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RESIDENTIAL RENOVATION · STORAGE, SIGHTLINES AND TIMBER

BOOBA HOUSE · Yongin

Making Room for Storage, Keeping the View Open.

Can a home have enough storage without feeling closed in?

When renovating a home, you may want more storage but worry that too many cabinets will make the space feel heavy. You may like warm timber tones without wanting the whole home to become dark.

At Booba House, we considered where storage, sightlines and materials meet. This story explores an atmosphere that continues from the entrance to the living room and kitchen, bringing places for belongings together with views of light and the outdoors.

Booba House entrance with a window between timber walls and cabinets, planting and a red floor
The entrance at Booba House. A window and outdoor light sit among timber surfaces containing storage.

01

When the Doors Close, Storage Becomes One Surface.

What looks like a timber wall at the entrance contains storage. When the doors close, its compartments form one backdrop. When they open, spaces for belongings of different heights are revealed.

A window sits at the centre of the cabinet. Places filled with storage and a view from inside to outside share one surface. We did not consider places for belongings separately from the places where sightlines pass through.

DOORS CLOSED · A Timber Surface around the Window

Entrance window overlooking the outdoors at the centre of Booba House’s closed timber cabinet
The closed cabinet. A window forms a scene within the timber surfaces of the doors and wall.

DOORS OPEN · Everyday Belongings within the Surface

Booba House entrance cabinet with upper, lower and side doors open to reveal its compartments
The same cabinet with its doors open. These are two states of use, not construction before-and-after photographs.

02

Between Entrance and Living Room, A Screen That Does Not Close Everything Off.

The timber surface at the entrance continues inside, ending in a screen of repeated vertical slats. The living room and its light can be seen between them. It is a boundary that distinguishes the place of arrival from the living space while allowing each to remain perceptible from the other.

Seen from the living room, timber doors and kitchen cabinetry appear among light walls and floors. Rather than filling the entire home with the same material, we continued the atmosphere through colours and lines that recur where spaces meet.

View from Booba House’s timber entrance through a vertical screen towards the bright living room
The screen and living room seen from the entrance. Sightlines and light continue between distinct places.
Timber kitchen cabinets and corridor doors, light walls and floors, and a living-room sofa at Booba House
Where the kitchen, corridor and living room meet. The relationship between timber and a light background can be seen in one scene.

03

The Same Timber Tones, Used Differently in Each Place.

At the entrance, timber becomes a surface surrounding the body. In the kitchen, it forms the faces of upper and lower cabinets. The kitchen worktop and wall have a light background, with light continuing beneath the cabinets.

Planning a home with timber tones is not simply repeating the same colour in several places. It involves considering surfaces where the grain is visible, surfaces left clear and places touched by light, to find relationships suited to how each space is used.

Booba House kitchen with timber upper and lower cabinets, a light worktop and under-cabinet lighting
The kitchen at Booba House. Timber storage, a light worktop, walls and lighting were considered together.

04

Beyond a Material’s Name, The Moments of Everyday Use.

From a distance, a cabinet reads as one surface. Up close, it reveals the gaps between doors, the places touched by hands and objects placed on shelves. A home’s atmosphere is also made at these small points of contact.

Booba House is not simply about using a lot of timber. It considers how materials meet everyday actions: putting things away, passing through a doorway and looking through a window. Residential renovation begins not only with a list of finishes you like, but also with how you want your current way of living to change.

Detail of timber cabinet door gaps, a shelf and a white object at Booba House
Lines between timber surfaces and cabinet doors, with an object on the shelf: points where materials are encountered up close.

BEFORE A CONVERSATION

Before Choosing Materials, Tell Us How You Live.

These questions are a starting point for a new project conversation. You do not need every answer ready; begin with what feels inconvenient now.

01

What Would You Like to Store?

Shoes, bags, household items and appliances that do not yet have a place. Tell us what you use often and what you would prefer to keep out of sight.

02

Which Scenes Matter to You?

Windows and light you like, furniture you want to keep using and places where you often spend time. We can also look at current plans and photographs, if available.

03

How Much Would You Like to Change?

Whether the work involves the whole home or only part of it, your preferred schedule and your budget range. Changes to services or structure are reviewed after checking the current conditions and possible scope.

RELATED SPATIAL QUESTIONS

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A Place for Two to Work, beside the Dining Table

YOUR NEXT STEP

From a Home That Looks Good to a Home That Works for You.

Tell us where the home is, how you would like to live differently and what feels most inconvenient now. Atelier SOW works across residential interior design and construction, defining the scope your project needs after a conversation.

  1. We review your current home and how you would like to live differently.
  2. We identify the information and site conditions that need checking.
  3. We discuss the design and construction scope and project schedule.