A PK 22 Easy Chair by Poul Kjaerholm for Fritz Hansen adds a dash of yellow to the breakfast room.

It might not make you popular with your contractor, but for a more streamlined look, Chris recommends forgoing trim. "It lends a clean look with less visual clutter," the architect says. In their house, the doors, lights, cabinetry, and even wall sockets (all 22 by Bocci) are installed without trim. This allows the planar surfaces to recede and do their jobs without unnecessarily distracting the eye.

Abutting a costal reserve, the property has uninterrupted views of the Snowy River and surrounding wetlands

Bocci's 22 Series offers stealthy electrical, cable, USB, and phone outlets.

The three arms of the Apfel House stretch out to catch the best views of Ranco Lake and the Andes Mountains.

Mary and Kundan Bhullar built a shipshape country escape that sits lightly on the land in the Aravalli hills near Gurgaon, India.

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

“Every time you challenge a basic assumption, there needs to be some method of expressing the fact that there’s new logic at work.”—Omer Arbel, creative director at Bocci

PeaceBOMB Bracelets by Article 22 "A22PeaceBomb3" $38.00 for three A special product with a special story. PeaceBOMB bracelets are crafted from the reclaimed metal of Vietnam-era bombs dropped on Laos during the United States' conflict in Indochina. Developed through a social enterprise that supports sustainable development through design thinking, its collaborators include Naphia spoon makers, Helvetas’s Rural Income Through Sustainable Energy Project and ARTICLE 22. These bracelets not only represent an opportunity for artisan families to generate income, but also tell a story about their makers and the legacies of a shared history. Buy the bombs back!"

Inspirational spaces

“I read a story about a student in a small one-bedroom apartment who because she could only fit her big bed and her desk in the apartment, was too ashamed to invite her friends or her parents over,” remembers Van Bo about his inspiration for this crafty ensemble of furniture. “There was nowhere to cook, nowhere to sit, not even space for standard chairs to fit. It made me think ‘Where do we find the instruction manual for how to use a small space?’ We buy a new computer or a new vacuum cleaner and we are given instructions. But nobody teaches us how to use space”. So he designed plans for a small one-bedroom apartment that included a room-dividing piece (the Siwo Couch) that functions as an all-in-one couch, pull-out king size bed and bench that seats six to nine people, a miraculously problem-solving invention, along with custom-sized smaller chairs that double as tables. “Design is a social issue,” says Van Bo, “it facilitates or negates social interaction depending on its cleverness, use and beauty. Wohnung makes socializing possible and enjoyable in a small space, on a small budget”.

Born in Rome in 1914, Lina Bo Bardi emigrated to Brazil in 1946.

Vriesendorp also crafted a series of paper hands, a reference to Bo Bardi's habit of drawing attention to important details in her notes.

This kitchen features a sleek Henrybuilt kitchen system in white.

On a rocky bank, Hebra Arquitectos builds a breezy home that opens wide to nature.

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.

Bo, the family’s Old English sheepdog, keeps Sherry company in the office.

Architect Lina Bo Bardi embraced the vernacular design traditions while pushing new forms forward. Her use of not only wood but fabrics and leathers stand out in several of her designs. Her furniture was often designed only for her buildings. This group of chairs was created between the 1950s and the 1980s.

Included here are the Bola armchair designed by Lina Bo Bardi (1951), a pine chair designed by Lina Bo Bardi, Marcelo Ferraz and Marcelo Suzuki for the SESC-Pompéia Center (1980s), and a folding chair with a jacaranda frame designed by Lina Bo Bardi for Studio de Arte Palma (circa 1950).

In 1953, the American magazine Interiors praised Bo Bardi's Bowl chair by comparing it to the work of Eero Saarinen and Irene Schawinsky.

Bo Bardi reclines in her world famous Bowl chair.

Anyone can make any of the affordable, classical, Bauhaus-inspired furniture designed by Van Bo Le-Mentzel by downloading the plans for free, investing in a couple of screwdrivers, a Japanese saw and a bit of lumber. There are no rules. You can add or subtract to the designs, paint and decorate however you like, to suit yourself and express yourself.

Launched at the BMW Guggenheim Lab in Berlin this July, and full of the photos and personal stories sent in by the Van Bo-following DIY furniture makers from around the world, this book celebrates the love of furniture, the social and creative benefits of building your own chairs, and further illustrates Van Bo’s social outreach. In its pages, he adds instructions on how he has built a community in seven steps, and how he envisions the capitalism of the future—which is all about Thank yous and win-wins. “There are some things that companies need, which don’t involve money,” he explains, “For example, one of the members of my Crowd is a leading figure in Deutsche Bahn, the German Rail company. She says that on hot days when the air conditioning breaks down in one of the rail cars and that car has to be removed and replaced, it causes chaos at the next station. She needs people to come to that station to re-direct traffic, explain the delay, help with the circulation and the clean-up, and give passengers a reassuring smile. If she has Karma Volunteers, they get a badge, they get to help, and they get praise and some free train tickets in return. This is more valuable to both parties than money. It brings people together in a spirit of community, and it makes that community more cohesive. This is the basic principle of Karma Economy. Everyone needs to be needed and needs to be praised. If we can do that for each other while fostering each other’s businesses, it creates a harmonious, helpful, prosperous society”.

Kele Dobrinski and Christina Valencia, of Sacramento, California-based Colossus Mfg., revamped a 2008 Starstream Starcraft camper that allows their family of five to comfortably explore nature in different landscapes for weeks at a time.

Track and spotlights are fixtures that are attached to a track that is mounted to the ceiling or hung off the ceiling, depending on the fixture.

“This was my first design,” says Van Bo, “I often take it with me on the train so that I have a seat—and it starts a conversation. Even homeless people will talk to me about it, admiring its familiar shape. This is the power of design: Mies van der Rohe lives in the psyche of the German people.” He had the idea for this chair after shooting a mock-furniture ad in one of the Berlin subway stations, designed by van de Rohe. “People loved the picture and they asked ‘Where is that cool loft? I love the living room!’ they couldn’t believe that it was an everyday train station. We are very lucky to live in a city that is so well designed”. The 24 Euro Chair’s premise rests on the concept of the right angle, “This means that it takes much less time and thought to create a timeless piece of furniture—that only costs 24 euros ($30) to make”.

A simple kitchen includes a traditional wood stove, but much of the cooking is done outside, on the outdoor wood-fired grill.

Bend Basket in Copper, designed by Gaurav Nanda for Bend, $320 at the Dwell Store Handcrafted in galvanized iron, then hot-dipped and powder-coated, this geometric bowl is rust-resistant, making it equally useful in the kitchen, bathroom, or office. It also comes in neon red, yellow, or white.

Case Study House No. 22., The Stahl House

The armrests of this gridded option from Dot & Bo become a headboard and footboard when the couch is fully flat. At 7’6" long, it works just as well for kids' sleepovers and visiting grown ups.

Drawn in the late 1960s, her colorful study for the Trianon Terrace at the São Paulo Museum of Art, celebrates everyday life in the city.

The Bola armchair features a black iron frame and a leather seat with lace-up detailing.

For Lina Bo Bardi: Together, artist Madelon Vriesendorp collaborated with Bahia residents, children, and craftspeople to create authentic folk objects.