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.

"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.

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

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.

In the master bedroom, a removable window provides egress, as required by code.

Though the front of this 1880s home in Adelaide, Australia, maintains a traditional facade due to strict heritage laws, the rear is modern eye candy at its best. See more of the home.

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 home's sloping roofline guides the eye towards the outdoor living area. In the living room, occupants can relax in the Eames lounge.

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

The patio outside Wenes's house and gallery.

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.

For one of two sleeping areas flanking the main living space, Wooten placed tatami from Miya Shoji on the cork floor. “With the radiant heating system, it’s fantastic to be in this glass box looking out at a blizzard, walking barefoot on the warm floor,” he says. “Tatami are not for everyone, but they are really comfy to me. Before we built the house, I stayed at a traditional bed-and-breakfast in Kyoto, Japan, and had one of the best nights of sleep ever, so I decided I wanted to do that style of bed. On top is a 150-year-old Japanese denim patchwork quilt I bought from a friend who took me to Japan. I’ve always admired Japanese design—Noguchi is one of my favorites—so I was inspired to have that spirit in the house.” miyashoji.com

Bring In the Trash With an eye for the industrial, Winterhalder built the garbage area in the kitchen around two standard-issue plastic trash cans common in German cities. One is orange; the other, green. These in turn inspired her to start adding color accents around the house.

“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.

Inside the studio, sliding fir screens hide storage, utilities, and a bathroom. The ceiling and wall panels are plywood, the floor is radiant heated concrete. An Eames lounge chair from Herman Miller mingles with an IKEA sofa.

Preservation Props Since the house is in a historic district, Beebe and Skidmore’s interventions were constrained by local guidelines, including a stipulation that the walls of the addition couldn’t line up with the walls of the existing house. They bumped the walls in by five feet on either side and painted the addition, clad in siding from Capital Lumber, a color complementary to the original building’s deep, bright blue. “A guy from Boise’s preservation office came by and said, ‘This is a perfect example of how we’d like people to build additions,’” says Dana. “We were pretty proud of that.” beebeskidmore.com capital-lumber.com

Unable to alter the footprint of the building, the Deams created a backyard living area that nearly doubled the home's living space.

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.

The concrete bench in the living area just past the kitchen is built into the sloping wall. The Pedro wire stool is by Craig Bond for Candywhistle.

Architects Mayer Sattler-Smith designed the bookshelves and Alvar Aalto the 406 lounge chair for Artek.

A lofted sleeping pod offers a bit of privacy and helps maximize space. Beneath it is a zippy yellow bathroom.

A departure from the mod-meets-baroque dining room, Turin’s breakfast area is far more sedate. She and her daughter, Helena, have a chat at a Progetto 1 table by Monica Armani for B&B Italia surrounded by four Lia chairs by Roberto Barbieri for Zanotta. The painting behind Helena is by Ricci Albenda.

A black side table rests outside the bedroom hallway.

Lynda's knick knacks and crafty supplies are kept in the kitchen's metal shelving system, which came with the couple from their previous apartment.

Building Codes: Whether you are planning a renovation or building from the ground up, arm yourself with the knowledge that will help you navigate endless meetings and negotiations. Illustration by Andy Rementer

In the kitchen area and throughout the home, Mads Odgård, shown here, and Mette Lyng Hansen mixed Odgård’s pieces, such as the Odgård kettle for Raadvad and custom table, with Ikea basics and the Workshop pendant lamp by Louis Poulsen.

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.

An internal courtyard punctuates the main floor of this renovated home near Melbourne, Australia, and adds a practical source of light and air. The local climate patterns were taken into account during the home’s design and layout. Because temperatures can vary quite dramatically, solar control was very important. The large glazed sliders to the east, where the home gets morning sun, strategically contrast with the less extensive glazing to the north.

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.

Going Underground The site the Wadhams found for their home was designated as “green belt” land, which meant that there were restrictions on the size of the structure’s footprint. Because it’s critical for the pair to live on a single floor, especially as they grow older, Archer tucked the home’s three guest rooms—vital for four visiting children and eight grandchildren—all belowground. Not only does that keep the home’s layout trim, but with the living spaces and master bedroom at ground level, the couple will be able to stay in the house for longer, getting more use out of the energy and resources expended to build it.

Two pieces from E15’s Shiraz sofa flank the company’s wooden Leila side tables. Hill chose to use flat paint in Benjamin Moore’s Decorators White throughout the home because it emphasizes the chalkiness of the plaster walls, making them “look almost like slate.” The sconce shown in the foreground—David Chipperfield’s Corrubedo design for FontanaArte—gives off a soft glow and replaces the dozens of paper-lampshade wall fixtures the owners found in the house when they bought it. Stewart Cohen’s zany photograph of a gun-toting Marfa resident encapsulates Barbara Hill’s offbeat brand of decorating: bright and minimal, yet darkly humorous.

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.

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

The couple has a large collection of cookbooks. To provide storage for them in the kitchen—and also seating—Sawatzky topped narrow bookcases (Bestå units by Ikea) with custom-made cushions, upholstered in gray Circa fabric by Knoll Textiles purchased from Modern Fabrics. The bookshelf-cum-bench was custom upholstered by Tina Morgan Designs.

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.

In a small seating area at the base of a two-story tower, Oslo chairs and sofas by Anderssen& Voll are paired with Around tables by Thomas Bentzen, all from Muuto. The lamp from Svenskt Tenn was designed by Josef Frank in 1938.