Focusing on products made Stateside wasn’t Danny Seo’s first priority for his kitchen renovation—instead, he had one specific requirement: stainless-steel cabinets to replace the original, musty wood ones.

Danny envisioned the space between the ADU and the house as an informal place to gather. "It creates a sort of courtyard sensibility, which works for our intergenerational family dynamics."

Every space, including the living and dining sections seen here, has “furniture, objects and artworks that bring us memories,” says Smud. The bench, coffee tables, and dining table are by the late Alejandro Sticotti.

Danny fitted the kitchen into an alcove outfitted with Ikea cabinets and Semihandmade fronts. The refrigerator is by LG. On the jute rug from Armadillo, chairs from Threshold join a table from Inside Weather.

CC Timer by Mathias Zieba and Alexandre Burdin.

CC4441 (Tokyo, Japan) Tomokazu Hayakawa sliced and stacked two black containers to create an angular art gallery and office space in the Taito district. Photo by Kuniaki Sasage

A tight construction budget informed the choices Sean Guess made as he designed a house for a couple in Austin, Texas. Budget-minded materials, like the James Hardie fiber-cement siding, helped hold construction costs to $130 per square foot. Sherwin-Williams’s Cyberspace hue colors the exterior and Parakeet coats the custom kitchen cabinets by Austin Wood Works. The planter is made from Cor-Ten steel.

Onstage, green lifestyle expert and media personality Danny Seo will speak about sourcing American kitchen products, and preview the kitchen renovation inside his 1950s rural Pennsylvania home, to be featured in the July/August issue of Dwell. Photo by David Englehardt.

Home Renovation Tip: Make a Realistic Budget

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For O’Reilly, paring the design back to a minimum was important from both an aesthetic and budget standpoint.

Originally designed by Alvar Aalto 1935, the Aalto Chair 66 ($446-456) for Artek is a classic example of Scandinavian simplicity.

Hailing from Seoul, Jeonghwa Seo studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

The apartment features a rug by EligoStudio for cc-tapis, lighting by Foscarini, kitchen appliances by Smeg, Vitra chairs, tableware by Bitossi, and a bed by Moroso for Diesel Living.

“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

The Jorgensen's Menlo Park home is a model of green design with features that are smart for everyone to consider. "Every project is different, but there are some universal things that will apply from project to project," says Feldman about designing a green home. "The first—and most obvious thing—is to always try to build less, to have a smaller house and be smart about how the rooms are designed and oriented so that you can get by with less space. Smart design will lead to a smaller building, but it won't feel smaller."

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

“I didn’t want marble or granite because they aren’t sustainable,” says Seo. “Laminate is one of the few surfaces recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council toward LEED certification. Plus it’s affordable and I liked the way it looked—a triple whammy.”

Danny Seo replaced the wood cabinets of his kitchen with stainless-steel models. As a professional photo stylist, he needed to accommodate a vast collection of kitchen items, such as multiples of plates, wooden bowls, and utensils.

A pair of lights from IKEA hang above the first floor, which houses the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Pine floors, painted black, run throughout the residence.

The Material Container series also includes tables.

Rian and Melissa Jorgensen's 2 Bar House in Menlo Park boasts all the usual green design suspects: energy-efficient lighting, good insulation, renewable material finishes, radiant heat, and the roof is pre-wired for future PV panels. Executed by Feldman Architecture, the house requires only natural lighting during the day which keeps energy costs way down. Still, the most stunning aspect of the green design is the living roof planted with succulents, aloe, viviums, and ice plants. "I'm absolutely glad that we did it," says Melissa. "It turned out so well and I really enjoy sitting up there and taking advantage of it as much as I can. It's very peaceful." Read more about this total remodel here.

In the living room, Two Mario Botta chairs look towards the new fireplace, a Memphis coffee table and an original leaded-glass window. The rug is designed by Faye Toogood for CC Tapis. Happy the dog sits on a sofa from Toronto’s Home Societe.

A small dining space and kitchen area blend into the expansive wood paneling used throughout The Barn.

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