Full renovation of the 36-year-old parent's house. A house that balances work and housework from a designer's point of view (Suginami Ward)｜Everyone's Room

A certain station on the Keio Inokashira Line that connects Shibuya and Kichijoji. There are many shopping streets, supermarkets, and restaurants in front of the station.

There is a lot of greenery such as parks and rivers, and there is a house of Mr. N and Mr. M, who are introduced this time, in an area that is deeply popular as "comfortable to live".

Name (Occupation): Mr. N (husband/company employee), Mr. M (wife/graphic designer) Location: Suginami Ward, Tokyo Area: 102㎡/4LDK+WIC+garden Housing type: 2-story detached house Renovation cost: Approx. 15 million yen Building age: 36 years

1F floor plan (created by editorial department)

A 36-year-old two-story house in a quiet residential area was originally purchased by Mr. N's parents. For Mr. N, it will be the house where he was born and raised.

Mr. N and Mr. M fully renovated the house they inherited when they got married. When you step inside from the exterior that gives the impression of a family-type house, there is a living room and work space like an industrial café.

"If I hadn't renovated, I'm sure everything would have gone wrong," the couple said. was.

Favorite Places

Our favorite places are the living/dining room and kitchen on the 1st floor.

The spacious kitchen with a uniquely designed counter and the living room with comfortable sofas are cafe-like spaces that make you want to stay longer.

Before the renovation, the kitchen and the tatami room were separated by a steel wall. I broke the wall because I wanted to.

Eat, drink, and work at the counter. When I get sleepy, I tend to sleep on the floor of the living room until morning, and before I know it, I'm here all the time. The windows are double sashes and the floor is heated, so it's nice and warm in the winter. I realized that floor heating is a device that makes people useless (laughs)” (Mr. N)

The wooden counter that adds warmth to the all-stainless steel kitchen was designed by Mr. M himself.

There is also a hook under the counter where you can hang the items you bought from Amazon.

Instead of the usual straight-cut counter, the shape of the gentle wave draws the eye. There was a reason why it was designed that way.

"I decided not to put a dining table, so I designed a counter.

At first, the renovation company suggested a straight cut counter, but the living room would be too small, so I chose a wavy counter. This is spacious and easy to use, and you can also make a pot! (Mr. M)

“I bought the stools from IKEA and Conran Shop, the lighting from HERMOSA (*purchased at Mercari), and the P.F.S PARTS CENTER in Ebisu. Mr. Miss)

Even the storage shelves in the kitchen, where tableware and alcohol are lined up, are all original. It seems that the length has been adjusted so that it is easy to work on the workbench and does not give a feeling of pressure.

On the 1st floor, there is also a workspace dedicated to Mr. M. In the space that was originally a closet, a large monitor and aroma goods are placed in an orderly manner, so it seems that work will progress!

But why did you create a workspace near the kitchen?

"The company had a policy to promote remote work even before the new coronavirus, so I was trying to create a workspace at home. It is a raised space.

I work remotely for more than half of the week, but I'm busy with work, so I intentionally created a workspace on the first floor so that I can balance it with housework.

If you make it a completely enclosed space, you won't be able to do housework, but I thought that if there was a workspace near the kitchen, I could work more efficiently, such as boiling water while working." (Mr. M)

The chair is Itoki's vertebra.

"I didn't want to have a solid office chair, so I searched for a design that didn't overstate and bought it. With Itoki's work chair, my body doesn't get tired even when I sit for a long time." (Mr. M)

The combination of function and design is an essential requirement for a remote work chair!

There is storage under the stairs, and if you move your eyes further, there is a gap.

"I opened a space under the stairs to put a Roomba in, but I ended up buying a Dyson (laughs)" (Mr. M)

The powder space next to the bathroom and washbasin is also M's favorite place. Cosmetics are displayed neatly on white perforated boards.

"We put all the cosmetics here, such as his hair wax and my perfume, and use them together. I like the good flow line where I can put on my makeup immediately after using the bath or washstand. It is." (Mr. M)

Mr. N's favorite is the study that looks like the president's office on the second floor. It seems that this place, which is about 4 tatami mats in size, was used as a bedroom by his parents before.

"I wanted a room of my own, so I made a simple study. I love books, so I made a bookshelf.

I also have books and CDs in the living room, but I don't want to cram too much on the first floor, so I store them here." (Mr. N)

Points of Renovation

Originally, this house was where Mr. N lived with his parents and sister since he was in junior high school. My parents moved to my grandparents' house in the neighborhood, and Mr. N and Mr. M got married at the same time, so Mr. N inherited this house.

It seems that you decided to do a full renovation along with that, but did you have a plan for what kind of room it would be?

