Project Overview

This project serves the clients and four cats. In addition, the clients like to read and therefore need a lot of space to store books. Initially, the designer wanted to create a space for the four cats but found that the cats could find a comfortable position for themselves. Therefore, without deliberately planning the cat space, the designer incorporated the Japanese MUJI style and rounded corners to make the house a friendly environment for both humans and cats.

Organisation

Er-Si Interior Design

Team

Yen-Jung Lai

Project Brief

The warm sunlight falls on the cat's fur, giving off a slightly sweet fragrance. Sitting in the space, people can enjoy the feeling of being bathed in sunlight. The large collection of books adds a beautiful touch to the minimalistic space. Occasionally, glance at the corner where the cat is grooming itself with grace and ease. Sunlight and cats are the best views in the space, the cat squinting its eyes with a wood grain background and a few leather and metal. The space is just like the cat, charming and appealing. This is a cat-friendly space with a "cat workstation" area. Customized storage cabinets and litter box cabinets make cats a part of the family. The wood color of the space is a blend of time and memory. The dark teak cabinet in the foyer is a blessing from the elders, which is always in the client’s heart. The white oak dining table is the client's favorite style, which reveals the beautiful daily life of cats.

Project Innovation/Need

The project also serves four cats. For this reason, there are many design highlights and ingenuity. The space is with a lot of curved edges. The façade can meet the clients' living habits. As for the ceiling, the ceiling at the interface of the kitchen and dining room is only 220cm. The designer eliminated the oppressive feeling of the large volume through the curved design. At the same time, the storage is overhanging cabinets. On the one hand, it can keep the lighting and ventilation, and with the wood grain material, the visual effect of large storage cabinets can provide well lighting. On the other hand, the walkway above and below the cabinets can become one of the routes for the cats. When the clients see their favorite books and cats in front of their eyes, it is the happiest moment of life.

Design Challenge

The challenge was to satisfy the personalities of the four cats at the same time. Because the client could only describe their habits, the designer then planned the space, resulting in a discrepancy between the actual and design results. For example, the dimming roller blinds became the cat's favorite toy, and the barbs on the cat's tongue destroyed the blinds. To solve the unexpected problem, the curtains were changed to Microfibres for cats.

Sustainability

In addition to the clients, there are four cats in the space. Cats have more sensitive noses than humans, and if their bodies are dirty, they will lick them with their tongues and eat a lot of the substances attached to their fur. Moreover, two of the cats are elderly, so the building materials used in this project are all skin-friendly and non-toxic green building materials. Meanwhile, in consideration of cleanliness, waterproof or anti-mold materials are adopted. As for the layout, the ceiling height is kept as high as possible to facilitate ventilation and lighting. In the public area, the open plan allows light to fall evenly in every area of the space.