The budget was nearly as tight as the space in this cheerful renovation of a 516-square-foot flat in Bratislava.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig (HarperTorch, 2006). A story of a motorcycle trip that is both an autobiography and a philosophical study on austerity.

Architect Byoung-soo Cho and his wife, Eunsil Kim, value the privacy, and style, that a concrete wall and recycled Indonesian teak facade provide.

"I think you tend to see creatives reflecting a lot of their values in their work not because it's the responsible thing to do but because creating is such an innate behavior for humans," says Dao. "Where you start to see the separation between values and the work is when you add a commercial aspect. There's a reason why you don't really see an artist's values within ads. And sadly, we only see a handful of filmmakers and musicians who have the luxury of true creative license. Everything else is just focused-grouped or nitpicked to a sucky death. At the moment, we're just focusing on Occupy George, but the project has introduced us to some really smart and ambitious people who want to contribute something to this movement. So hopefully, we'll be able to create something fun together."

The master suite features a sitting area and timber built-ins. “Our team of trim carpenters practically lived in the house for a year,” says architect Nicholas Fiore. “The value of built-ins is multifaceted, and it runs from the ephemeral to the most pragmatic.”

The Pivot-Storage System keeps your utensils where you need them, without taking up much-valued counter space.

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.

Designed by Bauhaus founding director Walter Gropius, the school embodies the movement's core principles and values.

Antonio and Estela have been together since they were teenagers and today have two teenage children, a son and daughter. The couple built a business together and lived in rented accommodation but always dreamed of having their own home. As their company became increasingly successful, they had the opportunity to not just buy but create their dream home. Interestingly, for a home that values privacy, the front garden is conceived as a semi-public space.

Although the original home had been stripped of its Heritage listing, the family valued its character and opted to maintain the original facade.

“We always had it in the back of our minds to do something like this,” says Jeff. “At some point we wanted to build a house that totally represented our values.”

The modern exterior of the home upset the couple’s neighbor, a real estate agent who felt the design would have a negative impact on property values.

The house can be built for approximately the same cost as a traditional site-built home, yet the Recycled House offers superior energy efficiency and the added value of a lower carbon footprint.

For his Seconds series, Miller played off of the idea of irregular products being sold as “seconds” for a lesser value; the Full Tea Service highlights irregular patterns and misplaced motifs.

The living space gives first priority to comfort, and furniture pieces like the sofa bed by Niels Bendtsen deliver. The wood-burning stove by Rais is especially valued during wintertime visits.

“Our creative process is rooted in a process of questioning and listening, and we design our architecture based on values, not a particular aesthetic style,” says architect Benjamin Iborra Wicksteed. “It is why this home is almost tailor made for our client.”

For the farmhouse residence, the team has removed all the elements that did not have any significant heritage value. "Valuable historical constructions are thus brought into equilibrium with the scarcely added volumes," says Damiaan Vanhoutte, a co-founder of the firm.

"We immediately knew the best method to bring value through design would be to remove the lean-to," says Ong. His solution was to pull open the rear façade and alter the relationship between the existing spaces with the garden outdoors.

Mandir with a concept of thikri art empowering the local artistic work of rajasthan-At the same time use of lotus is indicating the value of life

Fishbeyn and Wright spent just around $130,000 to purchase and customize the trailer. Yet, thanks to the help of many of their creative friends who got involved in the project, their home is now valued at $190,000.

The bathroom vanity’s concrete counter echoes the use of concrete in the living space. “We tend to try to use as few materials as possible when we design at DREAMER,” says Shields. “The calmness that comes with a pared-back approach is something we value in spaces.”

French doors by Jeld-Wen open the living room to the terrace and the landscape beyond. The mint-green shelving unit is original to Jon's grandparents' house, which originally stood on the property. "It holds much sentimental value," he says.

Smart features with smart design: Dacor’s steam roasting setting, means every dish delivers professional quality results. Steam reheating is the fastest way to warm things up without destroying texture, flavor or nutritional value.

Accompanied by their dog, Gibson, in the gravel courtyard, Kristin and Jim relax on a Driade MT1 armchair and MT3 rocking chair, both by Ron Arad. “We value that modern ideal—where you can easily go outside and where small rooms feel bigger,” says Alter.

Mandir with a concept of Thikri art empowering the local artistic work of Rajasthan At the same time use of lotus is indicating the value of life

Many cohousing organizations learn from another; Green Grove notes that they are “We are indebted to Cully Grove Cohousing for providing the seeds from which we developed our vision, values and mission statements.”

Shrewd multi-use solutions abound. Built-in furniture permits storage while increasing the dual aesthetic and functional necessaries within the small footprint. While Eloise Collins reads privately at the substantial scenic windows, adroit design features such as these add immeasurably to the home's financial value. 

"It's okay to be bold," Henderson says of the indigo-hued bedroom. "I’m still under the impression that almost everyone loves blue, so I think this is not only okay to do, but actually something that can really add value." The color is French Beret from Benjamin Moore.

A soaking tub with a rain shower head provides a sense of luxury in the bathroom, where a concrete wall, flooring, and vanity counter offset a white oak vanity and more Douglas fir paneling. "Glass beads were added to the concrete before it was poured," Kevin tells us. "This lightens the weight of the concrete by 37% and adds R-value."

"By replacing the low-value, original garage and workshop, space was created within the original building envelope to create a three-bed, one-bath guest wing above," says DFJ Architects. This new wing is on the same level as the main residence and "is keyed into the existing roof pitch," so it fits seamlessly into the neighborhood.

Based in the Bay Area, this firm is under Everlast Development, a licensed construction company with more than 15 years of experience in high-end, custom residential remodeling. Their homes are typically considered to be more of a recreational vehicle (RV), and are sealed with insulation that has an r-value of 20, making them portable and comfortable in temperatures as low as 0-degrees Fahrenheit.

The builders value-engineered the project to maximize the limited budget. They usually have very high-end clients but they embraced this project because they were excited to help build a space for the next generation of chefs, mixologists, and sommeliers.

Wheelhaus founder and CEO Jamie Mackay creates prefabs with the same quality and durability of the log cabins he grew up with, while also incorporating his values of green production and modern design. Although it takes about four months to construct his prefabricated properties, it takes about a week for the home to be delivered, and then three to five days for the house to be set up on site.

That heat is then transferred to the old stone walls underneath. From there, the stone slowly radiates the warmth into the interior, keeping it around 70°F even as night temperatures drop to 25°F. A wood-burning stove compensates for cloudy days. (For the thermally-savvy, the polycarbonate has a U value of 1.1 W/m²K).

Two friends spent three years reviving this 16th-century Basque church near Bilbao, Spain. Abandoned since the late 1970s, the church was in need of serious repair. The roof had caved in and vegetation had thoroughly invaded the structure. Built in the mid-16th century, with some add-ons in the form of an 18th-century bell tower and sacristy, the church had obvious archaeological and historical value.

Clever Details Increase Property Value Doing something unique can increase a home’s resale value, like this paneled nook installed by New York–based architectural design-build firm MADE.