Sometimes all it takes is a little luck. For a young married couple, it came in the form of this rare find: a 19th-century, three-story, single-family home in the heart of Paris. The building was a charmer with good bones, but was in need of some serious care. In a vibrant retrofit by architect Pierre-Louis Gerlier that includes structural reinforcements, the reimagined design is set off with a new floor plan. The lower level now serves as a space for the couple’s children, with the public areas—including an open-plan living/dining room and kitchen—on the floor above. Upstairs, the attic has been transformed into a very large primary bedroom with a green-and-white bathroom suite. The living room (pictured) showcases the firm’s bespoke carpentry work with a beautiful, mossy-green built-in bookcase that frames a new fireplace, and a staircase surrounded by arched doorways that hold hidden storage. “We created visual breakthroughs in order to connect the different spaces,” says Gerlier. “The rounded arches are there to help magnify these moments.”

Perched below the Griffith Observatory and overlooking Hollywood is a lush lot crowned with four towering olive trees and a 1965 home designed by modernist architect Craig Ellwood. When a young couple purchased the home in 2018, it needed substantial work. For a historic restoration, they called on Woods + Dangaran, a local firm fluent in modernist history. The team completed a meticulous restoration of the home while keeping original components like the linear shape, open plan, and expansive windows. One of the most striking features is the original koi pond (a feature deemed so essential that its preservation was a condition of escrow) that is now crossed via a bridge that leads to a new lap pool—perhaps the biggest intervention on the property.

Mazpazz Arquitectur

Interior designer Laura Britt followed WELL Building Standards to source the home’s non-toxic furnishings and finishes, which include living room chairs and a sofa from Thayer Coggin that use flame retardant– and formaldehyde-free cushions.

“It’s so nice back here in the summer in the shade,” says Sherry. “We don’t even have to put sunscreen on the kids. It’s a true little oasis.”

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The floor-to-ceiling sliding doors and windows were the most expensive line item in the renovation. “The house would simply not be the same without them,” says architect Miguel Rivera. “When you are in the living area with the doors open, it creates one large indoor/outdoor space that is simply stunning.” Just beyond the kitchen, a bookcase in the hallway is painted to appear red from one side and gray from the other.

Like many of Benepe's projects, planting P.S. 111's playground is more than a quality of life improvement. The grass and other flora help absorb flood water during storms, relieving pressure on the city's drainage systems.

In 2009 on a quiet Los Angeles corner, Mel Elias found a severely water-damaged, crumbling 5,000-square-foot house hidden behind a tangle of overgrown vegetation. Its former owner, the late Hollywood acting coach Milton Katselas, had filled his property with industrial skylights and enormous, wood-burning fireplaces. The glass-and-concrete construction was framed by high ceilings, rusted steel beams, and varied elevations across the single-story plan. Thanks to an 11-year long, multiphase renovation by designer Carter Bradley, the home—with all of its quirks and character—shines again.

At P.S. 111, the Trust for Public Land transformed an asphalt eyesore into a green sanctuary for New York City schoolchildren.

A dusty-pink facade is only a hint of what’s inside this 18th-century structure. For Sérgio Antunes, cofounder of Lisbon-based Aurora Arquitectos, the charming exterior and its rich pigment provided a fascinating starting point for the renovation of the Rose Building—a single-family residence in southern Portugal that his team turned into five glowing apartments in collaboration with Lisbon architecture studio FURO. Throughout are huge swaths of color with unique touches: For example, painted on the ceiling of the central stair is a moody mural of a woman in the style of a fresco, and in one of the unit’s bathrooms, more ceiling artwork depicts a mermaid emerging from a swirl of waves. Elsewhere, arched windows, sloped ceilings, ornate moldings, and wooden doors elegantly play off Portuguese marble and patterned ceramic tiles. With the go-ahead from the city, the architects were also able to construct a modern addition at the rear—The Mustard Building—that pairs natural wood partitions with the subdued tones of creamy terrazzo.

