Designer and architect Johanna Grawunder is based in San Francisco and Milan, Italy.

h3>Platform, for Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery, 2012 Reminiscent of volcanic cracks that reveal a lava flow, this low-slung coffee table of blackened steel emits a green glow from behind its sliced-up edges. Grawunder saw the slight deviation as a way to “mangle a little bit this perfect coffee table form.”

Architect Janna Levitt devised a creative emellishment for a residence in Canada. Photo by: Philip Cheung

Giolight, for Gallery Roberto Giustini & Partners, 2007 Grawunder’s bestseller—and one of her most iconic pieces—is included in the permanent collections the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Produced for a Rome gallery in two different sizes, the lights are highly coveted by collectors. Six of the larger, hanging versions were created for $25,000 each and were sold out in a week. A week later, one sold at an auction for $75,000.

Singapore Free Port, Lobby, 2010 These hanging lights were designed to resemble mirror walls hanging in the lobby space. “I wanted the mirror effect to reflect the lobby windows and repeat the pattern,” Grawunder explains. A mirror coating was also applied to the lobby windows, so in the day “there is a lot of reflection up there.” At night, the "walls" glow up and down, with color changing LEDs giving a three-dimensional ceiling effect.

Circle Light, Private Collection, 2011 For a commission for the Parisian jewelry designer Lorenz Baumer, Grawunder was inspired by one of the rings she had seen on his website. Concentric stainless steel rings combine with colored plexiglass and LED lights that change color to create one of Grawunder’s more decorative pieces.

Singapore Free Port, Exterior, 2010 Grawunder worked closely with Swiss architects Benedicte Montant and Carmelo Stendardo to light this storage facility, designed as the “ultimate safe” for high-value art and collectibles. On the exterior, Grawunder used very low light green LEDs to give a bioluminescent feeling to the wall of plants behind it. In the daytime, the holes where the light comes from reflect the sky. Containing many kilometers of lights, this is Grawunder’s largest installation ever “and probably will be for a long time,” she quips.

Color on Color Mirror, for Glas Italia, 2010 In this three-part collection, Grawunder layers color “like a painter would do,” including Rothko-esque “black-out parts, which is what the mirror does.” The mirror, at center, is the only part of the fixture that’s not colored. “They wouldn’t let me put light in this,” Grawunder says, which, ultimately was a good idea. “The color of the glass itself is so luminous, it almost looks backlit.”

Slash, Private Collection, 2011 This piece for Baumer was created for an entry foyer. A more architectural fixture made mostly of polished stainless steel, it needed to incorporate movable lights to spotlight works of art. Grawunder suspended track lights, a typical form of spotlighting, from the main color field, making them more of a decorative than a purely functional element.

Boxy, for Glas Italia, 2011 Glas Italia “has this amazing possibility to make a mirror out of any color of glass,” says Grawunder. Using that material as a starting point, Grawunder turned the mirrors into boxes and then sanded off their silver backing at the corners, allowing light to emanate from the colored glass. She envisions these “hybrid objects”—a combination of light-table-storage—to be used as mini bars or bedside tables that hold books.

Limelight, for Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery, 2012 This modular wall light consists of two modules, each able to pivot right or left, controlling how much light is emitted. The light itself is color-changing LEDs that are operated by a remote. The inspiration for the bead-blast finish: the back of Grawunder’s iPad.

Wan for FLOS, 2006 Wan is the Japanese word for “bowl,” Grawunder’s inspiration for these hanging “bowls of light” that continue to be produced, as both suspension and hanging lights in various finishes.

Another simple, white kitchen with black countertops is this diminutive kitchen in Singapore. Light pours in through the large window, and a tiny but tasteful farmhouse kitchen table rests in the middle of everything.

Six staircases, many open to outside light, serve as pathways between the private interior spaces.

Though most of the home's interior comes without a splashy designer's name attached, the bathroom is kitted out with a toilet, sink, and bath/shower from Jasper Morrison's line for Ideal Standard. The cabinets are from an Ikea kitchen system.

The stair features custom installations by lighting designer Johanna Grawunder. When turned off, the panels appear as mirrors; when on, reflecting LED lights, giving the twisted stair forms an exaggerated “funhouse-like” effect.

As the reigning master of minimalist neon art, Dan Flavin has made his career exploring the intersection of light and color. Get the full Flavin with this one-of-a-kind Perf Bench/art piece by architect-designer Johanna Grawunder ($25,980 at L'ArcoBaleno).

