A familiar scene in the Benoit home: Peter paints at the Steelcase desk—"I do all my work here," he says—while Ando sits nearby, waiting for attention.

All of the interior furnishings were designed and built by LEAPfactory for this specific project. These pieces, including the reception desk, are made of laminated boards and the same reforested beech wood used in the school’s structure. A door behind the reception desk leads to a living room for the ski and snowboard instructors.

A black electric guitar, a vintage rosewood desk, and a side chair by Charles and Ray Eames sit at the foot of the stairs just beneath a photo of designer Barbara Hill herself competing in the 1956 Miss America Pageant.

Loop is a new wireless speaker by Libratone, which says it delivers 360-degree sound from behind its striking Italian-wool cover (available in eight colors). Set on a stand (included), or mount to a wall, it provides a decorative accent while filling the room with your favorite tunes. Photo courtesy of Libratone.

In the family room, cabinets open up to create an office desk. The steps on the left lead up to a mezzanine space that serves as play space for the children and a sleeping area for guests.

Blogger and stylist Annaleena Leino Karlsson has designed her 1950s farmhouse to have a mostly white interior. Her workspace is next to a rustic brick and stucco fireplace, which is adorned with cacti and decorative objects.

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.

Franson Wreland also designed the court-yard and a pair of 160-square-foot outbuildings—one is used as guest quarters and the other as storage space. While residents Julia and Fatima Olivero-Reinius chat outdoors, Chippie the dog approaches an Asplund desk and a chair by LucidiPevere.

A 2009 Cedric desk by Kay + Stemmer occupies the study.

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.

Each of the sliding trays in Pozner’s tidy office desk serves a different function.

Borowski took what he archly calls the “Karl Rove approach” to the redesign: “Find the weaknesses and turn them into strengths.” A case in point: Pozner’s ubiquitous piles of paperwork. “These led us to design multiple sliding desktops,” fabricated by Paul Chung of New York Construction Associates and Supreme General Construction, with multiple sliding trays he could spread his papers out on.

They used a deep-black hue for the room’s cabinetry and built-in desk.

When other space is limited, don’t forget to the use the walls. In the kitchen, save countertop and cabinet space by using a magnetic spice rack. No room for a full desk in your office? Purchase a laptop cabinet or computer station that can hang on the wall.

The complete line of WorkShop products, including limited edition items, is available now. New tools for work and brainstorming will periodically refresh the collection.

Rice surfs the net at the built-in desk.

Cubes Rug by Paul Smith for The Rug Company. Smith looked to stained glass windows for this abstract take on the ancient art. He also used a special looping method to create crisp edging.

OPA built the Loop structure to “slump” onto the site. Orinda, California. © OPA.

Anglepoise’s Original 1227 was launched in 1934, and is considered the archetypal lamp from the British company. The lamp took off where other contemporary task lamps left off, using a newly developed constant spring technology to create a lamp that was extremely flexible and adjustable, while also maintaining a consistent balance and stability.

Lawrence Weiner sits at his daylit desk. The bare walls are perfect for tacking up new projects, and the steel ductwork gives the space an industrious feel.

Maja's room is filled with toys and includes a little desk area for drawing and writing.

The top container contains Wardell's office—and a "napping nook" above that.

In the dining room, a Smoke chair by Marten Baas for Moooi keeps company with a glass-and-ceramic vase by Hella Jongerius and a mirrored steel painting by artist Michelangelo Pistoletto.

In collaboration with Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec the CPH90 desk is an attempt to create a range of educational furniture for the University of Copenhagen.

Both the sitting and standing versions of DESK 01, a collaboration between Artifox and IdeaPaint, are outfitted with dry erase surfaces for recording sudden bursts of creativity.

Flaunt your seriousness at work with the Concrete desk set by Magnus Pettersen. $600

Glass furniture from the Diapositive collection by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Glas Italia. See it at Salone in Hall 16, Stand C23-018.

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

Each student room has a dedicated workspace that's clean, bright, and functional. Objects and furniture had to be carefully selected or designed to make the apartment work: for instance, the steel desk was custom designed by Wierciński’s firm to double as a radiator cover.

A built-in desk by NOEM FabLab folds into the wall when not in use.

Desk and table lamps typically provide light in a downward direction, illuminating the surface directly below it rather than providing a general glow, which prevents them from often being used as ambient lights.