Anglepoise Original 1227 Brass Desk Lamp in deep slate designed by George Carwardine

Zelda Table by Brooklyn-based designer Katy Skelton. This refined industrial table is made of solid brass hairpin legs paired with an engineered concrete top.

Purple thistles, California poppies, clover, and dandelions have all taken root in the roughly 10-inch-deep, lightweight humus and grape-husk soil in this 580-square-foot green roof. Designer Peter Liang says that he "wanted to plant a green roof for its thermal mass, but I wanted it to be as natural as possible."

Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.

The owners toured this home, which surrounds a mature tipu tipu tree, while visiting relatives for the day. The brick is original to the 1947 construction.

Sliding doors by Quantum were made to look like the original panes that couldn't be saved, and they lead to a fire pit outside.

The kitchen features custom stained white oak cabinetry by INTERIOR-iD with eye-catching brass accents. A custom brass extractor hood sits over a Gaggenau range. The space-efficient workstation is anchored against one wall, and the mirrored panel helps reflect light and visually integrate the kitchen into the rest of the living area. A utensil rail, along with ample cabinet and drawer space, all offer organizational solutions. An open shelf above the cookspace is cleanly accented by minimal strip lighting.

The view!

At the top of the stairwell, a sitting area is outfitted with a vintage Eames lounge, a large Jack Goldstein painting, and a 1970s light fixture found by Marcovitz in Paris.

The kitchen features a concrete island topped with marble. Deja-Vu stools by Naoto Fukasawa surround the island. A print by Guy Gormley, as well as a painting bought during holiday in St. Tropez, hang on the walls.

Pros: Also known as composite quartz, engineered quartz comes in a wide range of colors and textures with the general durability of real stone slabs, but with the ease of manufacturing and installation of a man-made product. As a result, engineered quartz isn’t as expensive as other natural stone countertops. Cons: On the other hand, customers can expect to see these qualities reflected in the price of engineered quartz, which can be on the higher end. Quartz also doesn’t handle extreme heat as well as granite does.

Simple brass screws affix the bathroom’s antibacterial copper cladding, reclaimed from a barn roof in Connecticut, to the walls. Bronze screen frames, salvaged from buildings on Shope’s Amenia property and then cut into small decorative strips, line the bathroom door frame.

Desk and table lamps typically provide light in a downward direction, illuminating the surface directly below it rather than providing a general glow, which prevents them from often being used as ambient lights.

The newly released Original 1227 Brass Desk Lamp in Dusty Blue is both cheerful and sophisticated.

Take a look at some of the most exciting, sustainable buildings around the world, and you may notice something they have in common: green roofs, or rooftops covered with a thin layer of soil to allow for grasses and other low-lying plants to grow.

Brass has been a popular metal for doorknobs for years: its versatility and resistance to rust make it suitable for all uses.

New Depths Inspired by a local winery, George Kyprianou wanted a glass top on his subterranean wine cellar. The interior is lit, casting soft light into the living space at night and revealing the 132-year-old stone foundation. The three-quarter-inch glass lid sits flush with the floorboards; it opens with an ingenious device that Kyprianou devised using a 12-volt air compressor and a remote-controlled switch. When you push the button, the glass lifts just enough to be removed by hand.

Light Box Peter created a simple uplight at the top of the wood box by wiring together energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures typically used under cabinets and countertops. “The cheaper magnetic models hum unacceptably loudly, so make sure you get the electronic ballast types,” he warns. He then painted the cavity white to reflect light and covered them with quarter-inch-thick acrylic from TAP Plastics. homedepot.com tapplastics.com

The view of Kapiti Island is fully revealed from the tower.

Want a light? The chromed surface of the Queue Metal Stick Lighter by Tsubota Pearl for Molla Space captures the flickering aspect of flames. Find it in the Dwell store.

the reflectivity of the brass kitchen island makes it seem to dematerialize.

The Algedi Marble Side Table from Iacoli & McAllister is a versatile furnishing that carefully balances materials to create a striking accent. Comprised of a Carrara Marble tabletop that is fixed atop a powder-coated or plated steel base, the Algedi can be used in a variety of interior spaces, from living rooms and offices to bedrooms and guest rooms.

A solid brass cream jug by British designer Tom Dixon is the gold standard of creamers, whether or not you take milk with your tea.

Office accessories—scissors, pencils, stationery—feature prominently in the collection, with pieces like these brass scissors.

Brass trivet by Oji Masanori, $90 from muhshome.com

To maintain a uniform look in the kitchen, Bjerre-Poulsen secreted most of the appliances, including the fridge, behind white Kvik cabinets. He installed can lights with brass-colored interiors on the ceiling; the halogen bulbs reflect the golden interior, giving off a warm glow. Every light in the house is an overbright fixture on a dimmer, for maximum flexibility—if you can adjust different levels for every situation, from working to entertaining, then you don’t need to rely on secondary floor or table lights, Bjerre-Poulsen points out.

The top container contains Wardell's office—and a "napping nook" above that.

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.

The architects added a small circular skylight to serve as a vertical focal point in the center of the fifth floor. The quarter-sawn white oak risers produce a beautiful rippled grain highlighted by the abundant natural light.

The bedding is intentionally simple, without layers of unnecessary pillows, and the “non-headboard headboard,” as Santos describes it, is a loose macramé wall hanging by Sally England. The built-in storage wall that defines the space is painted Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore in a matte finish—a shade used on millwork throughout the house. The Isaac brass sconces are from Schoolhouse Electric, and the floor lamp is from Crate & Barrel. The rocker was custom made by Onefortythree in Las Vegas.

The Kelleys furnished the cottage with help from Suzanne’s daughter Betsy Burbank of Betsy Burbank Interiors. Classic modernist icons, such as a Saarinen Womb chair for Knoll, a Herman Miller Eames lounge chair, and an Eileen Grey E1027 side table look at home alongside present-day pieces such as an Encore sofa (which handily folds down into a sleeping surface) from Room & Board and a Doka rug designed and produced by Stephanie Odegard. The Wohlert pendant lights from Louis Poulsen were designed by Vilhelm Wohlert in 1959, but grouped as such, they appear distinctly contemporary.

Isabella Furniture's turned salt cellar with a solid brass top and wooden spoon is a throwback to an earlier era of dining at home. ($95) A smaller vessel also goes for $95.

A detail of the brass plates and chains.

Last but not least, there's the classic Viva Brass Bicycle Bell whose retro-inspired form is 100% brass. An adjustable screw means this accessory can attach to a wide range of bike frames.