Home Renovation Tip: Get an Understanding of What’s Already Around

Ryan Anderson of RAD Furniture designed the stools as well as the table and benches on the pool deck.

Though Bruce has thus far only managed a week or two here or there on the island, he's hoping to make it a more frequent—and extended—part of his regular routine. "I'm thinking about going out for a month to write," he says.

In the living room, spare Scandinavian design takes center stage. Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chairs surround an Essay dining table by Cecilie Manz for Fritz Hansen; a mostly wood palette is enhanced by slate-gray brick around the fireplace. The paper lanterns throughout the home are a mixture of classics by Isamu Noguchi alongside those picked up in Japan and France.

Built-ins reduce the need for furniture.

At the client’s request the kitchen contains neither upper cabinets (Shino can’t reach them) nor an oven (they only used the old one once—to reheat a pizza). A modular Roche Bobois Mah Jong sofa adds a decorative flourish to the living area while maintaining as low a profile as the traditional Japanese furniture.

Yang Yeo and his girlfriend Ching Ian relax on the back stoop of their renovated and radically updated Singapore shophouse—an archetypal building type in this busy port city. “Shophouses brought back memories of our childhood,” says Yeo.

The beanbag chairs and outdoor sofa and chairs are from West Elm and the Case Study Museum Bench is from Modernica.

Two San Francisco art and travel addicts overhauled a loft—and customized a pair of shipping containers—to accommodate their collection and reflect their passions.

The sofa is a Karlstad sectional from Ikea. The 1,400-square-foot home contains a master bedroom and two guest rooms.

To highlight the existing architecture of the home, Hill retained the dark polish of the casement windows, which she finds enhances period details instead of undermining them. In the rear sunroom, the vintage Case Study furniture pieces with Plexiglas bases are from Metro Retro in Houston. A Bourgie lamp by Kartell is atop an old marble end table by Knoll, and the Gan kilim rug pictures a branch motif echoed in the kitchen and breakfast room.

Builder Ross Percival helped finesse the finely tuned detailing that separates the internal slope from the rock outside (opposite). The Pedro wire stool is by Craig Bond for Candywhistle.

Alex enjoys a sun-filled breakfast at the built-in dining table and bench, one of many space-saving designs.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food scraps and yard waste make up 20 percent of what we throw away. Composting organic materials keeps them out of the landfill, which cuts down on greenhouse gases, and enriches the soil. To compost at home, make a pile in your backyard, or introduce an indoor bin for throwaways like apple peels and eggshells.

Though only two feet deep, the Ikea cabinet Azevedo bought for the guest bath didn’t quite fit, so she sliced off eight inches with a table saw. “It might be unorthodox, but it was just easier, faster, and cheaper to do it myself,” says the former furniture designer.

The living room features a sofa by Dellarobbia.

The living area now feels open and bright and showcases the couple’s appreciation for furniture design and artwork. The family opted for a Camber sectional and rug from Design Within Reach, coffee table from Steven Alan Home, and replica Eames Lounge to outfit the space.

Simple utilitarianism at its finest: Takagi's Simple Machines series of stools, benches, and tables in white oak.

A departure from the mod-meets-baroque dining room, Turin’s breakfast area is far more sedate. She and her daughter, Helena, have a chat at a Progetto 1 table by Monica Armani for B&B Italia surrounded by four Lia chairs by Roberto Barbieri for Zanotta. The painting behind Helena is by Ricci Albenda.

The guesthouse has similar built-ins and is outfitted with a reproduction rotating sconce by Serge Mouille and rugs by Stephanie Odegard.

The living area is furnished with a Fjord swivel arm chair by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso and a Como sectional chaise by Giorgio Soressi.

Little feet pop up behind the Neo Sectional Chaise Left by Niels Bendtsen from DWR. The print, which reads Tokyo in reverse, was done by David's friend Eric Cruz.

In the living and dining area of Jean Risom's Block Island family retreat, mostly vintage Risom furnishings share space with a few new additions, the view facing north is framed by the wall of glass. Photo by: Floto + Warner

The home’s original living and dining rooms were updated with custom cabinetry and new fir floors. The living room sofa, coffee table, and lounge chair are from Blu Dot.

It’s a good idea to read reviews about specific pieces before buying them, which can help prepare you for the unexpected.

The living room features two side chairs and an end table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar and a bronze screen designed by Harold Balazs.

In a small seating area at the base of a two-story tower, Oslo chairs and sofas by Anderssen& Voll are paired with Around tables by Thomas Bentzen, all from Muuto. The lamp from Svenskt Tenn was designed by Josef Frank in 1938.

Those hammers and saws built a home for the family’s chickens, watched over by Apolo among outdoor furniture by Richard Schultz.

Custom-designed furniture outfits the interior of a bunker-turned-vacation retreat in the Netherlands.

Much of the 1950s and '60s furniture collection comes from Denmark, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Netherlands.

Most of the home’s furniture was purchased at Restoration Hardware, Circa Modern, or antique shops. “We both love the midcentury designs that we grew up with,” Bronee says. “We wanted furniture that was authentic to us and our personal styles while also fitting into a Catskills hideaway barn.”

One of the three pavilions is an open, single-story space that combined the home's kitchen and great room. The Bigelows specifically liked the idea of a great room because it affords a flexible plan and airy atmosphere for entertaining. The Flexform furniture can become an in-the-round seating arrangement for impromptu piano sessions.

Bamboo plywood is used throughout the house for all integrated furniture, including the kitchen cabinets. The pendant lights are prototypes designed by Jamie McLellan for Tom Dixon and the stools are by Konstantin Grcic for Magis.