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Tasked with transforming a 93-square-foot brick boiler room into a guesthouse, architect and metalworker Christi Azevedo flexed her creative muscle. The architect spent a year and a half designing and fabricating nearly everything in the structure save for the original brick walls. "I treated the interior like a custom piece of furniture," she says.

In the dining area, a custom wine rack doubles as a partition for the open plan. The adjacent door leads to an expansive enclosed terrace.

Furniture groupings and bright, dramatic accents—like the sapphire banana-fiber rug by Kamy Maison in the main living area—further divide the interior into distinct yet flexible stations. The trio of seating options includes wood-and-cane Cosme Velho armchairs by Claudia Moreira Salles, a plush Soft Dream leather sofa by Antonio Citterio for Flexform, and a blue Fergana sofa by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso. Just beyond, a Fina table, also by Salles, joins Marta chairs by Aristeu Pires and Torch pendants by Sylvain Willenz to form the dining area.

FCstudio updated the 5,000-square-foot apartment by removing several walls in central areas to clarify views and simplify the overall floor plan. The firm also custom-designed the Brazilian walnut room divider with a striking geometric pattern that allows light to traverse throughout the living area.

Two Womb chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll and a Ring bench by Castro structure a reading area in the enclosed terrace.

In an apartment overlooking São Paulo’s Ibirapuera Park—completed in 1954 to commemorate the city’s 400th anniversary—the furniture is as distinctive as the view. Architect Flavio Castro of FCstudio worked closely with the residents to update and outfit the home, which is appointed with a mix of contemporary and Brazilian modern classics. A pair of Sérgio Rodrigues’s Paraty armchairs (in foreground)—designed for Brasilia’s Itamaraty Palace in 1963—face a duo of Jader Almeida’s Isa armchairs in the living area. The green Ro lounge and ottoman are by Jaime Hayon for Fritz Hansen.

The kitchen of this Brooklyn brownstone was updated with a white Carrara backsplash that frames the Bertazzoni range and Dunsmuir cabinetry, providing a white background that makes the Matte-black quartzite kitchen island pop.

Shaker-style Salt chairs by Tom Kelley join a custom-sized Etoile dining table and Tsuru Flush Mount III pendant, both by Materia Designs.

Antique Art Deco–style lamps flank a West Elm bed in the master bedroom, which accesses a private backyard garden. The smoke-colored Series 11 6 Drawer Console is from Blu Dot; the built-in shelving was custom-made by Wood Management.

Jason lounges in one of two armchairs by midcentury designer Milo Baughman in the parlor-floor living room. The wood block coffee table is by Eric Slayton, a friend of the couple, and the modular Carmo sofa is from BoConcept. A 1952 piece by French industrial designer Serge Mouille, the Three-Arm Floor Lamp—widely referred to as the "Praying Mantis," for its looming trio of arms—is a nod to the couple’s love of Parisian interiors; a branch-like chandelier by Los Angeles–based artist Gary Chapman hangs overhead.

New pine and spruce wood from the Pyrenees (both recyclable and PEFC certified) were selected for the façade of the 1,000-square-foot prefab. Smart blinds cover the windows, rigged to open and close depending on the weather forecast.

Completed in 2008, the rectilinear home features a roofline with a dramatic parabolic curve that creates two bulbous volumes inside the home, one of which houses a curved skylit shower.