Designed by Alvar Aalto in 1933, the classic Artek Stool 60 is considered the definition of functionalist furniture design. The Hella Jongerius Edition of the stool recasts Aalto’s classic design with colorful seats and legs, including this blue seat with charcoal legs. The result is a thoughtful re-imagination that retains Aalto’s classic, functional design.

Designed by Alvar Aalto in 1933, the classic Artek Stool 60 is considered the definition of functionalist furniture design. The Hella Jongerius Edition of the stool recasts Aalto’s classic design with colorful seats and legs in different wood finishes, ranging from metallic silver to a rich walnut color.

“The packaging can be seen as a vehicle of our values: functionality, sustainability, natural materials, aesthetics, ethics, and ecology.”—Marianne Goebl, global director of Artek

The almost-entirely tallowwood kitchen is custom. Muuto pendant lights, bar stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, a Vola faucet, and a ceiling fan by Beacon Lighting finish the room.

Manuel Raeder's coated birch plywood X Chair serves both as a stool and as a modular shelving unit suitable for books and magazines.

German Artist’s Mike Meiré’s version of the Artek Stool 60 gives the iconic stool some pop. $390

Alvar Aalto’s Stool 60 In lieu of a coffee table, three of these stackable stools were grouped together. $308

In the living area, Brothers sits on an Artek stool while perusing a selection from his library.

1995 Rocket by Eero Aarnio for Artek.

1960Kiki Stool by Ilmari Tapiovaara for Artek.

Brightly colored sheets and a central pendant lamp show this tent to its best advantage.

The loveseat is by Terence Woodgate.

An assemblage of Aalto’s 1936 Stool 60.

Collage, designed by Stephen Ormandy: “The design was influenced by the floating nature of lily pads and the opportunity to combine individual sculptural shapes into a cohesive useful object”.

Artek's birch plywood Trienna table, also by Ilmari Tapiovaara, will be on hand in the Austere lounge at Dwell on Design NY. (Read on for more timeless design classics from Artek.)

The Pirkka line for Artek from 1955—which includes this low stool—embody the the kind of organic modernism for which Finland is known. The versatile design is available in a range of heights (low, counter or high bar), wood finishes, and types of seating.

A mosaic tile wall softens the laboratory-like effect of the glossy kitchen cabinets.

Davor and August check out the yard from the living room. “The bifold Vistalite doors allow us to open the house up completely and enjoy the fresh, warm air,” Davor says.

The Birch Pavilion sits atop a 14-by-26-foot platform composed of hemlock and pressure-treated timbers. Photo courtesy of Moskow Linn Architects.

Nadarajah decided to put windows where a backsplash might go in order to bring extra light into the kitchen. "The birch cabinets were custom-designed to be the length of a wok and the height of a cake dome," she says.

"I'm a foodie, so this kitchen [holds] a lot of fun dinner parties," Nadarajah says. The island is a deeper shade of birch.

The Midcentury Modern Mailbox uses some of the same bright colors from the 1950s and 1960s, alongside neutral hues. The mailbox is available with a white or black base, and can add a cheerful pop of color in a yard or near a walkway. This retro mailbox is a solution for modern home dwellers, and will help celebrate the integrity of the home itself.

The living and kitchen areas were reconfigured to seamlessly join a terrace surfaced with artificial turf and Nature Teka decking by Disegna. The beam was coated in a shade of turquoise paint that matches the Acapulco chairs.

Tapiovarra's 1954 Trienna coffee table is made of three pieces smoothly conjoined to form one surface with six rounded edges. The tables, which are made of formed birch wood with surface veneer in walnut, are manufactured in Finland by Artek.

The limited edition Loimu 60 stool, one of three editions by Artek celebrating the stool’s 90th anniversary, translates to “flame.” It’s made from a rare birch that gives this pattern.

The 1968 house’s shape—a rounded triangle topped with a sweeping concrete roofline that suggests a helmet as it rises above huge banks of windows—lends itself totally to Kukkapuro’s philosophy. “It is a structure in waiting, prone to change as the landscape around it—not yet a form, rather a possibility,” he says. “It changes in harmony with the seasons and the moods of its inhabitants.”

Black leather bar stool by Giron, $795 A hand-tooled leather seat made in Paraguay tops a carbon-colored iron frame for a blacked-out palette that’s both timeless and of the moment.

Dan Pacek, left, and John Roynon prepare cocktails at their 12-foot “display island” in the renovated kitchen of their home in New Jersey. The couple bought handles matching those on their Thermador refrigerator and used them on a set of pantry doors, one of which conceals the steps to the basement.

Concrete was chosen for both structural and finish material throughout much of the home, for its aesthetic, functional, and budgetary appeal. The polished concrete floors in the bedroom complement the birch bed and cabinetry. The home provides living space for the couple, two kids, one dog, and two cats.

"[Artek's] Aalto stools in their springtime outfits."

A dramatic black island is expertly balanced by a wall of white cabinetry and a refrigerator that blends perfectly. The kitchen’s black countertops were cut from Nero Assoluto granite. The sink and faucet are from Quebec-based company Rubi. Appliances are from Wolf.

Silenci comes in black, or natural ash or birch.

The juxtaposition of black and white is perhaps the most notable detail of the home’s interiors. In the guest bathroom, black and white tiles provide visual interest.

The studio’s artist wanted a workspace that would be a blank canvas. Accordingly, sustainably sourced birch plywood was seamlessly used throughout the interior space. When it becomes weathered, damaged, or covered in paint, it can be easily removed and replaced.