Juicy Salif juicer designed by Philippe Starck in 1990.

LA-based real estate development company Prime Five Homes sought to create a home that was clean, peaceful, and uncluttered, particularly through material choices and large, open spaces. The central atrium—a recurring element used to expand indoor/outdoor space in Prime Five Homes projects—helps lengthen the living room vertically and creates a light well that fills both the upstairs and downstairs areas with bright daylight.

Aside from looking like a space age thistle, the Citrus Reamer is a tool that will let you get every drop of precious juice out of whatever fruit you feel like mangling. Calling it a juicer would be like calling the Deathstar a spaceship; it’s technically true, but there’s just so much more to it.

Juicy Salif: A truly iconic object and symbol not only of Philippe Starck but of Alessi itself, this citrus squeezer - as revolutionary as it is surprisingly functional - was sketched in its essentials by Starck during a holiday by the sea in Italy, on a pizzeria napkin.

Orgone chaise longue by Marc Newson for Cappellini

The contemporary kitchen features custom white finishes and richly textured untreated timber accents. The cabinet and pantry doors rest flush with the wall to emphasize the tall ceilings and help reduce visual clutter.

Citrange Orange Squeezer: This simple tool from Royal VKB fits on your cup and filters out the seeds as you juice, eliminating the sticky middle compartment. $18

A small country road borders the property to the west.

One of the most stunning features of the home is the outdoor space, defined by an ironwood ipe deck that connects seamlessly to the custom infinity pool and surrounding landscaping. Dahan says the design “elongates the backyard and speaks to the recurrence of clean, crisp lines throughout the home.”

Inside, Prime Five Homes aimed to design a “clean, peaceful, uncluttered atmosphere that can allow creative minds to run wild,” Dahan says. Soft white oak was used for the flooring, and recessed ceiling lights delicately illuminate interior spaces. The floating staircase keeps the room open and airy.

According to Paul Raff, the biggest design challenge was creating a functional home that would accommodate the family's regular activities (dining, music, play, homework) all on one level. This was solved by "collaging spaces of different shapes and sizes together, and by interconnecting them all with a very open and seamlessly integrated kitchen." The airy family kitchen features Loire limestone floors, BassamFellows Tractor stools, and an Eames molded plastic chair.

A 200-year-old factory in Umbria is transformed into an inviting home by designer Paola Navone. In the seating area, a trolley found at a flea market functions as the coffee table alongside an expansive Navone-designed sofa for Linteloo. Custom pendants by photographer Mark Eden Schooley hang above the dining table. Photo by Wichmann + Bendtsen.

The exterior of the Field House, designed by Wendell Burnette Architects in Ellington, Wisconsin.

A combination of custom hardwood, white oak, imported Italian stone and glass compose the compellingly geometric façade.

Bates Masi designed the two-inch-thick Carrara marble countertops and white fiberboard cabinetry in the kitchen.

The sculptural staircase is a centerpiece of the open-plan kitchen and living room.

Though most of the home's interior comes without a splashy designer's name attached, the bathroom is kitted out with a toilet, sink, and bath/shower from Jasper Morrison's line for Ideal Standard. The cabinets are from an Ikea kitchen system.

In the sleek kitchen, the white Ikea cabinet uppers seem to disappear into the wall, while the bases get a distinctive custom walnut wrapping. Flanking the cabinets are open bookshelves, which provide secondary function as a spacial divider for the children’s play area. A Dornbracht faucet sits on a slab of Vermont Olympian White Danby marble, which is also used for the island and backsplash.

Juicy Salif Lemon Squeezer -- Alessi (1990) Likely the only juicer displayed at MOMA, Starck’s aluminum tripod design could be mistaken for a streamlined alien invader from a ‘50s pulp comic. He’s rumored to have said: "It's not meant to squeeze lemons, it is meant to start conversations."

The White House, 2006.

“Keeping the kitchen and bathrooms simple saved money for the important things,” Harkness explains. They went with a soothing color palette and hardware from Reece.

Designer Paola Navone transformed a 200-year-old factory in Umbria into an inviting home for Andrea Falkner-Campi and her husband. Once a tobacco-drying plant, and before that a silkworm farm, the home sits 90 miles north of Rome.

If letting your bed linens drape onto the floor or the platform bed frame just isn’t your style, keep your bedroom feeling sharp and tidy by tucking your sheets under the mattress and removing any extra blankets or fluffy comforters. A slim, white bed frame such as this one feels skeletal enough to still convey airiness.

For the spatially challenged, think vertically: lofted beds make every inch count.

The residents love to entertain and cook, so 590BC worked to create a kitchen that was functional and aesthetically pleasing. "It is complex and considered down to the most minute detail, but still reads as simple and clean," Breitner says. Photo by Frank Oudeman.

The thrill of a home renovation can quickly be diminished by unforeseen circumstances, stretched budgets, and other unexpected issues. The good news is that most of the time these problems can be mitigated, if not avoided entirely, by keeping an eye out for warning signals. Read on as we go through essential home renovation tips to consider before kicking off your own revamp.

The Mt. Buller Home of Andrew and Tiffany Percy and Family via the Design Files.

Armed with a keen eye for design and a yen for vintage furniture shopping, Glee star Jayma Mays and actor Adam Campbell revitalize a formerly jumbled Los Angeles house. On an outdoor deck space, the couple placed their fire engine red fireplace, found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market.

In the bathroom, plain white tiles line the walls and ceiling. The floors are natural stone and the fixtures are by VOLA. Lassen built the sink himself.

The semi-closed entryway contains a white cabinet for storing coats and scarves. The LED ceiling lights are from Contrast Lighting.

The patio outside Wenes's house and gallery.

A sculptural white steel spiral staircase with wooden treads connects the two levels.

A steel spiral staircase efficiently links all three floors. With no interior doors, Yurika can keep an ear on the shop from upstairs while maintaining the privacy of her home with the help of the vertical distance.

A stairway of white oak, oiled to impart a matte finish, leads into the apartment. The residents left the design decisions up to K-Studio, only requesting that the house have a "contemporary and calm" feeling.

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.