A Romantic Farmhouse for Two, Japan Edition - Remodelista
A retired couple bids farewell to life in the city and moves to Mount Yatsugatake on the island of Honshū with a desire to spend the remainder of their lives farming their own vegetables surrounded by mountains. Photography by Toshiyuki Yano via ArchDaily. In the living room, sliding glass doors detailed with shoji screens slide open to allow in breezes... ...while the overhang is designed to keep out the high angle of the summer sun. The exposed beams hide the tracks for the shoji screens and the sliding glass doors. A woodstove keeps the rooms warm during the winter. The kitchen and dining area opens to a washitsu, a Japanese room furnished with tatami mats. In the kitchen, housecleaning tools and utensils hang in the space under the stairs. A view back toward the dining area from the washitsu. The second floor is an open loftlike space with a sleeping and office area. The work area with shoji screens runs the entire length of the room. When the shoji screens are closed, the bedroom becomes a sanctuary. During the summer months, the north- and south-facing windows are opened for optimum breeze ventilation and mountain gazing. The wood details are an updated version of traditional Japanese wood architecture. A detail of a wooden screen. One is never far from nature, even in the bath. The house is oriented south in a fan shape to maximize the amount of winter sun that reaches the rooms. A plan and diagram of the first floor illustrates all of the considerations that went into the siting of the house. A plan and diagram of the second floor. A fully noted section of the house illustrating sun angles and breezes. The living room and veranda. This post is an update; the original ran on October 27, 2014, as part of our Lessons from Japan issue.