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

The lightbox is a glowing floor light made from roto-molded plastic. It's a lamp, stool, and accent table all in one. Read more about the lightbox here.

The wooden box is as functional as it is finely crafted, with room for clothes up top. Each niche holds treasures from travels, family keepsakes, books, and more.

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.

Made of stainless steel and TEKA hardwood, a Curzon dining table by Modloft is surrounded by a quartet of Victoria Ghost dining chairs by Philippe Starck for Kartell. A striped Missy pendant light by Filipe Lisboa hangs overhead. Four Chill White media consoles from CB2 line the western wall.

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

Clothing can play a vital part in post-disaster comfort and survival. Be prepared with lightweight, versatile items that are appropriate for the highs and lows of your region—bonus points for bright colors like neon yellow or orange that might help emergency workers spot you. Make sure you have clean underwear, layers (including a light jacket), and a hat that would protect you from the sun. Extra blankets, shoes, boots, socks, and bug spray might be necessary depending on where you live.

HotBox: Michaela MacLeod and Nicholas Croft (Toronto) A mysterious monolith on the landscape, this warming hut, a cubic room wrapped in rubber and egg shell crate foam, provides a space for socialization.

When the Casali family gave Michael Krus and Prishram Jain of TACT Architecture free rein to work with unconventional materials, the architects responded by creating a geometric 4,300-square-foot smart home encased in aluminum panels by Agway Metals. The front facade features Cor-Ten steel fabricated by Praxy Cladding.

The resident, a Tokyo transplant, commissioned architect Tadashi Murai to create a fully-equipped structure that comes with its own power, heating and cooling, water, and waste-disposal systems.

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.

Architect Joaquin Castillo blends inexpensive materials, the odd splurge, and a refined modernist sensibility to create an affordable weekend house for brothers Alfredo and Guillermo Oropeza. The facade is a juxtaposition of rough-hewn local stone, smooth concrete, glass, and steel—the material palette used throughout the structure.

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.

Light Box Peter created a simple uplight at the top of the wood box by wiring together energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures typically used under cabinets and countertops. “The cheaper magnetic models hum unacceptably loudly, so make sure you get the electronic ballast types,” he warns. He then painted the cavity white to reflect light and covered them with quarter-inch-thick acrylic from TAP Plastics. homedepot.com tapplastics.com

Narigua House (El Jonuco, Mexico) Architect: David Pedroza Castañeda Category: House

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.

Modern Sprout’s planters were designed by Nick Behr and Sarah Burrows, two Chicago apartment dwellers who wanted to grow their own garden, but didn’t have the space. Struggling to maintain plants in their apartment, they tried hydroponic planters, which yielded results, but were expensive and unappealing to look at. As a result, they designed their own planter—a hydroponic, self-watering system that hides its mechanism beneath a reclaimed wood planter box.

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

North Carolina firm Skram Furniture Company has created a flexible and functional line of containers that can be utilized in various spaces, from offices to kitchens.

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.

“We edit to what’s most essential and what will highlight the product best.” —Pearl Schenkel, graphic design manager at Finell

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.

Dotted with colorful footholds, a climbing wall covers one side of the home, allowing roof access.

A basic box that’s as tall as it is wide (28 feet) and 16 feet long, this Portland, Oregon house consists of rooms stacked vertically: an unfinished basement on the bottom, a kitchen-living area and a bathroom in the middle, and a bedroom on top, with the stairwell hinged onto the front of the home. The only interior doors are those to the bathroom, basement, and root cellar, leaving the rest of the space open and unfettered. At just 704 square feet, Katherine Bovee and Matt Kirkpatrick's home is a great lesson in making the most out of every inch. Click here to see the interior.

The transformed facade features dark gray stained-masonry.

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.

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.

After an unprecedented year of earthquakes, hurricanes, and fires, a bright light has been shed on the benefits of building with concrete.

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.

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.

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.

At 3.5" x 3.5" with a depth of 6", these planters are specifically designed to hold starter plants you've picked up at the nursery.

The facade of the three-bedroom house sports a series of extruded pine boxes, which create sheltered spaces that stand up to the area’s fluctuating weather. The owners, Isaac Pineus and Andrew Duncanson, spend summers here with their twin sons.