Visiting a Manhattan apartment designed by Tim Seggerman is like sitting inside one of Nakashima’s cabinets, a metaphor realized most fully in an ingenious "library"—really a glorified cubby with a banded maple ceiling, conjured from a free space adjacent to the loft bed.

Kutarq, founded by Valencia–based Jordi López Aguiló, works on architecture and product design with an emphasis on recycled products and reuse. Gradient was released during Paris Design Week.

A process shot of the shelf during construction.

Early sketches of the shelf.

A process shot of the shelf under construction.

The bookcase is a straightforward structure that can be easily assembled. It is made from natural plywood and steel frame with hidden screws that allow the shelves to appear like they are floating.

The bedroom is tucked away within the wood box, with room enough for a bed and dresser (and bassinet once the baby arrives). The Styrofoam bust of Mr. T (in the upper right corner of the image) was made by a friend who works at a 3-D modeling company.

The floor tiles are close matches to the originals, which had to be replaced after a pipe burst.

The bedroom—accessible via the living room—is where the couple will place a bassinet for their newborn.

Architects Mayer Sattler-Smith designed the bookshelves and Alvar Aalto the 406 lounge chair for Artek.

The steel beam original to the building was left exposed but toned down with gray, flame-proof paint. It runs the length of the flat, delimiting the passage area.

Open shelving between the living room and dining area maximizes light and air flow and showcases eclectic objects, which include old printing blocks found at a garage sale and bowls Tyler’s mother bought in South Africa.

Merge Architects wrapped the peg wall around three sides of a bathroom to hide a door and provide a storage for books and knick knacks.

Stuth and Shelton's bedroom.

A close-up of the bookshelves made of MDF clad in bamboo veneer.

This original laser-cut-powder-coated steel Piegato shelf was released in 2007. Following simple instructions, you can fold the sheet into a three-shelf bookcase in a matter of minutes, then attach it to a wall with just a few screws.

The firm opened up the closed off kitchen, orienting it in the center of the living space.

Given the spatial constraints, the staircase leading to the upstairs loft needed to be a short and steep. Since the residents wanted a workspace in the living area, the architects turned the underside of the stairs into a handy bookshelf.

A bookshelf by Muller Van Severen.

Here's a detail of the bookshelf.

Bookshelf by Rene Siebum Siebum says his work is about the process of challenging convention, “exploring the boundaries, not taking the old customs of woodworking as fact.” Photo by Rene van der Hulst

Dulkinys uses the remote-controlled mountaineer’s harness to peruse the two-story bookshelf.

A built-in larch bookshelf occupies an entire wall on the second floor den.

More custom bookshelves in an upstairs sitting room, cleverly inserted into the villa's extant niches.

The SSB is made of four pieces that slot together to create the central V design and comes in two types of wood or steel. It can hold an open cookbook in the kitchen, display favorite titles in the living room, and it also works well for kids.

The garage is an exercise in “hide and reveal.” The Corian shelf features an outlet in a converted book, a detail that brings delight to a mundane task. “We wanted to make the experience of plugging in a phone or computer joyful,” Grizzle says.

"The design goals are achieved by thoughtfully providing only the essential controls on site," says OneButton. "While this process requires a greater time investment via planning and revision, the Lutron controls receive the same amount of thought and consideration as the fine art the homeowners hang."

Open shelving can cut both ways: Curate the air out of all your cool stuff and you're left with a gift shop, not a home; but beware piling everything into an open space for fear of a visual muddle. The residents of NHR strike a great balance of colorful activity without getting too precious. Neutral flooring, a dark wall help, and a blue Unfold pendant lamp from Muuto keep a sense of play without tipping into formless clutter.

This bookshelf is a reconstruction of Albers's original design, created in 1923 as a magazine stand for his Bauhaus fellow faculty member Walter Gropius. Albers based the shelf width and length to coincide with the square form, and then divided the form into equal horizontal and vertical segments. Solid white oak is used for both the horizontal and vertical components—the horizontal shelves are naturally darkened through oxidization and the vertical pieces are waxed and polished.

Yuko Shibata, a Tokyo architect, wanted more shelf space in her home office, so she added a plywood door with built-in bookshelves that opens into her bedroom to form a reading nook. Glimpsed from the adjacent room, the space looks larger than it actually is, thanks to the bright green walls. Photo by Ryohei Hamada.

The fogged glass walls of the book bench insulate as well as illuminate so readers can find their favorites anytime of year. Photo courtesy of Ruetemple Architectural Studio.

Designed for bookselling, this stand offers booksellers storage and book-buyers seating. During the day, the glass doors guarding books after-hours raise into a translucent awning. Photo courtesy of Ruetemple Architectural Studio.

Song's inspirations include Dieter Rams, Isamu Noguchi, Buckminster Fuller, and Peter Zumthor ("The use of materials in each of his buildings is ethereal," she says). Books about the icons rest on her studio's shelves, along with an armada of chisels, clamps, and hammers.

A suspended skylight, the glass awning lets readers (like this one) peruse the shelves from above. Repurposing the typical glass doors of the bookcase carries fantasy from the shelves. Photo courtesy of Ruetemple Architectural Studio.