Owner's Voice Vol.36 Tokyo M Residence

Creating a new center for an inherited home.

From the entrance hallway, proceed down the corridor and open the door at the end of the corridor.
The view opens up to reveal a neat, square appearance.
The M residence in Koganei City is furnished with Toyo Kitchen Style's Zero flow kitchen "iNO Q Land".
The partitions have been removed, and it is placed in the center of the space integrated with the living room, looking like a piece of furniture, and it is the "core" of the house.

The family has lived in the seaside town of Hayama for a long time, but after moving to their current home, they continued to renovate it, and the kitchen was completed in the fall of 2025.
The husband recounts the story of how it came to be.
There was a time not long ago when my father moved into a facility and this house became vacant.
It was not good to leave the house empty, so my daughter, who was in college at the time, my son, and my daughter's friend lived in the house for about two years.
We renovated the bathroom, washroom, living room, and other areas little by little, with the assumption that the family would move into the house in the future, and the kitchen was the last thing that remained.

The kitchen is an important place for the M family, who like to cook and invite people over for socializing, and it is the center of their lives.
That is why they spent so much time thinking about what shape would be best for the kitchen.

The design was led by their daughter, who has studied architecture since university and is currently studying architecture in Australia after graduation.
Because she knows the family's personalities and preferences, she was able to balance the entire space and refine the design.

A comfortable fit, thought up together across oceans.

A major deciding factor in terms of functionality was Toyo Kitchen Style's unique "Zero flow" concept, which minimizes movement by keeping the distance between the sink and stove as close as possible.
The core of the PARALLELO Sink is a revolutionary structure that allows washing, cutting, and serving to be completed in the sink.

I actually used the PARALLELO Sink at a hands-on event later on and thought it was amazing.
It has a moderately unusual feel, but at the same time, once you start using it, it feels like it fits in with your everyday life.
It seemed to take in everything I was looking for in a kitchen, and I really liked it.

When the daughter received a picture of the "candidate kitchen" from Japan, she also felt the same way.
I've never seen a kitchen that is square and has a large sink in which to cook.
I was surprised that such a kitchen existed in Japan.

Thus, "iNO Q Land" was chosen with the approval of the whole family.

However, there were still important considerations awaiting us from that point forward.
How would this kitchen be placed in the house, and how would it be utilized?

How it would look when the hallway door was opened, how the refrigerator and back counter would fit and be positioned, the location and number of lights and outlets, and so on.
She says that she and her daughter worked through the details one by one in a series of online exchanges.

She said, "I need a place for my father to make coffee.

The counter idea was born from this comment, and combined with a suggestion from the stylist in charge at Toyo Kitchen Style, it resulted in a beautiful fit in the back of the kitchen.
The wife also wanted to make her favorite kitchen look more beautiful and in harmony with the space, so a beautiful smoked-glass storage unit called "ORLANDO" was installed in the living room.
This allows a modern view from the living room and the adjacent reception room to connect the space.

The daughter, who experienced the completed kitchen for the first time during her temporary return to Japan, commented, "The look and usability are beyond my imagination.
The real thing is much better than the picture! It was worth all the hard work," she smiles.

Going to the kitchen first after returning home is a daily routine for the family.

When we visited for the interview, the kitchen renovation had only been completed for a month and a half.
Even so, the kitchen had already become the center of the M residence.
I was so happy to have iNO Q Land in my house. When I come home, I go to the kitchen first.
The young lady continues with a laugh, "When I come home, the kitchen is the first thing I do.
When I come home, I sit down on a stool in the kitchen.
Then I prepare a drink and take a break.
Her husband also brews coffee more often, and the new habit of reading in the kitchen has taken root.
He says, "The Tsudoi stool is really easy to use, and I can sit on it for a long time.
But they are so popular that they don't let me use them very often (laughs).

On weekends, he invites friends over to enjoy cooking, eating, and talking together.
It's a friendly atmosphere where the cook and the eaters naturally swap places.
The sink is large and deep, so the washed dishes can be placed on the multi-plate without being seen from the outside.
I like this kind of detailed usability," says the wife.

The kitchen renovation of the M's residence was a process of carefully exploring the balance between preserving the memories of the house that has been passed down from generation to generation and adjusting the home to fit the family's lifestyle.
This space, which took shape through the cooperation of the family, is sure to become even more attractive in the future.

(photo: Kentaro Isibashi / text: Shihoko Tomibe)

Previous "Owner's Voice" is here.

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