interior design

Smith designed the custom cabinets, which were fashioned from medium-density fiberboard with a white lacquer finish. There are three drawer heights. "The faces are consistent but some, when you open them up, are triple-height," Smith says. "So that helps with things that are really large, like sleeping bags or camping stuff or whatever. They're three feet deep, so it goes into the knee wall, which is really handy. So you get lots and lots of storage."

Lisbeth Juul and Laust Nørgaard drew upon their years of experience living on the water to design and build an 860-square-foot floating home in Copenhagen Harbor. The home’s minimal form and furnishings reflect the residents’ desire to downsize following three years on land.

In the main living area of Frank Nederhof’s renovated Amsterdam flat, a geometric sculpture by Antonino Sciortino hangs above an Erik Kuster sofa. The coffee tables are made from fossilized wood so heavy that each one requires two people to lift it.

Hughes’ collection of hundreds of books is stored on a vertiginous two story bookcase, which takes up the whole of the northern wall of the living room. It’s an ingenious solution to the small-space dwelling that draws the eye up, adding texture and interest to the room without taking up floor space.

The architecture firm L. McComber Itée demolished a sloping ceiling in this Montreal attic to create a bright, roomy live-work space.