If you're looking for the ultimate minimalist bed frame, a platform bed with edges that extend beyond the mattress allow it to double as a bedside table, eliminating the need for other furniture.

The Parisian flat that American-born architect Michael Herrman shares with his wife, Cécile, and their 2-year-old daughter, Rose, had been nearly untouched since the 1790s, when it was built. “But I wanted to try and reveal some of its age in a fresh new context,” Herrman said.

The cavernous living room takes advantage of its height with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

The style of this specific Lustron is known as Westchester Deluxe. Featuring 1,153 square feet of living space, the 1949 midcentury still remains in its rare original condition.

In the house’s front room Monkman relaxes on a stool from local retailer Andrew Richard Designs. A new window system draws in sunlight and views of the front courtyard designed by local landscape architect Terry McGlade, the building’s former owner.

Sliding doors cast shadows across the concrete floor.

A carpet of custom tile created by Navone punctuates a corridor on the first floor.

Exposed boards that were salvaged from the original apartment were installed into the master bedroom. They provide a rustic atmosphere, enhanced by the addition of DIY industrial lighting. The bedding, curtains, and bedside tables are all from IKEA.

The kitchen occupies one corner of the L-shaped structure. As throughout, the floors are made up of reclaimed eucalyptus that Chris planed himself.

The Perth residence of Renee Coleman via the Design Files.

The cantilevered main floor creates space for bracken fern and other indigenous vegetation to flourish.

Exterior siding is often brought into Eichler homes to reinforce the coveted connection between inside and outside.

A 606 Universal Shelving System by Dieter Rams for Vitsoe hangs tough on the only opaque wall of the living room. Russell-Clarke and Moolsintong designed the coffee table, and Marcel Wanders gets credit for the Bottoni sofa for Moooi.

The first floor has been conceived as an open integrated space with the main floor

The guesthouse is clad in vertical white vinyl siding. Kelli had decking constructed out of engineered wood and cedar.

Minimal interventions by architect Andrew Simpson allowed this former jam warehouse outside of Melbourne, Australia, to be turned into a family residence. "To draw light and ventilation into what was a poorly oriented and deep footprint, an extensive number of operable skylights were introduced on the north- and south-facing roof pitches, and a large void connecting the floors was strategically positioned to also take advantage of this amenity," Simpson says. American oak floorboards and Dulux paint were used throughout the property for continuity.

One of the most classic ways to understand a space is through an architectural drawing, which can take the form of a plan (a flat aerial view of a space) or an elevation (a flat view of an interior wall or exterior side of a building).

“Designing a house is like writing a song: You try as best you can and you have to finish at some point. You’re probably best to write another song than driving yourself mad.”—Jamie Norton, resident

Keeping the home cozy in winter is as easy as snuggling up near the Rais stove or the fluffy pooch.

Sheer Genius The master bedroom wall that faces the light well is made from a double layer of corrugated-plastic panels, with a sheet of vinyl from Canal Plastics Center sandwiched between them for translucency. The wall lets sunlight and moonlight into the room while still maintaining privacy.

To create a bit more texture in the kitchen and baths, the couple added classic checkered tiles from the local hardware store—an inexpensive option that broke up the polished concrete floors spanning the rest of the house. Pavonetti designed and built the pedestal sinks using reclaimed cedar siding.

Bedroom

Architect Bruce Bolander made the most of a limited footprint in a house he designed in a Malibu canyon. With the small bedroom unable to accommodate any "normal" size desk, the architect designed a very thin custom steel desk where resident Heidi Wright works. The floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors from Metal Window Corporation open the entire corner of the room up to the outdoors. “The mountains across the way are almost like another wall—they contain the space to the point that you feel like you’re in a much bigger space, that you’re part of the overall landscape,” says Bolander. Photo by J Bennett Fitts.

The master bath incorporates custom cabinets by Bob Clausen, fixtures by Grohe, Hansgrohe, and Kohler, and a sink by Duravit. Plush Lisbon cork carpets the floor.

“We’re here for almost three months every summer—and it works so well that you never feel it’s a small space. The separation and steps between each perfect little box create a great flow.”—Nadja van Praag

The normally straight, horizontal louvers of the screen in the lofted bedroom were also altered for the project.

Living Room

Interlocking rubber tiles from HiddenLock provide a watertight seal for the floor. Primarily used in garages, the tough, spill-friendly tiles cost about $3.15 per square foot.

The architects created the illusion of more space by opening up the floor plan, repositioning the staircase and introducing sight lines to the large windows on the south side. Recurring black accents—from the dining room’s Serge Mouille light fixture to its tall bookcases—contrast the brightness of the crisp white walls. Walnut floors and lighter wood furniture like the Klaus Willhelm table and Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs cozy up the home, while colorful objects animate it. “We strongly believe that people do not need more space, they just need better-designed space,” Dubbeldam says.

Every mahogany wall was replaced with new ones, the contractor "painstakingly going through literally hundreds of panels over several days to find ones that matched," recalls Blaine. Since the quarter inch-round mahogany corners at the outside of the interior walls found in Eichler homes are no longer made, Blaine worked with the contractor to find a supplier of rounds that were then cut down to quarters.

Bamboo flooring and custom built-ins—fashioned from medium-density fiberboard with a white-lacquer finish—brightened Gavin and Sheila Smith’s 650-square-foot attic. Gavin Smith designed the blackened-steel balustrade, which has cable inserts and a walnut handrail.

Pentimento’s true versatility is revealed with each new tenant who inhabits the structure. As Nicolas demonstrates, the polished concrete floors make for an ideal biking surface. When playtime is over, he hangs his bike on the wall by the front door, suspending it from the handlebars to keep the floor tidy.

“The upper floor includes the entry, cloakroom, guest bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living room, and terrace,” Hammer says. “In contrast to the lower floor and its separated rooms, the living area is composed as an open space with no walls.” Nerd Chairs by David Geckeler for Muuto surround a handcrafted nutwood table in the dining room.

A radiant hot water heating system was installed under a new concrete floor slab above the old foundation. It was coated with epoxy — light gray for the common areas, white for the bedrooms and bathrooms — then finished with matte polyurethane.

The Studio vanity unit from Swoon was designed so that it works well in both small and large bathrooms, with lots of flexibility in terms of color, basin, wall or floor mount, and with or without a tap or faucet hole for wall-mount or regular faucet locations.