Shibata wanted more shelf space in her home office, so she added a plywood door with built-in bookshelves that opens into her bedroom to form a reading nook. Glimpsed from the adjacent room, the space looks larger than it actually is, thanks to the bright green walls.

The custom island also features a cut-out shelf.

Nomad System by Jaime Salm and Roger C. Allen for Mio $56 per 24-pack A modular system made from recycled (and recyclable) double-walled cardboard in ten Pantone colors can be arranged into freestanding, temporary partitions without hardware or damage to existing structures.

The entire cabin is powered by the rooftop solar system from Solarwinds Northernlights. "I still can't get over the fact that I can get an ice cube from the sun," Bruce says.

The Lai family—Mayuko, baby Shota on her lap, David, Maya, and Yumi sitting on a cushion on the deck—relaxes in their indoor-outdoor living space, made by opening the glass sliding doors to connect the living room and engawa deck.

A central challenge of the renovation was to integrate lighting into the architecture in such a way that “even if the space had no furniture, you could turn on the lights and instantly get a cozy atmosphere,” says Bjerre-Poulsen. After Europe banned incandescents in 2009 Bjerre-Poulsen turned to halogen fixtures, which are more energy-efficient and give off a similar quality of light. (He won’t use LEDs until their ability to render color is further developed, he says.) In Østergaard and Olofsson’s kitchen, he embedded a halogen strip in the underside of the wooden shelf over the countertop to direct light onto the work surface.

The most sustainable element of all is the Lais’ intention to make their first home their last home as well. “Some people have this mentality of getting a starter house, then upgrading from there,” David says. “We just wanted to find a place to live in and then stay there forever.” Eventually they imagine passing the home down to their children.

Initially built for Widdicomb-Mueller in the ‘60s, these Mondrian-like forms draw inspiration from Japanese architecture.

Useful Living is a continuation of Lee’s original project, “Useful Arbeitsloser (Jobless).” The line came out of the theory that “While life becomes heavy and our space of living gets more spacious, the furniture we have around us are getting lighter and feels more indifferent. The form and structure of 'Useful Arbeitsloser (Jobless)' is a story of nomad, imperfect lives and furniture of the contemporaries.” (shelf from 'Useful Arbeitsloser' shown).

Vera & Kyte's set of shelves, exhibited at 2013 London Design Festival, resemble a small postmodern landscape. Photo courtesy of Vera & Kyte.

This wall shelf, made of powder-coated steel and oak, is available in different sizes and colors, all of which give an almost invisible, shadow-box effect when mounted.

A Muuto Stacked shelf system hugs the wall beneath the window in the dining room.

A new kitchen system by Nendo for Scavolini.

A wider look at the open-plan dining room and kitchen.

The house that Fleetwood Fernandez Architects designed for contractor Mehran Taslimi and his wife, Laila, embraces its surroundings. “They wanted doors that they could just throw open,” designer Hunter Fleetwood says of the retractable wall system from Vitrocsa.

The rain-catchment system next to the outdoor shower collects and disposes of the first five gallons of rainwater to ensure that the cleanest water is diverted into the cistern.

Here, the Library Bar, which is equally dark and richly textured, a marked difference from the scruffy Garment District neighborhood right outside.

The open observatory.

An idea that works well for outdoor showers or Zen-style bathrooms with wooden bathtubs, ladders—such as the Nomad Shelf System from Skagerak—don't scream "I'm storage," and can be used as a toiletry shelf or towel rack.

Even in the kitchen to dining room passthrough, the details are just right: a La Marzocco espresso machine and a peek of vibrant purple set inside a travertine windowbox.

This is the kind of over-the-top Parisian interior you almost never see in New York hotels. But judging from all the velvet upholstery on view at this year's Salone del Mobile, the fabric skews a little more contemporary than you might think. The crowd at The Nomad Hotel (thirties, tech-friendly, a mix of artfully deconstructed dresses and nice suits sans tie) is a counterweight to the opulent public spaces as well.

“Your first impression is that the house is very closed,” says David Barragán of the building he designed with Jose María Sáez in Quito, Ecuador. Stacked concrete forms, developed by Barragán and Sáez and used as planters along the front facade, offer privacy and integrate the building with the site.

For the past three months Sanghyeok Lee has refined his line, “Useful Living,” at the Danish Art Workshop. He was influenced by classic Danish furniture as well as his once-transient lifestyle to create the series of oak and brass furniture: a bookcase, a rack, and a chair.

Geraldine and Kit Laybourne remodeled the kitchen in their High Line apartment with yellow and gray interiors. The kitchen features an Artematica Vitrum glass system from Valcucine, artwork by Craig Kucia, and banquette cushion fabrics by Hella Jongerius for Maharam.

A pressed-steel Parallel shelving system by Terence Woodgate holds books and mementos.

John built a shelf system for the basement when it was Anne’s office; he adapted it to store the kids’ toys when the area became a playroom.

An elegant built-in shelf lies above the bed.

Graphic design studio be-pôles came up with the simple and punchy NoMad logo. The firm also sourced all the artwork found throughout the hotel (more on that momentarily!). At right, the rather grand check-in desk.

VIPP's kitchen line launched last year.

FlatBoxLed Contact Track Spotlight by Dinnebier + Blieske, produced by Mawa Design Licht- und Wohnideen GmbH.

Albed's very chic closet systems put regular old coat hangers to shame.

The Shelf from Sabi is a simple floating shelf designed to provide flexible storage solutions. The Shelf can be installed above a bathroom sink, on a bathroom wall, shower wall, or in another interior space within the home. Available in two sizes and colors, Shelf can be grouped with others to create more storage space, or used on its own in a smaller space.

Available in both emerald and clear glass, the recycled bottle shelf lighting is stabilized by 10cm of hardwood.

The easy-assembly Flip Shelf.

Small kettles and metal pots rest and hang on a wooden shelf in the kitchen.