yinjispace

INTERIOR
Muka Architects
PHOTOGRAPHY
Zheng Jie
EDITOR
Gina
Collection

The project is located in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, and is a fully furnished apartment project designed by a renowned Japanese architectural design team. The open-plan layout and unique architectural structure give the living space more possibilities. The owners are a white-collar couple working for multinational companies. The female owner, G, studied in France and enjoys vintage elements, art, and nature. The male owner, J, prefers a minimalist and neat style. They often travel around the world together and both share a love for the vitality of wildlife and the contrasting colors in contemporary art.

The original structure had lighting limitations, creating dark spaces in the entrance and hallway areas. By removing unnecessary walls and building a new lighting system, we expanded the public areas while using an integrated wooden louver sliding door system to freely control light and visual connections, creating multiple use scenarios for the dining room and balcony. The designed dining space has a strong sense of enclosure, paired with an artistic sideboard, vintage shutters echoing the three-tier Ingo Maurer paper pendant lights, and modern paintings with written themes, letting the poetry of life naturally emerge under our crafted lighting.

The living-dining-kitchen integrated space is structured around an L-shaped kitchen island. We redesigned the layout to reshape family life, strengthening the interaction between the cooking area and family members, so that kitchen activities also become moments for emotional connection. By creatively transforming the original plumbing into a display rack for cups, we achieved both functional and aesthetic upgrades. At the same time, enhancing the interaction between the balcony and dining room became particularly important. We installed a movable grille system, allowing functions like sightseeing, reading, and gardening to adapt freely to the sun’s movement, promoting an organic blend of natural elements and daily life scenes.

We used an open layout to increase the sense of space while meeting the owners’ flexible needs for private relaxation and family gatherings. The overall space draws from classic Art Deco style but is refined with minimalist contemporary design language, complemented by blush terrazzo, vintage-colored mahogany, and off-white finishes. For soft furnishings, we used materials like rattan, wool, teak, and cotton-linen, and selected artworks by French artists themed around nature, animals, or contemporary compositions. Finally, with contrasting accessories, warm lighting, ceramics, and green plants, we created a warm and lively lifestyle.

In the corner square living room, we integrated the original bay window structure into a book storage system and designed a space that serves as a home for art living, a reception area, and a city-view space for immersive reading, music, and film experiences.

In the private area, besides the master suite, we reserved a room for the newlywed owners that can be transformed into a future children's room. For now, it serves as a cat space for their silver-shaded cat. For the male owner J, who needs to work and game independently at home, we created a study with custom metal narrow-frame sliding doors that can be fully open or completely closed.

We specifically designed an entry storage room and a full-house storage system, adjusted the laundry room layout, and reshaped an efficient workflow based on ergonomics. The master suite connects to an outdoor balcony, a U-shaped walk-in closet, and a three-part master bathroom, maximizing living quality for urban family lifestyles.

The spatial reorganization breaks the enclosed layout, with a unified LDK design releasing a 180° panoramic view. What was once a closed box relying on artificial lighting transforms into an eco-space where sunlight flows freely. In the end, we achieved a perfect balance between precise architectural logic and the poetic side of daily life.

MORE PHOTOS