IDPA Japan Design Award

2025 International Design Pioneer Award | Japan Tokyo
Days
Hours
Minutes

A grayscale space for humans and the cat

by Hengyueh Design

Project Description


Since the old house has been weathered for 35 years, it’s time to upgrade its structure and furnishings to suit the modern times and the needs of all family members. The outdated layout and traffic flow have been reorganized to a cat-friendly environment for ensuring the home safety requirements.
The houseowners treat their cat like a member of their family. To take good care of their fur baby, the house has transformed into a large cat-cave-like space. The subdued grayscale colors offer this cave-like space a full sense of security. Compared to a smooth lacquered surface, the hand-applied artistic coating in gray shades adds rustic and humanistic texture. The wabi-sabi design brings the space back to its original simplicity and purity.
There were many unused spaces in the original layout since the rectangular-shaped house was fragmented by various enclosed rooms. To optimize the use of the space, each area is redesigned based on the orientation of the house for allowing far more light to flood into the room. At the entryway, a wall is built to form a mud room, which also provides privacy by preventing people from glancing through the space directly after entering. Moreover, there is a dressing mirror placed at the end of the corridor, giving the entryway a wider open look.
The TV wall, which does not extend to the floor, allows the light to fill the space with wonder and add warmth to the entryway. The wood countertop expands the view and serves as the cornerstone of the TV wall. In the main scene, the curved surface, the flowing cabinet, and the rounded platform add rich layers to the TV wall, while the overlapping gray and white marble texture introduces the dynamic flowing ink patterns, bringing rhythms and tensions to the simple gray color scheme.
The gray tones are complemented by a Zen-inspired lattice with a uniform distribution of density, creating a balance between order and disorder. The light strip with amber hues is embedded in the border between the canopy and the laminate, making the space brighter and adding a touch of warmth.
The kitchen and the secondary bedroom are swapped. Additionally, the length of the kitchen is expanded to accommodate appliance cabinet and storage cabinet so that the space can serve multiple functions.

Hengyueh Design


Scroll to Top