Akira Tani and Kim Hyunsook met in Paris. Each had been of their twenties and had come to immerse themselves within the language and tradition: Akira, who’s Japanese, offered classic finds at a flea market, and Kim, who’s Korean, designed for a vogue model. After years in France, they moved to Tokyo and based Orné de Feuilles, their housewares store specializing in on a regular basis niceties, reminiscent of Shaker Field Wastebaskets and Show-Worthy Cat Beds.

For years the couple lived in a home they longed to revamp, however earthquake laws hampered what they may do. Finally, they determined to start out from scratch. After discovering a tear-down in Setagaya, a residential space near central Tokyo, they lived in a rental whereas making a 3-D mannequin of the dwelling they envisioned. “I spotted that I needed to dwell in a south-facing white field with excessive ceilings, extra like a store or gallery than a home—I needed the partitions to not really feel too ‘dwelling,’” says Akira. And since they’re exceptionally dedicated to their two rescue cats, the mission was to include ingenious feline designs all through, and, in fact, different favourite items from Orné de Feuilles..

They signed on with T. Shoji of T. Shoji Atelier, an architect prepared to assist them obtain the plan, and after an preliminary construct that took 18 months, Akira,  Kim, and cats moved into what was nonetheless very a lot a building web site. “Our carpenters referred to the undertaking because the Sagrada Familia, after the Gaudí church that’s by no means been accomplished,” says Akira. Two years later, their crew may be shocked to see how a lot progress the couple have made, together with tackling the tiling and different end work themselves. Be part of us for a tour.

Pictures courtesy of Akira Tani and Kim Hyunsook.

“It’s arduous to {photograph} the entire home as a result of it’s hidden by timber,” continues Kim. Proven right here, a glimpse of the entry. Akira says they had been impressed by Le Corbusier and different modernists—”we thought it might be easy and cost-effective.”