Caroline Williamson

Surrounded by 400 olive trees in the southern part of Portugal, the House in Tavira was designed by Vitor Vilhena Architects. The residence now consists of an existing structure and a new one that are connected via a glass hallway.

Remember when your desk accessories consisted of sticking your pens and pencils in an old coffee mug? Thank goodness those days are over and designers like Héctor Serrano have come out with great desk-worthy options like Desktructure for Seletti.

The city of Helsinki tapped Madrid-based Lighting Design Collective (LDC) to convert a once-used oil silo into an interactive light installation to commemorate Helsinki being the World Design Capital of 2012. To mark such occasion, the silo's walls were perforated with 2,012 holes that display a mesmerizing light show in Helsinki's Kruunuvuorenranta district.

Be ready for the new year! It's that time again - time for a whole new year. A fresh start. A new beginning. Or just more of the same old, same old. Any way you slice it, it's time for a new calendar. For 2013, we've rounded up 25 of our favorite 2013 modern calendars. Which one will grace your wall or desk this coming year?

Located in Möriken, Switzerland, the Findling House is a concrete cube of a house with two sections taken out of opposite corners. One of the cut-outs faces the road and forms the entryway, while the other frames up views of the countryside.

The design of the Curl table lamp combines both the light source and the light's reflector into one curvy piece. Designed by Sebastian Bergne for Luceplan Spa, the unconventional lamp uses what's known as "tuneable" LED lighting to adjust the white light temperature from 2400? to 3500? kelvin.

Do you ever think about all the paper you use to wrap those Christmas and birthday gifts? It's a lot of waste! Graphic designer Amy Lewis decided to change that with her ecoChici reusable cloth gift wrap kits she conceived with the help of her husband.

Beloved designer and ceramicist Eva Zeisel passed away in 2011 at the age of 105, and the last project she worked on was her one and only lighting collection and it has just hit the market. The Eva Zeisel Collection for Leucos is a line of hand-blown Venetian glass fixtures that come in two styles named Summer and Spring, each available as a pendant, wall sconce, or table lamp.

When design is not just good but also clever, I get really excited and that's just what the No Stereotype Series is. Created by furniture design grad student Dong-yeop Han of South Korea, this collection of furniture has the ability to store your stuff both inside and outside with its elastic bands.

MINI's latest campaign "NOT NORMAL" launched in October 2012 (or as they call it, Motor-Tober) and their latest mission was so far away from normal that it landed them (and me!) in the Arctic Circle with one goal - to set a Guinness World Records by bringing the most number of wishes to none other than Santa Claus himself in a project called MINI Goes To Santa Claus.

Doll is the new table lamp by French designer Ionna Vautrin for Foscarini where the shape looks like a cross between old oil lamps and those wooden Japanese kokeshi dolls that have skinny bodies and big faces. The bulging shades are made from glass while the narrow bases come in four colors - red, gray, green, and ivory.

Located close to the sea in Lavra, Matosinhos, Portugal, the Agudela House is full of sunlight despite being a large black structure. Designed by Rui Cerqueira Barros, the smooth, dark volume is broken up with windows and openings that help fill the home with light and ocean breezes.