A Home That Harvests the Light Borne of Love

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After many years spent in the United States, a family of five returned to Taipei—not out of necessity, but out of love. Love that looks forward, planting cultural roots for the next generation; and love that reaches back, cherishing more moments with aging parents. This homecoming was not merely about returning—it was about gathering.

Upon entering the site, we were greeted by a nearly six-meter wall of floor-to-ceiling windows—an abundance of daylight. Yet beyond the physical light, we asked ourselves:

What is the true light of a home?

We believe light isn’t just what floods the room—it’s what emerges from laughter, rituals, and gentle gestures. It is the glow of togetherness, the trace of motion, the stillness of shared silence.

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In Taiwanese and Hokkien culture, a Chéng (埕) is a traditional courtyard—an open space where grain dries, neighbors meet, children play, and stories are passed on. More than architecture, Chéng is an emotional landscape, a vessel for daily rituals and intergenerational love. This spirit of rhythm and connection inspired our design. We envisioned the home as a modern Chéng: not made of tiles and stone, but composed of light, movement, and memory.

 

 Living Room | The Chéng of Togetherness

We redefined the living room's core, clearing it of conventional arrangements to preserve a generous void—a modern-day Chéng where the family's three boys could move freely. This space became a prairie of activity, echoing the communal ground where neighbors once gathered and children played.

Bordering this field is a long window seat, nestled against the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows—a perch for quiet moments, storybooks, and unspoken tenderness. Motion and stillness share the stage, like seasons folding into one another.

Floating cabinets frame the room, their geometric fronts inspired by abstract paintings. The soft texture of the specialty finish mimics gentle brushstrokes, enveloping the space in calm tactility. A wall of shelves conceals an electric piano and a transformable tutoring board, allowing music, art, and learning to rise organically—like spontaneous rituals in an old courtyard.

 

Kids’ Quarters | The Chéng of Growth

Two original bedrooms were merged to form a shared zone of play and individuality for the three brothers. The layered sleeping arrangement—with three levels and contrasting colored panels—creates spaces that are distinct yet interconnected, much like how every corner of a traditional Chéng bore traces of its inhabitants.

Irregular wall cutouts mimic racetrack forms beloved by the boys, mirroring how chalk lines and footsteps once filled the stone courtyards with imagination. The shared bathroom, now enlarged and equipped with dual entrances, supports both togetherness and independence—like alleyways feeding into a communal heart.

 

Altar & Master Bedroom | The Chéng of Serenity

A quiet corner houses the Buddhist altar, designed to evoke enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree: a solid wood base representing the roots, a cement-textured wall standing for the earth, and a circular halo of steel and LED casting soft illumination—a spiritual sanctuary, much like the meditative presence found in the stillest parts of a Chéng.

This tranquility carries into the master bedroom. Wooden blinds replace traditional walls, filtering light and air into gentle layers. Shadows shift throughout the day, echoing the passing rhythms of courtyard life. Multi-layered lighting and framed views nurture nightly repose—a place where serenity is cultivated like silence at dusk.

 

Epilogue | A Courtyard Woven of Light

From the classical painting in the foyer—an echo of American years—we gathered the light of memory.
On the shared ground of the living room, the light of togetherness.
In the boys’ evolving sanctuary, the light of growth.
At the altar’s quiet threshold, the light of serenity.

This home is a Chéng: not just a spatial concept, but a living narrative.
A courtyard where light is harvested not by design alone, but by love in motion.
Not merely the brightness of the sun—but the illumination that arises when family gathers, when rituals unfold, and when emotion finds a place to rest.

 

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