The house has a front door, but it’s actually not the main entrance: That’s found around the side, via a soothing, wood-lined courtyard. It’s a natural space for outdoor entertaining, too, thanks to the built-in fireplace and bench.

The floors are an engineered hardwood oak, limewashed with a tumbled finish. The dining table is a hand-me-down from Daisy’s parents. Upstairs, the primary bedroom opens right up onto a rooftop terrace, but for nights when Pete and Daisy feel like hosting, Loader installed an Arne Jacobsen–inspired, thin spiral staircase on the outside for guests to climb.

The zig-zag ceiling adds a sense of playfulness and maximizes the visual volume of the open-concept kitchen and dining area. Combined with the oversized sliding doors, the space feels incredibly open and airy.

Interior designer Laura Britt and architect Stephen Andrews took notes from WELL Building Standards—and their physician client—to craft a nurturing family residence that also protects against harsh weather.

Woodcraft Mobiliar created built-in cabinetry in almost every room of the home, keeping furniture needs to a minimum.

Sophia and Henry relax in the open-plan living area of their tiny home with their dog Cora, a Labrador retriever and Siberian husky mix.

A sliding barn door accesses the bathroom, where the Jungbauers installed a compost toilet and low-flow fixtures for the sink and the shower.

A classroom in PS 313.

A student from PS 47 in the Bronx.

For PS 234 in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood, Macrae-Gibson designed a colorful walkway to connect the main school building to a modern addition designed by the firm in 2008. The walkway, adjacent to a play yard, protects students and teachers from the elements as they move from one area to another.

The custom leather platform bed was designed by Shikany’s firm, PS Studios.

PS 313 is a school in Sunnyside, Queens for 432 kindergarteners through fifth graders that opened in the fall of 2014. Equipped with a central courtyard and rooftop play area, the brick masonry building has attained a green rating from New York City.

The red steel-framed structure is lined with perforated metal panels in a variety of colors.

Custom cabinets in a mix of white oak and lacquered paint join Miele appliances and a honed quartz countertop.

Mauricio Ceballos X Architects

If a dim breakfast nook or counter has you down, add a bit of light overhead. Ikea's PS Collection LED lamp is handsome and energy efficient. $99 from ikea.com.

Hy-Fi, The Living's installation for MoMA PS1, "temporarily diverts the natural carbon cycle to produce a building that grows out of nothing but earth and returns to nothing but earth—with almost no waste, no energy needs, and no carbon emissions," says Benjamin.

Macrae-Gibson designed a 45,000-square-foot structure to add to PS 196Q's existing 1952 building in Forest Hills, Queens. The new building houses a new cafeteria and play yard deck and space for 644 additional students.

Hackney sofa by Wrong for Hay. See it at Via Ciovassino 3a.

The naturally formed bricks that comprise the structure are made of a corn byproduct and a material from mushrooms.

The winner of the 2012 MoMA/PS1 Young Architects Program, this structure by HWKN has a titanium-nanoparticle-coated skin that absorbs carbon dioxide.

French designer Matali Crasset's wardrobe for Ikea PS 2014 ($179) is an open piece that comes with dozens of colorful tabs that can be arranged and rearranged on the metal mesh front. Crasset describes it as "free from codes—due to its camouflage it adapts to any kind of home." For more Matali Crasset, check out the farmhouse she renovated which Dwell featured in our March 2014 issue.

Situated on a small-footprint site on the banks of the Westport River, Mark Lawton Architecture constructed a high-functioning home for a total of $851,000.

The top-heavy towers were meant to invert structural conventions, as well as material ones. "The structure inverts the logic of load-bearing brick construction and creates a gravity-defying effect," Benjamin says.

Ikea's PS 2014 collection includes modular wall storage in bamboo veneer framed in powder-coated steel. Also available in black and white, though earthy red sure complements the warm wood tones. $34 at Ikea