Resident Peter Østergaard (with Maja, 6, and Carl, 20 months) and architect and photographer Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen have been best friends since they were 13, which makes for easy collaboration. Says Bjerre-Poulsen: “There are always a lot of challenges in a renovation, but Peter and Åsa trusted my judgment and gave me a completely free hand. Usually it’s hard to push people into unconventional solutions, but Peter has all these wild and crazy ideas.” One such idea was to embed a transparent glass-and-iron door in the floor, operated by a hydraulic pump, which allows access to the subterranean wine cellar. At night, the lit-up cellar glows, lending the compact living room an increased sense of verticality.

Ryan Anderson of RAD Furniture designed the stools as well as the table and benches on the pool deck.

After living on and studying a woodsy acre of land in North Zealand, Denmark, architect Jesper Brask cleared a stand of pine trees and, from the timber, built a getaway open to its surroundings. The house, which Brask shares with his wife, Lene, and sons, Kristian, Jens, and Niels, is used mainly in summer, when the weather is optimal for throwing open the glass doors.

Choosing a kitchen or bathroom countertop can be nerve-wracking, and we understand why—they can be one of the most expensive aspects of a renovation, with the added responsibility of impacting the aesthetics of a space. Read on as we work our way through the pros and cons of seven of the most common countertop materials.

To raise awareness about biodiversity in cities and the benefits it delivers, the EEA façade, overlooking one of the most prominent squares of Copenhagen, Denmark, gets shielded with a vertical garden (shaped like a map of the European continent!) which uses a mesh pattern, similar to a cross-stich pattern, that fills in dirt and various flowers. Via WalkOnWaterOrDrown.

In the living room, spare Scandinavian design takes center stage. Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chairs surround an Essay dining table by Cecilie Manz for Fritz Hansen; a mostly wood palette is enhanced by slate-gray brick around the fireplace. The paper lanterns throughout the home are a mixture of classics by Isamu Noguchi alongside those picked up in Japan and France.

Built-ins reduce the need for furniture.

At the client’s request the kitchen contains neither upper cabinets (Shino can’t reach them) nor an oven (they only used the old one once—to reheat a pizza). A modular Roche Bobois Mah Jong sofa adds a decorative flourish to the living area while maintaining as low a profile as the traditional Japanese furniture.

Yang Yeo and his girlfriend Ching Ian relax on the back stoop of their renovated and radically updated Singapore shophouse—an archetypal building type in this busy port city. “Shophouses brought back memories of our childhood,” says Yeo.

The beanbag chairs and outdoor sofa and chairs are from West Elm and the Case Study Museum Bench is from Modernica.

During the 1950s and ’60s, Eichler built more than 11,000 architect-designed modern homes in California. Seth Krubiner, Simpatico’s founder, lived in one during his youth and remained smitten with its mixture of everyman affordability and mid-century cool.

Two San Francisco art and travel addicts overhauled a loft—and customized a pair of shipping containers—to accommodate their collection and reflect their passions.

Boerum House and Home is meant to evoke the modern Brooklyn residence. How would you define that? Brooklyn is a hotbed of output from the creative class, and Boerum Hill is one of the great Brooklyn neighborhoods. For us, that means it’s an exciting place to live with traditional architecture, in an exciting town, in a modern way. From where we stand, the modern Brooklyn home is a world-class backdrop for the stories, interests, and pursuits of a life well lived.

Danish architects John Lassen and Joanna Tench renovated the interior of this quaint 1960s thatched-roof cottage in North Jutland, giving it a clean, modern face-lift.

Lassen designed all the furniture with the exception of a few items, like the vintage Chairman armchair by Henrik Tengler and white IKEA sofas. “To keep it simple, we only used natural colors from wood inside, with everything else being white,” Lassen says.

