Luciano Lorenzatti’s Penguin soap dispenser is playful and minimal, plus it allows for infinite soapy refills. $16

WineStation by Napa Technology, $4,999 If you are a serious wine collector and imbiber, put this in your kitchen. Install the bottles you wish to drink, and the temperature-precise wine dispenses through a tap that will keep an open bottle in pristine condition.

The clever design of this deceptively simple soap dispenser allows for easy one-hand operation, thanks to a large pump and a heavy rubber base that provides extra grip.

Designed in collaboraiton with Harnisch lamps, who've been manufacturing oil lamps since 1842, the Castor Oil Lamp ($375) blends time-tested design with modern aesthetics. Its chrome-plated brass base supports a flame that seems to float in mid-air.

Designer Jonas Damon strikes again, this time turning his eye to another oft-stashed-in-the-back-of-the-desk object: the Scotch tape dispenser. Recalling a grinning whale, Moby is bound to brighten any desktop.

This brightly colored streamlined dispenser is designed to hold a roll of toilet paper just like a box of tissues.

Starter Kit by Click and Grow, $80 You can now grow basil and chilies, even if you’ve failed with a cactus. Install four AA batteries, fill the tub to the water line, and place the plant where it can get some daily sunshine. The system dispenses water automatically.

Automatic Pet Feeder Now when you go out for a long day, you do not have to worry about who will feed your pet. Automatic pet feeders can be set to a timer, and will release small amounts of food gradually throughout the day. Photo via Luxist.

Designed by Danish designer Christian Bjørn for Menu, the Lighthouse Oil Lamps present a visually satisfying outdoor fire option. The lamps are designed as tall, slightly flared cylindrical shapes, much like the lighthouses for which they are named. They are available in black and white finishes, in four sizes ranging from 9.6 inches to 30 inches tall.

Wearing rubber gloves, apply the oil, starting from the corner of the room farthest from the door. Apply an even layer of oil all over the floor, using a wide floor brush or paintbrush. Use a small paintbrush for edges.

Julian Schnabel, Untitled, 1995, oil and polymer resin on canvas. Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection Vogel Collection. Photography by Dennis Griggs.

Smart Fridge (RF31FMESBSR) by Samsung, $3,799 This 30.5-cubic-foot fridge has a SodaStream carbon dioxide cartridge in its door to make fizzy water at one of three different levels of effervescence. (Yes, it also dispenses ice and still water.)

In the study, an oil painting by David Kroll, one of the artists represented by Sette's gallery hangs above a Le Corbusier daybed.

The full range of 3M's Pebble Collection by Karim: the Post-It Dispenser and Scotch Dispenser each in white, black, and purple.

Part of the Birillo family of products created for Alessi by Italian designer Piero Lissoni, the Cotton Pad Dispenser is an innovative interpretation of an everyday essential. Made from shatter-proof PMMA, the top to the dispenser glides back to elegantly stow bathroom necessities while rounded corners lend the design a modern feel.

The wall beneath the stairs holds hidden storage, including an Enomatic wine dispenser and Sub-Zero refrigerated drawers.

In 1974, Bertoia began work on a commission for the Standard Oil Building in Chicago. To complement Edward Durell Stone's modernist masterwork, Bertoia envisioned a collection of eleven sound sculptures stationed in a 4,000-square-foot reflecting pool at the skyscraper's foot.

The Standard Oil Sonambient sculptures are composed of rods ranging from four to 16 feet tall. At a June 2013 auction at Wright, fragments and maquettes of the sculpture sold for $12,500 to $374,500. "No other works in Bertoia's extensive oeuvre match the impressive scale of the Sonambients for the Standard Oil Commission," stated the catalog.

It took 8,000 pounds of beryllium copper and 5,000 pounds of naval brass to produce the sculpture. Responding to the environment, the sculpture is activated by Chicago's notorious winds. The plaza was redesigned in 1994 and the sculpture was reconfigured and some portions removed.

Oil bottle by Monica Porter for Montes Doggett.

Created with a copper-plated zinc alloy, the Cube Collection Copper Tape Dispenser ($85) by Tom Dixon is a true visual statement for any work station.

Photo caption: The wall beneath the stairs of this Beverly Hills home holds hidden storage, including an Enomatic wine dispenser and Sub-Zero refrigerated drawers.

An island topped with a Raw Concrete waterfall counter by Caesarstone ($1,535) provides a place for the kids to make snacks. The Delta faucet cost $380; the Moen soap dispenser was $44.

Detail of the Sink and Backsplash

MWT Stainless Steel Oil and Vinegar Cruet Set, $68 With an easy-to-pour spout, this stainless-steel set keeps ingredients cool.

For his thesis project, Bortotto created a scent dispenser that uses silk-paper filters.

These silicon diffusers emit a variety of scents that help achieve things like concentration or sleep.

The wood on the exterior has been treated with linseed oil or painted with tar. Seats built directly into the pavilion’s frame allow the family to relax and enjoy the surrounding woodlands without the need for additional furniture.

If you frequently entertain guests in your home, or love holding long leisurely dinner parties on the weekends, it’s a good idea to keep these points in mind when designing or remodeling your kitchen. Here are some tips on how to turn this functional area into a space that's fit and fun for gatherings.

The simple frame of the Stanwood residence is clad with oxidized steel finished with linseed oil and outfitted with Sierra Pacific windows and doors.

Simple yet effective maple-and-brass tape dispenser, £25 from Present & Correct.

Another tactic is perishable items that look good enough to display on a kitchen counter. This line of Greek olive oil fits the bill--it even won a Red Dot Design Award for packaging in 2012. FIVE Organic extra virgin olive oil, $49 each at Ultra Lavish.

Segments [installation of 25 pieces], oil and enamel on pine, by Frederick Lynch

She Knows, by Beth Gandy, Oil on Canvas, 36x48, $3000

A skylight allows natural light to flow over the freestanding tub. The taps, soap dispenser, and pedal bin are by Vipp.

Atlas Homewares recently updated its Avalon house numbers (by eliminating the prior version's front facing screws); they come in brushed nickel or oil-rubbed bronze. $20 each