"I was introduced to 'Rinoberu.'

We work at the same company, but it was the timing when the company started promoting remote work to promote a new way of working, regardless of the new corona.

At the time, she was living alone near her company, but living here would make her far away from her company, so I decided to create an environment where she could work from home. During that time, she contracted the new coronavirus, so the timing was good.” (N)

Renovation work started in May 2020 for the workspace plan that had been in progress before the new corona. It ended after about 2.5 months and started living in this house from around August.

Mr. M still seems to work half and half between the company and the house.

The industrial atmosphere of the room is stylish with unified colors and materials.

When I was talking with him, I realized that he was able to realize the ingenuity and ideas unique to designers without compromising.

"I wanted to use gray and silver for the colors and wood for the material, so I confirmed the image of 'I want to do this' in advance while synthesizing it on a computer monitor.

I was particularly particular about the color of the walls and ceiling, but in the renovation, I didn't know what would happen until I dismantled it, and I didn't know how the beams would come out of the ceiling.

When I thought that the ceiling was going to look like concrete, I came across a tree that was a hybrid of wood and rebar and wasn't very cool, so I stopped trying to model the skeleton and decided to paint the walls the same color as the ceiling later. I enjoyed the process of making decisions while renovating.” (Mr. M)

I often hear from people who have experienced renovation that "the number of things I wanted to do increased and it was difficult to balance with the budget."

How was Mr. N and Mr. M, who completely renovated a two-story house?

"We decided that the renovation cost would be up to 15 million yen, so we could save money by using, for example, double sash windows on the first floor and normal windows on the second floor, and concentrated on what we wanted to do on the first floor. I did.” (Mr. N)

"I wanted to use mortar for the walls on the first floor, but doing so would make them all taller, so I used gray mortar-like wall material for the kitchen walls, which is also used in Starbucks. (Mr. M)

I definitely want to do this! That being said, it's important to decide on a landing point while devising ways to adopt different ideas here!

Unfortunately, something to worry about

"I made a perforated board because I thought it would be possible to do various things later, but I put in a fairly thick perforated board so that it wouldn't bend. It seems that it is useless in terms of construction if it is not thick enough to put it on the whole wall.

Then I couldn't find parts that fit this thickness, so I couldn't customize it after all! Since we have become a parts refugee, there is a possibility of failure if we do not calculate whether there are parts that correspond to the thickness." (Mr. M)

"The perforated board at the entrance is also failing!

Actually, I wanted to attach the key directly with magnetism, but if I use an aluminum board with holes, the magnetism is weak and heavy items like keys fall off.” (Mr. N)

Since it was originally made of a material that does not stick to magnets, they put an iron plate behind it, but it seems that it was still difficult to attach heavy objects.

"I wanted to make the entrance wider, but I couldn't make it wider because it was made of concrete.

As an alternative, we made the place where you can walk up with shoes at the same height as the corridor.” (Mr. N)

Favorite Item

They drink coffee every morning. She says that under the influence of Mr. M, who is a qualified barista, Mr. N also likes to make coffee.

In the kitchen, my favorite Kalita coffee mill and bonavita electric kettle were lined up.

"You can freely set the temperature of the electric kettle from 60 to 100 degrees in 1 degree increments.

I heard that third-wave coffee shops such as Blue Bottle do not boil water, so I always set the temperature to 95 degrees so that I can brew coffee while measuring the amount of coffee beans and the temperature of the water. (Mr. N)

Mr. N, who loves coffee, taught me how to brew coffee.

"The ratio of 100 grams of hot water to 8 grams of coffee beans is delicious, so I continue to add 300 grams of hot water to 24 grams of coffee beans every day.

Even if the amount is the same, the taste is different every day. ', 'I failed'.

Coffee beans are produced by region, dark roasted or lightly roasted. I'm trying to change the coarseness of the grind. There is a good coffee bean shop in Nishi-Eifuku, so I buy it there or near my workplace.” (Mr. N)

Mr. N, who gave me coffee during the interview. There was a nice scent in the room.

The cup and saucer that a friend from the company gave them as a wedding present was also wonderful.

Mr. N's favorite is the DULTON trash can, which fits perfectly into the space in her kitchen. It matches the atmosphere of the industrial room.

"The designs and tones are somewhat American. A 45-liter garbage bag is a little small, and a 70-liter garbage bag is just right, but a 70-liter garbage bag is expensive." That's why it's a bit of a problem that the cost performance is bad." (Mr. N)

It seems that the left one is for combustible garbage, and the right one is for sorted garbage such as PET bottles.

M's favorites are glasses and silver accessories.

