Blanc took the term "living room" to a different level with this striking 20-by-23-foot interior wall for the Dimanche family's home in Paris.

It is all very mindful. “We proceeded with a philosophy and a vision,” says Chamberlin. “All of us understood that the poetry of what you look at is very important.”

To raise awareness about biodiversity in cities and the benefits it delivers, the EEA façade, overlooking one of the most prominent squares of Copenhagen, Denmark, gets shielded with a vertical garden (shaped like a map of the European continent!) which uses a mesh pattern, similar to a cross-stich pattern, that fills in dirt and various flowers. Via WalkOnWaterOrDrown.

The concrete bench in the living area just past the kitchen is built into the sloping wall. The Pedro wire stool is by Craig Bond for Candywhistle.

London's Athenaeum Hotel near Hyde Park features a side living wall designed by well, you guessed it, Patrick Blanc. (Pin).

Rodriguez, a designer and architect who runs the studio Agi Miagi, created the pendant lamp and terrariums in the dining area. The space is open to the living area, where Brown’s son, Hugo, sits on a Living Divani sofa. The countertop-table is by Bercy Chen Studio.

A peek into two rental units reveals simple but strong interiors. The architects clad the walls with polyurethane-coated plywood “to provide a durable and attractive finish and provide visual separation between the two levels in the high volume,” says Shelton.

Architect Tamira Sawatzky used Ikea components—one-inch Lagan butcher block countertops and inexpensive Ekby Lerberg brackets—when designing the bookshelves along the living room wall in the home/studio he designed for himself and his wife in Toronto.

Thanks to a contemporary interior that she’s been updating for a decade, modern architect Abigail Turin has learned to love her traditional 1925 San Francisco home. Rather than indulge her impulse and strip away the home’s traditional flourishes, Turin embraced the dark in her striking living room—the deep paint is Le Corbusier’s 4320J from Les Couleurs Suisse. An iconic Arco lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos, Charles sofas by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia, an Extra Big Shadow floor lamp by Marcel Wanders for Cappellini, and a painting over the marble fireplace by Martin Barré shed a little light.

Living Area Bischoff’s team retained the exposed brick on the interior, painting much of it white to help the space reflect sunlight. “There was an interest in having an open, more contemporary layout, but we still wanted some sense of living in this building that’s 100 years old,” Bischoff says. “That motivated us a lot to keep the brick. It’s a very subtle echo of what the house originally was.” Enclosing the ductwork would have forced the architects to lower the ceiling or install a subpar air-conditioning system. So it was left exposed, contributing to the floor’s loftlike atmosphere. New meets old with the furnishings as well: An antique barbershop pendant provides contrast to a sculptural lamp and a rug from Anthropologie. Investment buys were made with budget in mind, like the leather sofa scored at ABC Carpet & Home’s outlet store.

The curving glass and steel wall, designed by Deam and executed by Sand Studios, is a tour de force of engineering and design.

The long hallways do as much to delineate the home's space as the windows do. A pair of Wire series chairs for Knoll by Warren Platner add a space-age modern feel to the home's leafy vibe.

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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.

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.

Immediately halting the crew, Tagliabue and Miralles decided instead to celebrate the juxtaposition by leaving it all in situ. The painting at right was also found inside the meandering structure, which had been unoccupied for decades.

The open plan, high ceilings, and white walls all amplify the light that streams into the living room, accented with a Barcelona Couch by Mies van der Rohe for Knoll and two Blythe Pony Cube ottomans by Gus Design.

In an industrial neighborhood in Brooklyn, a verdant green roof of native grasses, wildflowers, and fruits creates an oasis.

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“There’s no right answer except to play and experiment,” says interior designer Jonathan Adler in regards to the Shelter Island getaway he shares with his husband, fellow design expert Simon Doonan. Custom ceramic wall tiles, a few plants, and a self-made rug, stool, and coffee table all add to the home's inimitable decor.

IdeaPaint comes in a clear coat that can be applied on top of any color scheme.

The wall features about 150 tropical, low-light species that are arranged from green, textural plants at the bottom, to flowers and trees creating a canopy over the room.

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.

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.

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.

Architectural designer Sebastian Mariscal and project manager Jeff Svitak created a house in Venice, California, for Michael and Tamami Sylvester. Known as Dwell Home Venice for its role as an exemplification of modern architecture, the house is an homage to indoor-outdoor living. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

Architect Darrick Borowski, designed the nearly wall-size custom cabinetry.

The acclaimed Italian designers Ludovica + Roberto Palomba carved a serene retreat out of a 17th-century oil mill in Salento.

“The home is quite small, but designed in such a way that you don’t feel it,” Herrin says. Lift-slide openings by Quantum Windows & Doors, which were fabricated fewer than 50 miles from the house, make the main living space seem larger.

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.

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.

Items that made the cut include a sofa from the Swedish company Ire; an Eames side table; a wall-mounted Artemide light; and a Moser pendant from Louis Poulsen.

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.

A mustardy couch and a large map of the world—Whitlock travels all over the place for work—keep the living room bright and cheerful.