Name: Alastair Townsend and Kayoko Ohtsuki of BAKOKO Design Development
Location: Matsudo, Japan
Size: 400 sq. ft.
Years lived in: 6 months
When architects Alastair Townsend and Kayoko Ohtsuki of BAKOKO Design Development wanted a place of their own to call home on the outskirts of Tokyo, they found a tiny 400 sq. ft. space which is amusingly referred to as a "mansion" apartment in Japan (mansion apartments are spaces usually rented to a single occupant due to their small size, ranging from miniscule 110 sq ft to spacious suburban family sized units). The apartment was transformed into a modern-minimal environment where they could easily work and meet clients, while also having an area to rest and relax. What we most love about they've done with the small space is their adaptation to the small space with luxuries like a tatami mat rest area, an overhead garden above the kitchen, the warm Hinoki wood decking in the bathing area, and the striking use of hot pink and black to designate spaces hidden inside the confines of a white dominated interior. It's spare, but inviting...
>> AT Survey:
My/Our style: Contemporary
Inspiration: Being architects, we wanted to create a clean, bright, modern interior where we could work and meet clients.
Favorite Element: The apartment is faces southwest. No only do we see beautiful sunsets, but also Mt. Fuji on a clear day. Our “oidaki” bath which is filled and heated from talking digital consoles in the kitchen and bathroom. The timber 'sonoko' (decking) and bathtub surround are made from Hinoki wood. The design of the control panels is beautifully minimal. Our Inax Washlet (toilet with automatic bidet). Don’t know how we lived without them in the West. Anything else is, well….pretty &*^%$.
Biggest Challenge: Working alongside Japanese contractors was tricky at times. Our design was far from typical. Sometimes, they insisted on doing things their own way. Persuading them took tact and perseverance.
What Friends Say: “Sutekiiiii!” – Japanese for “coooool!”
Biggest Embarrassment: We had to tear down the first ceiling we built after we followed our first contractor’s bad advice to build it out of recycled wood and thin plywood. We fired that guy and got in a real carpenter who put in a new drywall ceiling in less than a day.
Proudest DIY: The hanging cupboards with built-in planter - the units are hung from the concrete slab above. Also, the light coving which I framed myself - kind of made things up as I went along, but they turned out pretty well.
Biggest Indulgence: We overindulged in lighting. We wanted to experiment with various lighting concepts. There are numerous architectural light coves that wash walls, ceiling and floor with indirect light and create atmosphere. Two of the central doors slide apart to reveal a hot (pink) desk as well as a full length mirror. The key to the live/work lifestyle is being able to shut one's work away and out of sight at the end of a hectic day.
The tatami area is not only a space for meditation, occasional dining, and entertaining. Come bedtime, a futon can be unfolded from the closet, thus saving space. The illuminated box along one wall holds nighttime reading material and doubles as a reading light and bedside table.
Best advice: I worked closely on site with our carpenter and learned so much. He uses a Makita circular saw in ways no one would think possible. His guidance was invaluable and it is thanks to him that we have smooth and flat, ceilings, walls and floors. Internal partitions were demolished to to maximize light penetration and provide an open-plan living arrangement. Closets flanking the main space are concealed behind full-length sliding doors.
Dream source: Sanwa Company (Japan) - we found many useful products there: our Corian sink, faucet, kitchen and bath paneling.
Resources:
Appliances: Inax (washlet). Kitchen is from Nittori. Oidaki boiler and bath system is made my Noritz. Wall-mounted Toshiba Air Conditioner/Heater unit w/ remote control (these are standard in Japan)
Furniture: Vintage: GPlan dining set. Eames sofa.
Accessories: Peace Lillies. Red Vernor Panton pendant lampshade
Lighting: Many standard (inexpensive) fluorescent ballasts are concealed in the numerous architectural light coves. Odelic (Japan) track lighting in the living room.
Rugs and Carpets: Tatami mats were bought from Japan’s Rakuten website.
Tiles and Stone: None. Since re-tiling the wet room would have been expensive and hard to keep mold-free, we found an excellent white plastic bath panel that is adhered over existing tilework. This product is available from Sanwa http://www.sanwacompany.co.jp.
Window Treatments: Original sash windows.
Beds: Japanese futon that folds away into the adjacent closet to save space.
Paint: White emulsion. Matte black for toilet. Hot pink for working desk.
Flooring: Natural Birch Flooring. Osmo organic floor wax.
(Thanks, Alastair and Kayoko!)
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Comments (48)
Wow - Now this is Minimalism at it's best -
Those little dashes of color, the abundant natural light and the real plants & flowers make all the difference in the world.
Where did they hide the table and chairs shown in photo 9.
Very spare... where are the closets and any media (TV, books) other than the laptop?
phew... now i dont feel so weird painting my bathroom flat black. Its hard to convince people how cool it is.
I LOVE the pop of pink in the 'office' nook. So nice. It's a bit too minimalist for me to live in, but I totally appreciate it!
bepsf: you nailed it...natural light and real plants are the secret weapon of warming up any space. Glad you can appreciate the minimalism...I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.
