Steven Harris Architects and Rees Roberts + Partners

This house by Steven Harris and Lucien Rees-Roberts is a study in minimal grandeur, 4,000 square feet of it. Each of the five levels—outfitted in a uniform palette of white oak, white paint, and subtly gray-veined white marble—serves a distinct function. Meals are prepared and eaten in the kitchen and the dining room on the ground level; stacked above are the formal living room, the master suite, guest rooms, and a penthouse lounge. While the house's 1858 Greek revival facade remains unchanged, the rear elevation is now a window wall overlooking the garden, with the privacy of this grass-carpeted outdoor room guaranteed by 35-foot-high windowless walls on the other three sides.

PROJECT Penthouse, New York.

STANDOUT On a glassed-in portion of the terrace, a cast-in-place concrete bench affords an unobstructed view of the Empire State Building.

PROJECT Loft, New York.

STANDOUT Doors, panels, and walls slide and pivot to transform the configurations of the living space.

PROJECT Loft, New York.

STANDOUT Bright colors, mid-century modern classics, and Asian accents spice up the minimalist envelope of this bachelor pad.

See photos of all the projects in the December 2007 issue of Interior Design. Photo by Scott Frances.