The cavernous living room takes advantage of its height with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

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German designer Maximilian Schmahl created the DIY beacon while considering the philosophy behind his new fifti-fifti label, making a equal connection between the object and the customer. “I wanted to make a product you can customize, something that gives you joy while using it, a vibrant product,” he said. “I started to experimenting with perforated paper and it was just perfect to design a lamp with it. The owner can decide for him or herself where the light comes through the shade.”

Marcia takes in the view.

Take-Off Light These flat-packed, laser-stitched lamp shade invites endless customizations.

Rendering of the different pieces of the lamp.

The bedroom takes up the small second floor of the house.

A well-placed writing desk takes advantage of the view.

Five-year-old Thomas Dochter plays outside the houses.

Eric Schneider and Michael Chen take in the space-efficient renovation.

It takes three to five days to install a Vipp Shelter onsite.

The great room takes shape.

Winter takes care of chores like tree trimming and the tending of his succulents.

In 2008 Jessica Harwood brought her minimalist draping skills to Cape Town when she established womenswear label Take Care. Offering bespoke garments in jersey, knits, and woven fabrics with fresh silhouettes, in 2011 Take Care opened a menswear label Adriaan Kuiters—growing a reputation for premium quality with a contemporary aesthetic. Take Care Clothing 73 Kloof Street, Cape Town takecareclothing.com

This indoor-outdoor version of the iconic butterfly chair has a washable white canvas seat and frame made from laminated bamboo and aluminum for durability. Long Take chair by Snow Peak.

A dark paper lampshade wrapped in a laser-stitched triangular grid, the Take-Off Light provides an elegant platform to play with light and shadow—simply poke out and pattern at will.

FORMstudio designed an acrylic balustrade that winds up the 1,647-square-foot home's five levels. The flooring throughout is white oak.

This beachfront house on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, designed by Hulena Architects, can accommodate large family gatherings in its five bedrooms.

The Swedes' take on making waste into useful products.

The restored brick rear facade contrasts with the extended footprint of the first two floors and a dramatic cantilevered penthouse roof. Blue stone pavers, infilled with grass, finish the patio while a black steel stair leads to the kitchen.

A sexy new material takes the place of traditional siding.

Design by Conran candelabra, $70 at JCP

Apex Tables by Hunting & Narud, part of FIVE by OKAY Norwegian-born, London-based designers Amy Hunting and Oscar Narud created these glass-encased wooden cones, part of an extensive project by OKAY, a collective of studios, to re-interpret and re-imagine uses for American hardwood. FIVE, at the SCIN Gallery on Old Street, features an array of sculptures, furniture and tables. “Wood is such a versatile material, and we felt the glass would compliment and bring out some rather nice qualities in the species,” says Hunting. “Our challenge was to create this wooden cone knowing that it would move and perhaps even grow. It was interesting for us to combine it with a fragile material like glass. The challenge is working with wood and as it's not a dead material.”

Five-Piece Cutlery Set by Arne Jacobsen for Georg Jensen Designed to fit naturally in the diner’s hand, this sculptural flatware from 1957 trades ornamentation for svelte, minimalist shapes in matte steel.

Richard Tuttle, Five Circles on Two Panels, 2001, colored pencil and graphite. Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection Vogel Collection. Copyright © Richard Tuttle, courtesy Pace Gallery. Photography by Dennis Griggs.

The Elevations Architectural Print Series is a thoughtful collection of portraits of famous international cities. In architectural drawings, elevations are flat representations of the façade of a building, showing a complete view of one building’s side. At the bottom of each Elevations Print, studio esinam includes details about each building pictured. The Paris Elevations Architectural Print includes architectural drawings of five buildings—Sacré-Cœur, Palais Garnier, Arc de Triomphe, Pont Marie, and Centre Georges Pompidou.

All it takes is gentle downward pressure to lower the desk to the floor, bringing the kid-size mattress into position for bedtime.

Jasper and Maeve take five. One of their requests was for their dad to create a secret door to connect their bedrooms together.

Homeowner Jennifer Roy takes advantage of her wired kitchen. LEM Piston bar stools by Shin and Tomoko Azumi; custom dining table; chairs by Ligne Roset.

The Sarti house—like much of the furnishings inside—is neatly hidden amongst its more established counterparts. In the early evening, Sarti’s studio takes on a lanternlike appearance.

The home was built in only about five months using a hybrid system.

The design of "Computations" is a take on computer pixels, and was originally released in the 1970s.

Rather hard not to be impressed with the University of Glasgow. Take that, Princeton!

Consistently ranked one of the world’s happiest country, Bhutan is blessed with natural beauty. Take in as much as you can during your visit here with a stay at the five Amankora Lodges, which all come with cozy, modern interiors and expansive windows to take advantage of the views.

Zelen (left) and Lloyd-Butler take advantage of their shady outdoor space.