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.

The Intersect Mirror from Strand Design is an innovative mirror that includes a storage shelf made from ash wood. As its name suggests, the round polished edge mirror intersects with the ash shelf, making the mirror into a sculptural, geometric work of wall art.

HEXAGON WALL TILES

Located in Aarhus, Denmark, Villa R is a minimalist, serene structure clad in zinc panels. "The objective was to create a house that brings the forest inside through large glass panels—and create an ever-changing seasonal backdrop for the interior living spaces," stated the architecture firm, C.F. Møller, of the 3,200-square-foot abode.

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.

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.

To access a secret play area in the 2 Bar House by Feldman Architecture, children clamber up climbing holds purchased from a local sporting goods store.

Designed by Andrea Stemmer for SCP, the Jules Mirror is an unframed, rectangular portrait mirror that works well in an entryway or above a bureau or vanity. The mirror features a solid oak storage shelf at its base, which can be used to hold knickknacks, makeup, keys, or favorite photographs and postcards.

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.

“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

Arbel’s “14” sconces spot the wall to ethereal effect in the master bedroom. “I wanted this place to be habitable. One of my greatest criticisms of modern architecture is that it often forgets to make things cozy.”

Hynam built additional storage along one angled wall of the bedroom loft and beneath the skylight.

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.

Six-year-old twins Nicolas and Constanza use Pentimento as their “little battleground,” says Pasternak. “They have some options here that they will not find anywhere else.” Among those options are a climbing wall offering easy access to the roof.

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

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.

An IdeaPaint wall in full effect in a family's kitchen. The company, which is exhibiting at Dwell on Design (booth #1009), is recruiting their onsite artist, Derek Cascio, to create a special wall for kids to color and scribble on in the Modern Family Pavilion (booth #901) Saturday and Sunday, May 30 and 31.

Plant Wall Design created a custom, self-sustaining vertical green wall for the show.

Graphic Novelty A textile designed in 1998 by Scandinavian designer Carl Johan Hane serves as an artful accent to the guest bedroom. Neely found the patters--Mobile, created for the Swedish textile company Kinnasand--as Skandium, in London. "I wasn't sure how best to display it. Then a painter friend of mine suggested I have it stretched across a wooden frame, just like artists do with raw canvas," he says.

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

The couple initially painted partition walls between the children's room and their own with black metallic paint creating both a writing surface for the children and a magnetic bulletin board for notes. However, "the black looked too oppressive," Astrakhan says. So they applied several coats of lively lime green paint to brighten up that section of the house.

For the interior of the Stanwood residence, Logan returned to his minimalist palette of color and materials. The Stanwoods took particular zeal in furnishing the living area with a number of pieces from Limn in San Francisco, including a pair of B&B Italia chairs and a custom rug from Ligne Roset.

A good dose of inspiration from Luis Barragán turned a dark and beleaguered midcentury house into a family home for the ages. The paint colors chosen by the residents and architect Linda Taalman are American Cheese and Blushing Bride, both by Benjamin Moore, creating a tapestry of color and texture.

A wall of bamboo adjacent to the atrium floor provides a dramatic and seductive green entrance—“natural art,” Eric calls it.

The Heath tiles in the bathroom were hand-selected from boxes of factory seconds.

Sherman’s friend Anna Chang prepares tea in the kitchen. The range is by Wolf. Walls are coated with parging, a type of concrete made with sand instead of gravel—-more typically used in an industrial context.

In the office are Metropolitan chairs by Jeffrey Bernett for B&B Italia. Most artwork hung throughout the house comes from Sette’s art gallery.

See Arch restored the exterior fireplace wall and painted it a deep blue hue to match the repainted blue timber cladding.

Wenes and Lens conceptualized a gradation of white to gray hues for the walls of the 1,500-square-foot gallery into the 4,000-square-foot home, culminating in a deep gray for the master bedroom. The room is reserved for meaningful pieces from the couple’s collection, such as a figure they found at a market in Beijing and lamps by artists Wenes represents.