I love how this is so simple and so full of personality.
I am a minimalist, but it has to be done right. This looks simply pre-fab and cheap.
This is lovely. Minimalist, but it doesn't feel cold. I especially like the flower box above the kitchen counter.
Beautiful! Just curious, are those IKEA bar stools?
i love the japanese "bath"-room and the tatami section (the green colour) feels very tranquil...
Oh. So this is why people like minimalism. Now I get it.
Chou oshare! = How gorgeous!
What a beautiful job. I am impressed with how you have managed to hide all of your "stuff" so that the architectural elements and colours really pop. Love it! I wish my place in Tokyo looked as stunning as this!
ooo I saw this on design sponge the other day. its nice to see the pics much bigger :)
lovely, but I think most people would find it tiresome to have to roll out and then stow their "bed" every day....
i have to say i really like the sliding doors... it frees up more space (in regards to how far that living room sofa can go to a certain point before it is rammed by a swinging door). i would love to have sliding doors in my home, though it would have be able to keep noise level to a minimum - no paper thin doors.
and that beautiful red paint color where the computer nook is is to die for.
@carson -- depends who you mean by most people. As I understand it, removing futons for daily airing and storage is (or was, anyway) standard practice in traditional Japanese households. And, um, why the quotation marks around "bed?" A futon is a bed. No, really.
Agree--that is a particularly stunning shade of pink. Overall the place is more minimal than I could handle, but I applaud them for pulling it off in such a cool way.
everything is so nicely balanced! looks easy to live in & easy to clean up too. love the peace lilies and the wonderful use of color.
Futon - the english translation of the Japanese word Futon is "fxxxing uncomfortable"
a good futon is perfectly comfortable.
What's with all the futon hate? Jeez.
I have a double thick futon matress on my futon and my biggest gripe is not the confort level but how hard it is to open and shut the futon.
I think people hate futons because they remeber all the crappy ones they slept on in college. But, yes, a _good_ futon is perfectly comfortable.
Beautiful, artistic, and controlled space, that from the details of the posting was put together by people who clearly knew what they wanted and how it was to be executed.
The black water closet reminds me of the bathrooms at Sidewalk Cafe on Avenue A in NYC. It's atrocious there and it's atrocious here.
The Japanese futon is not like the North American futons ... those wooden framed couches with a thin mattress on top ... that is not what the traditional Japanese futon is! It is a thicker mattress that is still pliable enough to be folded and put away. I slept on one while living in Japan for over a year and found it beyond comfortable ...
Very...um...STERILE! As much as I like the look, I really would not be able to live that way.
It's probably just ME and my personality (not to mention the ADD!)...looking at that desk area vs. MY desk area, it's NIGHT and DAY!
My computer area looks NOTHING like this! In fact, I just took a series of pictures showing My Computer Area compared to theirs. Now do you know why I think their's is sterile?!
This apartment is beautiful. Maybe not entirely practical for a lot of people, but definitely nice to look at :)
Gorgeous bit of eye candy with a perfect little kitchen (though it seems that the commode is in sight of the eating area?). Anyway, as others have mentioned, it seems more beautiful than livable: just seeing the furniture hurts the back!
This is minimalism.
Wouldn't work for me since I tend to like to display things, knick-knacks, books, a giant brass horn...but it is lovely.
I would like to see this space after it has been lived in for a year. I've seen plenty of nice Japanese apartments in ads and brochures (esp. for condominiums being sold for ridiculous prices in Tokyo) and none of them look anything like the empty glamor shots within 3 months of habitation.
And the futon hate, it's because they really are not comfortable. The only reason some Japanese people still use them is they have spaces so small they have no choice. I have 15 or so Japanese students and only one of them still uses a futon (and that's because she and two kids have to share a tiny place). No one uses a futon if they can accommodate a bed.
I don't see anything human at all. That would be a cell for most people, even if it does have cool light boxes.
The layout is brilliant; they've packed an extraordinary amount of living (human and plant) in a small space.
At first, I found the lack of textures oppressive. Then I reconsidered.
Perhaps the smooth white surfaces heighten one's perceptions of the few textures we do see. The pleated orchid vase, a nubby upholstery on the Eames sofa, the fuschia nook, the wooden slats--all these elements come to the fore against the slick environment.
I suspect that is this the type of home one appreciates by living in it--especially if the carpentry is exquisite and precise.
Why does AT always have misleading errors in the copy relating to Japan?! A "mansion" is may be a rental or owner occupied. Do you really think they could do all this work in a rental? (IMHO, mansion really suggests a larger building, with a significant portion of the living space being a "yooma" ie western room, and where um... you enter the building through a main door, then procede to individual apartment doors (rather than let's say walking upstairs and along a catwalk to get to you door, like at a motel in this country).
I love what this couple their contractor did with all the small walls. Often mansion are box like. In addition to to great use of light and plants, I think the addition of multiple planes really brings visual interest to the place. (Sorry that is not more articulate, but I'm not a designer/architect. If you look at the pics you'll know what I mean.)
