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Pick up Fragments of Life then Describe Good Time
Q. On the RoyHong Design Studio website, it states: "A home is a vessel for life." How do you bring your designs back to the essence of home? Without adhering to a specific style, what unique characteristics define your work?
A. RoyHong Design Studio primarily focuses on residential projects, which tend to be more singular in their nature. I believe that a home should fully reflect the personality of its owner—that’s what truly makes it a home, and this is also a direction that can be continually redefined. Unlike in the past, modern families are smaller, which allows designers to become more like interpreters of space, precisely capturing each homeowner’s background and lifestyle. With a deep understanding of design aesthetics and construction details, we first determine the layout and flow of the space, and then imagine how people will move within it and how the space may evolve over time. This is what gives a space its soul, rather than leaving it as a hollow shell.
I’ve thought about this often. Beyond using open shelving and avoiding TV walls, in every project we also seek out posters that resonate with the space. The images, words, and numbers on the posters help construct a connection between space and time, creating a subtle but powerful link to the inhabitants’ lives. Another element I enjoy experimenting with is material selection. For residential projects, I like to introduce unique materials that break away from mainstream choices. I don’t believe materials should be restricted to a specific purpose. For instance, back in 2005, I extensively used melamine boards and cement panels in residential projects, which were considered unconventional materials at the time. This challenged the way clients perceived these materials. In recent years, I’ve even experimented with using the reverse side of melamine boards as a substitute for rusted steel, allowing the texture and properties of the material to develop over time, achieving a similar aesthetic. Playing with materials in this way has organically become a signature trait of RoyHong Design Studio.
