For those who think "interactive" means jabbing fingers on touchscreen devices, this pinball table designed by Soo Hyeon Goo is a useful reminder of the pleasures of actually touching and playing with different materials.

Perched on a rocky outcrop on the eastern coast of Taiwan overlooking the Pacific Ocean is a low slung villa which combines a strong masculine design with naturalistic touches which fits in with the landscape perfectly.

For those who think that industrial style is just about concrete and exposed brickwork, this stunning house in Terrassa near Barcelona is irrefutable proof that green can be cool in an industrial style design scheme.

The Netherlands is famous for its flowers and also for its great design, so it is perhaps appropriate that Amsterdam-based UNStudio would design a house in the province of North Holland that somewhat resembles a flower.

Great design is often invisible as the functionality of the product is so well engineered that users take them completely for granted.

As summer approaches our thoughts drift towards the sea, with fantasies of lazy days at our own retreat on the beach.

One of the standout talents at the recent DMY design exhibition in Berlin is Troels Flensted from Copenhagen.

Dutch houses are renowned for their large windows which maximise sunlight in their often deep and narrow interiors and which also reflects the Dutch people's spirit of openness and transparency.

This light and airy canal-side loft in Amsterdam is perfect for modern city living.

Plywood is often seen as a cheap and cheerful material, beloved of design students and a staple of DIY projects. 

Airplane trolleys have long been a favourite target of upcycling projects by designers but few have been as ambitious as Studio Knol and Christiaan Bakker, who were commissioned by KLM to create a multi-functional cabinet from a "cluster" of airplane trolleys.

Shoreditch is a neighbourhood bursting with creative energy, achingly hip but with a distinctive rough edge which keeps it firmly grounded in reality.