All of the Jenn-Air appliances, including the washer and dryer, are electric, as the owners asked the city to cut the gas line to the house. The kitchen cabinetry is from IKEA and features custom, matte-gray doors and Silestone countertops. The floorboards are reclaimed maple from an old tire factory, sanded and stained gray.

Shane Michael Pavonetti, an Austin-based architect and contractor, and his wife, Holly, built their eco-friendly home on a lean budget of $175,000. The cedar siding used on the exterior reappears throughout the house. Keen on recycling the wood, the couple added shelving to their kitchen as well.

Exposed boards that were salvaged from the original apartment were installed into the master bedroom. They provide a rustic atmosphere, enhanced by the addition of DIY industrial lighting. The bedding, curtains, and bedside tables are all from IKEA.

The kitchen occupies one corner of the L-shaped structure. As throughout, the floors are made up of reclaimed eucalyptus that Chris planed himself.

The open plan living room and kitchen areas utilize natural materials, from reclaimed oak flooring to custom-made cabinetry. The Oscar sofa by Matthew Hilton from Future Perfect marks off the living room area.

The cabin’s basic structure was reclaimed from a barn built in 1840 and purchased from Heritage Barns out of Waco, Texas. The same company supplied the recycled wood that clads the walls, though the ceiling boards are new. “We stained them with a gray wash to match the tones of the post and beam, but with a more clean look,” Bronee explains. The concrete floors were polished and waxed for a sleek finish.

Steel pipe columns and wood beams were recycled from a 1960s church carport; the old-growth fir sliding screens, fence, and gate originate from a heavy timber warehouse in Pioneer Square; the aluminum-and-glass garage door is reclaimed from a downtown condo conversion; and the studio’s shelving and track lighting is courtesy of workstations from another downtown building.

Modern Sprout’s planters were designed by Nick Behr and Sarah Burrows, two Chicago apartment dwellers who wanted to grow their own garden, but didn’t have the space. Struggling to maintain plants in their apartment, they tried hydroponic planters, which yielded results, but were expensive and unappealing to look at. As a result, they designed their own planter—a hydroponic, self-watering system that hides its mechanism beneath a reclaimed wood planter box.

Zames reconfigured the apartment to improve circulation and open some of the confined rooms. What was formerly a hallway is now integrated with the kitchen. A bank of floor-to-ceiling cabinets offers storage and an island covered in carrara marble offers space for working or dining. "We embraced dark colors in the kitchen to keep a contrast with the bright white of the surrounding living areas," Zames says of the constrasting finishes. The barstools are from CB2.

Floor Play Subverting the traditional, conservatively cozy British barn conversion, Carl Turner created a getaway in rural Norfolk for himself and his friends to visit, repose, and consider the beauty of agrarian minimalism. In the converted barn, a modern fireplace with a sleek, shiny chimney contrasts with the wide, reclaimed wood floorboards and textured exposed brick wall.

In the dining area, a one-of-a-kind table with a reclaimed Carrara marble top by NET—themultidisciplinary design firm of architect Alejandro Sticotti, with whom Nicolas works—is surrounded by prototypes of the company’s Board chair. The family dog, China, sits on a floor made of travertine tiles.

In order to give the redesign a seamless feel, Brigham and Archuleta carried the use of wood throughout the room—including the shower. Archuleta researched types of wood that can withstand a high-moisture environment, and the most visually appealing was coastal redwood. He came across an unlikely source of reclaimed redwood: old pickling vats from a company called Trestlewood. Experience in working with reclaimed wood taught Archuleta that “wood that’s been exposed to liquid for long periods of time pulls in minerals that it wouldn't naturally have access to in its living state.” In this case, the iron bands and nails that held the barrels together reacted with the pickling liquid, leaving behind a rich, dark patina.

Salvage Garden Driftwood that Tershy, Zavaleta, and the kids spent years collecting from local beaches makes up the pickets of the backyard fence, a pillar outside the front door, and the railing on the upstairs hallway. But it’s a Pacific madrone that puts a rustic exclamation point on the interior. The tree fell on a friend’s land, and the couple, after hauling the best boughs into town, turned it into the centerpiece of the double-height dining room.

This "local prefab" home on the Isle of Skye is made mostly from materials sourced in northern Scotland. The timber-framed model, meant to evoke the simple agrarian barns of the area, can be constructed on-site in as little as a day and is designed for affordability.