@kushkush In Japanese 'mansion' (manshon) just means an apartment building constructed from cement/brick. An 'apartment' (apaato) is where the construction material is wood. I don't think the terms refer to the style or size of the building.
Sorry to be a bit of a hater but I don't really see what the fuss is about. It's just a white box and even then I don't really think its even using the small space effectively, although it is hard to be sure when the furniture is either absent or moved around just for the photos. Of course, it may be a totally different story when there is furniture in it. With a good eye and some nice textures I can see how a space like this could really come to life.
The computer area seems non-functional and seems like a bit of a waste of space to me. I can't imagine you would be able to work for very long sitting on one of those stools. I'd use it for a bookshelf and some additional storage.
I do like the wood in the bathroom though, and I totally agree with storing away the futon for sleeping. It takes some getting used to but placing a futon on top of tatami makes a big difference to using one on a slat bed or a hard floor. It makes a lot of sense when working with limited space and storing it away and taking it out every day is not a problem at all.
Well, yeah. The pictures are a bit repetitive, no? A floorplan would have been nice, because all the white it´s a bit confusing I think.. Otherwise, do they really live there? It doesn´t look like really. I kind of like the design, but it´s a bit... sterile?
This is the first space that's ever inspired me to comment because i'm wondering who actually lives here? It's cold, I see no personality, do robots lives here? I hate the plants above the bar, it reminds me of a cheezy diner, applebees or pizza place?...and the whole interior from the cabinets to the chairs, bar and doors looks like the furniture you buy from walmart in the box and assemble yourself only to watch it fall apart after a couple months....I hate to be so brash but look...this is a great space, it would be great if it was warmed up a little, so that we get at least a little of the personalities that live here. Make it so that people will want to come, feel comfortable and relaxed in your space....You can go minimalist and comfortable at the same time.
I think smwatkins828 said it best... the furniture -*the few that they have/show* -does look cheap.
Minimalism does not = sterile.
BTW- what's the deal with the fluorescent light tubes in the ceiling?? Blech
medusa12120, I think the black water closets you're thinking of are across the street from Sidewalk cafe at 7A, the cafe. Sidewalk Cafe had stalled white bathrooms.
I like the area with the tatami mats, perhaps because I'm partial to green. I can't even imagine living in a space that spare (where do books go, and art?), but I do admire the concept of minimalism, more as a lifestyle than as a genre of decor: "Live simply that others may simply live" -- Gandhi.
The apartment itself is quiet and serene and beautiful, but it seems "staged" with all the plants and no personal effects or decor or art, at all. If they truly live this way, it must be a different kind of philosophy to keep things so simple, where my instinct is to collect and to clutter and show who I am. I have absolutely no idea who these people are or how they live. It's probably all hidden in every nook and cranny of every cabinet, for the duration of the shoot, at least.
Reminds me of a 1969 show, The Cube. Love the wood bathroom tho.
I like the simpleness of this mansion, however there is a bit of too much "flat" white for me. If the walls had some sort of texture or something that would make a huge difference IMO. Perhaps, the pics were taken when the apt. was finished and hasn't had time to get cluttered ;). However the pics gave me a few good ideas on how to improve and decorate my own mansion apt. when I move in next month.
*Note: Most wallpaper used in Japanese apts. rentals and new ready made houses tend to me white/cream etc., so that it's easy and usable by anyone, which ends up being sorta boring/sterile. GIMME ME COLOR I say!!!!!! Guess that means I'll be doing lots of creative stuff w/paint pretty soon...
This place brings on me a mix of different feelings..
i had nearly the same floor plan in the first floor of my 'leo palace' apartment during my second year in japan. the tiny kitchen is surprisingly workable and wonderful and minus the peace lilies (sadly!) was exactly what i lived with and enjoyed. natsukashi...
to respond to some of the above...
Florescent lights are considered preferable in Japan as they look 'clean' as opposed to more western lighting styles which, in the home, often go for soft/dim. In Japan, light=wealth and cleanliness, dim=cheap and dirty (to generalize, of course).
Also, I think it is very likely their closets are full of their 'daily life' as in my experience, even very architecturally interesting and modern homes in Japan haven't yet hit the American trend of organizing 'hidden' spaces like closets and private rooms.
For example, entertaining in the kitchen is very rare and when I had this style of kitchen (guests could see into it), it was actually shocking for some of my guests. After seeing some of their kitchens and closets, I know why! Even wealthy and minimalist aesthetic people didn't extend that sparseness and clarity to their closets and kitchens and private rooms the way that Americans seem to strive towards doing.
I find some of the comments here very ignorant towards other cultures, especially when referencing their experiences with their own western futons and thinking they're exactly the same as Japanese ones. They are very different and different in use and are also a lot more comfortable. Not to mention the difference in living conditions with the space available in the average apartments there.
Anyways, I love this apartment, as someone said this looks very sterile and personally I see this as a positive thing, not a negative. Sadly, I am a very messy person but love to try and keep things as simple and clean looking as possible, so I know how much of a challenge this might be.