The New Project Group renovated a cramped, uninviting space on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The company gave the 400-square-foot apartment a gut renovation, with a new kitchen and bathroom designed for efficiency. A parallelogram-shaped window pane, rescued from an architectural salvage yard, was outfitted with steel edges and casters, and repurposed as a coffee table.

The homeowners, who are avid cooks, worked with a design duo and contractor for the home's renovation. To make the kitchen seem larger than it is, the team decided to place the largest cabinets and appliances near the entryway, making less clutter toward the window.

“The upper floor includes the entry, cloakroom, guest bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living room, and terrace,” Hammer says. “In contrast to the lower floor and its separated rooms, the living area is composed as an open space with no walls.” Nerd Chairs by David Geckeler for Muuto surround a handcrafted nutwood table in the dining room.

Abbes and Davison removed drywall to expose the brick on one wall in the living room. "As we began to expose that brick, we found the old metal framing that they used to use," Daivson says. "They used to stick chicken-mesh wire on it and put plaster on top. When we exposed the brick, we found this metal detail and decided to keep it." Photo by Alan Gastelum.

"In the kitchen, we changed the layout," Davison says. "It was a galley kitchen, extending lengthways into the room. We spun it back along the back wall. The tiles are Moroccan concrete tiles that came from a supplier here in Manhattan. The idea was to inject some color and playfulness into the space with the blue cabinetry." Photo by Alan Gastelum.

A geographic lime-green tile pattern was incorporated into the bathroom to complement the sink, which was found in an architectural salvage yard and retains its original color. Photo by Alan Gastelum.

The kitchen combines varying storage types, from white lacquered cabinets and glass-fronted ones to a floating shelf above the sink. The countertop is Calacatta Caldia marble, and the subway tile that clads the backsplash is from Heath Ceramics.

All of the artwork was created by the New Design Project. Photo by Alan Gastelum.

The cantilevered shelving in the bedroom was fashioned from vintage metal panels that were purchased online, Davison says. Photo by Alan Gastelum.

Another view of the master bedroom shows more original artwork by the New Design Project. Photo by Alan Gastelum.

Architect Ben Waechter wrapped the upper floor of Nick Oakley’s house in inexpensive black corrugated steel. By rounding the corners, Waechter avoided unsightly trim at the edges.

An updated bathroom features a mix of tiles: Carrara marble tiles on the floor, green subway tiles from Heath Ceramics on the inner shower walls, and white subway tiles from Daltile on the exterior walls. The fixtures are from Grohe.

A vintage chaise lounge on the upper floor patio is one of few unnamed designs to be found throughout the residence.

The navy floor tiles in another bathroom are from Mosaic House.

A custom unit with handleless, lacquered doors conceals a small workspace and ample clothes storage.

The living room structure soars to two stories, with banks of glass louvers at the upper level providing cross ventilation.

Harry Bertoia’s iconic Bertoia side chair is surrounded by custom railings. A yucca plant grows nearby, its palm-like leaves celebrating the short but intense summer months in Wisconsin.

“The access and position of the house provided only one facade, so the distribution [of the rooms] had to be open towards that facade,” the firm says. “By breaking the levels we could drag the light deep in the house.” As for interior lighting, the wall-mounted lamps throughout the house are from Faro, a Barcelona-based lighting company.

Road Building I took this photograph of some kids I came across who were working on the road that will connect Lower Mustang all the way through Upper Mustang into China. A lot of the older people I spoke to seemed to be very concerned about the road and the access it will allow for modernity to flow through Mustang. The younger generation, though, were caught between the desires to be a part of the modernizing world and to preserve their Tibetan traditions.

GoodLight studio and home

West Facade

Crosby Studios eventually found this rust-washed concrete wall underneath many layers of wallpaper. “Nobody even thought to paint it,” explains Dmitry. “The ceiling was polished until it was concrete, and then covered in laquer.”

A before shot of the kitchen.

Off the kitchen is an exterior bridge that leads onto a spacious 450-square-foot deck that can be used for entertaining. The roof deck materials include rain-resistant cedar wood planks, as well as a durable HardiePanel parapet with metal siding from Taylor Metal.

Garangula Gallery (Harden, Austrlia) Architect: Fender Katsalidis Mirams Architects Category: Culture

The original home was built in the shape of the Hebrew letter “Chet," which wrapped around an open courtyard. The courtyard was closed off to become flexible public space, and now lies in between two private living areas. A steel and wood bridge connects the private wings of the home, which consist of bedrooms, bathrooms, and working spaces for the residents.

Along the opposite side, sheets of self-rusting Corten steel run along the home, hiding stairs to the upper deck behind them. The striking facade contrasts with the otherwise muted exterior.

Surrounding a volcano in Colima, México, Di Frenna Arquitectos designed a home that plays off the natural setting with a variety of textures from the facade to the vegetation.

A large unit provides book and media storage in the living room.

During summer, the sun is too high above the home to heat the polycarbonate: the plastic simply reflects the light—and its energy—back into the atmosphere. In fact, during the summer the stone wall absors the interior's excess heat and releases it into an air gap—about 2-4 inches wide—between it and the polycarbonate. The home's furniture is economical: the table seen here is just a wood board stabilized on two A-frames.

The museum’s Upper Entrance Hall was built with four modules, and features a dramatic glass curtain wall.

The upper floor wraps the main living space below, allowing for picturesque views from both levels of the home. Coffee bean tables by Holly Hunt sit atop a silk Tai Ping rust carpet, adjacent to a custom Living Divani Sofa.

The sliding wood partitions on the upper floor help shield the master bedroom from the strong tropical sun.

Cadrona in Red from Mailboxes.co, $150-A powder-coated zincalume body and marine plywood front means zero rust and mold from this New Zealand-made mailbox; a locked lower half keeps mail and packaged protected while the open upper half holds newspapers.

The Upper East Side hotel is described as a embodying "sophisticated whimsy."