Project name: The North Viet Nam Countryside in the City
Interior design: DTI Design
Design Team: Vu Huy, Hieu Doan
Location: Ha Noi, Viet Nam
Photo: Khoi Nguyen, Cao Hoa
Area: 70 m2
Year: 2024
Project description from design firms DTI Design
Each of us desires a peaceful and happy life, but how do we achieve that? As interior designers, we are concerned about this issue: how to create a truly “Living” space. No one can claim they have never experienced life’s upheavals. So, what can we do to heal those wounds right in our own living space?
Starting as a passion for traditional materials and natural textures, we have spent many years collecting ethnic farming tools and items with unique textures even though we didn’t know what we would use them for right at the time. It wasn’t until the idea of creating a healing space right in Mr.Huy’s own house came to mind that these seemingly out-of-place items have found their perfect spot and were utilized to their fullest potential.
Starting with the 5th floor of the house, instead of using it as storage, we initially planned to create a relaxation area with a bathtub for chilling. However, after reconsidering its practicality, we replaced that idea with a traditional wooden house with a three-layer tiled roof. The floor tiles were completed using leftover tiles from Gốm Chi’s renovation of a temple in Hue. New columns and beams were installed, and old items we had collected from before were maximized. A meditative space was formed, adorned with a garden landscape Mr.Huy had cultivated from before. This area also becomes a gathering place where friends and families would come to discuss about life and philosophy.
Next is the renovation of the 3rd and 4th floors into living spaces. We wondered how to bring nature into living space, given that the house’s view was of a 40-year-old apartment complex. The idea of transforming tiny windows into floor-to-ceiling windows had given space to invite nature into the rooms with a cool green shade. Combining bamboo materials for the ceiling and texture paints for the walls had succeeded in recreating the feel of old earthen-walled houses. The interior items, which were ethnic farming tools, gave us the sense of being in a remote countryside.
3rd Floors
4 th Floors
There’s more to the story behind , but we hope these few shared thoughts can inspire each person to find their unique corners in the living space to rest after the hustle and bustle of life, without having to leave the city.
Bathroom
1 comment
beautifully rustic and traditional, it’s such an inviting place to live in.