Leo Lei

Moving from a large villa into a 1300-square-foot apartment might seem like a loss, but this apartment in Stavanger, Norway, designed by interior architect Gudbjørg Simonsen for a couple in their early 50s, treats the reduction as a design opportunity rather than a constraint. The result is an interior organized around subtraction, where the discipline of limitation becomes the design language itself. Photography by Arne Bru Haug The clearest evidence is in how storage is handled.

Warm minimalism usually depends on empty space and quiet surfaces. This 14,500 sq. ft. home in Wellesley, 20 minutes west of Boston, applies that restraint to a house occupied by an active family of five, a large dog, and frequent entertaining. Tharon Anderson McEvoy, owner and principal of Tharon Anderson Design, treats minimalism as a durable framework rather than a set of precious surfaces, prioritizing tactile materials that withstand daily use.

The most telling detail of this Upper West Side penthouse, designed by Lindye Galloway, is not a material or a fixture but a logistics marvel. Almost every large custom piece arrived by crane, lifted over Manhattan and swung into the top floor because the pre-war building’s elevator was too small to contain them.