Here's a detail shot of the stool. The leather comes in four options—black, chocolate, tobacco, and saddle—and the brightly hued backing fabric comes in ten—sky, radish, egg yolk, cream, camel, charchol, sand, mocha, chocolate, and black.

Architect Ulrich Hamann's rendering of the new addition to the Lenbachhaus Museum and Gallery; the Stadtische Galerie Im Lenbachhaus. Image courtesy of Lenbachhaus Gallery and Museum.

Inspirational spaces

Because their loft is a rental, David and Im Schafer built everything to be removable.

British artist Hannah Sawtell and technologist Avi Flombaum created sawbaum.com, where users can create visual collages using multiple vine streams. "We wanted it to look like a visual comic book, with overlapping panels," said Flombaum. "And we wanted it to be fun!" Photo courtesy Rhizome.

I.M. Pei, Luce Memorial Chapel (1963) When architect I.M. Pei designed this chapel for Tunghai University in Taiwan, he had to take local conditions, like typhoons and earthquakes, into account. His plan, which, included a curved roof of glazed, diamond-shaped tiles and interior ribs of reinforced concrete that run like ribbons towards the cross mounted on the roof, was an elegant solution to the challenges of the local environment. Photo courtesy Valter Wei, Creative Commons

Broken, 2014. I.M. Pei's Fountain Place in Dallas, Texas, built in 1986. “He used angles, triangles, planes and prisms to create a seemingly impossible visual space with this building,” says Olic. “The view from the east makes the structure seem broken and folded down the middle.”

In the bathroom, they did "basically surface things," says Im.

The Meteorite’s interior is clad in spruce from floor to ceiling, and Ulla furnished the living areas with hand-selected works by Finnish designers. The dining area features a built-in corner sofa designed by Ateljé Sotamaa, with slipcovers and pillows by Klaus Haapaniemi & Co.

Luce Memorial Chapel in Tunghai, Taiwan, 1963, by I.M. Pei.

Here's IM Pei's Meyerson Symphony Center done up for the holidays.

In this glass-enclosed master bedroom, a LC4 armchair faces the master bed. The moveable frame adjusts along the base, allowing the sitter to switch from upright to full recline, or lounge at a number of other sitting angles.

Illustration via drawastickman.com.

“I’m a huge fan of yellow,

Piet Hein Eek's wooden chairs add a touch of color to the monochromatic apartment. "I'm a fan of simple modern furniture, with a twist," says Carr. "I wanted to buy everything from Piet Hein Eek."

Photo from blackandwtf.tumblr.com

One of the witticisms found on livethesheendream.com.

Local sailboat shops wanted thousands to make the 13-by-13-foot curtain that hides the Wall of Storage. "We we called my parents in Bangkok, gave them the dimensions, and they got it made for 150 bucks." says Im.

The Schaffer's furniture includes an Eames Aluminum Group lounge chair ("and ottoman!" adds Im.) A coffee table made of glued, corrugated cardboard was the couple's first project together, when they met in college eight years ago.

“I don’t paint landscapes when I’m here because I can’t compete with the natural beauty,” says Yael.

Hellstern designed the mohair sofa in the home's living area. The rug is by Tufenkian.

The green roof, wood cladding, and low profile help to integrate the home with its lush, natural surroundings.

A curving skylight illuminates the minimalist kitchen of a dwelling in Bondi Beach, Australia, that was renovated by Andrew Burges Architects.

Multiple Hytte cabins can be clustered together to create a village layout.

The Lais designed their house to be theirs forever. As such, they were able to make design moves that made sense for themselves but that wouldn't have high resale value, like the Japanese-style master bathroom in the middle of the second floor instead of off of the master bedroom. The traditional setup features bath stools from Muji for washing off.

The built-in bench that borders the cantilevered bed features two storage drawers and a hatch that accesses an additional storage compartment.

The crisp white kitchen features appliances built into the cabinetry and marble countertops.

San Francisco’s modernists were faced with the issue of building within a firmly established stylistic tradition—think bay windows and gingerbread. Henry Hill’s 1947 renovation of a 1908 Victorian tucked away on an alley in historic Russian Hill provides a remarkable response to the dilemma.

The kitchen and convertible desk area of the Kugelschiff display a luminous, white-painted ceiling and walls, and white ash cabinetry and flooring.

For architect Stephen Chung, the design of his Wayland, Massachusetts, home was all about blending into the natural environment. The first floor is a serene composition of white and wood. The demand for a domestic office space inspired him to build up, adding a second floor for him to "experiment." In a departure from the Cape Cod aesthetic that rules his block, he was able to give the addition a modernist take, while also literally reflecting the existing landscape of the neighborhood. The entire 1,100-square-foot adjunct that encompasses his second story office-studio, master suite, and fort for his two young sons is swathed in mirrored siding and plate-glass windows.

Bestor consulting with her demolition crew, in her kitchen-to-be. I'm hoping to get Bestor blogging about her renovation on Dwell.com—so stay tuned for that!