We published hundreds of projects from all over the world in 2014 – from tiny apartments to technology firm offices, cafes and luxury penthouses – but these are the 10 interiors that proved most popular with Dezeen readers.
Artist's Studio by Raanan Stern
Israeli architect Ranaan Stern turned a 15-square-metre room inside an apartment in Tel Aviv into a full artist's studio with two desks, 36 drawers, modular storage compartments, pegboard display walls and even a folding bed.
With windows occupying two walls, the architect devised a seemingly random arrangement of storage options that fill the full height of the remaining walls. These house a large collection of objects and tools according to size and how often they need to be accessed.
"The artist creates and collects different kinds of art pieces, most are 2D but also some small sculptures, books and old materials," explained Stern. "We needed different kinds of storage units, different sizes and different ways of keeping the new and old pieces." Read more about the Artist's Studio »
Bermondsey Warehouse Loft by Form Design Architecture
Housed inside a former zinc and tin factory in south London, the floors in this apartment by local firm Form Design Architecture are made with timber boards salvaged from an old Welsh chapel.
"Having previously lived in New York, [the client] was keen for the apartment to feel more like a warehouse loft reflecting the industrial character and scale of the space," said architect Mike Neale.
To achieve this, the architects removed a series of walls and painted the brickwork white to create a more open, brighter space. Living areas are loosely defined using furniture – like the island of cupboards and surfaces that forms the kitchen – and a sleeping area is concealed behind a sliding door. Read more about the Bermondsey Warehouse Loft »
This split-level apartment sits at the top of a 19th century building in Oslo and also features one of this year's most popular staircase designs.
Suspended from a ceiling beam, the steel frame staircase creates a partition between the white-painted lounge and dark-grey kitchen area and connects the living spaces with a mezzanine level and outdoor terrace. It is completed by a piece of wooden furniture that also serves as a window seat and storage.
A smaller set of stairs provides access to a double-height bathroom finished in polished concrete and stone. Read more about the Idunsgate apartment »
Didomestic apartment by Elii Architects
The resident of a compact apartment – designed by Spanish studio Elii Architects to occupy the loft of an old building in Madrid – demonstrates how she can rearrange walls and pull furniture out of the ceiling in this movie by photographer and filmmaker Miguel de Guzmán.
The rooms were designed to be flexible for different activities, with sliding pink partitions used to divide and open up the main floor and a mezzanine level with a bedroom that hides toiletry storage and a tea station under panels in the floor.
Another folding surface can act as either an ironing board or a cocktail bar and a mirrored disco ball folds out from one of the ceilings. Read more about the Didomestic apartment »
The kitchen was the main attraction in this apartment by Dutch interior architects i29, featuring a stainless steel island that baffled readers by appearing to house a sink and a hob in a surface only a few centimetres thick.
The black unit looks like it is folded from one piece of metal, but the legs and top are angled to create a ridge that makes enough space for wiring and pipes.
"Our aim was to develop a kitchen system that seems to disappear in space," said the designers. "The design is reduced to its absolute minimum." Find out more about Home 10 »
House in Jiyugaoka by Airhouse Design Office
The raw concrete surfaces of this apartment inside a 40-year-old building in Nagoya, Japan, were designed to showcase the owner's "precious clothes".
Keiichi Kiriyama of Airhouse Design Office obliterated the original layout of the space, and instead introduced angular partitions to create irregularly-shaped rooms. The arrangement of spaces centres around a wide corridor that doubles as a walk-in wardrobe.
"We thought it was a shame to completely hide away the precious clothes," explained Kiriyama. "The room functions as a passage as well as a display storage and a hide-away storage, and the space continuously changes depending on the situation or season." Read more about House in Jiyugaoka »
Gurunavi workspace and cafe by Kengo Kuma
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma used layers of wooden board to create striated interiors in a cafe and an information centre for Osaka-based online restaurant guide Gurunavi.
The layers of plywood were used to create landscapes that also serve as furniture, including the counter and seating in the cafe, and shelving, desks and seating in the workspace. The two spaces, both enclosed by glass walls on three sides, are separated by a tunnel.
"We piled up pieces of wooden panels to build the interior like topography," said Kuma. "Various kinds of food-related items are laid out on this wooden ground." Read more about the Gurunavi interiors »
Casa Sal apartment by Nook Architects
This apartment in the Poble Sec district of Barcelona is only three metres wide and 19 metres long, so the architects used the kitchen as a "hub" space, linking the living room and bedroom.
Patterned tiles and wooden floorboards are used to mark out the different areas and create a visual separation that helps "counter the sensation of the narrow proportions of the dwelling", according to the architects. Nook has used similar strategies for other apartments in Barcelona, often incorporating original tiles uncovered during renovation work.
At one end of the apartment, a window seat with storage space underneath doubles as a step to provide access to a previously hard-to-reach roof terrace. Read more about Casa Sal apartment »
Flinders Lane apartment by Clare Cousins Architects
The owners of this 75-square-metre Melbourne apartment had just had a baby, so asked local architect Clare Cousins to adapt the space to meet the needs of a young family.
Cousins replaced the original bedroom with a timber box to create two smaller sleeping areas and adding a mezzanine with a bed for guests. The master bedroom is raised slightly above the floor and screened using three sliding doors painted in different colours.
"We could push the boundaries of a 'typical' apartment and present an imaginative design response," said Cousins. "The sliding screens were influenced by Japanese shoji screens. The bedroom engages with and becomes an extension of the living space, or it can be closed off for privacy." Read more about the Flinders Lane apartment »
Les Haras de Strasbourg hotel by Jouin Manku
Parisian studio Jouin Manku created this 55-room hotel inside an 18th century building previously used as an equestrian academy, with a restaurant that features a staircase wrapped in a spiral of wooden strips.
The pieces of oak around the stairs, which link two floors of the hotel's brasserie, create handrails on one side and a balustrade around the top. Bedrooms were kept simple, painted white to emphasise the original wooden beam structure of the building, with details added in leather.
"The interior design for the hotel and brasserie is characterised by its authenticity and modernity," said the designers. "A particular idea of luxury and comfort inspired by the equestrian world, restrained and subtle." Read more about the Les Haras de Strasbourg hotel »