IDEAS / Residential
A personal Taipei home: storage, light and material
Describe an ordinary day
Think about arriving home, preparing food, working, hosting and putting things away.
Review materials in context
Review samples together and under the intended lighting; discuss cleaning and ageing at the same time.
Keep the plan personal
Translate what appeals in a reference into your building rather than reproducing someone else’s room.
Start with what you want to keep
Make an inventory of furniture, art, books and equipment that will move with you. Measure the pieces that matter and discuss how they are used. Storage designed around an imagined lifestyle often fails the real one. Decide which activities need privacy and which should remain connected; working from home, hosting and multigenerational living can pull the plan in different directions. Resolve those priorities before choosing a signature material.
Read a sample in the room
Compare finishes in daylight and under the proposed evening lighting. Place adjoining materials together and discuss cleaning, repair and ageing, especially at kitchens, entrances and bathrooms. Ask for joinery drawings that explain the everyday details: door swing, accessible shelves, sockets and maintenance access. A refined home depends as much on these decisions as on a beautiful overall view. Keep a written record of approved samples so procurement follows the intended palette.