A Modern French Home

Beijing, China

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A Modern French Home

Beijing, China

Firm

Shangceng Design

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2025

Sunlight filters through the classical colonnade, its rays moving freely between the columns to cast a gentle play of light and shadow across the walls.
In this 1,000㎡ home, light is the first resident and the most meticulous chronicler. It witnesses how the arched portals filter the outside clamor into soft curves, observes how the sapphire-blue velvet sofa gradually relaxes in its dialogue with the sun, and remembers the distinct traces left in the space by three generations—from the steady footsteps of elders to the joyful sprints of children.
This is a modern French residence imbued with a French sensibility, where symmetrical elegance, chromatic tension, and restrained details interweave to create a timeless, serene beauty. Across its five levels, three generations collectively compose a vivid narrative of "home."

The Communal Stage: Where Ritual Becomes Daily Life
"A home should be elegant in the French manner, with a sense of ritual, yet never feel distant." Designer Xia Fu intuited the unspoken longing behind this statement. What the homeowner needed was not a literal replication of forms—carved moldings, gilded details, or crystal chandeliers—but rather a daily life coexisting with beauty.
The design of the second-floor communal space fully responds to the expectations of the owner of the house, Ms. Zhang.
The double-height living room serves as a family theater, with its symmetrical axis imparting a solemn rhythm to the space. A sapphire-blue velvet sofa acts as the visual anchor, engaged in a quiet dialogue with an emerald green armchair. Sunlight streams through the arched portal, casting a gentle arc of light upon the off-white walls—the beauty here is an invitation to linger, to gather.
The plaster moldings in the living room trace elegant outlines without excess intricacy, while the classical orders extend the architectural rhythm without introducing heaviness. The space feels airy and expansive, yet a careful balance of proportions creates an enveloping warmth—every detail is an expression of ritual.
The open-plan Chinese and Western kitchen serves as the central stage for daily family life, seamlessly connected to the living room. Sophisticated Western kitchen appliances are discreetly concealed within sleek cabinetry. The aroma of morning coffee, the sounds of evening cooking, and the quiet conversations over late-night tea all unfold around this warm countertop.
Ms. Zhang loves to entertain, and the dining area comfortably hosts multiple guests for meals simultaneously. As evening light softens through sheer curtains, this space becomes the perfect setting for family and friends to share their lives.
The afternoon tea nook is situated in the sunniest corner, featuring an elegant long table and a few exquisite tea pieces. Sunlight grows languid here, and time itself seems to slow—a private interlude for the hostess and her closest friends, and among the most tender moments in the daily rhythm of home life.
The guest bathroom is designed to be minimalist yet refined. The vanity carries through the blue palette of the living room sofa, with a pop of metallic handles adding a bright accent. While fully functional, it maintains an elegant atmosphere consistent with the common areas.

Color & Memory: A Narrative of Private Realms
"What Ms. Zhang truly yearns for is not specific ornamentation, but a refined and unhurried sense of ritual in daily life." In this home, this sense of ritual is not conveyed through furnishings; it is naturally borne by the space’s own proportions, rhythm, and interplay of light and shadow.

While the common areas establish the home's foundational tone, a narrative of color quietly unfolds within the private quarters. Each room speaks its own chromatic language; every corner holds a distinct warmth of memory.

On the ground floor, the elders’ suite features a French Chinoiserie style. The bright hue infuses the space with energy, while the grounded tone fosters a tranquil atmosphere—a balance that aligns with the occupants' sensibilities while ensuring comfort and safety in daily living.
The children's rooms are on the third floor. The son's room is anchored in a charcoal black—quiet yet potent—while the walls are clad in an off-white textured wallcovering. Its delicate grain catches the light with a soft tactility, creating a pleasing visual interplay of light and shadow.

Beside the desk, a specially designed display shelf neatly presents his cherished collection of models and the accolades marking his journey—each piece a story, every award a milestone.

