"We really love to cook and much of our home life revolves around our kitchen. When we have friends over it’s great to buzz around here; it’s almost like a cooking show. We’re a very equal couple. We wanted the kitchen island to be a single form that we could both use. We can both cook and we can both wash the dishes. The whole thing is really easy to clean as it’s just one main surface that you can wipe down. So the preparation surfaces, the hob [cooktop], and the sink are accessible from both sides. It’s a simple, fun, form-follows-function principle: Store, wash, prepare, cook, eat."

We check off the pieces that we have fabricated on the master drawing.

"Beauty," Olafur Eliasson, 1993. In this work, a spotlight shines through a layer of mist to create a rainbow that's only visible from certain angles.

Designed for an artist and entrepreneur client, this guest house features lots of light, access to the outdoors, and an industrial vibe.

Tom Dixon’s Flouro lights. We always love these.

"We really fell for the building and these fabulous original features—–the elaborate decorative plasterwork ceiling and the tiled floors. Plus we have a big expansive view at the back, which is quite precious in the city—–we overlook a soccer pitch built on former railway tracks."

The cabins have a uniform sculptural look that the clients dubbed "Heritage Modern."

1993, Pierluigi Cerri.

“On a bright day, you have to wear sunglasses in here,” Mandolene says. A freestanding travertine-and-steel fireplace, open on all four sides, divides the living and dining areas.

A is for Architect by People will Always Need Plates (Hannah Dipper and Robin Farquhar) $191 (includes shipping)

A photo of Verner Panton from 1993. © Panton Design, Basel

Sunlight streams through formerly boarded-up windows in the living area that was once Madame Wong’s stage. “When we took off the drywall, we realized there were windows in there. So we had more made to match these four,” says Dan. The new windows open up the east side of the building to views of the courtyard below and the San Gabriel mountains in the distance. The apartment is furnished with an eclectic mix of furniture, including an Eero Saarinen womb chair.

Vitra Fire Station, Weil am Rhein, Germany, 1993

José Roberto, who says his family is always cooking something, prepares a snack with Jimena on the Ariston gas cooktop installed on the custom table.

Giant Budda at Kamakura

“Our objective was always to have a luminous house,” explains homeowner Isabel Pinto of the choice to have a window cover the entire north-facing wall.

In Miami, even the supermarkets have flair.

We were able to fit all five modules on one platform, so that we can have different teams working on different modules simultaneously.

Often the couch doubles as a parkour course—which we also don’t have to worry about.

Chiuri, Kudzani

Local sailboat shops wanted thousands to make the 13-by-13-foot curtain that hides the Wall of Storage. "We we called my parents in Bangkok, gave them the dimensions, and they got it made for 150 bucks." says Im.

“When we first set out on this crazy adventure, we always pictured parking Woody in a place like this,” Brian says. “We honestly couldn’t have imagined it would be this spectacular.”

Hero's designs are also wearable. Mark and Beth don't yet screen the shirts themselves but have made that one of their next goals.

In a couple’s Mexico City apartment designed by David Levy of Flexform, a Murano chandelier hangs above a marble-topped dining table from the showroom.

When we walked into the shop, the designer, Corien Ridderikhoff, was there and happy to have a little chat. Here's a view of her workspace, with pieces that have been glazed, but are yet to be fired.

The Antonio Citterio walnut-back Morgan chairs are also from Flexform.

The kitchen is the heart of family life for Jaro, Ingmar, and the children. Both Jaro and Ingmar are keen cooks, and though having kids often means opting for more “quick” meals like soups and noodle dishes, they always use fresh, season ingredients.

Unlike the ornate exterior, there wasn’t much interior detail left to reuse—but the Berniers did their best. Dan says, “There was a wall that had octagonal shapes in it that we took out, and when we rebuilt it, we kept the shapes.”

When Cathy and Craig bought the land, it was completely bare. With plenty of sun and rain, these palms have grown a lot in the last two years.

The real reason for having the space is the printing studio that occupies the back third of the 650-square-foot store. "We needed somewhere to house everything," Beth says. "We could either have gotten a studio and relied on online sales or gotten a studio in which we also did retail. We figured if the store didn't do well we could close off the front and keep the space for our workshop."

Waiters raced in and out of the restaurant. The looked so efficient and official in their white uniforms.

Wooten anchored the kitchen with a faux-bois coatrack from France. “Since Greg’s furniture is predominantly wood, we chose to make the interior all wood,” says Massie. “We used laser-cut mahogany and cherry plywood with jigsaw edges to make the house more like a cabin—albeit a very modern one. This puzzle piece motif is something that I’ve done in every project before and after this one—it’s a different way of having surfaces come together without having to abide by a modernist rule of panels. We can snap the whole thing together with eccentric uniformity, and it’s really simple.”

Daughters Uma and Maelle have the run of the house.