Here's a detail shot of the stool. The leather comes in four options—black, chocolate, tobacco, and saddle—and the brightly hued backing fabric comes in ten—sky, radish, egg yolk, cream, camel, charchol, sand, mocha, chocolate, and black.

Architect Ulrich Hamann's rendering of the new addition to the Lenbachhaus Museum and Gallery; the Stadtische Galerie Im Lenbachhaus. Image courtesy of Lenbachhaus Gallery and Museum.

Because their loft is a rental, David and Im Schafer built everything to be removable.

I.M. Pei, Luce Memorial Chapel (1963) When architect I.M. Pei designed this chapel for Tunghai University in Taiwan, he had to take local conditions, like typhoons and earthquakes, into account. His plan, which, included a curved roof of glazed, diamond-shaped tiles and interior ribs of reinforced concrete that run like ribbons towards the cross mounted on the roof, was an elegant solution to the challenges of the local environment. Photo courtesy Valter Wei, Creative Commons

Broken, 2014. I.M. Pei's Fountain Place in Dallas, Texas, built in 1986. “He used angles, triangles, planes and prisms to create a seemingly impossible visual space with this building,” says Olic. “The view from the east makes the structure seem broken and folded down the middle.”

In the bathroom, they did "basically surface things," says Im.

Luce Memorial Chapel in Tunghai, Taiwan, 1963, by I.M. Pei.

Here's IM Pei's Meyerson Symphony Center done up for the holidays.

The Promenade of the David H. Koch Theater featuring seating collection designed by Token. Photo by Frank Oudeman.

Designer François Chambard created a series of three lamps and three vessels for Reclaim NYC. Each piece in the Après Collection includes salvaged materials found near and within the nearly destroyed Red Hook studio of fellow designers and friends Token. The Après Lamp 1, pictured here, will be part of a cash raffle, the proceeds of which will go directly towards recovery efforts for Token's studio. Photography by Francis Dzikowski/Esto.

“I’m a huge fan of yellow,

The Promenade of the David H. Koch Theater featuring seating collections designed by Token (foreground), Egg Collective (middle), and Asher Israelow (background). Photo by Frank Oudeman

Piet Hein Eek's wooden chairs add a touch of color to the monochromatic apartment. "I'm a fan of simple modern furniture, with a twist," says Carr. "I wanted to buy everything from Piet Hein Eek."

This project seemed to inject the "Mid Century Modern" into what was a "Mid Century Bungalow" ... and which "Mid Century Modern" doesn't have the token Eames Chairs?

Janie Taylor and Ask la Cour in George Balanchine's Stravinsky Violin Concerto. Designers Will Kavesh and Emrys Berkower of Token mimicked dancers' legs for the steel legs of their tables. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

Local sailboat shops wanted thousands to make the 13-by-13-foot curtain that hides the Wall of Storage. "We we called my parents in Bangkok, gave them the dimensions, and they got it made for 150 bucks." says Im.

The Schaffer's furniture includes an Eames Aluminum Group lounge chair ("and ottoman!" adds Im.) A coffee table made of glued, corrugated cardboard was the couple's first project together, when they met in college eight years ago.

X marks the spot with House Industries’ X Ornament. An expressive font, the X has an ornate quality that dresses up the design. In addition to capturing the letter itself, the X also represents a kiss, making this a sweet token for a loved one.

“I don’t paint landscapes when I’m here because I can’t compete with the natural beauty,” says Yael.

Irmeli Kukkapuro, whose own graphic art studio is right next to Yrjö's space in their live/work home, keeps shelves full of travel knick-knacks, tokens, and family pictures, like these two showing her husband as a young man and her daughter Isa as a toddler.

One of the more understated of the series, I'm quite fond of the rough ropey texture against the leather.

“I studied architecture as an undergrad, and even though I’m in interiors now, that education of not overpopulating spaces, of letting the building be seamless, has always carried through for me,” says Caroline.

"Some people want a manicured garden, but I'm of a different mindset," says Patnaik. She left the grounds untamed and organic. "If we're building in the wild, I want to live in the wild."

As Didier reiterated to me over the course of our conversation, jewelry is really an intimate expression of affection–literal tokens created by artists as one-offs, a gift for a lover that is far more personal than a painting ever could be. This gold vermeil cast is of the model Veruschka’s mouth, created artist Claude Lalanne, and originally made along with a cast of the model’s midriff and breasts for Yves St. Laurent and made famous by a 1969 Vogue spread shot by Irving Penn.

"I'm not trying to do anything new in my work," Spellman states. "I'm simply trying to do it in my own way, and I'm still figuring out what exactly 'my own way' is."

“Just a token to remind me of my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio—my brother even got married here! The Union Terminal is one of Cincinnati’s most important architectural statements—its Art Deco façade is stunning, and inside, there are incredible mosaic murals by German American artist Winold Reiss. This building stands as a tribute to Cincinnati’s transportation history.”

Since the photo shoot, the couple have placed a desk in the triangular window nook and use the perch as a workspace. “There’s just something about it that hugs you,” says Shelley. “I feel very focused and relaxed when I’m here.”

The split-level roof deck was splendid. And the views of the city, which I'm taking in here, are pretty stellar too.

Inspirational spaces

In the rear courtyard, Steve spent three days demolishing a rock grotto, which had been installed in the 1970s, with a jackhammer. Its boulders found new life as hardscaping near the pool. “I’m glad we could repurpose those boulders,” Jessy says, “I hate adding to landfill.”

"We give every client a questionnaire," Kevin says. "The first question asks what they need in their home. No compromise. The second question asks what they want in their home. And the third question asks what would blow their mind. At the end of the day, I’m looking to fit all of those things into their tiny home."

Here's Phillipe Starck's Dr. Skud fly swatter. Nice enough, but I'm far more into the leather action at Lehman's.

Artist Christopher Florentino created this studio to be a source of inspiration. "This space is for me as an artist—to create in, to keep me inspired," he says. "I don’t think there are many spaces that have a Keith Haring and Shiro Kuramata chair in the same space. I’m trying to show who I am as a designer and as an artist."