Design Ideas we love.

Linda Hutchins and John Montague hired Works Partnership Architecture to turn a former Portland, Oregon, warehouse and auto repair shop into a versatile live/work space.

This San Francisco home in the Theatre Lofts building, built in 1926 as a movie palace, was given a sophisticated upgrade by LOCZIdesign.

More shots of the outdoor movie theatre.

Thanks to a contemporary interior that she’s been updating for a decade, modern architect Abigail Turin has learned to love her traditional 1925 San Francisco home. Rather than indulge her impulse and strip away the home’s traditional flourishes, Turin embraced the dark in her striking living room—the deep paint is Le Corbusier’s 4320J from Les Couleurs Suisse. An iconic Arco lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos, Charles sofas by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia, an Extra Big Shadow floor lamp by Marcel Wanders for Cappellini, and a painting over the marble fireplace by Martin Barré shed a little light.

The suite will also feature furniture by Brooklyn-based studio ThinkFabricate.

Bamboo plywood is used throughout the house for all integrated furniture, including the kitchen cabinets. The pendant lights are prototypes designed by Jamie McLellan for Tom Dixon and the stools are by Konstantin Grcic for Magis.

At the client’s request the kitchen contains neither upper cabinets (Shino can’t reach them) nor an oven (they only used the old one once—to reheat a pizza). A modular Roche Bobois Mah Jong sofa adds a decorative flourish to the living area while maintaining as low a profile as the traditional Japanese furniture.

It’s a good idea to read reviews about specific pieces before buying them, which can help prepare you for the unexpected.

Iconic and modern furnishings mingle at Luminaire, which has showrooms in Chicago and Coral Gables, Florida.

The fun-to-customize La Literatura Open shelving system can accommodate desks, drawers, cabinets, and more.

The Entertainment Shelf includes a panel that slides to reveal easy-to-reach shelves on either side.

The Storage Bench has a padded seat to accommodate more guests in a small space.

With all shipping included, the chair is $495, the love seat is $745, and the sofa is $995. The set is available in five colors and either black walnut or maple legs.

The living room features two side chairs and an end table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar and a bronze screen designed by Harold Balazs.

An abundance of modular and multifunctional furniture, like this table with built-in sliding chairs, means the space is constantly evolving.

This bedside table design was inspired by three different vintage pieces. For this client, our mission was a mid-century look and feel, but we were stuck against tight dimensions in space and running up against road block after road block with sizing of existing, vintage options. I find that it's best to secure your designs in some type of inspiration. All great design needs a "seed"—where are you growing from? What are you referring back to in order to stay on course? How are you utilizing or paying attention to nuance in your designs? Repurposing existing furniture pieces is another way to exercise your creative and win some serious applause on both design and cost-savings. Sometimes your starting place is that ratty old sofa in your living room, or basement. I'm constantly reviewing existing client furnishings and thinking about how we can shift the bases into something more interesting or fresh. It's important to find a great upholstery shop or carpenter who can interpret your designs. You need to establish a successful line of communication with your vendor, and how best they read your designs. Often detailed shop drawings are required, and hand sketches are an incredibly successful tool when trying to elevate your ideals, or communicate to a vendor your desired end result.

Federal Hook by Isabella Furniture $225 Paul Isabella a Savannah College of Art and Design graduate, makes handcrafted, contemporary furniture from his Minne-apolis woodshop.

The living room opens to the backyard thanks to a large sliding glass door.