Crafting a Comfortable Final Home

This renovation was planned for a couple to enjoy their life together after their children had left home.

The husband is a viola player and the wife a pianist. Their home naturally draws music lovers, and at times it turns into a small concert venue. As the house had reached a stage where maintenance was needed, and with their child moving on to university, the couple requested a renovation of the first floor to make the cold, dim living-dining-kitchen (LDK) brighter and more comfortable.

Situated in a dense urban neighborhood, the original LDK on the first floor was notably dark. The key challenge was how to bring in more light. The strategy was to extend the LDK, raise the ceiling height, expand the windows, and use a pseudo-skylight. In addition, underfloor insulation was improved.

The goal was to create a space where the couple can live joyfully and comfortably, with an eye to the years ahead.

Outline

Renovation of the first floor of an existing house.
The new LDK incorporates part of the former corridor and entrance hall, creating a larger space than before.
By reducing the distance between the garden and living room, the design maximizes sunlight and openness toward the exterior.
Removal of the existing floor level differences and opening of the concealed ceiling cavity allowed for ceiling heights of 2.7–3 meters.
Lighting that reproduces natural daylight was employed to bring a natural brightness into the living room.

Shaping

Plans

Features

Making use
of a non-rectangular plan

The plan was originally non-rectangular, but by skillfully using the obtuse and acute angles to arrange the furniture, the space was transformed from “difficult to use” to one that feels expansive, distinctive, and engaging.

The custom-designed dining table was created to suit the space and to unify it as a whole. For the couple and their friends, who often host concerts, the ceiling was conceived with the image of a music hall in mind.

An LDK
with “natural light”

Given the location, artificial lighting was necessary to support brightness in the LDK. Yet the aim was not simply brightness, but a space filled as much as possible with natural light—or something close to it.

Living with natural light is important. Beyond comfort, there is a close connection between light and our biological rhythms. As we know, however, natural light is not constant; it changes in brightness, color temperature, and tone with the seasons, time of day, and weather.

The solution was Synca by ENDO Lighting Corporation. This new lighting system can reproduce a wide range of natural light, from candlelight to clear daylight. Installed within the lattice ceiling, it works like light filtering in from a skylight. By spending the day in bright daylight and gradually shifting toward lower color temperature and lower intensity in the evening, the couple can relax body and mind, enhancing the quality of sleep—an approach to healthier, more comfortable living within the LDK.

A small guest room

A compact guest room facing the living room has glass at the upper part of the walls, showing the continuity of the ceiling and preserving the sense of spaciousness in the LDK.

This room can also serve as a bedroom in the future when going upstairs becomes difficult. By expanding the current toilet into a combined shower room and toilet, daily life can eventually be completed on the first floor alone.