“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.

Kitchen: It's finally time to free up counter space that's been hogged by the bulky knife block. Move the knives to the wall with the elegant 9.2.2 Box: Walnut Knife Rack designed by Geoffrey Lilge for On Our Table.

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.

The living room, dining room and kitchen are in one open space. The flooring is bamboo. The cabinetry is a mix of bamboo, walnut, and maple, and was fabricated by City Cabinetmakers out of San Francisco.

The countertops in the kitchen are a mix of quartz surfaces and custom and salvaged stainless steel. "We use the kitchen all of the time, it turned out really nice," says Melissa. "It's very open, certainly one of the central focuses of the house, and is fun for entertaining."

The walnut staircase and slide in a Chicago town house leads from the main level to the basement. To protect people on the ride down, a “crash pad” fashioned from a standard gymnastic mat covers the wall at the slide’s base.

Shelter No. 2, Broisson Architects, 2008 This prefab made mostly of recycled materials is modest, but not too modest for a spiral staircase. Three levels culminate in a large skylight, which filters natural light all the way down to the ground floor's hydroponic garden.

It Will Get Loud: A Small Speaker That's Big on Sound Home audio companies are managing to make speakers smaller, more portable, and more wallet-friendly while keeping sound quality as robust as their larger (and pricier) brethren. Soundfreaq's co-founder and creative director Matthew Paprocki will demo and deconstruct the award-winning Sound Stack and demo Sound Platform 2 to let you in on the technology behind making big sound come from a tiny package. See this Saturday, June 22, at 12:30 p.m. on the Demonstration Stage.

The couple asked Bryan Richards of Real Natives Landscape Design to incorporate drought-tolerant plants into the landscaping. Surrounding a table from CB2 are chairs from Design Within Reach.

The interior is furnished with Lubi Daybeds from CB2, which Howell and Porter designed to include hidden cubbies behind and beneath the cushions.

The Walnut Coat Rack takes a simple household accent and elevates it with rich walnut wood. Featuring a trestle shape, the coat rack includes a base on which to rest shoes and boots, and a connecting bar that can be used to hold hangers or drape scarves and jackets. The result is a balanced piece that is geometric and refined.

For privacy and quiet, the home's three bedrooms are situated the furthest from the street. Each faces its own courtyard.

The wooden box is as functional as it is finely crafted, with room for clothes up top. Each niche holds treasures from travels, family keepsakes, books, and more.

Jonas runs up the custom walnut stairwell, with inset Corian handrail, that leads up to the second-floor master suite.

“Technical products like hi-fi fit more easily into all kinds of surroundings than those old furniture look-alike ones.”—Dieter Rams, designer

Architect Dan Brunn's #9 Dream House captures the contemporary style of the designers Dwell selected for Decorist.

The term “Internet of Things” was first documented by British visionary Kevin Ashton in 1999. The first Internet appliance was a Coke machine at Carnegie Melon University in the early 1980s. The programmers could connect to the machine over the Internet, check the status of the machine and determine whether or not there would be a cold drink awaiting them, should they decide to make the trip down to the machine.

2-Door Cupboard in scrapwood

The courtyards offer a peaceful respite from the city. "[The home] provides an environment for its inhabitants that is experiential," says Teschendorrf.

2-Door Cupboard in scrapwood

Endless possibilities!

A toy that promotes analog learning and creativity in a digital world without technology? Meet the anaPad 2, $40-70—a magnetic white board housed inside a white acrylic frame with a wooden back and 3D geometric magnetic apps. Perfect for what kids do best—doodling, endlessly arranging things around, and game playing.

The studio shelters the residence's entrance and a wood deck from the street.

“The walnut unit between the kitchen and dining room ties into the fumed oak floor,” Dubbeldam says. “The rest of the materials in the house—glass, marble, stone—were selected to offset the wood.”

The front of the Fisheye 2 SHIAWASE.

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.

See Arch removed a wall to create a more spacious kitchen with a stronger visual connection to the dining area. The updated kitchen is outfitted with quartz countertops and Viking, Fisher Paykel, and Asko appliances.

"In some ways the strongest attributes of the house are probably the outside spaces,” says Court. The original cedar deck was replaced with Kebony decking that wraps around a century-old cherry tree. A pair of Andy rockers from Mamagreen face an ottoman by Kenneth Cobonpue. The accordion doors are a NanaWall SL-60 system that allows the main room of the guesthouse to open completely to the deck.

Koto’s charred-timber workspace is an exercise in wabi-sabi design that embraces imperfection amid the natural world. The carbon-neutral structure is built from natural materials, and it can operate both on- and off-grid.

A Room & Board record console behind the couch is mixed with a vintage mushroom lamp and Flos Arco Floor Lamp.

Questions from your contractor mean that they have taken the time to review the construction documents or drawings and scope of work.

The study features floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that bring the outdoors in. Space-saving custom walnut desks are accented by a Pixo Optical LED Table Lamp, an AJ table lamp, and a 1958 Eames Management Chair.

The open-plan ground floor allows the communal spaces to flow into one another. A wooden ladder accesses the lofted bedrooms.