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Collection by Zach Edelson

Live-Work Renovations and Additions

We're a big fan of live-work arrangement: it saves natural resources by cutting back on commutes and makes perfect sense when your work and personal lives are deeply intertwined. It's hard to find a better example of design making people's lives easier, efficient, and enjoyable. Check out these 6 designs that made live-work possible for these residents!

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The couple's firm specializes in illustration and photography for the advertising industry. The framed art is by Anthony Burrill and the wall calendar is the work of Crispin Finn. The Ikea office table is ringed by Fritz Hansen Butterfly Chairs and Herman Miller Aeron Chairs. The lighting is by Artemide.
The couple's firm specializes in illustration and photography for the advertising industry. The framed art is by Anthony Burrill and the wall calendar is the work of Crispin Finn. The Ikea office table is ringed by Fritz Hansen Butterfly Chairs and Herman Miller Aeron Chairs. The lighting is by Artemide.
David Mazza, 30, and Casey Patten, 28, best friends since middle school, opened Taylor Gourmet, a Philadelphia-style deli and gourmet Italian market, at the end of 2008, in the ground floor of a three-story brick building at 1116 H Street NE. In the salad days before the ’68 riots, 1116 had housed a bakery, but since then it has played home to a hair salon, a crack house, and, for a time, just the rats and pigeons.
David Mazza, 30, and Casey Patten, 28, best friends since middle school, opened Taylor Gourmet, a Philadelphia-style deli and gourmet Italian market, at the end of 2008, in the ground floor of a three-story brick building at 1116 H Street NE. In the salad days before the ’68 riots, 1116 had housed a bakery, but since then it has played home to a hair salon, a crack house, and, for a time, just the rats and pigeons.
The market’s shelves are lined with all manner of Italian goodies, and the lighting grid on the ceiling, made of chain-link fence posts, is a nod to the grids common in Italian delis.
The market’s shelves are lined with all manner of Italian goodies, and the lighting grid on the ceiling, made of chain-link fence posts, is a nod to the grids common in Italian delis.
Oversize, double-hung windows draw natural light into the space.
Oversize, double-hung windows draw natural light into the space.
Jane Wright, a painter and printmaker, uses one end of the building as a studio. The space served as a lanuching pad for her new interior design business, Roost Modern.
Jane Wright, a painter and printmaker, uses one end of the building as a studio. The space served as a lanuching pad for her new interior design business, Roost Modern.
The demolition of the upper floor, which had been carved up into many small rooms, revealed an expansive loft with an assortment of old skylights. Bartlett often works on a scale that demands the viewer stand 10 feet back to see it best. When each new piece is ready, it comes up here for the second part of her creative process, further work and viewing. The sofa is a custom plywood piece Bartlett designed for her last home.
The demolition of the upper floor, which had been carved up into many small rooms, revealed an expansive loft with an assortment of old skylights. Bartlett often works on a scale that demands the viewer stand 10 feet back to see it best. When each new piece is ready, it comes up here for the second part of her creative process, further work and viewing. The sofa is a custom plywood piece Bartlett designed for her last home.
Architect Tamira Sawatzky and artist Elle Flanders get an awfully good view of their busy Toronto street from their office and dining room.
Architect Tamira Sawatzky and artist Elle Flanders get an awfully good view of their busy Toronto street from their office and dining room.
The table is by Made, the sneaker-inspired Shoe Toss pendants are by Jeremy Hatch of Ricochet Studio, and the laser-cut photo on the wall is by the couple’s collective art and design practice, Public Studio.
The table is by Made, the sneaker-inspired Shoe Toss pendants are by Jeremy Hatch of Ricochet Studio, and the laser-cut photo on the wall is by the couple’s collective art and design practice, Public Studio.
Many of the items in the home come from Mjölk, on the ground floor of Daoust and Baker’s building, which dates to the 1870s and has a distinctive tin facade.
Many of the items in the home come from Mjölk, on the ground floor of Daoust and Baker’s building, which dates to the 1870s and has a distinctive tin facade.
The living room is anchored by a sofa and lounge chair, both by Børge Mogensen, as well as a Conoid bench by George Nakashima. An Isamu Noguchi pendant lamp casts a warm glow onto the Brasilia coffee table, designed by Claesson Koivisto Rune for Swedese.
The living room is anchored by a sofa and lounge chair, both by Børge Mogensen, as well as a Conoid bench by George Nakashima. An Isamu Noguchi pendant lamp casts a warm glow onto the Brasilia coffee table, designed by Claesson Koivisto Rune for Swedese.