Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.

The owners toured this home, which surrounds a mature tipu tipu tree, while visiting relatives for the day. The brick is original to the 1947 construction.

Sliding doors by Quantum were made to look like the original panes that couldn't be saved, and they lead to a fire pit outside.

“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

Though seemingly whimsical and freewheeling, Sottsass was exacting in his designs: He had forbidden the Olabuenagas from repainting the home’s stucco facade, insisting that they let it “metamorph into what it wants to be,” but the couple ultimately decided to restore its faded colors last fall, using new elastomeric Behr paints that were blended to original specifications.

See Arch restored the exterior fireplace wall and painted it a deep blue hue to match the repainted blue timber cladding.

While a two-story structure did not meet the zoning code, Richard Neutra bypassed that via his design of a "gloriette," an outdoor room flanked by aluminum louvers. Those panels shelter the home against the harsh desert elements and were recreated as part of the five-year restoration of Richard Neutra's original design. Photo: Tim Street-Porter

The bath’s Kohler Purist fixtures and Frederick Weinberg animal figures sit on a Corian countertop

The Airstream Haus’s interior is minimalist, but comfortable, boasting a fully functional kitchen and queen-size bed that doubles as a couch.

The Airstream Haus, parked in Ojai, California. August says that when your dwelling is small, it’s important to make the most of outdoor space.

The Kelleys furnished the cottage with help from Suzanne’s daughter Betsy Burbank of Betsy Burbank Interiors. Classic modernist icons, such as a Saarinen Womb chair for Knoll, a Herman Miller Eames lounge chair, and an Eileen Grey E1027 side table look at home alongside present-day pieces such as an Encore sofa (which handily folds down into a sleeping surface) from Room & Board and a Doka rug designed and produced by Stephanie Odegard. The Wohlert pendant lights from Louis Poulsen were designed by Vilhelm Wohlert in 1959, but grouped as such, they appear distinctly contemporary.

“I really believe buildings are part of a city as an organism.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

The design remained a work in progress for years. "We didn't start it until '95," says Lesley. "Then it was daily faxes, phone calls. I remember when I called [Sotsass] to tell him that we were going to break ground. He said it was the best Christmas present he could have ever had in his entire life."

Sottsass labored over the project in multiple dimensions and mediums, but always with a flair for style, as seen here in a vivid watercolor painting of the home.

Designer Michael Tyznik's conception for a new $20 bill.

Black and white kitchen tiles add visual interest to this stunning modern kitchen by IKEA.

Pleased with the pop-up they designed last summer, Frame approached i29 again this fall to construct a more long-term installation: a shop meant to evoke a 3-D walk through of an issue of their magazine.

Dump Truck by Green Toys, $20.

Fashion-tech designer Anouk Wipprecht’s white Spider Dress 2.0 was developed with Philip Wilck along the lines of a previous dress she made inspired by arachnids. The 3D-printed robotic garment with eight jointed arms (activated by sensors and Intel Edison chips with artificial bio-signal intelligence) protects the wearer. Depending on the wearer's mood—agitated or pleased—the arms of the dress spring upward to ward off intrusions.

Part of the PIXEL series, the Ripple 2.0 Coffee Table, shown in walnut with powder coated steel pulls, takes the same inspiration of the movement created by a ripple of water and brings it to a different, slightly darker, place by using a different kind of wood and pixelating the motif further.

Neutra's Kaufmann home was initially designed for living just two months out of the year. Yet after the original owner passed, future tenants attempted to retrofit the space for year-long use. An air conditioning unit was placed atop the roof, and square footage was added, enclosing this courtyard. To return it to its original state, the current owner underwent a five-year restoration and reopened this courtyard to honor the original design. Photo: Tim Street-Porter

The first step was to tear out the existing wall-to-wall carpeting and replace it with cabin-grade, oak flooring to give the house a classic feel and to help anchor the more modern walls and trim. They ordered the flooring from a large company and despite it being the cheapest option offered, the total expense came to $2,300 for materials, making the wood floors—according to Anderson—their biggest splurge.

The apartment is accessed via an old freight elevator. The cabinetry around the elevator entrance—including a massive bookshelf and storage space—is black, contrasting with the white brick walls and the white oak joinery.

Through their jewelry and accessories brand ACME Studio, Lesley Bailey and Adrian Olabuenaga collaborated with Ettore Sottsass, as well as many of the other principals of the Memphis movement, starting in the 1980s. When they purchased this property by the sea in Maui, they reached out to Sottsass to see if he would consider designing a home on it.

Lesley recounts their first meeting with Sottsass as clients: "We had worked with Ettore since the conception of our company. Adrian sent him a fax and said what he wanted to do. He said, 'When am I coming?'" "That was in 1989 that we asked him and he turned up with a model and this little bag. [At the airport in] Maui at that point, you had to walk across the tarmac. He comes up with this little bag, he gives it to Adrian, he says, 'Be very careful. That is your house.'"

The home's plans went through years of eclectic redesigns.

1981 Ettore Sottsass designs Altair vase.

Sottsass designed much of the inside furniture, including the vintage Hawaiian Koa lounge chairs and Hyatt side tables.

The floor tile is from Virginia Tile, while the wall tile is from Daltile.

See Arch replaced many of the original single-pane wood windows with new thermally broken aluminum windows. They also painted the exterior.

aesarstone counters in the kitchen, which best highlights the homes mix of light and wood. White conversion varnish was used on the sink side of the island for durability, with wood on the side of entertainment.