Omer Arbel, the creative director at industrial design firm Bocci, was given three parameters when he began designing a home for his colleague Randy Bishop: Create a “profound” connection between the internal and external spaces; build only one level; and, most crucially, utilize a wealth of 100-year-old beams salvaged from a series of warehouses owned by Bishop’s ancestors.

An entrance hallway is the first space you enter in a home, but it can also serve the very important function of acting as a drop-off station or mudroom for keys, shoes, and coats.

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.

Located just off the kitchen, this room was originally designed for dining—the adjustable Ligne Roset Crescendo coffee table can be raised to 28.75 inches—but most days Bill and Abbie prefer to eat outside or at their casual Caesarstone-topped kitchen island. Today the space serves as a sunny reading spot and guest room, with a convertible futon (from Ligne Roset, since discontinued) and a set of leather-and-steel Paulistano armchairs from Design Within Reach.

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.

Entry Hall

Hallway, Modern Law Firm by Jill Dudensing Lifestyle + Design

Entry Hall with Custom Cabinet by Rob Zinn for blankblank, Redecoration of Elegant East Sacramento Residence by Jill Dudensing Lifestyle + Design

The kitchen is a long sleek space.

When building such a modest structure in a large landscape, designer and client often had to defend their vision to their collaborators. “We knew this house was going to be for Maggie and she would live there alone,” designer Lauren Moffitt says. “But people are always projecting for future resale. Putting in the smallest size of anything—to any subcontractor, it’s just not reasonable.”

In the hall, the designer allowed the original details to resonate. “The old building has a lot to tell us,” she says.

View toward the entrance door and the kitchen

The house was designed as a long, linear structure to accommodate the residents’ request that visitors always feel connected to the site as a whole.

Entry Hall with Custom Console & Sculpture by Camille Vandenberge, Redecoration of Elegant East Sacramento Residence by Jill Dudensing Lifestyle + Design

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

A George Nelson pendant hangs in the reconfigured entrance hall, whose stairs echo the concrete steps off the back deck.

Finnlandia Hall is a centerpiece of the Finnish capital of Helsinki, boasting a towering auditorium and high roof, curving balconies, and an exterior of white marble and black granite.

Front Entry Hall, Elegant East Sacramento Residence by Jill Dudensing Lifestyle + Design

For a Toronto couple with a love of minimalist Japanese architecture, a sleek, storage-packed kitchen was the first priority in their home's renovation. In the kitchen, white oak used for the cabinets, kitchen island, and dining table is finished with double-boiled linseed oil, which can be reapplied by the homeowners as the wood mellows and patinas. The custom beveled edge for the island's "Blizzard" white Caesarstone countertop forgoes the standard one-inch countertop overhang to save on space and maintain a sleek feel. A Vola faucet is used with a sink by Mekal.

Thalia Hall Commissioned by the city's Bohemian population in the 1890 -- it was modeled after the grandiose Opera House in Prague -- this multi-story structure in the Pilsen neighborhood has been reborn, reimagined in 2013 by Bruce Finkelman, owner of the popular Empty Bottle music club, as a bar/restaurant/performance space. The original stage and stonework now play host to concerts as well as Dusek's restaurant and the subterranean Punch House bar.

Impromptu reading time in the open-plan kitchen is encouraged.

One of the important battles the school chose to fight was moving the architecture collection out of the main library and into the library in the new hall. Having won, the school puts the books proudly on display.

Kids’ Lit To display the children’s artwork in a fun and flexible way, John designed a four-foot-high lightbox, custom-built by Geron, and installed it above the staircase. The front panel is non-glare acrylic held in place with magnetic strips; low-voltage LED strips provide the backlighting. “We’ll change out the art at least at every holiday and birthday,” says John. geron.ca

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.