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

The interior finishes in the bedroom and adjacent bathroom are similar to those on the main floor: birch plywood, concrete, and neutral tones.

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.

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.

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.

Vera & Kyte are showcasing their newest work at Milan Salone Satellite, Stand D15. Photo courtesy of Vera & Kyte.

Wardrobe by Rene Siebum An example of his minimalist style, the Dutch designer’s coat rack is a simple study in geometry. “One shape can repeat itself endlessly,” he says. “You don’t need to do so much to create something functional.” Photo by Rene van der Hulst

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.

French designer Matali Crasset's wardrobe for Ikea PS 2014 ($179) is an open piece that comes with dozens of colorful tabs that can be arranged and rearranged on the metal mesh front. Crasset describes it as "free from codes—due to its camouflage it adapts to any kind of home." For more Matali Crasset, check out the farmhouse she renovated which Dwell featured in our March 2014 issue.

Lookofsky outfitted the bedroom with built-in pine plywood bunkbeds, walls, and a ceiling. The bathroom and a closet are also wrapped in plywood.

Fehrentz designed the wardrobe; the doors are covered in canvas printed with a baroque landscape scene. The curtains are by Dominique Kieffer.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food scraps and yard waste make up 20 percent of what we throw away. Composting organic materials keeps them out of the landfill, which cuts down on greenhouse gases, and enriches the soil. To compost at home, make a pile in your backyard, or introduce an indoor bin for throwaways like apple peels and eggshells.

Though only two feet deep, the Ikea cabinet Azevedo bought for the guest bath didn’t quite fit, so she sliced off eight inches with a table saw. “It might be unorthodox, but it was just easier, faster, and cheaper to do it myself,” says the former furniture designer.

Simple utilitarianism at its finest: Takagi's Simple Machines series of stools, benches, and tables in white oak.

A departure from the mod-meets-baroque dining room, Turin’s breakfast area is far more sedate. She and her daughter, Helena, have a chat at a Progetto 1 table by Monica Armani for B&B Italia surrounded by four Lia chairs by Roberto Barbieri for Zanotta. The painting behind Helena is by Ricci Albenda.

The door opens with a push and the clean lines of the Jackanory wardrobe give a sophisticated finish to a playful piece.

The Jackanory locker-style wardrobe's chalkboard panel can be replaced with either a mirror or clock fingers. ("Jackanory" was a British children's TV show in the mid-1960s aimed at getting kids to read.)

Photography is by Olivier Blouin.

In the living and dining area of Jean Risom's Block Island family retreat, mostly vintage Risom furnishings share space with a few new additions, the view facing north is framed by the wall of glass. Photo by: Floto + Warner

The home’s original living and dining rooms were updated with custom cabinetry and new fir floors. The living room sofa, coffee table, and lounge chair are from Blu Dot.

Demolition exposed a high, wood-beamed ceiling, which added “cubic meters of air” to the apartment, says Hernán. The bedroom is furnished with custom pieces made of Paraiso wood. - Buenos Aires, Argentina Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

It’s a good idea to read reviews about specific pieces before buying them, which can help prepare you for the unexpected.

The living room features two side chairs and an end table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar and a bronze screen designed by Harold Balazs.

In a small seating area at the base of a two-story tower, Oslo chairs and sofas by Anderssen& Voll are paired with Around tables by Thomas Bentzen, all from Muuto. The lamp from Svenskt Tenn was designed by Josef Frank in 1938.

A muted green closet design adds a pop of color and sophistication to the guest bedroom

Those hammers and saws built a home for the family’s chickens, watched over by Apolo among outdoor furniture by Richard Schultz.

Sleeping Room

Custom-designed furniture outfits the interior of a bunker-turned-vacation retreat in the Netherlands.

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