Home ideas

A minimalist approach to design can make spaces feel thoughtful, bright, and more spacious than they really are—qualities that are paramount to a recent project in Poznań by Polish architecture firm mode:lina. The architects employed several tricks to make the home feel more spacious. Among them, mirrors were installed to visually enlarge the room, and smart storage spaces—even a recessed dog house—were built directly into the home’s walls. “The less visible [storage is], the better,” they say.

Yumi (left) and Maya (right) cheese around on the steps leading into the front door. Inside, there is ample space for removing and leaving one's shoes, another Japanese element.

After purchasing a thin, L-shaped lot in Tokyo, Tamotsu Nakada asked architect and friend Koji Tsutsui to create an open-plan concrete home to fit the site. Photo by Iwan Baan.

From urban-dwellers to empty-nesters, many are now embracing the movement toward smaller, more sensible living. Bosch's new line of 24" kitchen appliances is designed to help them save space without downsizing on style.

My favorite detail in the kitchen.

What the original building lacked in period detailing, it made up for with massive interior spaces, natural light, and a hardy palette of wood and raw brick. Working with these loft signatures, David developed the hall’s liveable side, adding under-floor heating, and a gigantic kitchen on the upper floor running the width of the building, with a 37-foot-long solid walnut counter on top of stainless steel cabinets. This unites the dining, cooking and social spaces that run the length of the front façade on the upper floor.

Master bathroom

Using natural materials is one way of bringing nature indoors. Oiled white ash floors and ceilings, along with Italian poplar and Lawson cypress joinery, are found throughout architect Andrew Simpson’s 538-square-foot home outside Wellington, New Zealand.

Of the seven steps in Michael Pozner’s not-quite-500-square-foot aerie in Greenwich Village, five contain drawers. His small set of table and chairs is from CB2.

Two San Francisco art and travel addicts overhauled a loft—and customized a pair of shipping containers—to accommodate their collection and reflect their passions. The shipping containers were stacked, joined with steel tubes, and lashed to reinforced floor joints to make them earthquake-safe.

The entire house is painted in one color: Sherwin Williams' Ibis White.

On Vashon Island, about 20 miles southwest of Seattle, architect Seth Grizzle designed a 440-square-foot multiuse structure for his clients Bill and Ruth True.

On the house’s lower level, Schicketanz’s guests have a bathroom complete with a steam shower to themselves. Anodized aluminum windows pop against white subway tile from Waterworks. The vanity is from Ikea and the fixtures from Hansgrohe.

The owners were passionately involved in every aspect of the design, and pushed the team to make choices they normally might not have, including using Western red cedar for the master bathroom countertop. The spa-like space features a soaking tub, tile from Statements Urban, an MTI sink, a custom mirror, and a Vola faucet.

Prioritize either storage or easy cleaning. While extra storage is always nice, it is important to note freestanding vanities are also known for being harder to clean, since there are more corners and nooks where dust can hang out around them.

Benjamin Moore’s “Mountain Peak White” coats the western red cedar walls in the master bathroom, which is detailed with the same Carrara marble countertop seen in the kitchen. Waterworks tile covers the floor, and an Agape tub stands across from a vanity light fixture custom-made by the firm’s interior designer, Erin Martin.

In the bathroom, a teak live-edge countertop and custom yellow cabinet support a double wash basin by Duravit. A mirror from Restoration Hardware hangs below custom lights, designed by the homeowner for a steampunk look.

Home Renovation Tip: Decide on a Sensible Scope of Work

@emilylauren.au posted this pared-down bathroom with monochromatic matte fixtures by Chanee Vijay.