A ‘light soffit’ offers a dynamic view of the stream below, providing both visual and audio stimulation. Throughout the year, the studio is filled with the sound of water, from the ocean waves to the rain and drizzle, to the flowing stream below. The artist, who has a longstanding connection to the site, focuses on “art which leaves marks at once permanent and delicate,” much like the structure itself.

Minimal interventions by architect Andrew Simpson allowed this former jam warehouse outside of Melbourne, Australia, to be turned into a family residence. "To draw light and ventilation into what was a poorly oriented and deep footprint, an extensive number of operable skylights were introduced on the north- and south-facing roof pitches, and a large void connecting the floors was strategically positioned to also take advantage of this amenity," Simpson says. American oak floorboards and Dulux paint were used throughout the property for continuity.

Above the sink in the kitchen, you can see one of Bocci’s first 57 chandeliers. Photo by José Mandojana.

Color is one way the architects differentiated the structures, as in the custom doors they designed for the entrances in contrasting light and dark light finishes.

It took Susanna several layers of sanding—and then finally tossing her water-based paint and selecting the proper oil-based formula—to get the floor as white as she'd envisioned. But she couldn't be happier with the result. “The apartment looks bigger when there are white surfaces for the light to bounce on,” she says.

In New York about two hours north of New York City, architecture and interiors firm BarlisWedlick created an eclectic compound designed to suit a client with an idiosyncratic wish list. In the kitchen, a custom Stickbulb LED lamp hangs above a kitchen island topped by concrete from Get Real Surfaces. The cabinets and island feature a modern version of a traditional board and batten siding that are given an even more contemporary feel with the concrete countertop.

"Whatever your eau de vie, these Mid-Century items add a little more joie de vivre to the bar cart."

"This tin scoop probably shifted a whole load of grain back in the day. I like to see it in the kitchen filled with onions or apples. Or line it with paper and fill it with popcorn on a game night."

A glass door on the north side sits opposite a glass window on the south wall that overlooks a birch tree forest. Skylights pull light into the interior. "Even though the artist paints landscapes, she didn't want to be distracted by the beauty of her surroundings while in the studio, which led to the limited apertures," Peterson says.

Johanna Grawunder for Glas Italia.

AURA LIGHT Intending to take light to an elemental place, the Aura Light from Ladies & Gentlemen Studio features two simple, primary elements: the light source—the bulb—and the illumination, which is highlighted by a brass ring. The result is a simple but sophisticated fixture that can be used as a singular suspended piece, or can be grouped with other Aura Lights for a more dramatic, installation-like effect. When the Aura Light is turned off, the minimalist pendant looks delicate and spare; it does not interrupt its environment. When it is illuminated, the aptly named Aura Light produces a lovely, halo-like diffusion of light, enhanced by its metal ring.

Triple-glazed, frosted windows emit soft, filtered light against pale gray and blue surfaces inthe master bathroom. Lucian Field matte-glass and Lucian Mosaics penny round tiles, both by Ann Sacks, line the floor and walls.

Light Strings A visual representation of age versus time spent online, this brightly lit display at the TICdate festival produced a visual metaphor for data consumption.

At Lasvit's Salone exhibition: the LED-illuminated Moulds pendant lights by Jan Plecháč and Henry Wielgus capture the moment when molten glass emerges from its mold.

While Brooklyn brownstones conjure up memories of their turn-of-the-century roots, they also remain the modern-day face of New York’s coolest boroughs. With brownstone living, however, comes responsibility—many of these classic beauties are in need of renovation and restoration. Here are 10 standout, renovated brownstones that retain their original charm with added contemporary cool.

The Crack tables by Johanna Grawunder receive their texture from a glossy glass diffuser. An optional light can be placed within the tables to make them glow.

Remodeled by resident and interior decorator Jill McCoy and her husband David Hassall with the help of architect Paul Molina, the open-plan living space opens to a small outdoor area. French doors and a wall of windows bring in light. An Eames lounge chair and a Noguchi table add a modern sensibility.

Light floods the living and dining rooms, meaning Schneider rarely needs to turn on a lamp during the day.

A dim Toronto Tudor gets an airy new look. The home’s second-story hallway, which serves as an open office and library, was suffering from a severe lack of light. Lifting up one side of the old pitched roof made room for a linear skylight, which faces south to allow in as many rays as possible, and the modification transformed the top floor into a loftlike double-height space. Inexpensive detailing then added texture and scale: Simple plywood panels attached to cold-rolled-steel frames serve as guards along the stairs.