When we visited this apartment before renovation, it felt a bit inconvenient even though the rooms weren't small. Maybe it was because they were filled with the resident's shoes, a bicycle, camping equipment including a portable stove and without anyplace to put these made it look rather messy. Big apartment allowed the resident to spread her belongings around the place.
This remodeling had a small budget so we started by building a wall to divide one room into two rooms, one as a Japanese traditional style dirt floor "doma" and the other as a living room with a wooden floor to give a place for the residents belongings. The 'doma' was stripped bare of all surface material, roof and floor, to give a feeling of being in a garden. The living room was meant to be used as a relaxing space where you can leave your shoes outside and just lie on the floor. This is the end design.......more