The Act Of Simplifying Both Your Life And Home Into A Fine Art... Awesome!

Designing houses that are not just small but intelligent and stylish!

The only plot of land you can afford that bit left over on the edge of a street? No problem! This building is sandwiched between a road and a river embankment, and might otherwise have eventually become little more than a parking space had this house’s clever designers not come along.
In this consumerist culture of ours, it seems like the never-ending scramble to acquire more and bigger worldly goods and possessions is becoming increasingly futile as economic issues tend to scupper every attempt we make at achieving those perhaps impossible ideals. It’s no wonder, then, that people are increasingly turning to minimalism and simplicity in their lives and in their homes. The Japanese aesthetic concept of wabi-sabi extols the virtues of living a life that is simple, rustic and close to nature and we’ve been seeing elements of this start to crop up increasingly in the west, with the recent adoption of tiny, eco-friendly houses providing a possible alternative to an energy-guzzling modern pile of bricks.

This Japanese house designed by the brilliant architects at Mizuishi Architects Atelier fits a family of three in a 594-square-foot home on an abnormally shaped property.


The house was built on a triangular lot. It was an affordable land space, but it was difficult to build upon.


Of course, adding three levels of windows allows for lots of light to make the space feel a little larger.


But can such a narrow space really be nice to live in?


The answer is a resounding "Yes!"


The lofted area of the "steeple" provides a great children's playroom, but it can also be used as an office or spare bedroom.


The loft-style vaulted ceilings make it feel much airier and more spacious.


The ground floor is divided into a bedroom, living area, and kitchen.


This house has the beds out in the open in a studio format so that additional walls don't make it feel more closed off.


However, curtains around the bedroom area allow for some privacy.


There's even plenty of kitchen space.


Modern amenities and a sleek design help prevent this house from feeling cluttered.


With its river views, this house might be one of the most enviable new Japanese properties.
According to a study reported by the Guardian, quirky homes like these are more common in Japan because homeowners and architects can afford to build homes that may fade out of style. Homes are built more for style than longevity because of the frequency of earthquakes. Building codes get updated nearly every ten years and, as it stands right now, it is actually cheaper for many families to rebuild than to restructure. Most homes in Japan depreciate in value rapidly, and to make their home investments worth it, Japanese homeowners will destroy their house and build a brand new one to gain profit. This calls for a huge demand for more modern and innovative homes.

This planned obsolescence has made resulted in an increased demand for Japanese architects. There are 2.5 architects per 1,000 residents in Japan, while the United States has only .33 architects per every 1,000 residents.

The architects at Mizuishi Architects Atelier have done an incredible job making a deceptively amazing tiny house!

It may look like something you might wish you could build as a spectacular playhouse for your kids, but with a little creativity and clever life hacking it’s possible to live perfectly happily in a small home! Let's start thinking and living differently...

Sources: Little Things, Hiroshi Tanigawa

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