When you’ve got your stamp the way you want it, you’re ready to ink it up.

You've Got Mail by Clare Hsu, a student at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, California. On display at the California College of the Arts's Wattis Institute galleries April 16-24, 2010, as part of the The Way Beyond Art: Sunny Memories exhibition. Photo by Tonatiuh Ambrosetti & Daniela Droz.

The sole proof I've got that I even made it to the place.

A close-up of the gigantic porcelain snail.

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Oil your wooden kitchen tools and cutting boards. Most mineral oils will do the trick—and they’ll give your wooden widgets a much longer life. Make sourdough bread. If you’ve got some yeast in your pantry, and it’s not too old, get down to perfecting that sourdough bread recipe. You could also start a kombucha culture, or pickle any hearty vegetables you’ve got lying around. Make a pantry meal. If you can’t get to the supermarket, think about making some Spanish rice and beans from canned or dry goods. Perfectly simple. Label absolutely everything. KonMari your entire kitchen, while you’re at it. Know where and what everything is, and get rid of anything you don’t use for a perfectly uncluttered and organized kitchen.

Pull the needle through, taut (it's still slack here to orient where the thread should be), and you're dunzo. Phew. Nice one. You've now successfully completed a kettle stitch. Once you've got all the signatures together, tie the end off and trim your thread.

Spiekermann and Dulkinys agree that their house—the first they’ve built from the ground up—is definitely different.

Cuddle up with these love seats, and meet your match. Whether you're feeling raunchy or romantic, we've got a seat that fits.

We’ve got the skinny on June’s best discounts on bedding, home furnishings, apparel and more.

The list of sustainable products now available at big-box stores is impressive and growing. But, says Michael Marx of Corporate Ethics International, ”it’s still cheap crap that you’ve got to replace. And by replacing it, you use energy.”

And you're all sewed up. I'm not all that worried about contrasting stitches because these seams will be in the back of the sling, hidden by whatever you've got hanging in there. Plus, a little inconsistency adds character.

You've got mail - and Melamine. Clean and bright and no bed in sight.

The architects designed the bed and nightstands themselves and picked up the lamps from Target. "We've found that you can mix design and commodity stuff well if you're attentive to the overall presentation," says Schatz.

“Peter and I’ve got shockingly similar and far-reaching design inspirations. Our conversations would move easily from brutalism to driftwood to kachinas and then flow right back to something applicable to architecture. I can’t tell you how many times I will do that with a less-design-literate client and just get a blank stare!” —Architect Craig Steely

Looking for the best products to organize and spruce up your space this spring? We’ve got you covered with our top picks for affordable cleaning supplies and storage options.

A view of the Snail table in situ, with Hella Jongerius's 'Artificial Vases' in the background.

As you ascend towards the roof, the house becomes increasingly transparent.

Where the System 20 is the showpiece in the kitchen, from the master bedroom it’s impossible not to notice the egg-shaped Agape tub in the doorless bathroom. Picard glibly remarks, “When you’re spending $6,000 on a tub and $2,000 on a faucet fixture, you’ve got to make sure what you’re buying is something that stands out.”

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“One of the most interesting parts of the project was the foundation, as we used ground screws,” says architect Tom Knezic. “I’ve never done a foundation like this, but it’s really neat because you just screw into the ground, weld the beam on top, and you’ve got a foundation in two days. It’s a very light footprint, as we didn't have to do any blasting or chipping. We had to remove some trees to fit the cottage in, but we tried to keep as many as possible around the building—by using ground screws, you’re not damaging the roots of adjacent trees.”

Line the template up against each signature and use the awl to poke holes at each mark that you've made, all along the fold. This will ensure that the holes line up when you are threading the pages.

The concept of a house in Croatia by 3LDH is inspired by the shape of a snail’s shell, which involves a spiral twisting around its own axis. As such, all functional elements of the house follow each other and are built around a central atrium. The atrium was made in order to compensate for a lack of sunlight in the home.

Alberto's daughter is also a designer of pottery. In the shop they show off some of her vases cut to appear as though they've got thorns.

"Snail" coffee table, 2009, designed by Hella Jongerius. Collection Natura Design Magistra. Coffee table in bleached oak; snail in enameled and unglazed porcelain, realized by Manufacture Bernardaud.

A classic card from Chicago's Greer with an intricate letterpress design on 100 percent cotton rag stock is formal without feeling stuffy. If you are feeling a little shy about snail mail, stationery shop owner Chandra Greer offered Dwell advice on sending the perfect thank you note.$12.50

The kitchen cabinets where the Scommegnas store their dishes are open, creating what Vetter calls a “nonfussy, more direct approach to the storage of your daily items.” Scommegna allows that a pair of doors easily could have been added without much trouble. “But then you’ve got to open it every time you need something,” he says. “It’s just dumb. What are you hiding? They’re just plates.”

Consider realistic DIY limitations. If you’ve never delved into plumbing or electrical work before, a major renovation is usually not the right time to get started, as this type of work is best left to professionals. Even something as seemingly simple as demolition work can quickly become more complex if you are replacing plumbing or electrical fixtures.

In the bedroom, mailing tubes tucked between a concrete weight-bearing post and the eastern wall serve as substitutes for a chest of drawers.

If they can’t leave a used bookstore without copping at least three paperbacks at $1 apiece, we’ve got a gift for them.

"We've got a growing record collection," describes Amanda. "I picked up some fun old jazz and funk albums while traveling in Rome last summer. I also look for the original printings of classics from the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Prince, Phil Collins....You can usually find them for about $20 on eBay."

Cavern is a bicoastal design firm specializing in wallpaper. They are environmentally friendly and silk-screen their unique designs by hand. One of the new designs, I see you, features a google eye pattern on which people can draw their own creations. $155 per roll.

Looking for the best products to organize and spruce up your space this spring? We’ve got you covered with our top picks for affordable cleaning supplies and storage options.

Here's a bit more of the rich decoration that one gets used to in Morocco. This mailbox on the facade of the main post office just off Mohammed V Square plays nicely off of the white building. I also love that you've got three options when dropping off your letter: Casablanca, Morocco, and Abroad.

A custom-designed console fits the wall perfectly and creates a spot to drop keys and mail, or check appearances before going out the door.

Regent Road Parklet, Cape Town, South Africa, 2015 Van Wyk's view of architecture as an art form relies heavily on the perspective that it "must acknowledge notions of history and theory, criticism of architecture, and urbanism." He wants to restore the architect as an artist, and prevent the field from crystalizing into the "monotonous standardized industry it is transforming into.”