The tranquil interiors of this hillside home in New Taipei City is inspired by the stunning views surrounding it.
Urban dwellings allow homeowners to enjoy the convenience of being highly connected. But there is a certain luxury to living away from the hustle and bustle. For one, inhabitants get to enjoy peace and quiet. They also get to be surrounded by natural beauty.
Take this four-storey home in New Taipei City, for instance. It is located just a few minutes away from downtown Taipei but the scene is completely different. What’s unique about this cottage is that it has been perched on an elevation has been designed to take advantage of the bucolic scenery of the locale.
Engaging interior architecture firm Design Apartment to conceptualise a contemporary resort-inspired home, the family wished for a home that is modern yet simple. As such, the design team led by Tang Chu-han came up with a blueprint that is all about organic materials and shapes that fuse the interiors with the outdoors.
The homeowners wanted a specific space in the home to entertain guests. As such, a cavernous open-plan dining area and kitchen was created in the basement. Taking centrestage at this space is a granite counter placed next to a long wooden dining table. Surrounding this sophisticated area are ample shelves for both storage and displaying a fine wine and liquor collection.
While the floors in the basement have been partially finished with polished cement called Pandomo, the rest of the space adheres to the home’s theme of using organic materials in the form of natural wood and stone surfaces. Even doorways have been made out of coarse woodgrain panels to convey a natural scene indoors. A third element, light, pours into this intimate space via an air well bordered by glass walls.
Also located in the basement is a corner for the homeowner’s drum set. Far from sequestering the musical instrument into a dark corner, this zone works as an informal lounge area complete with seating and a coffee table. Here a sense of the outside is suggested through a wall lined with roughly textured natural granite.
This was adapted from an article originally written by Jolene Limuco that appeared in the February 2016 issue of SquareRooms
