Inga Sempé, Moel armchair, 2007.

The Pine Plains, New York, home of Elise and Arnold Goodman boasts 48 windows, the largest of which measures 8'6'' by 7'6''. As architect Preston Scott Cohen explains, the "free facade makes it impossible to identify how many levels there are, or even to tell the difference between a door and a window." From without, the windows reveal dramatic glimpses of the 18th-century barn farm and new steel structure that support the house. From within, says Elise, "Each season, each time of day, offers a different view of the world. It's spectacular."

Inga Sempé, W103c light, 2010.

The Österlen table and chair, by Inga Sempé, glimpsed on the show floor.

The Ruché bed was designed by Inga Sempé for Ligne Roset.

The Österlen chair, by Inga Sempé is so named for the area in southern Sweden in which it was built. Sempé, a southerner herself, used typical bentwood techniques to craft the piece, which features U-shaped cuts in the legs and back. Sempé also debuted a table of the same name.

The shell of the cabin was constructed with thin sections of hardwood, then coated with plain OSB plywood and a Tyvek air and water barrier. Metallic corrugated sheets form the outer layer.

Inspired by the great plains of the midwest, the Frederick C. Robie House in Chicago (constructed 1910) is renowned as the the greatest example of the Prairie School architectural style and the most famous of Wright’s Prairie Houses.

Buenos Aires-based Estudio Ramos designs a concrete, wood, and iron stable that houses 44 prized horses and melds with the surrounding plains. In central Argentina, the province of La Pampa is dominated by vast, grassy plains whose fertile soil supports myriad farms and ranches. Stretching out in all directions, the flatlands resemble an ocean in its sheer horizontality. When professional polo player Nacho Figueras—a champion of the sport and a longtime Ralph Lauren model—enlisted architect Juan Ignacio Ramos of Estudio Ramos to build a stable for 44 polo horses, the architect was sure to incorporate the region’s meditative flatness into the design.

Here's Sempé in her pleasantly cluttered home studio in Paris, where she works with a handful of assistants.

If the idea of a plain white backsplash doesn't appeal to you, but you still want a neutral backsplash, consider handmade tiles or a material that comes in a range of colors and tones. Here, a cream-colored backsplash made of traditional Moroccan tiles and available through Emory & Cie line the backsplash of the kitchen.

In Scarpa and Brook' own house, they’ve mounted luminous solar panels in a rusted-steel-beam grid to form a modernist canopy that frames the façade. This imaginative “solar umbrella” hides the household power plant in plain sight, part of an artful composition that includes a hanging screen tied with bristles of industrial brooms.

Dining almost like 'en plain air'

The entrance to the main pavilion is defined by a pivoting glass door from Fleetwood (above left). The stairs lead to the media loft, where Inga Sempé’s Ruché sofa for Ligne Roset breaks up the gray. Among the couple’s few directives were tall ceilings, which Feldman covered in low-cost plywood sheets.

Near the kitchen, a Moel chair by Inga Sempé for Ligne Roset joins a bar trolley, side table, and pouf from Crate and Barrel. A Yannis Gaitis lithograph hangs on a wall of white oak plywood. Architect Mike Shively came up with the vertical strips to add texture. - Chicago, Illinois Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

Throughout the house all storage areas are open, leaving crockery, dishware, food, books, and clothes in plain view.

Thirty steps connect the ground with the top of the roof, which provides panoramic views of the lake and the plains of Hardangervidda.

A family of cost-conscious Hamburgers converted a kitschy turn-of-the-century villa into a high-design home with a strict budget in place. To unite the quaint masonry of the original villa with the squat, ugly add-on built flush against it, the architects decided to paint the old-fashioned facade graphite gray and then covered the box next door in plain, light-colored larch. Photo by Mark Seelen.

Simple shapes rule in this studio building. The shape of the rectangular central window is echoed in the plain cabinets that form the kitchen.

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 1,553-square-foot, two-story brick house is sited on a plain and surrounding by houses with different silhouettes.

Sempé’s Lampe Extensible for Cappellini.

Sempé’s Grande Lampe Plissée for Cappellini.

Inga Sempé's Ruche Couch for Ligne Roset: a minimal platform bench with a draped, textured cushion. It's simple, nice, and has what I think to be a feminine touch.

The Federal Bungalow is centrally located in a quiet residential neighborhood in Montauk and is a five-minute drive to the popular beach Ditch Plains. The door hardware is by Emtek and the house numbers are by Heath Ceramics.

"We originally proposed using concrete for the walls because we like the plain style and directness," the owners say. Instead of concrete, Smith suggested rammed earth, a material that combines some of the physical properties of concrete, but is less "psychologically cold." The 16-inch-thick walls' thermal mass helps to insulate the interior from heat in the summer and cold in the winter. "Rammed earth is complicated," says Smith, "so have the right expectations, do the research, and hire the right people." David Easton—who Smith calls "The Godfather of Rammed Earth"—headed the contracting team that built the walls.

Wainscoting adds a touch of elegance, while the plain grey walls above the wainscoting provide a balanced backdrop, while botanical artwork by the talented artist Rudrani.

“Instead of just placing the vertical slats in front of parts of the windows, I wanted to incorporate the slats to be a part of the exterior on all walls. This created a sense of harmony and play in the otherwise plain and clean elevations,” explains Berg.

Inga Sempé stands aloof and alight by both the tall and short versions of the Lampe Plate for Cappellini in 2001.

The home’s original facade was clad in plain-looking siding, which was common in the ’50s and ’60s. The renovation finished the facade with smooth stucco, expansion joints, Hardie siding, and redwood.

We dig Inga Sempé's new wall-mounted vanity for Hay (also available in non-gradient versions).

Priority was given to the elevated deck, which extends outwards towards the rural boundary to take in the late afternoon son, and views across the Hanmer Plain to the Tekoa Range on the southwestern side of the plot.

A glimpse into the moody dining room from the hall, which is painted Benjamin Moore Barren Plain. The large artwork is from Sandy Klempner At Home, a local boutique in town. The couple scoured flea markets and vintage stores for the right furniture.

HAY’s Quilton 3 Seater Sofa by Doshi Levien (2021) and Matin Wall Lamp by Inga Sempé (2018).

The storage of the bicycles and cycling gear was a major factor in the design of the cupboard space. The floor is plain and simple to clean, which is essential for those wet winter days when they return home from work with muddy wheels and dripping clothing.

The lower level, which has a polished concrete floor and comfy Blue Dot sectional, is where the kids run around, do craft projects, and watch television. A plain barn door separates this area from the guest suite. There are also sliders that spill out into the yard.