Much of the 1950s and '60s furniture collection comes from Denmark, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Netherlands.

Inspired by skateboards, the swing seats are made of European oak. “At first we tried bigger boards, but you can’t sit on them,” Parzyszek says.

An entire wall is covered with a dry-erase surface from Formica, where Parzyszek and his son Bartek can sketch.

When not in use as the headboard, the large redwood slab folds down to become a desk.

The Tower House is made up of tiny houses, clustered at the southern end of the property and clad in white steel panels and western red cedar shingles. Spinning off the living room on the north side of the main house, the children’s study sits separate from the other pavilions. On its upper level, Oxley netting forms a web on which the kids and their friends can sit and read with views of the leafy street and garden.

Ryan Anderson of RAD Furniture designed the stools as well as the table and benches on the pool deck.

“What often happens in our relationship is I come to Funn with an idea and he makes it into something livable.” —Vincent Kartheiser

In the living room, spare Scandinavian design takes center stage. Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chairs surround an Essay dining table by Cecilie Manz for Fritz Hansen; a mostly wood palette is enhanced by slate-gray brick around the fireplace. The paper lanterns throughout the home are a mixture of classics by Isamu Noguchi alongside those picked up in Japan and France.

This open-concept Amsterdam loft features soaring 15-foot ceilings, an Eames lounge chair and ottoman, and a Jielde light. Throughout the home, Standard Studio architects Wouter Slot and Jurjen van Hulzen favored raw materials, including concrete, oiled oak, and hot-rolled steel, all of which complemented the original space's industrial feel. Tucked smartly underneath the loft, a compact home office features functional built-in shelving and an Eames DSR chair.

In the living area of actor Vincent Kartheiser’s Hollywood cabin, redesigned by Funn Roberts to maximize every last inch of space, an Eames lounge chair and ottoman mix with a couch and coffee table by Cisco Home from HD Buttercup. The table in the main room is from West Elm.

Raising the bed above floor level, architect Kyu Sung Woo converted this tiny studio into an open and comfortable home for Wonbo Woo. Photos by: Adam Friedberg

Built-ins reduce the need for furniture.

At the client’s request the kitchen contains neither upper cabinets (Shino can’t reach them) nor an oven (they only used the old one once—to reheat a pizza). A modular Roche Bobois Mah Jong sofa adds a decorative flourish to the living area while maintaining as low a profile as the traditional Japanese furniture.

Yang Yeo and his girlfriend Ching Ian relax on the back stoop of their renovated and radically updated Singapore shophouse—an archetypal building type in this busy port city. “Shophouses brought back memories of our childhood,” says Yeo.

Kartheiser’s private courtyard includes a covered seating area and fire pit, designed by Roberts.

To inform the color palette for this interior renovation in Stockholm, NOTE Design Studio began with three inspirational images. The sculptural fireplace, covered in plaster, contrasts with oak parquet floors.

Designer in Brooklyn, New York "The pieces in the space are a combination of industrial reclaimed finds and bespoke, often both in the same item. The cabinets were a vintage medical find, powder-coated and set up on welded stilts. The mirror was commissioned from Made In Chinatown. Ceiling color and texture came through lots of trial and error in order to avoid the heavily toxic and arduous process normally involved in staining concrete. The mezzanine sign which marks the space was acquired through a long chain of inside jokes from a friend—I'm still unsure exactly of its origins, possibly the bygone New York Subway signage system."

Uninterrupted cement flooring was chosen for the mezzanine. The cement extends to the bed and bathtub block, while the exposed ductwork and black beams above dramatically accentuate the ceilings.

The beanbag chairs and outdoor sofa and chairs are from West Elm and the Case Study Museum Bench is from Modernica.

Two San Francisco art and travel addicts overhauled a loft—and customized a pair of shipping containers—to accommodate their collection and reflect their passions.

A social creature who seems to know everyone, Loft J occupant Jamil Malone has hosted several "alcohol-themed" parties and manages to wedge as many as 20 people into his studio. The gatherings are like gallery openings, with the walls of Malone's apartment displaying a roving selection of locally produced art.

Roberts found the Montauk black slate, which he continued in a second bath.

Located above a busy street, the apartment picks up noise, a problem Janiszewska solved with a felt-like material on the ceiling.

Van Everbroeck sits on a block of insulation foam that serves as a multifunctional piece of furniture. It was chosen for its “glorious” color.

To highlight the existing architecture of the home, Hill retained the dark polish of the casement windows, which she finds enhances period details instead of undermining them. In the rear sunroom, the vintage Case Study furniture pieces with Plexiglas bases are from Metro Retro in Houston. A Bourgie lamp by Kartell is atop an old marble end table by Knoll, and the Gan kilim rug pictures a branch motif echoed in the kitchen and breakfast room.

Builder Ross Percival helped finesse the finely tuned detailing that separates the internal slope from the rock outside (opposite). The Pedro wire stool is by Craig Bond for Candywhistle.

Alex enjoys a sun-filled breakfast at the built-in dining table and bench, one of many space-saving designs.

The kitchen island easily doubles as a desk.

Loft B tenants Melissa and Keith Bishop downsized from a 3,000 square foot space to a cozy 720 square foot loft. "We downsized our lives," Melissa says. "We streamlined."

The open-plan space is outfitted with a custom Murphy bed designed by Janiszewska. “Having seen many ready-made Murphy beds," she says, "I thought the wall just looked ugly when they were folded. I tried to break that scheme.”

A Stool_One seat by Konstantin Grcic for Magis pulls up to the custom brushed-stainless-steel island topped with Santa Margherita quartz. A wall containing four varieties of mistletoe cacti is next to the cabinets, which are medium-density fiberboard. The counter-top is Nero Absolute black granite.

Designer Paola Navone transformed a 200-year-old factory in Umbria into an inviting home for Andrea Falkner-Campi and her husband. Once a tobacco-drying plant, and before that a silkworm farm, the home sits 90 miles north of Rome.

“The location is perfect. You can’t be more in the center of Warsaw; it is the center of the center.” —Bogusz Parzyszek, resident

By burnishing historic details and adjusting the floor plan, multidisciplinary studio Loft Szczecin restored and transformed a loft in a warehouse that dates from before World War II. The living room rug is a Polish textile from the 1930s.

Futuristic floating stairs lead to the loft’s mezzanine. Throughout the lower level, natural stone was chosen for the flooring, laid at an irregular angle to add visual interest.

Concrete stairs leading up to a sleeping loft are illuminated with wall sconces.