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Once a dilapidated garage, this flexible garden studio in Seattle now serves as an all-weather hub for Ella Dillon, and her 10-year-old daughter, Isabelle. After moving into the Craftsman-style home in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood in 2006, Ella was ready to expand into the garden studio—envisioning it as a place for Isabelle to do arts and crafts, for friends and family to gather—and as additional storage for games, gardening tools, and exercise equipment.

In this house in the Mornington Peninsula in the south of Melbourne, materials like concrete, natural stone, steel and cedar are perfect backdrops for architecture and interior design firm SJB to use bold colors and edgy midcentury furniture.

Enclosed in glass and elevated in the tree canopy, the living room is furnished with midcentury modern classics including a Case Kelston sofa from DWR and a Knoll Womb chair and ottoman. The custom red wool rug is from Driscoll Robbins.

Photo by Derek Swalwell

Typography guru Erik Spiekermann and his wife, designer Susanna Dulkinys, hate clutter. That’s why they love the super-sleek Berlin domicile they constructed to have just the right lines—and a host of energy-saving features behind the scenes. The stainless-steel Bulthaup kitchen "cost as much as a small house," said Spiekermann, though he did get a discount: Bulthaup is one of his clients.

The recessed area in the wooden deck can be used for a fire pit or a vegetable garden.

Vibrant blue cabinets brighten up this kitchen and serve as a bold contrast to the exposed brick. The stainless-steel countertop wraps slightly up the wall, and creates a trough for storing items.

A Carrara marble backsplash adds cool contrast and a sense of drama when set against the custom oiled-steel black cabinetry in the renovation of the kitchen in this A. Quincy Jones home in Los Angeles.

Off-Grid Guesthouse by Anacapa Architecture

"The colonnade arches are turned upside down as they are better for sitting in and for playing (bombies into the pool and chasing through the garden)," say the architects.

The oak ceilings are about 16.5 feet high in the living and dining room.

The dining and kitchen space opens up directly to an expanse of grass that leads to the water’s edge.

The Deep Thoughts Chaise from Blu-dot sits atop a rug from Rugs.com.

The timber used in the scaffolding and off-cuts from the framing were kept and redeployed for furniture and accents on the walls—such as the timber block in the primary kitchen.

A custom walnut-and-steel coffee table from Jobe Fabrications anchors the living room. Fenton and Fenton armchairs are paired with a Texas Leather Interiors sofa. Drophouse Design crafted the fireplace copper wrap, and Thomas Studio and Foundry treated the metal to create a unique copper patina that matches the kitchen hood fan. Limestone is part of the exterior landscaping, but makes its way into the home as well to act as the base of the fireplace. Each piece is seven feet long, and puzzles together.

The sunken living room is just one of many grade changes inside the structure. “We were adamant that we didn’t want something domestic,” says Andrew. “We wanted something surprising, that was hyper-animated, and that, when you moved through it, changed all the time.” The sofa, designed by the couple and Levenbetts, is upholstered in cotton velvet. The Habibi side tables are by Philipp Mainzer for e15, the fireplace tools by Fort Standard, and the doors by Fleetwood.