The 675-square-foot model apartment, with its beige carpets, white walls and galley kitchen, looks like your standard new-build condo, but for the emergency pull cords and the motion detector over the entryway.

WSJ: Senior Living It Up

When in doubt, model-apartment designers build pieces themselves.

WSJ: The Art of Designing Luxury Model Apartments

For example, Rachel Lee Hovnanian's piece "LA Lights, " part of a series of full-length mirrors with a pointed sense of humor, has appeared in a model apartment used to show off the units' amenities.

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