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

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.

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.

Detail of the kitchen counter.

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.

Kork by Twodesigners for Linadura. Lightweight but heavy duty, these modular storage compartments—evocative of Kartell’s Componibili—connect via layers of recycled cork.

"You want to make sure that your feet aren't unsupported," Burn says. "If you do have the feet on the floor and your thighs aren’t parallel to the floor you could be compressing the circulation in the back of your leg. Adjusting the feet to the right height is crucial." Gesture chair by Steelcase Design Studio in collaboration with Glen Oliver Loew, $979.

“Choose a seat with either an adjustable backrest height or lumbar support so the chair’s curve fits into the curve of a back like two pieces of a puzzle," Burn says. Collection Ciel! chair by Noé Duchaufour Lawrance for Tabisso, from $1,500. Check out another colorful customizable chair!

“It’s crucial to think about seat pan depth—especially if you’re short," Burn says. "Look for at least two inches of clearance behind the back of knee when you’re sitting in the chair.” Mirra 2 chair by Studio 7.5 for Herman Miller, from $649.

“Look for five key adjustments. Some chairs have more; some have less," says Burn. "These five should accommodate 95% of the population: seat height, seat depth, backrest and lumbar support height, and armrest height.” Diffrient Smart chair by Niels Diffrient for Humanscale, from $1,310. Check out more smart furniture here.

"If you’re in a chair that has a foam or mesh back, you need to look for some level of adjustment for lumbar support to fit the curve of the chair to the curve of your back," Burn says. "Sometimes this can be done more passively where the chair automatically fits to you without you coming in to make the adjustment." Clarity chair by BMW Group DesignWorksUSA with Allsteel, from $750. For more foam fun...

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.

OneLessOffice by Heckler Design. A space-saving office suite that stacks, expands, and hides clutter is made from commercial-grade steel in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hyppolite desk by Florence Watine for Hartô. The petite secretary desk can fit in even the smallest home office; its powder-coated legs are available in eight colors.

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

Babylon collection by Samuel Wilkinson by Lexon. Inspired by rocks, these faceted desktop accessories—tape dispenser, scissors, stapler, cup, pen, and alarm clock—are made of injection molded plastic.

Mitt chair by Claudia & Harry Washington for Bernhardt Design, $2,100. Inspired by a baseball glove’s shape and stitching detail, the versatile upholstered lounge chair features soft, rounded edges—a boon for families with young children.

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.

Keep your terrace looking sharp by punctuating lush greenery with shots of monochromatic black and white and adding innovative fabrics that work both indoors and out. View all black and white outdoor furniture and lighting here, from Dwell's April 2013 issue.

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.

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

In a small seating area at the base of a two-story tower, Oslo chairs and sofas by Anderssen& Voll are paired with Around tables by Thomas Bentzen, all from Muuto. The lamp from Svenskt Tenn was designed by Josef Frank in 1938.

The living room features two side chairs and an end table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar and a bronze screen designed by Harold Balazs.

Those hammers and saws built a home for the family’s chickens, watched over by Apolo among outdoor furniture by Richard Schultz.

Custom-designed furniture outfits the interior of a bunker-turned-vacation retreat in the Netherlands.

Neon tables by Sebastian Herkner for Haymann, $1,660. Thin layers of white onyx are placed atop acrylic to achieve an acid-washed look for the steel-legged tables.

Twiggy lamp by Marc Sadler for Foscarini, $2,800–$3,900. Foscarini, an Italian lighting manufacturer, introduced seven limited-edition rainbow-inspired colors of its popular LED or incandescent floor lamp.

BuzziPatch by Sas Adriaenssens for BuzziSpace. Patchwork rug tiles that attach to one another with leather straps are available in four color sets.