How to Design with White

The acclaimed Italian designers Ludovica + Roberto Palomba carved a serene retreat out of a 17th-century oil mill in Salento.

To complement the white-washed custom cabinetry in her kitchen, architect Julie Salles Schaffer has designed a tile backsplash to resemble "melting butter in a white pan." Daltile arranged her two-color AutoCAD design—white and off-white—onto a mesh backing for a small fee. To soften the edges of the cabinets’ drawers and doors, Schaffer requested radial edging.

A vintage lamp and George Nelson’s Marshmallow sofa and Spool clock embody the mid-century feel of Soheil and Nima Nakhshab’s design for a California family home.

The cooktop, refrigerator, and wall ovens are by Jenn-Air; the sink and faucet are by Kohler; and the countertops are from Caesarstone.

30E Design transformed a hallway in a Boston brownstone from a “dumping ground for all the plumbing and utilities with an existing metal ductwork laundry chute” into a modern space that houses the laundry, furnace, and boiler.

In this sleek kitchen renovation in San Francisco, the kitchen backsplash is an easy-to-clean glass backsplash that mimics the glossy finish of the surrounding white cabinets. Painters accomplished the high-gloss finish on the cabinets of a kitchen in San Francisco by applying a coat of paint, polishing it with very high-grit sandpaper, repeating the process for each layer, then topping it with three coats of clear varnish. "It’s like an auto body," says builder Jeff King. "It’s incredibly beautiful." The island provides shelving space and storage as well as a second sink, an is topped with pietra grigio marble.

The home’s informal dining space has a slightly rustic feel, sporting bronze and wood in the form of a Lindsey Adams Adelman chandelier for Roll & Hill and a table by Terry Dwan, mixed with folk-art touches like the Eames House Birds and a cuckoo clock from Diamantini & Domeniconi. The PK8 chairs from Republic of Fritz Hansen were designed by Poul Kjærlholm and sourced from Kuhl-Linscomb in Houston, Texas.

Yurika Ninomiya says good morning to busy central Nagoya from her third-floor bedroom while husband Takuya opens up the shop and gallery that they run below.

The bed, usually scattered with Legos and toy cars, “is a big playground for the kids,” says Krastev.

The wide apertures of Sweden's Plus House crisscross to form a mathematical sign—adding up to a prime residence.

Michael McCarthy and Marcia Myers spent years rehabilitating the Douglas House. The double-height living room features a custom sofa and low table of Meier’s design, and an Edward Fields rug based on a sketch Le Corbusier created in 1956 for a Tokyo theater.

O chairs by Karim Rashid surround the dining table.

The kitchen window looks out to stairs that lead up to a small roof terrace. The kitchen faucet is byDornbracht. The recessed lighting is by Guzzini.

When Bjerre-Poulsen first saw the house, “I instantly saw all the interesting possibilities,” he says. “As an architect you see not what it is but what it could be.” Among those possibilities: transforming an adjacent storehouse into a guest room, connected to the original house via the renovated dining room and sitting area.

Armed with a DIY spirit and tight budget, designers Susanna and Jussi Vento sought to renovate their 660-square-foot Helsinki apartment into a cozy home packed with quirky charm. Their white interior palette, complemented by black accents, serves as the perfect starting point for Susanna to display her attention to crafty details. The hints of neon accentuate the clean glow of the white master bedroom furnished with a trestle desk built with Ikea legs, a rocking horse found on huuto.net, and a bed that doubles as a couch.

The office, which is a single-level separate unit, boasts Ikea desks and a signed work by Gilbert and George (friends of the couple).