To highlight the existing architecture of the home, Hill retained the dark polish of the casement windows, which she finds enhances period details instead of undermining them. In the rear sunroom, the vintage Case Study furniture pieces with Plexiglas bases are from Metro Retro in Houston. A Bourgie lamp by Kartell is atop an old marble end table by Knoll, and the Gan kilim rug pictures a branch motif echoed in the kitchen and breakfast room.

Builder Ross Percival helped finesse the finely tuned detailing that separates the internal slope from the rock outside (opposite). The Pedro wire stool is by Craig Bond for Candywhistle.

Alex enjoys a sun-filled breakfast at the built-in dining table and bench, one of many space-saving designs.

“Hotels usually have to refurbish rooms every 10 years or so when they look dated. The vintage furniture we use here has lasted 60 years already, and will last another 60 years—the worn-in look is part of their charm,” says general manager Jeppe Muhlhausen.

Though Dinesen typically does not use knotty wood, here those pieces are preserved and celebrated as a textured wall treatment. A sofa by Anderseen & Voll for Muuto sits next to a chair by OeO and Brdr. Krüger. The table is Gubi.

Daybed by Nina Bruun, part of MINDCRAFT 13 exhibition presented by Danish Crafts. See it at Ventura Lambrate.

White plaster walls and a curved ceiling play up natural lighting, while minimalist decor and furnishings (many of which they designed themselves) make the small space feel larger.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food scraps and yard waste make up 20 percent of what we throw away. Composting organic materials keeps them out of the landfill, which cuts down on greenhouse gases, and enriches the soil. To compost at home, make a pile in your backyard, or introduce an indoor bin for throwaways like apple peels and eggshells.

Though only two feet deep, the Ikea cabinet Azevedo bought for the guest bath didn’t quite fit, so she sliced off eight inches with a table saw. “It might be unorthodox, but it was just easier, faster, and cheaper to do it myself,” says the former furniture designer.

Lassen says the biggest key for designing a small space is to keep things as minimalist as possible. “Don’t try to make anything bigger or build an addition. Just remove all bad architecture and create clean, simple rooms.”

Simple utilitarianism at its finest: Takagi's Simple Machines series of stools, benches, and tables in white oak.

A departure from the mod-meets-baroque dining room, Turin’s breakfast area is far more sedate. She and her daughter, Helena, have a chat at a Progetto 1 table by Monica Armani for B&B Italia surrounded by four Lia chairs by Roberto Barbieri for Zanotta. The painting behind Helena is by Ricci Albenda.

Inside, white paint lightens up the middle of the building. A vintage Danish dining set and Cloud pendants by Frank Gehry for Vitra define the dining area.

A Renovated Farmhouse in Denmark: This beautiful renovation has a classic Scandinavian feel and soft, but simple color scheme. From The Style Files.

Danish furniture designer Hans Wegner in his studio. Photo courtesy PP MØBLER.

Degrado Amarillo wallpaper by Eijffinger. The Dutch company’s Ibiza collection saturates walls in degrees with a photorealistic paper that adds an of-the-moment gradient effect.

In the living and dining area of Jean Risom's Block Island family retreat, mostly vintage Risom furnishings share space with a few new additions, the view facing north is framed by the wall of glass. Photo by: Floto + Warner

The home’s original living and dining rooms were updated with custom cabinetry and new fir floors. The living room sofa, coffee table, and lounge chair are from Blu Dot.

The dwelling showcases the designer’s collection of Danish chairs and loungers from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s — including pieces designed by Kofod Larsen, J.L Moller, Harry Ostergaard, Bruno Mathsson, and Hans J. Wegner.

It’s a good idea to read reviews about specific pieces before buying them, which can help prepare you for the unexpected.

A series of round cushions piled atop the floor make for a casual lounge area in the upstairs apartment. Acting as both a room divider and a dramatic centerpiece, a custom dining table, created by Nathalie, hangs suspended from the ceiling. She also designed the kitchenette beyond, incorporating vintage cabinets by Danish midcentury designer Børge Mogensen.