Living

A wall-mounted oak bar is where Siminovich and Kerner drop their keys, pound away on their laptops, and occasionally eat a quick meal with Matilda, their two-year-old daughter.

The open plan, high ceilings, and white walls all amplify the light that streams into the living room, accented with a Barcelona Couch by Mies van der Rohe for Knoll and two Blythe Pony Cube ottomans by Gus Design.

The compact rental features plenty of wooden ledges, nooks, and shelves for keeping belongings organized. In the living room, a low white wall is capped with fir wood salvaged from the garage’s former posts. On the east wall, a half-door made of reclaimed cedar looks out on a garden. “It looks and lives a lot bigger than it is,” Schaer says.

Light cascades into the living room through a row of six insulated timber windows on the south wall. The north wall flares out to create what Schaer calls a sunset scoop. “It grabs the late afternoon and evening sun and brings it deep into the space,” he explains.

This New York City home is studded with pieces by such famous names as Knoll, Saarinen, and Risom. Deployed throughout the loft, these modern icons at once unify and separate work and life. Like the architecture, they can be read two ways: as recognizably typical office furniture or as prized home-design collectibles.

The living room-office, part of the new rooftop addition, has a Forever 715 sofa by Vibieffe and a rug the couple purchased in Morocco. The custom swing double doors feature a thermally broken aluminum frame and insulated glass.

On the second floor, the owners wanted to build a new play and study room for their two children, which features an extensive bookcase. L'Archipel des Ébénistes assisted in its construction.

An alcove in the stairwell displays a white ash sculpture by Bradley.

Because the residents wanted lighting “to fade away,” the home makes the most of natural light and minimizes fixtures. Each room has two sources of daylight, usually in the form of floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights. Fluorescent lights integrate into the surface of the skylights so they don’t protrude into the space.

At the top of the stairs, a panorama of the Glen Park neighborhood is revealed.

The residence architect Cary Bernstein designed for Scott Croyle and his family is an exercise in hide-and-seek. Clever storage keeps the space clutter-free and lets the structure shine. In the entryway, drawers tuck under the mezzanine, niches hold artwork, and speakers are built in line with the cabinets.

A series of Radient sconces by RBW illuminates the third-floor landing with a subtle graphic pop.

Lyons works in her home office sited between the kitchen and the living room. A 1970s chrome bar cart stocked with vintage decanters sits near a leather-and-teak armchair by mid-century Danish designer Søren J. Ladefoged that Lyons inherited from her family.

The hallway leading to the master bedroom is lined with an assortment of framed photos of family and friends and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the verdant James River Valley.

Which is the true design classic: the Eames rockers, Eames Wire Base Table, or those tasty M&Ms?

The study houses not only a pair of plastic Eames shell chairs but much of the couple's large collection of architecture and design books.