Cozy

The renovated kitchen shines with new stainless steel counters, upgraded appliances and contemporary light fixtures. A new skylight adds natural light to the narrow space. The existing fireplace was exposed during the renovation, adding vintage brick texture to the wood cabinet surround.

A low window frames the view of the garden's quiet fountain, set within a series of basalt boulders. Wood paneled walls and slate floors are in keeping with the home's original 1949 materials.

The bookshelves lining the walls of the living room were inherited from family.

A mix of vintage and modern pieces furnish the home, including a table by Arne Vodder for George Tanier, an IKEA rug, and a Lambert & Fils chandelier in the dining room. A bar cart from her grandmother is one of Sarah’s most prized possessions. The ceiling color is Benjamin Moore Marine Blue.

The ceramics studio was formerly a pergola wrapped in chicken wire, used as a dog kennel by the previous owner. Inside the new structure, a vintage Danish chair, found on eBay, provides a modern perch. The windows’ deep mullions double as display shelves.

Wooden beams extend beyond the structure to create shading trellises for the terraces at the front and the back of architect Ray Kappe's Los Angeles home.

Two bedrooms separated by sliding doors occupy the partial second story.

The dining room table previously had an awkward placement around a column. For a more efficient solution, the architects simply embedded the table in the column, using carefully selected wooden supports that would match existing tones.

Because the house is located in a historic area, the exterior updates were limited to new windows and ipe cladding around the front door.

The collections of books in the upstairs living/dining room (shown here) have remained over the years and visitors are welcome to peruse them with care. Some of the furniture that lives in the residence today was built for the Lovell Health house that Neutra designed in 1929. The pair of Boomerang chairs came from a design Neutra created in the 1940s for Channel Heights, a residential development for shipyard workers in San Pedro, California. Today, the chairs—along with the Low Organic table—are being authentically reproduced by German manufacturer VS. Today’s design has been refined by his son Dion.

The hideaway grows darker as residents move through the space toward the bedroom. The only light in the sleeping space enters indirectly from the nearby glass façade, as well as from a small ventilation window in the northern corner.

Open to the valley, the home lets the Shopes fully experience the seasons, even the sound of the Hudson River’s ice cracking in winter.

The snug attic in this former fisherman’s cottage in Copenhagen contains the homeowner’s platform bed, custom-designed by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen to maximize storage and fit the unusual space.

The open living-and-bedroom area of Ian Hague’s rural retreat can be divided by a wall that rises from within the master-suite platform. Interior designer Elaine Santos blended her client’s collection of vintage furniture with no-fuss pieces like a Shaker-style bench by Ilse Crawford for De La Espada.

The living room's double height makes the space seem larger that its actual size. Stairs leading up to the sleeping loft are placed next to the open fireplace. The plastered wall and the soapstone tiles on the floor add some roughness to the wooden interior.

The sofa is a prototype that never went into production—the base slides out and the two cushions become flat for sleeping. Today, one can buy Risom furniture from a variety of sources, including Knoll, Design Within Reach, and Ralph Pucci.

This shade has a levity about it that works well with both muted neutrals and darker colors. Benjamin Moore’s Blue Seafoam (2056-60) is a good example of a relaxing blue paint color that works well for interior and exterior walls.

Inside the house, a relatively new Rais wood-burning stove is next to a Risom Rocker from Design Within Reach, a 2009 piece from the designer.