Wright Auction House Remember that warehouse scene in Indian Jones? Replace the wooden crates with pristine, original examples of the best work by icons like Nakashima, the Eames and Mobler, and you have the storage space at Wright Auction House, a 40,000-square-foot mecca for mid-century furniture and design.

Wall Relief, Modern Law Firm by Jill Dudensing Lifestyle + Design

Black and white kitchen cabinets painted with a triangular pattern add a whimsical touch to this funky kitchen.

“It was a natural choice,” says Adrian of using reclaimed and rescued wood. “I didn’t want to chop down a whole lot of trees.” The walls and ceiling are lined with planks of butternut harvested from diseased trees in Vermont.

Photo by Laziz Hamani

Leading from the communal pool area to the more intimate olive tree grove, the intricate “woven” ipe boardwalk plays with a variety of lineweights and patterns. All of the wood used for the project is reclaimed.

One-inch-thick slate clads the fireplace in the living room, which opens to a terrace. The reclaimed coffee table is by Scott Chambers.

Stephen Frykholm's Summer Picnic posters for Herman Miller, a set of five designed between 1971 and 1981, is estimated to run $1,000-$1,500. This one's on reserve.

Tom Givone sits at a table of his own design, which he had fabricated from reclaimed wood by a local carpenter.

Shipping the goods necessary for putting up QuaDror disaster relief shelters is incredibly easy, especially since the L-brackets can be combined with local materials to form the structures' frames.

Fortification can be as obvious or well hidden as a client demands; indeed, some of the most protected homes are the ones that seem not to have a single security guard or camera in sight.

Chilewich's early experience experimenting with materials can still be seen in the woven vinyl placemats and floor coverings—like the tufted Shag Dot Doormats—she has created over the past decade. More recently, she has expanded her line to include cell-phone cases, bags, and other products.

Wall of Progress Homeowners soliciting help from the design desk were greeted with a neighborhood map as well as retrofitting and rebuilding options. Photo by Gail Gambarini, Architecture for Humanity

Volunteer Training Architects who wanted to help out with Sandy reconstruction got up to date on the latest code and zoning information. Photo by Rachel Minnery

Sweet Relief The QuaDror disaster-relief house frame reduces the system’s interlocking module to four so-called universal joints and eight corner pieces (for stiffening and stability) that are attached to a locally sourced material (even bamboo) to form eight support beams. The structure can then be skinned in anything that’s available. “In one 40-foot container we can ship 1,300 kits—that’s 1,300 dwellings,” says Benshetrit. Best of all: The house needn’t be temporary. “It gives people something that can be moved, re-skinned, and improved—a real home.”

A rare interior hallway space is made and furnished almost entirely with reclaimed materials. Materials for doors, windows, and the slatted wooden floor were collected from demolished Saigon homes and customized to fit the residence.

The Bigelows’ house throws a nod to its midcentury modern neighbors with its subdivided plan and shallow-pitched roof. The three pavilion layout was also partly in response to tough city restrictions regarding the removal of the various beech and redwood trees on the property. However, the Butler Armsden design team was able to use the profusion of trees to their advantage, creating lines of sight to foliage from almost anywhere in the house. The exterior features locally reclaimed redwood siding that provides another connection with the redwoods on the site. The stucco is painted in custom color-matched Benjamin Moore paint.

Lights Arrows by Apparatus in aged brass and black python, table and benches are custom made from a very rare and heavy reclaimed oak. Vintage brass candlesticks sourced from an auction and black candles by Cire Trudon. Benches are lined with Icelandic sheepskin throws.

When Abbie and Bill Burton hired Marmol Radziner to design their prefab weekend home, their two requests were “simple-simple, replaceable materials,” says Abbie—such as concrete floors (poured offsite in Marmol Radziner's factory) and metal panel siding—and “the ability to be indoors or outdoors with ease.” Deep overhangs provide shade and protection from rain, so the Burtons can leave their doors open year-round and hang out on their 70-foot-long deck even in inclement weather. They visit the house once a month, usually for a week at a time, with Vinnie and Stella, their rescue Bernese Mountain dogs. Their two adult children occasionally join them. The couple hopes to one day retire here.

A medley of Ariele Alasko's headboard and wall panel designs displayed in her Bedstuy studio. Photo credit: Ariele Aslasko