Entering a space, the first thing that one perceives is the atmosphere brought about by the spatial tone. It is a unique spatial ambiance created by layering the personality of the homeowner on top of the spatial foundation shaped by the designer's design techniques, whether it be warm, intense, complex or simple.

In this century-old house that has stood for nearly half a century, Horizontalstudio the first step towards awakening the restoration of the old house was to see the uneven walls and uneven beam and column arrangement as a historical trace and conduct translation. The oppressive original ceiling was dismantled, and the beams were repositioned to reconfigure the layout. The plan was divided into a public area of living room, kitchen and a private area of working space and bedroom according to the position of the beams and columns. Mineral paint rendered a simple and rustic texture on the uneven walls, like the antique pieces collected by the homeowner, understated yet solemn.

The entranceway inside the house has been transformed into an exterior foyer, keeping the dampness of northern Taiwan outside and defining different spatial attributes upon removing shoes before entering the interior. The ritual of entering the house also involves a similar spatial transformation, deliberately creating a turning point to avoid revealing private areas from the entrance. The bedroom adjacent to the living room and workspace is the daughter's room, where she always wants to be with her family. To enhance emotional connections, the room has two doors and a cat flap. The arch prototype breaks at the highest point, forming an incomplete semicircle, allowing light to diffuse into the interior and connect the family members in different spaces. There are no storage cabinets in the house, as the designers integrate the cabinets into the walls visually, and they blend perfectly with the pillars. To meet the needs of different spaces, the cabinets are multi-directional, slightly offset from the walls, with horizontal light strips and vertical light transmission, creating invisible boundaries that are open and closed.

The column standing in the restaurant preserves the original tiles on one side, as a memory of the owner's half-life in this house. The designer has incorporated many such creative ideas into the design, such as a small hole in the kitchen that connects to the nostalgic years of the old house's window grilles outside. Some windows retain the original shape and transform the air conditioning openings into high windows or circular frames that offer a view of the boundless blue sky. The old window sill extends from the living room to the bedroom, and it has been adapted for different uses such as a desk or display. These delicate preservations allow the renovated old house to still read the traces of the past.

A hidden storage cabinet, structured as part of the furniture, minimizes the use of artificial lighting within its range, allowing natural light to serve as the narrator of the space. The design is extremely minimalistic and pure, it does not reduce things to nothingness.not to the point of eliminating everything, but rather to narrow down and focus on techniques that express themselves vividly. The cabinet is skillfully hidden and arranged, making every detail pure and without excess.

          進入一個空間，最先感受到的便是空間調性所帶來的氛圍，是設計師透過設計手法形塑出的空間基礎之上，再疊加屋主本身的性格營造出的獨特空間氣息，溫潤、強烈，複雜或純粹。在這近半個世紀之久的老屋，鞠躬上場將牆面不平整及梁柱排列不齊視為歷史痕跡進行轉譯，作為喚醒老屋修復的第一步。拆除原始極具壓迫感的天花板，梁露出後重新定位格局配置，平面依照梁柱走位被劃分成公共領域的客廳、廚房及私密領域的工作區及臥房，礦物塗料在凹凸不平的牆面上，渲染出手感樸素的韻味，如同屋主收藏的古董老件，含蓄而肅穆。

          玄關處內退縮做了外玄關，將北臺灣濕漉漉的常態留在了室外，脫下鞋再步入室內，定義了同一個空間領域的不同屬性。進房門時也有相似空間轉換的儀式感，刻意製造轉折處，避免私領域從入口處便一目了然。鄰近客廳及工作區的臥房，是每時每刻都想與家人聯繫在一塊的小女兒的房間，為強化情感連結，房間出現兩道門，一個貓洞。拱門的原型在制高點的破碎開，而形成不完整的半圓，光得以暈染進室內，發散至工作區的天花頂，在不同介質再次串連起家人間的關係。房屋內找不到任一收納櫃，因其尺度的拿捏及材料的整合下，櫃體在視覺上與牆柱一氣呵成為一整體，機能上因應各空間需求多向開櫃，與真正的牆柱些微錯開，水平向藏入燈條，垂直向則透出一些光線，在空間做出無形的界線，開放又封閉。在立於餐廳朝縫隙的那面柱身保留了原始的瓷磚，除了新舊材質的並存，也是存留屋主在這住上大半輩子的家的記憶點。設計師在此案處處留有這樣的巧思，廚房開了一堵小洞，連接窗外老屋窗花鐵件的懷舊歲月。部分窗口都是保留原始窗型冷氣開口轉換成高窗或以圓圈框景，視野通向無際藍色。老式窗台從客廳延伸至臥房內，從不同的活動使用，衍生為書桌或收藏擺設。這些細膩的保存，讓翻新的舊宅仍能閱讀到過往的種種痕跡。

隱身的收納櫃，結構化為家具的一部分，人造燈源在可用範圍內最小化，由自然光擔任空間敘事者。極簡純粹，並非將東西刪減至空無，而是將手法收縮聚焦，表達地淋漓盡致，藏匿與整飭，使每一處純然，毫不多餘。