Mélanie Laurent (left) and Ewan McGregor (right) star in writer/director Mike Mills’ BEGINNERS, a Focus Features release. Photo credit: Focus Features.

With its three nylon strings, this rectangular guitar is easy for anyone to play. Pint-sized performers will start exploring the instrument, and will quickly learn where to place fingers to create music.

Academy Award nominee Christopher Plummer (left) and Ewan McGregor (right) star as father and son in writer/director Mike Mills’ BEGINNERS, a Focus Features release. Photo credit: Focus Features

Coffee shop and bakery hybrid The Mill is the creative brainchild of Four Barrel Coffee's Jeremy Tooker and Josey Baker Bread's Josey Baker. The two opened their doors a block from Alamo Square along San Francisco's booming Divisadero corridor, and lovingly craft coffee from a vintage steel roaster and toast from house-milled flour. The shop makes a beautiful impact on the block with its simple and understated brick exterior, while natural light from skylights and oversized windows draw attention to the high ceiling and exposed natural wood rafters inside. Conceptualized by Boor Bridges Architecture, The Mill's collaborative production space was built to be open and transparent, to facilitate seamless shared use by bakers and baristas. Eye-catching geometric custom shelving by Alex Palecko adorns a full wall, serving as both functional retail display and high-impact art piece. 736 Divisadero Street

The Best Bath Towel Breaking it down between performance (science-related data on cotton molecules versus bamboo fabrics) and experience (how the towel feels on your bod). The Sweethome recommends 1888 Mills’ Luxury Cotton Made in Africa bath towels.

Mike Mills and Ewan McGregor at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, where our interview took place.

Boyle Residence Floor Plan A Entry B Living Room C Outdoor Dining Room D Formal Dining Area E Kitchen F Family Room G Master Bedroom H Master Bathroom I Bedroom J Bathroom K Deck L Exercise Studio M Garage N Office

Designed with a stainless steel swivel top and an adjustable ceramic grinder, these salt and pepper mills deliver flavor in refined form. Their rubber and powder-covered aluminum base can also be separated for easy cleaning. Find these black and white grinders here to make seasoning a pinch.

A digitally fabricated design in London boasts secret compartments for coralling the trappings of a modern workspace.—Diana Budds

The Salt and Pepper Mills can be used with rock salt and peppercorns, and feature a non-corrosive grinding mechanism, which can be adjusted to create fine or coarse salt and pepper. Available in small and large sizes, one can be used for pepper, and the other for salt. Each cylindrical mill is crafted from oak and features a dip dyed finish for an unexpected, distinctive look.

The Mill Owners' Association Building by Le Corbusier.

The exterior of the Mill House.

Housing at Sunila Pulp Mill, Alvar Aalto, 1936. Photo by Pat McElnea. Images provided courtesy The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture Archive of The Cooper Union.

Mill Junction Student Housing (Johannesburg, South Africa) The developers at Citiq decided to one-up anybody reclaiming and reusing building material by fashioning an 11-story dorm out of shipping containers and abandoned grain silos. This colorful space near the city’s central business district accommodates nearly 400 students in a mish-mash of metal shapes. Photo by Citiq

Academy Award nominee Christopher Plummer stars in writer/director Mike Mills’ BEGINNERS, a Focus Features release. Photo credit: Andrew Tepper

The barn makes extraordinarily efficient use of timber milled from on-site trees.

These early abstract studies for a residential project in Mill Valley, California, show the firm's creative process at work. Image courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art.

The designer’s brother, Václav Valda, carved the cabinets for the container house using a milling cutter.

The 510 Cabin is one of Leggitt's designs, executed with the help of student apprentices.

The acclaimed Italian designers Ludovica + Roberto Palomba carved a serene retreat out of a 17th-century oil mill in Salento.

Michael McGregor’s MOON WINE PLAY TIME, 2023. Acrylic on Barcelona Chair.

Raised beds and containers are excellent choices for beginners, as you can avoid remedying your existing soil and ensure your new crops are receiving the appropriate nutrients via new potting soil.

Each mill is marked with both the Dansk name and Quistgaard's initials.

The upstairs penthouse is lined with Mill‘s library.

Irregular milled perforations form intriguing light wells in the skin of the house.

The cover of Murakami Versailles.

The stair was crafted from birch plywood and milled with a CNC mill so that it could be delivered and assembled as a kit of parts.

The arched walls and thresholds of this former 17th-century oil mill residence in Salento, Puglia serves as a dramatic backdrop for its Italian designer owners to showcase their contemporary custom creations and iconic, modern Italian furniture.

Mill Valley Cabins

The media loft features soft goods made locally by The Oriole Mill, Sew Co., and Echo View Mill. The iron work for the lofts and the side porch railings was done by Iron Maiden Studios in Asheville.

Maria Kochetkova in McGregor's Chroma. © Erik Tomasson

Mill Valley Cabins

Mill Valley Cabins