Haines House by Christopher Polly in Newtown, Australia

An office nook and library can participate in the open plan or disappear behind pocket doors.

Brandon and Amy set up different workstations in the living area.

The kids make all the fun they need in their bedroom. Their bunk beds and shelving were bought at Ikea.

The second-floor office is housed inside a rounded rectangle of concrete that the architect inserted on top of the old farmhouse.

The Juvet is tucked into the woodsy corner of a classic Norwegian farm on the banks of the rushing Valldola River. The farm has existed here since at least the 1500s.

The renovated house is outfitted with a sauna.

The kitchen features a distinctive cantilevered countertop.

A new staircase turns a corner at the large stone chimney, an element of the original house that the designers were careful to preserve.

In the guest bathroom, Givone installed a hand-chiseled sink made of 17th-century marble quarried from the hills outside of Rome.

A clear railing follows the stairs to the second floor.

The architecture firm Open Form and the interior design firm Clairoux collaborated on this modern update of a 1950s-era house in Laval, Quebec, north of Montreal.

The architects and interior designers did away with the home's cramped, darkened layout and recast the interior as an open space defined by clean lines.

Original 1925 details include stucco molding throughout the house. A Small-Design Circle table and stools echo outdoor greenery in the room shared by Elliott and Mateo, ages 12 and nine.

Architects Anne Marie Lubrano and Lea Ciavarra limited the material selection in their renovation of a town house dating from 1899. The powder room on the first floor is located in a former waiting area (the previous resident used the level for his dental practice). It features a custom Alabastro marble sink and fixtures by California Faucets. The architects kept the original marble fireplace, paying homage to the structure’s history. Benjamin Moore’s Super White paint was applied to the ceiling and the White Dove hue to the walls. "Positioning the faucets on the side wall emphasizes the horizontal," Lubrano says. "Wall-mounted fixtures feel less grounded and materials can continue uninterrupted below. We wanted the spaces to feel light, spacious and light-filled."

The office, which is also Lily’s room, features a Babyletto crib and a Smileywalls wall decal applied atop Normandy paint from Benjamin Moore.

Everything from lighting to curtains to video and audio can be controlled from a smartphone, enhancing the loft’s sense of effortless elegance.

While she was pregnant and on maternity leave, Susanna tackled creative D.I.Y. projects to decorate Varpu's room, including stitching these festive cotton flag banners.

A salvaged 19th-century soaking tub wrapped in stainless steel is topped by Hudson Reed faucets.

This 19th-century New York factory houses the apartment of Brandon and Amy Phillips as well as the workshop for their company, Miles & May Furniture Works.

In the guest bedroom, a painting by Monique Crine hangs on the original brick wall above a Miles & May bed and side table. The rug is from ABC Carpet & Home.

Vandemoortele’s young sons and their friends enjoy the house’s nearly one-acre site as well, especially the lily pad–stocked pond.

The backyard sports a sequence of raised flower and vegetable beds and two green roofs—one atop the workshop and other atop the back entrance.

Throughout Sonneman’s years of being in the industry, he managed to turn lighting design into an art form, while creating a strong alliance between form and function. This advertisement from the early 1970s shows the range of artistic forms he brought to production in the early years of his business.

At the forefront of this 1970s advertisement is Sonneman’s Mushroom table lamp in a distinct mustard hue. It was constructed of spun aluminum and was topped off with a chrome tipped bulb. Though this piece is no longer in production, some of his original designs from the era are still around today.

The 1,570 square-foot home's entryway features a slatted fence that diffuses light and adds privacy to Eichler's original design. Photo by: Scott Hargis

Keeping the original mottled, worn-brick walls and outfitting the kitchen with their own custom cabinetry were among this couple’s cost-saving measures.

Even a small patio can have a monumental effect. A green wall in this kitchen patio also brings views to the higher parts of the slender town house, located in the West Village in New York. The counter and floor, clad in gray honed slate, and the teak-clad walls and bench complement the greenery.

The bathroom evokes the building’s industrial bones. The pendant light is from Ikea, and the towel racks are repurposed train car luggage racks. The Carrara tiles are mismatched seconds. “It works if you let yourself not try to fix it,” says Brandon.

This West Village townhouse integrates the interiors with the outdoor landscape courtesy of floor-to-ceiling windows draped in sheer curtains, which pick up on the hues both inside and out.

To access a secret play area in the 2 Bar House by Feldman Architecture, children clamber up climbing holds purchased from a local sporting goods store.

The master suite was fashioned from the house’s original garage in a 1970s renovation.

The boys’ bunk beds are by Ikea.

Back StoriedWithout altering its turn-of-the-20th-century facade, architect Christopher Polly transformed the rear of this Newtown, Australia, home from bleak to bright. We originally ran this Houses We Love in our February 2012 issue.

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