In the corner of the walk-in closet just inside the entrance, there is a dedicated corner for display.

"I especially like ANNE ET VALENTIN. As a result of choosing glasses that fit my face, I ended up with a lot of round frames.

I used to wear glasses frequently when I went to work, but now my glasses get foggy when I wear a mask, so my contact rate has gone up. According to what I heard from an optician, it's good to use the anti-fog that swimmers use." (Mr. M)

"I bought the white mug at a second-hand clothing store. I think the green one was a reproduction version made in Japan." (Mr. M)

Two people who like alcohol drink at home, and the kitchen is full of alcohol such as wine and gin.

One of his favorites is Dutch craft gin "VL 92 GIN".

"I got it from a junior, and it's a craft gin that uses herbs, and it's really delicious.

At a bar I often go to, I drank gin with Japanese pepper and it was delicious, so I imitated that and tried pickling Japanese pepper in Beefeater.

When I asked the bartenders, some said it was good to soak the herbs and spices while soaking in hot water at 57 degrees Celsius, while others said that it was not good to soak in hot water. Mr. Miss)

Ms. M said, "I like this too!" I love the warm texture.

I bought it at CASICA, a lifestyle shop in Shinkiba that doubles as a studio.

I love that I can put salads in it, use it as a serving dish, and it's a Japanese style, but it can also be used for western dishes. You can also use it in the microwave or oven." (Mr. M)

In the Japanese-style room on the 2nd floor, there is an antique wisteria chair that Mr. N's grandfather used. It feels like they are protecting the house.

"My grandfather used it, and I like it so much that I put it in this room." (Mr. N)

The beautiful blue skateboard is N's favorite. It's an Australian Penny deck, and it seems that the parts such as wheels are also the ones he likes.

"It's compact enough to ride around town and has good performance. I customized the wheels I bought at Mercari and the board for raising the bottom myself. I even go shopping around the neighborhood with this." (Mr. N)

"When I ask him to buy green onions, he gladly goes shopping on his skateboard, which is very helpful (laughs)" (Mr. M)

Lifestyle Ideas

Mr. N, who likes cables, and Mr. M, who hates cables. Special containers help solve the messy cable controversy.

"He uses a lot of cables, but I wondered if there were that many. I asked him to buy a container for the cables and put them in so that they wouldn't be messy." (Mr. M)

"When I'm charging my smartphone, I'm told to put it in this case. She doesn't like cables, so she's always out of charge (laughs)" (Ms. N)

M-san, who hates cables, uses a cute Native Union cable.

"I bought it at the interior shop CIBONE in Omotesando" (Mr. M)

An outlet on the side of the kitchen is useful because of the cable problem. Originally, it was the power supply for the air conditioner. It seems that it was good to leave it as a result.

“Before the renovation, the living room and kitchen were separated by a wall, so we had two air conditioners.

However, since the wall was removed to make one room, one air conditioner was fine, so the air conditioner on the kitchen side was removed.

I saved that power supply, and it's convenient because I can charge it there when I use my computer on the kitchen counter. I bought an extension cord for industrial use." (Mr. N)

Future life

"I plan to live here for a while, but there is a house where my parents live now, and it's the house where my grandpa and grandma have been living. In reality, it may be inherited.” (Mr. N)

"I plan to use one of the rooms on the second floor as an atelier in the future. I made it a tile-like PVC floor and added a water supply, so I'm thinking of painting there.

If I have a child in the future, I wonder if I can make it a child's room.

Also, I would like to customize the unused room on the second floor so that it can be used.” (Mr. M)

The room on the 1st floor where the couple's commitment is packed tightly, and the room on the 2nd floor where the margins are left.

In the future, how will the room on the second floor change when your feelings, circumstances, family composition, etc. change?

Right now, some of you reading this article may be approaching the time to inherit the house you were born and raised in.

I hope that Mr. N and Mr. M's renovation will be a hint and reference for those people.

Photographed by Kenya Chiba

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Also read:

A catwalk surrounds the ceiling. A 54-year-old apartment renovated with a spacious 1R and storage space (Suginami Ward)｜Everyone's room A renovated apartment room freely created by an architect. What is a house that becomes a place of “production” rather than “consumption”? (Shibuya Ward) | Everyone's Room

To list of articles by this writer

I am a freelance writer and write interview articles for various media. In addition, he is also active as a “Koji” who conveys Japanese scent culture, a mizuhiki artist, a herbal therapist certified by the Japan Medical Herb Association, and an aromatherapy instructor. On my days off, I spend my time doing yoga and sauna while drinking alcohol. My favorite foods are curry and soft serve ice cream. We send information about incense and mizuhiki on Instagram.