Compactible life with joy

Ran into a street musician one day and we hit it off well together afterward…He shared with me his & his wife’s plan for a new life with their extended families, then decided to take down the storage building next to the main house and build there a brand-new house for his own family with 2 sons.

The challenge in designing was how compactible their living space could be since the existing building allowed only as much land space as for the storage building available for a new house. However, as they planned to move in the main house eventually, it was okay to be designed, without tenacity of future functionality, to be free, fun and comfortable.

Desires from the client

• Overall design – Creating a comfortable space to feel connected wherever they are in the house
• Interior design – “Be natural” and “like a café” as keywords, based on his wife’s preference

Space configurations

• Took advantage of the land elevation
• 2 entrances: Other than the main entrance, there is another door to the main house for easier access.
• On the 1st floor, the 700mm gap between the dining room and living room is filled with room-wide stairs; the 300mm-wide steps as well as handrails are made of Douglas fir, which gives “warmth” and “ease”.
• From the open-ceiling dining room, the living room and the bedroom on 2F are viewable. From the bedroom, a black isle leads to the husband’s hobby sanctuary, which, in the near future, may turn into his kids’ secret base camp.