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The door to Eoghan Mahony’s office is set on a caster and has a hinge that runs the entire ten-foot height.

Door Handle by Alvar Aalto Believing that grasping a door handle is akin to shaking hands with a building, the Finnish architect paid great attention to user interaction. Leather-wrapped door handles were but one of his methods of offering a welcome touch.

Gray-purple iron railings, a fuchsia and green wooden entry, and garage doors provide contrast to the white walls of this Santa Barbara home. Photo by Steven Holmes.

Glass blocks from Seves are made from high-quality glass and a three-dimensional, luxurious appearance courtesy of the silver metal inner trims.

Inside, the home offers a sprawling, open-plan layout. Large windows wrap around the dining room which is located just steps from the kitchen.

The computer-designed kitchen area has the feel of a ship's galley, with everything neatly stowed, yet visible and instantly at hand: It's much the definition of "ship-shape." For dinner parties, well-worn Eames shell chairs are pulled down by David, with the help of a footstool. "I have nearly an eight-foot reach," says the 6'3'' David. ("It gets a little tough if I have to spend a weekend or so alone," says Im.)

"Also consider performance when purchasing an older house, as these properties use a ton of energy,” says Schaer. “Many midcentury homes are minimally insulated and can be costly and challenging to remedy. For example, if you want to add insulation to a roof, you have to add it above the roof because there is no cavity for insulation."

A sofa by Stephen Kenn Studio joins ceramic tables by artist Ben Medansky in the glass-walled living area. The AIM pendants are by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Flos and the Oda floor lamps are from Pulpo. The metal artworks are by Guy.

Black leather West Elm sofas anchor the room atop a gridded Annie Selke rug.

Fireplace room

Rich black soapstone counters wrap black-matte IKEA cabinets, and appliances are hidden behind cabinet fronts so the room recedes. Storage now extends under the windows and lines the dining area, where the table and chairs were both Craigslist finds.

Top 9 Kitchens of 2020: The nominees for this year’s Dwell Design Awards are the epitome of style and function.

Floor plan of Spider Hollow by Christopher Flechtner Inc.

Vox/Epic’s headquarters is housed in a former industrial building in Los Angeles’s Frog Town neighborhood. Interior designer Rachel Rosenfield used vintage furniture and rugs to make the interior feel like an eccentric house while also extremely functional as a workspace.

It may look as though this kitchen doesn’t have many places for storage but that’s not the case. Cabinets run on the outside and inside of the U-shaped structure; a walk-in pantry is concealed in the home’s “central core.”