Stairs

Dan Pacek and John Roynon of Leonia, New Jersey, expanded and renovated their tiny kitchen, integrating it more sensibly into their 1911 house while borrowing natural light from secondary sources, such as a window on the landing leading to the second floor.

A minimalist approach to design can make spaces feel thoughtful, bright, and more spacious than they really are—qualities that are paramount to a recent project in Poznań by Polish architecture firm mode:lina. The architects employed several tricks to make the home feel more spacious. Among them, mirrors were installed to visually enlarge the room, and smart storage spaces—even a recessed dog house—were built directly into the home’s walls. “The less visible [storage is], the better,” they say.

Concrete stairs leading up to a sleeping loft are illuminated with wall sconces.