The January 10th episode of the show "Junnin Jyuuni-iro ~As Many Family Forms as There Are Houses~" (MBS, Saturday 5pm, Kansai local and other stations), hosted by talent Mika Mifune and actor Taro Suruga, will introduce a "kooky-cute" house in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, that is small but has a spacious feel.
The owners are a married couple who got married four years ago. The husband became independent as an architect two years ago, and the following year they built the house they live in together. The wife says the exterior has a "slightly creepy-cute" feel, with a unique shape that resembles a square box and a rounded box sticking out. The house is made primarily of wood and copper, and they chose to enjoy the change in the copper's color over time, from reddish-brown to green-blue.
The building area is only 23.2m², about the size of a parking space for 1.5 cars, so by making the house taller vertically, they created five floors, including a basement. The walls are rounded and the boundary between the wall and ceiling is eliminated to make it feel more spacious, and the legless dining table that surrounds the large pillar in the center of the house is reinforced with fluffy urethane foam sprayed on it. The wife's room, which is 3.5 tatami mats in size, is packed with many ideas to make it feel less cramped, such as using the trees outside the large window as a backdrop.
The basement is a 14.5 tatami room with a living room equipped with storage and a screen. To create this basement, the first floor was raised by about one meter. By digging less soil than usual, costs were reduced and a larger space was achieved. After living in this house, the wife said, "It's so creepy cute, you really get addicted to it once you start using it." The husband, who designed it, was delighted, saying, "Everyone has their own preferences. It's great that there are so many different people who like it."
"Jyunin Jyuiro" is a program that visits homes all over Japan and introduces the residents' preferences and charms for their homes. After broadcast, it will be available on TVer for one week.
