In the outdoor dining room, wire chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll surround a mango wood table made by a local carpenter, Diego Madrazo.

The stairs lead to a sleeping loft outfitted with a mechanical skylight.

"In this project, we got so much benefit out of this 'secret garden' for the master suite along with all of these environmental benefits that the residents were excited to embrace. It's one of the pieces we are happiest about," says architect Jonathan Feldman.

Made of stainless steel and TEKA hardwood, a Curzon dining table by Modloft is surrounded by a quartet of Victoria Ghost dining chairs by Philippe Starck for Kartell. A striped Missy pendant light by Filipe Lisboa hangs overhead. Four Chill White media consoles from CB2 line the western wall.

Mechanical engineer Jan Moolsintong and industrial designer Peter Russell-Clarke get epic views of San Francisco from their 1,800-square-foot house overlooking the Mission District. On warm nights, they eat dinner perched on Eiffel side chairs by Charles and Ray Eames around a table from Room & Board. The distinctive facade has operable porthole windows and a slatted garage door custom-built by Raimundo Ferreira.

An outdoor dining area is shaded by a mesh canopy suspended by old drilling pipes.

Matthew Hufft designed the house that he shares with his wife, Jesse, and their three children to sit inconspicuously among its neighbors in the Roanoke Park area of Kansas City, Missouri. The backyard and porch, which is furnished with a Saarinen Round Dining Table and Emeco Navy chairs, is a popular setting for warm-weather entertaining.

Requirements for licensed contractors depend on the scope of work and the location of the project.

A selection of pieces from the Maia outdoor collection by Patricia Urquiola for Kettal make up the seating area outside.

Inside, white paint lightens up the middle of the building. A vintage Danish dining set and Cloud pendants by Frank Gehry for Vitra define the dining area.

The swimming pool offers an alternative plunge to the nearby Bantam River.

A vintage bar unit, a Tube Chandelier by Michael Anastassiades, and a David Harouni artwork are highlights in the open-plan living and dining space. The architects removed heavy paneling from the walls to lighten the space.

“The program of enclosures was developed around a courtyard that is protected from the constant wind. The transparency of the main facade brings the presence of the sea inside the house,” LLaumett says.

The patio outside Wenes's house and gallery.

Joaquin Altamirano and Silvia Martín worked with Daniel Bergman Vázquez of Estudio Untercio to create an open-plan oasis in an apartment building in central Madrid. Estudio Untercio designed the medium-density fiberboard cupboards, which are coated with lacquer paint matching the ceramic-porcelain countertops. The tubular hood above the island is by Teka.

Taking cues from this home's Japanese-influenced slatted screen, Hufft Projects applied a ring of ipe wood around the perimeter of this outdoor fire pit.

When the door to the deck is open, air flows unhindered from the kitchen to the living room. Garrick expanded the radiant heating and added a high-efficiency Fujitsu Halcyon ductless forced-air system for cooling.

For the outdoor dining room, interior designer Damon Liss selected a Soho pendant lamp by Joan Gaspar, Trennza chairs from Janus et Cie, and the Portica outdoor table from Room & Board. The sliding glass doors are by Arcadia.

The renovated kitchen/dining area boasts views of the garden through sliding doors by IQ Glass. Ultratop flooring by Mapei and custom millwork in Lebanese cedar give the space a practical, industrial quality.

Originally from Norway, photographer Torkil Stavdal and nutritionist Jeanette Bronée brought a slice of their native Scandinavia to the Catskills when they collaborated with architect Kimberly Peck to design their dream home. In the dining area, Danish modern chairs purchased at Circa Modern are tucked into a wood table from Restoration Hardware. The kitchen cabinets, counters and sink are from IKEA with faucets from Danze.

A husband-and-wife design team revived a 1940s home in East Los Angeles's Mt. Washington area for a single man. Bearing few tell-tale signs of bachelorhood, aside from a photography and music studio in the garage, the renovation retained the home's dual fireplaces and added an array of modern tiles. A transformed modern fireplace surrounded by Japanese tile flanks a custom banquette table in the dining/kitchen area.

Brammy and Kyprianou hung Koura pendant lights by New Zealand designer David Trubridge above the dining area. Their organic forms and diamond-shaped shadows create intimacy in the vast space. Among Bilardo’s contributions were the black tulipwood cabinetry and ceiling and the cantilevered concrete countertop that appears to go through the glass wall.

Open shelving between the living room and dining area maximizes light and air flow and showcases eclectic objects, which include old printing blocks found at a garage sale and bowls Tyler’s mother bought in South Africa.

Candy Sarvis loves feeling connected with dinner guests while she cooks. The African teak kitchen cabinetry is by Pedini, with Miele appliances. A Big Bang pendant by Foscarini illuminates the Montecarlo table by Cattelan Italia.

At one end of the space, which is topped by a barrel ceiling, a hammock offers a tantalizingly cozy place to nap.

In a couple’s Mexico City apartment designed by David Levy of Flexform, a Murano chandelier hangs above a marble-topped dining table from the showroom.

A cast-in-place concrete kitchen island features a cantilevered concrete dining table. The hearth’s plinth offers added seating at the table during crowded gatherings.

For Gabriel Ramirez and his partner Sarah Mason Williams, following the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. The architects love Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, and they made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house “was very crisp and clean,” he says. “This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi.”

An outdoor dining area is screened for privacy.

"My directive was to create something very comfortable, calm, textural, and modern,” explains Reddy, who used a palette of reclaimed oak, bleached wood floors, blonde millwork, and white plaster. “It’s a space where you want to linger,” she says. An ExoFly pendant by Laurent Massaloux hangs above a custom WRK dining table surrounded by Morph side chairs by Zeitraum and a banquette covered in Glant’s Liquid Leather.

By merging typical Saigon architectural and stylistic details, architect Toan Nghiem of a21 Studio created a space that brings family together. Stacking roof layers, open flowering balconies, and an alleyway that serves as a living room, dining room, and outdoor playground are all filled with colorful, rich materials. Inside Saigon House, reclaimed and second-hand furniture lend history and spirit to the home. With so many small interior rooms and divisions between spaces, the addition of a net ceiling brings openness to the back alleyway, where the family often gathers to eat dinner. Not only does the net allow for ventilation and light, but it offers a place to play for the children, who love to climb and lounge above their parents.

A dramatic departure from your typical cabin on the lake, this unique retreat adds shades of black to a tiny island awash with local color. A modern brick outdoor fireplace, tall and slim, is flanked by Philippe Starck’s outdoor chairs for Kartell for cozy fireside seating.

The Antonio Citterio walnut-back Morgan chairs are also from Flexform.

Designed by Hawkins, the Perch by Canary 3 offers additional outdoor seating. The 22-foot-long triple slider facilitates indoor/outdoor access.

Kaz-ma holds up the charred post while the rest of the family attends to affairs at the sunken table.

Architect Allan Shulman tackled one of Miami’s biggest architectural challenges when he designed a two-story home on a leafy lot dominated by a "solution hole," a depression in the limestone terrain caused by erosion. Inspired by the jungle scenery of painter Henri Rousseau, Shulman strove to leave the delicate habitat undisturbed. An elegant pool and outdoor kitchen extend from the living areas.