The 19-century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer was an atheist and pessimist who believed that emotional, physical and sexual desires can never be fulfilled. The idea repelled him and he took shelter from his existential anxiety within the solid walls of reason and stoicism. Such a man seems an unlikely inspiration for architects and interior designers but one of his most famous aphorisms should be treasured by anybody who lives on the fruits of their creativity. 'Change alone,' he wrote 'is eternal, perpetual, immortal'. What Schopenhauer captured in this thought is that we constantly approach our external environment with a changing perspective. In this Design & Living edition of Style we feature some talents who have grappled with this problem and come up smiling. From Swedish homeowners who have built structures that harmonise with their environment to the architects who have drawn global attention to the Shanghai expo; and from the inspirational 102-year-old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer to a captivating fashion-meets-furniture shoot by Gareth Brown, we have found ideas that can help turn any home into a place where the capricious state of the human consciousness can be soothed and nurtured. There is nothing here to solve Schopenhauer's conundrum - fulfiling desire will always be elusive - but beauty and elegance can make frustration so much easier to swallow.