For 2, 000 years prior, China's villages had experienced remarkable continuity: Their wooden buildings were maintained by master artisans who had intimate knowledge of carpentry, lacquer, paint pigments, resins and textiles.

WSJ: Ancient Village Rises in Shanghai; The Shock of the Old

The couple removed and replaced the home's parabola-shaped roof, stripped away dozens of layers of paint, ripped out a prior owner's black Formica bathroom, reverted the master bedroom to Mr. Lautner's original floor plan and redid a guest bedroom.

WSJ: Modern Homes: Reviving a Hollywood Icon

Gone all weekend, we returned to a downstairs master bedroom whose walls looked like a Salvador Dali painting, water cascading behind bubbled-up paint.

FORBES: Social Media Still a Poor Substitute for True Business Networking