sit down to dinner at a refectory-type table under a bank of crystals and look through a 36-foot-long expanse of glass that faces the street. The house is set back from the street, but that doesn't stop passers-by from staring through its enticing expanse of windows.

Other missteps:

• The centrally situated dining table has become, Tina says, "a way station to the outdoors, collecting books, mail, and a variety of junk."
• The smooth-as-cashmere limestone floors were sealed and now have to be cleaned with distilled water (regular water turns the surface of the floors cloudy).