MAIS 001

PE230084 004

Regatta 002 in Parasol by Maharam, $55 per yard A solution-dyed acrylic-and-polyester blend is available in five colors.

The basic requirements of a good stocking stuffer are: portable size, ingenuity, and of course, the fun factor. This brightly-colored universal adapter from Flight 001 satisfies all three. ($25)

Shown with the simple Drop cap Pendant, the Plumen 001 is the original energy-saving bulb from Plumen. The bulb’s dynamic design mimics the filament found in incandescent bulbs, but its glass, sculptural silhouette makes the bulb look more elegant than traditional bulbs and standard CFLs. The Plumen 001 has a screw fitting that fits into any lamp that accommodates a standard screw bulb.

"Another factor is form. I take into consideration the graphic quality of each component, as well as how they will interact as a whole," says Evey. "For example, I selected the flat bulbs because their rigidity plays off the flowing paracord-wrapped extension to create a push/pull that I find really compelling. I love focusing on the unexpected, be it color or texture, and I try to reflect that in every Lighht I create.”

"I pick the different elements for every build based on a few factors," says Evey. "One primary factor is color. Industrial parts are made in great colors like safety orange, dull gray, and high-visibility green, to name a few. The coloring of home product is typically very quiet, so I wanted to build lamps that went against that convention and made a statement."

Lighht 002 is made from readily available hardware materials: High-Viz extension cord, plug splitter, clamps, Philips SlimStyle flat LED bulbs, adaptor plugs, all-direction extension adaptor, paracord, and epoxy.

"The design process starts by considering the amount of illumination needed, as well as the amount of physical space available. From there it’s a process of gathering components and materials," says Evey. "Next I experiment with composition and finishes until I have something both functional and formally intriguing. Then it is lovingly packaged and shipped off. Every Lighht is unique, so the process really changes from piece to piece."

"I started this project out of a desire to redefine the conventional aesthetics surrounding home objects. I wanted to challenge notions of both elegance and usability, and Lighht became a place for me to experiment with those ideas," Evey says. "Of course none of this takes place in a vacuum, I think of this work as sitting in dialog with more historical figures like Andrea Branzi, as well as contemporary designers like Martino Gamper and Brendan Timmins."

"From a formal perspective, I was seeing a lot of digital collage work created in a 'Home Depot aesthetic,' and I was curious what would happen when those visual gestures were re-crystallized and the digital made real once again," says Evey. "I’m interested in the cycles of creative culture relating to the Internet, and I think we’ve only begun to see the depth of influence digitally birthed aesthetics will have on the 'real' world."

In 2003, Resolution: 4 Architecture was one of 16 firms who participated in the Dwell Home Design Invitational—a competition to design a modern prefab home for $200,000. Their winning design, constructed in Pittsboro, North Carolina, is a groundbreaking case study that combines prefabricated construction with contemporary, modern design.

The Plumen Drop Cap Pendant Set was designed to coordinate with the Plumen 001 bulb, and also supports the smaller Plumen 001 Baby and Plumen 002 (shown). The Drop Cap contains an interior screw fixture and covers the upper part of the bulb, creating a simple and elegant frame of the glass tubes of the bulb. The Plumen 002 mimics the shape of an incandescent bulb, while adding a sculptural, sophisticated slant.

The Salengers say they were able to add the two bedroom pods for about $7,000 each, significantly less than the $20,000 to $30,000 a typical bedroom addition costs.

Overlooking the Hudson River, Allan Shope’s nearly 3,000-square-foot sustainable home features handmade furniture and an undulating floor, all crafted from the site’s felled black walnut trees.

Assembly's gridded wall clock, made exclusively for the Sight Unseen shop, is a thin, white PVC disc with a carved grid and reversible hour/minute hands that can be switched between black and white. "And the grid itself," according to the site, "rather than just being for decoration, was chosen for its combination of regularity and infinite possibility."

The Plumen 002 has a screw fitting that fits into any lamp that accommodates a standard screw bulb, and its 7-watt power is equivalent to a 30-watt incandescent in terms of illumination. It is shown with a red Calla Pendant Light from Niche Modern.

Where the System 20 is the showpiece in the kitchen, from the master bedroom it’s impossible not to notice the egg-shaped Agape tub in the doorless bathroom. Picard glibly remarks, “When you’re spending $6,000 on a tub and $2,000 on a faucet fixture, you’ve got to make sure what you’re buying is something that stands out.”

At nearly 80,000 square feet, the Oslo International School is one of Jarmund/Vigsnæs’s larger projects. Situated just outside Oslo, the school was recently renovated, with some 40,000 square feet of new construction. The colored panels suggest a sunny optimism, something the architects hoped to imbue in an educational context.

Inspired by Swiss Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, the Yudchitzes designed and crafted an exquisitely precise interior. As they report in this Dwell article, “It cost at least $100,000 to build because the materials were crafted to within .002 inches, so it’s expensive for what it is."

“I’m getting more into combining art and furniture,” Charly says. “At the moment, I’m not comfortable with buying a €4,000 painting—I’m more into trying to understand how forms and materials work.”

Den's A frame house is designed with 1,000 square feet of living space.

A portion of Blauvelt’s 3,000-book library is archived in the long entry hall where the geometry of a Noguchi lamp plays off a pair of minimalist prints by Daniel Buren.

The 1,000-square-foot pavilion was completed in 2009 as a volunteer structure and tool shed--though today its used far more by the public than initially anticipated. "The garden was wiped out after the storm," McKay recalls. "There was nothing, zero. Volunteers came in and replanted everything." Photo by Frank Doering.

In the backyard, the couple added a pergola, greenhouse, and outdoor dining space for $6,000.

Built on a tight budget of $120,000, a retirement home in the mountains delivers unexpected contemporary design to a rural township.

Wexler and Harrison's original plan was to create affordable vacation homes for a growing middle class. When this home first went on the market with the others in 1962, it was competitively priced between $13,000 and $17,000. Today, the kitchen has been restored following guidelines from its original configuration, and the landscaping was updated in 2001 with Wexler's oversight.

The Armadillo is parked on a 1,000-square-foot lot that gives the couple ample outdoor space.

The Fung/Blatt family enjoys the backyard of their Mount Washington home. Despite its 5,000-square-foot lot, the house is just 1,640 square feet. Michael Blatt admits, “If we could add anything to this house, it would be five walk-in closets.”

At over 500 square feet, the house’s green roof may be its most powerful—and most expensive—environmental statement. It cost $8,000 to waterproof, and $7,000 to landscape. Water from the roof feeds the toilet and the garden’s watering system, and the garden itself insulates the house and keeps gas bills low in winter. Photo by Nic Granleese.

Kasita prefabs started at $89,000, and they were marketed as tiny houses for those who wished to live simply.

The 5,000-square-foot midcentury home sits on 2.24 acres of woodland in Armonk, New York.

Built in 18 months on a budget of $105,000, this charming A-frame saves on costs with an interior lined with exposed plywood.

Inspired by the surrounding landscape of chestnut trees, rocky hillside, and bubbling stream, Portuguese architecture firm 3r Ernesto Pereira chose to blend into, and take advantage of, the local geography rather than fight against it at this sleek, modern home near the coastal city of Porto. At a cost of €100,000 (approximately $125,000) and measuring about 140 square meters, this stunning, wood-and-glass retreat took about four months to construct.