The inside-outside home

Lindsay Whitney Lindsay Whitney
Kusatsu House, ALTS DESIGN OFFICE ALTS DESIGN OFFICE Salon moderne
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We are living in a renaissance of fantastic minimalist home design, and today's home tour features just one of the many great projects to come out from the Alts Design team out of Shiga. 

The house has been done in the spirit of balance, utilising the natural surroundings to create a home that where the outside is barely discernible from the inside on the main floor. Natural materials of course abound: woods, stones, right down to the organic couch cushions – let's have a look!

The wrap-around courtyard

Definitely the most impressive portion of this house is the wrap-around courtyard that doubles as a covered front porch. Sunlight streams in through the glass, greenhouse ceiling at the side of the house, where the courtyard flanks the inside living and dining areas, partitioned only by large sliding doors. 

The courtyard itself has a serene stone garden peppered with greenery and granite slabs on which a nice lounger can be put. Overall, the area is cheerful and completely unconventional in architectural terms.

View from the inside

Looking at as you sit inside at the dining table or on the living room sofa, you can see the garden in the courtyard outside, set against a high grey cement wall, so there's plenty of privacy. 

The foldable glass doors are framed with a gorgeous honey polished hardwood that almost catches and reflects the sunlight as much as the light grey outer wall – the outside has been brought inside.

View from the outside

The inside living and dining spaces have been done impeccably but simply: soft, cherry wood floors have been left buffed but not polished, and match the wood sofa, coffee table and dining set. Decorous green plants conspicuously match the exterior foliage, bringing the inside in line with the outside. 

It is fair to say that this living space plus outside courtyard is a stellar, ultra-balanced minimalist home design that is meant to give energy while simultaneously inspiring calm.

Kitchen + storage

Again, pure white dominates in the kitchen, but this time, with stainless steel sink and fridge instead of wood. The sink itself is enormous, able to fit dishes from days of dinners, and features an on-trend spout tap that, well, looks like a spout. 

There's little to not love about the walk-in pantry with shelves upon shelves--waiting to be filled with culinary delights--and white, energy-efficient lighting. The design of the kitchen is meant to be a blank canvas, so that whoever moves in can develop their own aesthetic freely, without the impediment of an overly worked design.

An upstairs room with views

Upstairs, the bedroom has been built to peace and quiet and reflection. Again, soft wood floors go throughout, and a chubby matchstick chair matches those found downstairs. 

Perhaps the best part in the bedroom are the windows – especially the main front window where designers have built a nook-desk of soft pine, so studying can be done while looking out at the birds and trees.

The facade

The front facade at last: a bright grey and white example of modern minimalism. The grey cement walls that wrap around form a nice contrast with the white second floor portion, covered in painted wood planks in a vertical pattern. 

A neat little bordered driveway in white cement alights the way inside and the un-landscaped patch to the left has serious lush potential. So by now, are you thinking what we are thinking? Yes, it's the perfect first home.

If you liked this article, be sure to check out: The intriguing house of white calm.

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