Mint green-painted ironwork and tiles connect the indoors to the outside more fluidly.

Orgone chaise longue by Marc Newson for Cappellini

The Max-A studio is also built with a pine frame, though it has pine panelling on the ceiling, while the main house ceiling is painted a warm white.

A spacious deck was created as part of the addition. A cantilevered concrete bench stretches out to the rear garden and complements the adjacent concrete wall.

The patio outside Wenes's house and gallery.

Elsewhere, the blocks accommodate other uses, like support for a built-in table and benches in the kitchen and a rooftop observatory (next slide) for watching the sun set over the Ilaló volcano.

An important aspect of the home’s design is the seamless flow between inside and outside, which is enhanced not only by large windows and doors, but also by the home’s materials. The majority of the surfaces and structural elements in both the interior and exterior are composed of concrete, stainless steel, and wood, ensuring a unification between the two while guaranteeing durability. Concrete floors require little maintenance, while local wood helps the home blend into its surrounding landscape.

Birdsall and Atticus are seated on an ipe bench designed by Anna Boeschenstein; the stucco exterior cladding was matched to Cast Iron 6202 paint by Sherwin-Williams.

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.

Wood decking extends out to the yard.

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.

Amending Meeuwissen’s early request for an open bathroom space, the architects devised a more private chamber with an overhead skylight and walls in stone tile from Intercodam Tegels.

Conoid Bench is an intricate example of George Nakashima placing minimal adornments on the wood, merely capturing it, preserving it and giving it a second life.

These wood-wrapped spaces take oriented strand board to new heights.

Here, Smith sits on a vintage rosewood bench designed by the Swiss-born British architect Richard Seifert.

Sultan of Sit Even if your carpentry skills peaked in eighth-grade woodshop, reclaimed lumber and a bit of sweat can stand you in good stead when it comes to outdoor furniture. Whitlock created a ruggedly beautiful bench (below) from scratch. He bought a chunk of trestle lumber at a local salvage yard and lag-bolted four Ikea Sultan stainless steel bed legs to its base. “It took me two hours, including lumberyard drive time,” he says. “I spent $70 total.” ikea.com

After - living room (Rubio monocoat floors, Chantilly lace walls, used fireplace)

Slagbaenk by Danish designer Rasmus B. Fex is a bench inspired by traditional Scandinavian furniture, based on a simple concept: five boards join two chairs to form a bench with integrated storage space. The size of the bench depends on the dimensions of the boards used.

Conny Plank bench by Al Que Quiere. Principal Matthew Sullivan named his solid walnut bench with a waxed finish after a German music producer. We see a bit of Memphis in the stair-stepped design.

Atop the spiral staircase, a custom iron bench is festooned with Turkish throw pillows from SophiesBazaar.

The reused doors serve as more than floor, walls, and ceiling; several are still functional. In the dining room, the benches lift up for storage, and doors on either side of the banquette open to reveal closets.

A finished Trabecula bench. At six feet long and two feet high, it is one of the largest rapid-manufactured pieces of furniture in the world, and yet, owing to it's materials and biometric cues, it weighs a mere fourteen pounds.

99 by Von Tundra and Lydia Cambron $13,000 Oregon-based Von Tundra’s unit combines three different storage options—a rack, drawers, and boxes—into a multipurpose dresser.

A built-in bench by the window is a cozy perch for Tyler. The herringbone flooring looks like wood but is actually man-made.

A patio spins off the northern end of the house’s main level. It fronts “Main Street,” which unwinds from the heart of downtown Seattle into a pedestrian foot path bordered by a woodland. “We went with a low and robust barrier instead of a tall wood fence to preserve views to the park,” Schaer says. The table and benches are by Crate & Barrel.

This outdoor fireplace in Austin, Texas is generously sized and created out of board-formed concrete, with a spot directly adjacent for firewood storage and a wood shelf running in front for added storage.

“I got rid of the bathtub because I like the idea of a big shower,” Pozner explains. But to achieve a comparable effect, he installed a teak bench from Waterworks on the rear shower wall. “One of the things I like about a bath is that you can soak. Here I can sit and have the water pound on me—it’s a hybrid shower and bath.”

A picnic table from Janus et Cie sits off the kitchen; the landscape architecture is by Richard D. Wood. In addition to passive solar, says Hawkins, “there is the added benefit of a thick concrete slab as a thermal mass that absorbs and stores the heat from the sun.”

Furniture with emphasized linear elements helps prevent the appearance of clutter in small spaces. It's particularly effective when highlighted in playful colors like the blue bench storage rack in this London guesthouse. Photo by Ben Anders.

The deck in the "memory orchard" of the Field House.

"The Monogram induction range keeps a consistent, un-changing temperature that is unparalleled by any other cooktop I’ve worked on. This makes it perfect for maintaining a pot of oil for frying, especially at a social cocktail party where you need a lot of food fast and can’t risk losing the perfect temperature."

Miele has been honing seamless design and performance for its built-in ovens since 1974. Their latest line, the Range Series, offers a fleet of tech-forward interfaces for veterans and novices alike, such as an intuitive M Touch display panel, smudge-resistant surfaces, and hundreds of culinary programs, including 15 fully automatic bread programs, that walk home chefs step-by-step through meal prep. The top-of-the-line 48-inch model (seen here) even contains a warming drawer and a speed oven, eliminating the need for a separate microwave.

Nkwana range by Homewood-What with all the DIY upcycled shipping palettes fitted with wheels to become tables, the downcycling versions are inevitable. Homewood's version is part of its new Nkwana line, which also includes a palette-inspired couch and a system of 16 modules for watching Wii, plasma, and other skinny screens. Woods used include Zimbabwean teak, kiaat from Zambia and Mozambique (the different climates yield contrasting colors), and African mahogany.

3) Ease of use Accessible design is becoming a central conversation in the design world. More than ever, homeowners are looking for ease of use—products that can be smoothly operated and will help create a seamless kitchen space for all. A cross-hatch texture appears on the bladed knobs of KitchenAid burners, making it easy to move the dials through different heat levels. The knobs are also back-lit so the user knows when the burner is on.