Owner's Voice Vol.18 Yazawa Residence, Okinawa

Aiming for the one and only house embraced by the sea, sky, and greenery

A modern house built of bare concrete, embraced by the clear shallow sea and lush greenery.
This is where the Yazawa family has lived in Okinawa for the past year.
The contrast of the blue ocean in front of us and the green behind us attracted us to Okinawa about 10 years ago.
The first time we lived in Okinawa, we lived in a more southern area, but we liked the design of the architect who built our house then, so we asked the same person to design our house again," says Yazawa.
What was different from the previous home construction was that we kept in touch with the architect and left most of the design work to the professional's ideas.
I thought that if I gave the professionals any orders about the design, they would not be able to give shape to what they envisioned, so I kept my requests to a very rough outline: "Please make it something that has never been built before, something that has never been seen in Okinawa. I was very careful to limit myself to a very rough request.

The result is a residence with an infinity pool in the front of the building that resembles a luxury resort hotel overseas.
The large LDK with 5-meter-high ceilings is located on the east side of the building overlooking the ocean, and large windows look out over the pool to the cobalt blue ocean.

It all started with a "Tsudoi Sofa" I saw on a social networking site.

The kitchen, equipped with cooking utensils and storage, has a strong presence in the LDK, the heart of the home.
Therefore, Mr. Yazawa says that he wanted to pay attention to the design and presentation of the kitchen when building the house.
However, because of the role of the kitchen, I had the impression that functionality was always the first priority and design was secondary.
I didn't think that was a good thing, but I had never encountered a kitchen that attracted me with its design, so I had given up on it.
It was the products of Toyo Kitchen Style that changed my mind and gave me hope.

He first encountered Toyo Kitchen Style through an image of the "Tsudoi Sofa" that appeared on a social networking service.
I liked the atmosphere of the sofa and the fact that it could be combined according to the size of the room.
TSUDOI Sofa I went to the showroom in Okinawa (Toyo Kitchen Style Shop Okinawa), which had just opened at the time, to see the actual product.
That is when I came across the iNO kitchen.

The doors are made of real stone, and even the inside of the large sink has the same design as the top panel, which is enough to change the conventional concept of a kitchen.
The "iNO" stone natural, in particular, is both retro and modern, and I never get tired of looking at it.
At the time, we had already decided on a kitchen from another manufacturer, but we cancelled that decision and chose iNO.

Later, he visited the Tokyo showroom and purchased lighting, a dining set, and outdoor chairs to go with the kitchen.
With the kitchen as the centerpiece, they completed an interior design full of individuality.

Kitchens that make it possible to create and eat are "100 points".

Just as one's senses and perceptions change when one is immersed in nature, the quality of information received in a comfortable space increases and good ideas come to life.
In this sense, home is very important.
Living in a home that is unique to you has a great impact on your creativity and relationships," says Yazawa.

Of all the special features of their home, the kitchen is a favorite space for everyone in the family, including Mr. Yazawa.
If I had to give it a score, I would definitely give it a 100," she says.
Thanks to the adjustable height of the worktops, the Kartell "A.I. Stools" that we placed on the counter space fit perfectly, just as we wanted.
The children like it so much that they have breakfast at the counter every morning. When they come home from school, my wife cooks in the kitchen and the children sit at the counter and do their homework.
When I see this, I feel that it has a positive effect on the formation of attachments.

The wife also commented, "In our old house, I didn't want the children to enter the kitchen because it was dangerous, but now we have a counter and stools, so they can eat their meals there and watch how the dishes are prepared.
I think it was great that the kitchen became a shared space between parents and children," he says.

In the dining area leading from the kitchen are the Iperbole table and chairs (both limited edition), which Yazawa says he decided to purchase "in 0.1 second" after seeing them at the Tokyo showroom.
The dining set, made of luxurious natural wood, is in perfect harmony with the natural stone kitchen.

(photo: Yuji Umakoshi / movie: Yoshiaki Ida (Alien design & photography) / design and construction: Ki Construction (Studio Bespoke))

(text: Shihoko Tomibe)

Previous "Owner's Voice" is here.

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