26
Hong Kong Builder
You enter the living room, the entire south side of which opens out upon the view. To the north is the fireplace. In one corner is a guest bed which becomes a couch in the daytime. When the weather is bad, you eat in this corner; otherwise the table is set out in front, where the 18" verandah running the length of the house serves as a seat. By pulling out an awning to shade the table from glare or to shelter it from rain, you can make this space into virtually an extra room. To the west of the living room is another guest room, separated from the main room by partitions which slide back during the day.
Because of the sliding panels above the beds, the other rooms cease to be cubicles. After sunrise all these panels are drawn back. The result: cross ventilation right through the house; a feeling of continuity, fluidity and space.
The bathing facilities on the other side of the corridor are luxurious. These consist of not one, but three compartments. All are equipped with sliding doors, both outside and inside, so that when you come back hot and dusty from a hike or sandy from the beach, you can plunge right into the tub or shower without dragging your dirt through the house.
In each room there are built-in closets which reach
to the ceiling, hanging closets with a shelf above the door, and a chest of drawers. Opening on the hall is a linen closet and a large tinlined storage closet. At the entrance is a coat closet and flanking the fireplace are two combination closet cupboards, closed at top and bottom with doors, and with open shelves for dishes in the middle.
Rugged simplicity characterizes the house. The natural wood is left as it was when the carpenter finished. All rugs and fittings are of vegetable fibres colored with natural dyes.
Of course you ask: What about closing the house. in case of storms or when it comes time to return to the city? The solution is easy. Stored away in the exterior boxes at the ends of the house is a complete set of wooden shutters. These pull out, slide along rails and lock tight outside the windows and screens.
Almost everything slides in Oriental architecture. Above are the commodious bath tubs or plunges. At left, the windows above the beds push back; at right, the wall dividing the two rooms pull forward.
(From "House Beautiful")