Here's a detail shot of the stool. The leather comes in four options—black, chocolate, tobacco, and saddle—and the brightly hued backing fabric comes in ten—sky, radish, egg yolk, cream, camel, charchol, sand, mocha, chocolate, and black.

A look at the small reading nook located on the level between the bedroom and ground floor.

A new office sits at the front of the house, and its moody walls and bookshelves contrast the other rooms' mostly light and neutral palette.

Chickens foraging in an enclosed garden with vertical planters.

Completed in May 2018, the Crossfield Street House is the residence of architect Jonathan Pile, his wife Katherine, and their five-year-old son.

In this updated 1950s Portland home, a light gray Neo sofa by Bensen harmonizes with warm wooden walls, ceilings, and floors, as well as a red-and-mustard-yellow vintage rug.

The box-shaped extension plays off the familiar farmhouse typology, creating a series of intriguing contrasts.

A painting by Ginger’s grandmother hangs above a midcentury dining set Ginger found on Craigslist.

A modular shelf system by Alu provides a more sculptural take on the classic bathroom vanity in this Toronto home.

Architect Ulrich Hamann's rendering of the new addition to the Lenbachhaus Museum and Gallery; the Stadtische Galerie Im Lenbachhaus. Image courtesy of Lenbachhaus Gallery and Museum.

Linda Taalman and Alan Koch, of Taalman Koch Architects, completed work on their glass iT House, a lovely, minimal home that tests the limits of living lightly on the land in the desert near Joshua Tree National Park. The bath and basin in the bathroom are by Duravit, and the orange wall is by Three Form.

Detail of the kitchen

Because their loft is a rental, David and Im Schafer built everything to be removable.

Inspirational spaces

During the worst of the recession, companies looked to DIY and low-cost creativity to innovate. One company to jump aboard the creative revamp bandwagon is the notoriously cheap Motel 6 chain. The pillar of downmarket roadside accommodations, Motel 6 is reskinning their shabby (and not chic) interiors to give them a touch of modern minimalism and an air of modest luxury. Check out the changes here.

This sleeping area includes a bookshelf and sconce.

British artist Hannah Sawtell and technologist Avi Flombaum created sawbaum.com, where users can create visual collages using multiple vine streams. "We wanted it to look like a visual comic book, with overlapping panels," said Flombaum. "And we wanted it to be fun!" Photo courtesy Rhizome.

I.M. Pei, Luce Memorial Chapel (1963) When architect I.M. Pei designed this chapel for Tunghai University in Taiwan, he had to take local conditions, like typhoons and earthquakes, into account. His plan, which, included a curved roof of glazed, diamond-shaped tiles and interior ribs of reinforced concrete that run like ribbons towards the cross mounted on the roof, was an elegant solution to the challenges of the local environment. Photo courtesy Valter Wei, Creative Commons

Annemie Lathouwers grew up in a forested enclave on the outskirts of Antwerp, Belgium. A nature preserve filled with stately pines, the area lured her back when she and her husband, David D’Hulst, began thinking about trading their house in the city for greener surroundings.

In the open-plan living area, one of the highlights is the natural light-filled kitchen from Italian manufacturer Armony.

The kitchen countertops are soapstone and the faucet is by Axor.

Designed by a little-known architect in 1949, the now streamlined home honors its original bones.

The hanging textile, which is used as a room divider, is by artist Nathalie Van der Massen.

Atelier Branco built 3,229 square feet of shelving units to house all of the client's texts, documents, and books.

Gardiner Architecture ensured that flexibility, practicality, comfort, and spaciousness were all present in Elm Street House, as well as natural connections to the oft-used backyard and the surrounding neighborhood. The kitchen units are composed of blackbutt veneer and have a matte finish; the counters are Caesarstone. A pass-through window at the sink connects to the yard and makes for easy entertaining.

A long, timber deck extends through the tree canopy at House of the Big Arch. As House of the Tall Chimneys has only a bedroom/living space and a bathroom, all other activities, such as cooking and dining, takes place at House of the Big Arch.

The large, round Douglas fir trunk contrasts with the rectangular ceiling beams and provides raw, organic texture in the open-plan living room.

The couple fabricated the shelving themselves.

The large window that floods the interior can be sealed off for privacy with sliding shutters.

The designers raised the floor in the sunken den and painted the dated paneling Cotton Balls by Benjamin Moore. “We hardly ever used that space, and now we’re in there all the time,” says John. The credenza is a vintage find from Sunset Bazaar, while the Blok horizontal sconce is from WAC Lighting.