coexist by BH Interior Design
In a modest home in New Taipei originally built three decades ago, BH Interior Design reimagines compact living through a lens that considers the comfort of both humans and animals.
Designed for a couple and their two dogs, the home integrates movement, material, and layout in ways that support the rhythms of daily life shared between people and pets.
With increasing numbers of urban dwellers choosing to live alongside animals, the studio approached the interior not only from the conventional eye level of a standing adult but also from the lower vantage of a four-legged companion. This dual-perspective mindset is most evident in the use of pocket sliding doors. These doors create adaptable boundaries between rooms, allowing for both privacy and openness as needed. During the day, a small opening in the doors allows the dogs to move freely between rooms. In the evenings, specially built openings at the base of certain doors maintain circulation, offering both privacy and continuity.
The compact layout is unified by a consistent ceiling line and a palette that blends dark and light wood tones, fostering visual clarity while subtly enlarging the home’s proportions. Structural beams from the original architecture were preserved and wrapped in marble—a quiet gesture that retains the character of the original architecture while minimizing the vertical impact typically caused by added ceiling features.
Within the modest floorplate, BH Interior Design created clarity through consistent ceiling lines and built-in cabinetry that recedes into the architecture. Storage elements, such as shoe cabinets and kitchen units, are embedded into the walls, reducing visual noise and preserving a sense of openness. The layout emphasizes flow, enabling uninterrupted movement while offering privacy where needed, such as in the master bedroom. In one layout variation, referred to as Design B, a discreet pet door allows the dogs to access the room even when it is closed for the night.
Materiality plays a functional role in addition to its aesthetic contribution. Scratch-resistant mineral paint lines the walls, and durable tile flooring withstands the rigours of daily life with pets, ensuring that the home remains resilient as well as refined. To accommodate pet access, clean linear divisions were introduced throughout, allowing built-in dog doors to feel visually seamless whether in use or tucked away.
Responding to shrinking home sizes in Taiwan, coexist embraces a measured and responsive design strategy that supports contemporary patterns of living. By considering circulation and comfort at both human and canine scale, the project presents a vision of home that is flexible, connected, and thoughtfully adapted to the daily routines of its inhabitants.
Related Content
"Woodland Whispers," an evocative exhibition by no.29, transforms the entry room of Amelie, Maison d'Art's NYC location into a contemplative sanctuary.
Fusina is a sculptural fire pit designed by José Bermúdez, paying tribute to the architectural style of Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, with an intriguing organic shape that enhances the connection between the object and the user.
Lodes presents Cono di Luce in collaboration with Ron Arad Available from January 2024