The Most Popular Homes in Dwell: 41-60

Alex the Great The custom white-oak desk that Kurath designed for the office ably houses both Paul’s and Shoko’s computers with support from a decidedly off-the-shelf source: Ikea. Paul replaced the casters on two Alex drawer units with short legs from an Ikea kitchen system. Tucked beneath the desktop, the standalone storage divides the desk into work stations, houses office supplies, and shows how high design plays well with a bit of DIY ingenuity. ikea.com

The kitchen is from Ikea and the dining chairs by Arne Jacobsen, but the table is pure Bornstein.

Architects Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena’s design may be strict in its layout and proportion, but it lends itself to casual living.

The kitchen was originally long, narrow, and completely closed off from the rest of the apartment. Miller opened up the plan to create a more spacious feel.

Hale and Maisie peer out of one of the living-room windows, from where Edmonds (pictured at left with Pippa) dreams about installing a zip-line directly to their garden patch.

The combination living, kitchen, and dining area hosts a Modernica Case Study day bed, an Eames Aluminum Group chair and ottoman from Chicago vintage retailer Pegboard Modern, Artemide’s Tolomeo Mega floor lamp, and a Big Sur Small dining table from Crate and Barrel. The Duetto sideboard and cocktail table were hand-built by designer Sandra Capasso for her thesis project.

In the foreground are Float beanbag chairs and poufs from Paola Lenti. Mamagreen sofas nestle near the house on the sun-dappled deck. A 9.5-foot-tall shade cloth curtain seals off the entire length of the house when the couple is away, keeping the heat out of the interior and preventing accidental bird suicides against the floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

The Arnolds’ bedroom and living area float over the hillside, the large windows allowing light to flood in from both sides. A bamboo-enclosed deck sits atop the house’s foundation.

Getting Oriented Made from pressed tree chippings and resin, oriented strand board is strong and durable and makes a bold design statement. The sheer level of agricultural chic at the Ochre Barn is probably a bit much for most interiors, but the material did come cheap: Turner bought eight-by-four-foot panels of OSB for as little as $24 apiece.

"This was the most complex house I've ever done," says Smith of the residence, which is located on a corner lot in a quiet residential neighborhood in Palo Alto. Though the facade shown here faces the street, it is actually the back of the home. Making all sides appear to be a front was challenging for Smith.

The main living area.

As Østergaard says, “With a small house, you really consider everything you own. You don’t have 20 pots and pans, you have only four good ones.”

The computer-designed kitchen area has the feel of a ship's galley, with everything neatly stowed, yet visible and instantly at hand: It's much the definition of "ship-shape." For dinner parties, well-worn Eames shell chairs are pulled down by David, with the help of a footstool. "I have nearly an eight-foot reach," says the 6'3'' David. ("It gets a little tough if I have to spend a weekend or so alone," says Im.)

Kim and Gabriella enjoy their kitchen, which spills out onto their backyard deck.

Cedar slats mark the facade of the Worple's lakefront vacation home in Ontario.

Ewing designed a floor-to-ceiling window to provide an expansive view while bathing her living room in natural light. She hired D & H Glass, a local company that makes plate-glass windows for grocery stores, to join three standard-size windows, filling the 9-by-18-foot space for under $4,000.

A monumental German climate map enlivens the dining area, which also sports CH 23 & CH 30 chairs by Hans Wegner.

Give the trekkers and travelers in your life a boost with new gear and inspiration.

In the living room, Adams relaxes on a chair by designer Scot Laughton while Fleming plays banjo.