A bedroom occupies the top of each tower; a ladder leads to a sleeping nook and an east-facing window seat in the Sunrise suite.

Illustration by David Galletly

The designers clad all interior walls with thin strips of pine and built all the furnishings. In the bedroom, hinged panels on either side of the mattress provide hidden storage.

This "local prefab" home on the Isle of Skye is made mostly from materials sourced in northern Scotland. The timber-framed model, meant to evoke the simple agrarian barns of the area, can be constructed on-site in as little as a day and is designed for affordability.

This bedside table design was inspired by three different vintage pieces. For this client, our mission was a mid-century look and feel, but we were stuck against tight dimensions in space and running up against road block after road block with sizing of existing, vintage options. I find that it's best to secure your designs in some type of inspiration. All great design needs a "seed"—where are you growing from? What are you referring back to in order to stay on course? How are you utilizing or paying attention to nuance in your designs? Repurposing existing furniture pieces is another way to exercise your creative and win some serious applause on both design and cost-savings. Sometimes your starting place is that ratty old sofa in your living room, or basement. I'm constantly reviewing existing client furnishings and thinking about how we can shift the bases into something more interesting or fresh. It's important to find a great upholstery shop or carpenter who can interpret your designs. You need to establish a successful line of communication with your vendor, and how best they read your designs. Often detailed shop drawings are required, and hand sketches are an incredibly successful tool when trying to elevate your ideals, or communicate to a vendor your desired end result.

It's hugely important to request routine shop images from your vendors. Weekly, or bi-weekly image review is the best way to manage and guarantee the quality of your end result. As the lead designer on any piece or project, minding the details needs to be at the forefront of thought at all times. Quick snapshots like the one shown here are great for detailing and helping to understand how all of the parts are coming together. The TV console and bedsides in the following slides were built by Brooklyn based KWH Furniture.

I recently designed this TV console and chair for a project on the Upper West Side in New York. The oversized chamfer detail on the console draws the eye to the integrated door hardware and leather wrapped panels. While we are still prototyping the "DMc Channel Chairs," one of the big compliments from this client is on the size, scale and comfort. When I approach designing a piece of furniture, I pull my design ideas through four key areas of consideration: Ergonomics–Determining overall size, scale and best function–designing the right piece for the right use with the right fit is foundational. Artisanal Quality–I like to work with artists or masters of craft–the commitment to the process is almost always more genuine and more profound, as well as understanding of materials. Material selection–I focus on sturdy materials that are beautiful and forgiving–furniture is meant to be used and needs to be produced for longevity and with the concept of patina in mind. Finish details–Be bold. Everything you design should have a voice and a level of design saturation that speaks with it's own point-of-view. Think about the details–what takes it forward?

I'll leave you with this image as inspiration for your next furniture design project. Note the architectural detailing both in the room and the bench itself. In this case, we worked with Bright Furniture to add the arms and took our cue from the intersecting geometric patterning of the upholstery fabric. We tied the fabric to the bench, and gave the bench a more dynamic presence as a centerpiece in this living room by adding the additional structure to the base design. Remember, be bold and stay true to quality, comfort and function. If you can zero in on these factors when designing a piece of furniture, you'll be a success every time!

This is a great example of how one can take an existing piece and turn it around completely. In this case, there was a pair of matching sofas. The original sofas were much more traditional, but by shaving down the top of the backs, cutting down each sofa and connecting them at the center, I was able to reuse the pieces to create a beautiful 11' sofa to insert in a wall niche, expand the room and bring forward a more contemporary result. For the client, they achieved the contemporary feeling they were aiming for and saved on the cost of a new sofa by more than half the price.

Take a look at this sofa and flip to the next image.

One of my mantras is "Design = Collaboration" and often, my team works with vendors whose work we love, admire, and appreciate to customize a piece of furniture for the specific needs of our client. The net result is a beautiful collaboration between designers (read as: teamwork). Never be afraid to ask about customization. Great design is about growth, sharing, and evolution. We are all here to add to one another, and expand great ideas. Again, remember my other mantra: "time, energy, effort and expense…" You're worth it. Make it your own. Go for it! This Alana bench from Bright Furniture is a great example a base design from which we launched on a recent project in East Hampton, New York. Flip to the next image!

Illustration by David Galletly

Illustration by David Galletly

Black and white kitchen cabinets painted with a triangular pattern add a whimsical touch to this funky kitchen.

