A living of a couple after the children have fled

This is a reforming of a housing in an apartment in Mikage, Kobe City. Our client was a married couple in their 60s. Since their children moved out, few of the private rooms became unnecessary.

The original housing had connected rooms of approximately 13.2 square meters and 9.9 square meters. There is a recess, a place to set the family’s Buddhist altar, and by the window, there is a broad veranda. This is the so-called “Japanese layout”. Usually, are placed in the middle of the house where it is the brightest, and Buddhist memorial services and funerals are held there, so, during the Bon festival (festival of the dead) and the new year, it used to be a place where the whole relatives gather.

But recently, funerals are held in ceremony halls and Buddhist memorial services are held compactly with only family members. Relatives are not the ones visiting on Bon festivals and for the new year, but the beautifully grown children and grandchildren. The center of the house transferred from to the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen.

So we made a deliberate offer of the living of the couple after the children moved out.

Space configurations

• We moved the living room, the dining room and the kitchen to the sunny place where used to be, since the couple spends most of their time there. By making those rooms spacious, the air moves on better around the house. Also, the ceiling, walls, and floors are made in a light color, so that its “brightness” spreads around the space.
• Considering the sunset years, the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen and the bedroom, also the bedroom and the bathroom can be accessed directly. The width of the passage and the size of the bathroom are considered so that is it easier when in times of nursing care.
• The entrance and the Japanese style room can be accessed directly, so that the guests can be served without being shown private areas. When children come back to visit, the spare room and the Japanese style room can be used for staying.