Strategic Changes Make a Big Impression: Learn the key moves to create a big impact.

“We consider the notion of privacy to be protection of our own individuality.”—ArchitectS Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen

In the master bath, the architect managed to combine privacy and a view by adding a horizontal-line pattern to the glass wall.

Sarah Kuchar's swiveling First Class chair offers a none-too-subtle signal and buffer when one desires a more private environment.

When Abbie and Bill Burton hired Marmol Radziner to design their prefab weekend home, their two requests were “simple-simple, replaceable materials,” says Abbie—such as concrete floors (poured offsite in Marmol Radziner's factory) and metal panel siding—and “the ability to be indoors or outdoors with ease.” Deep overhangs provide shade and protection from rain, so the Burtons can leave their doors open year-round and hang out on their 70-foot-long deck even in inclement weather. They visit the house once a month, usually for a week at a time, with Vinnie and Stella, their rescue Bernese Mountain dogs. Their two adult children occasionally join them. The couple hopes to one day retire here.

An outdoor dining area is screened for privacy.

Barbara Hill's Dancehall/House in Marfa, Texas September 14, 2010 Misty Keasler

Sliding walls can be pulled shut when privacy is desired.

The concrete wall mimics the slope of the hill outside as a reference to early Maori structures that were dug into the land. The simple kitchen has strandboard cabinetry and an MDF island that conceals a fireplace at one end. The ceramic works on the built-in seat at right are by Raewyn Atkinson and Robyn Lewis.

After living on and studying a woodsy acre of land in North Zealand, Denmark, architect Jesper Brask cleared a stand of pine trees and, from the timber, built a getaway open to its surroundings. The house, which Brask shares with his wife, Lene, and sons, Kristian, Jens, and Niels, is used mainly in summer, when the weather is optimal for throwing open the glass doors.

The Midnight Scoop’s front tip is thin and designed to slice through freezer-hardened ice cream without heat.

Mami and Goo the Kishu dog return from a frolic in the forest, which the couple, along with Hideaki, has thinned and trimmed back over many weekends. It’s an idyllic escape and a world away from the concrete expanse of Tokyo.

In Seattle's rapidly developing South Lake Union neighborhood, the Art Stable is a classic example of urban infill. Built on the site of a former horse stable, the seven-story mixed-use building carries its history into the future with highly adaptable live/work units.

Japanese showers are usually set low down so the bather can sit on a stool and scrub, then pour cedar buckets of hot water over their heads for a refreshing rinse. This homeowner in Venice, California mounted a handheld shower head on the wall for added flexibility. The drain is under the removable cedar floor slats, keeping the room design uncluttered. Wood tubs are cleaned with a simple rinse and last for decades, as the antiseptic properties of cedar guard against mold and rot. This ofuro was designed by Santiago Ortiz and fabricated by Bartok Design.

Choosing a kitchen or bathroom countertop can be nerve-wracking, and we understand why—they can be one of the most expensive aspects of a renovation, with the added responsibility of impacting the aesthetics of a space. Read on as we work our way through the pros and cons of seven of the most common countertop materials.

Tanya, Chris, Jackson, and Zeke spend much of their day outside.

Because the house is narrow and long (16 by 68 feet), the design team decided to create a huge open-air space to light the interior naturally. Two retractable motor-driven canvas canopies shelter the space during Singapore’s frequent rains.

Cedar louvers increase privacy and shade on the second-floor deck, where Carole and Duane relax with granddaughters Natalie and Allison and their friend Katherine.

On the outskirts of Austin, Texas, author Chris Brown and his dog Katsu head to the river; the path was once a dumping ground on top of a long-defunct underground oil pipeline. The green roof was conceptualized by John Hart Asher of the Ecosystem Design Group at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin.

“Before, the house turned its back on the landscape,” said Parish. “This renovation and addition really animates the garden.” Sliding glass doors match those of the living room beyond the deck, and both can be completely open to the yard.

Tom Givone’s clients, Rose and Steve Smith, teach overseas and have owned their house for 26 years. They intended to fix it up slowly and retire there. As one problem led to another, they reached a point when they felt their only option, as Rose put it, was to “burn it down.”

Renderings of Ed Ogosta’s as-yet-unbuilt Four Eyes House, designed for a family, reveal a quartet of towers rising from a ground-floor common space.