The adjoining bathroom carries through the same design language. The charcoal black palette continues, while geometric lines in black and white trace a dynamic rhythm across the floor, creating a clear, harmonious contrast with the crisp white walls. The result is a clean, functional layout.
The daughter's room is keyed to a soft, feminine aesthetic. Pale pink and creamy white intertwine gently to create an atmosphere that is fresh and elegantly understated. Scattered cushions, throw pillows, and cherished dolls compose a dreamlike world of her own—a haven of security.
Her study room, however, reveals its young occupant's increasingly distinct personality. A charcoal black desk stands with quiet distinction, lightly punctuated by a playful pink desk lamp—a contrast that sparks its own unique charm. A white bookcase acts as a growing exhibition wall, where books, artwork, and mementos will continue to evolve with the passing years.
The bathroom continues this sense of refined detail. Warm wood flooring offers a soft feel underfoot, while a bold pink vanity cleverly echoes the bedroom's primary hue, adding a whimsical touch to the functional space.
A shared lounge connects the two suites. This area serves not only as the daughter's piano practice space but also as a warm, intimate corner for the family to gather. When music flows, the room is immersed in an artistic ambiance; at other times, it functions as a versatile hub for conversation and games.
Artifacts collected by Ms. Zhang from around the world, along with the children's growing collection of certificates and awards, are carefully curated and displayed. These are not mere decorations, but fragments of their lives, layering each private space with a texture that is uniquely their own.
Solitude & Gathering: An Emotional Balance of Function
After numerous conversations, designer Xia Fu and Ms. Zhang reached a consensus that, “In satisfying the space’s functional requirements, we must also balance aesthetics with the occupants’ personal experiences, pursuing a sense of ritual, quality, and atmosphere that elevates everyday life.”
The most beautiful state for a home lies in finding a delicate balance between quiet solitude and lively gatherings. Design must leave room for retreat, while also creating settings for togetherness.
The master suite on the fourth floor offers greater privacy. The bedroom is grounded in a palette of quiet gray and creamy white, with an emerald green velvet headboard creating a sense of serene, gentle envelopment. Here, there is no excessive ornamentation—only meticulous attention to physical comfort. The support of the mattress, the curve of the pillows, the feel of the bedding—every detail has been carefully considered.
The walk-in closets for Ms. Zhang and her husband are independent yet complementary. The lady's closet resembles a curated boutique, with glass doors, integrated lighting, and handbags and shoes displayed like works of art. The gentleman's space prioritizes functional zoning, with dark wood grain conveying a grounded sensibility. A door that can be opened or closed connects the two areas, maintaining a delicate balance between intimacy and independence.
The master bathroom features dual vanities, with the bathtub positioned by the window to offer views of the courtyard while bathing. The selection of materials is highly considered—the texture of natural stone, the substantial feel of metal fittings, and the transparency of glass combine to create a pristine and luxurious bathing experience.
The basement level serves as the home's entertainment and fitness hub. A professionally acoustically designed home theater allows the family to enjoy cinematic weekends; a billiards table provides a space for friendly competition and shared laughter; while a fitness area faces the courtyard, framing a view of nature during workouts.
The staircase is more than just a vertical passageway; it is a conduit for the flow of emotion within the home. The inadvertent encounters on a landing, the brief moments shared before a window on a landing—these unplanned moments are precisely what compose some of the warmest fragments of family life.

The Sunroom: A Vessel for Light and Leisure
The dialogue between home and nature begins with the very first step indoors.

The curved foyer, with its gentle transition, naturally guides one into the space. The corridor is not merely a passageway but a sequence of visual and emotional transitions—here, light is filtered, refracted, and recomposed, each step accompanied by shifts in brightness and mood.

At the end of the corridor is the sunroom, a space in complete communion with nature, acting as a blank canvas, a space to breathe.
“This area is in harmony with the exterior architecture and fully integrated with the outdoors.” Xia Fu describes of this, her most cherished space. The sunroom has no strictly defined function, yet it accommodates the greatest possibilities: reading a book, savoring tea, basking in the sunlight, or simply listening to the night rain.
The courtyard is a natural extension of the sunroom and a window through which the family converses with the seasons. Spring is for watching new buds emerge; summer, for listening to the chorus of cicadas; autumn, for collecting fallen leaves as bookmarks; winter, for waiting as snow blankets the pines. Here, design cedes the stage to nature and time—the interplay of light, shadow, and the shifting seasons are its finest adornments.
The finest design is that which makes one forget its very presence, leaving only a sense of ease and the fullness of life itself. When interior and exterior, architecture and nature, ritual and the everyday achieve perfect harmony, a home truly becomes a sanctuary where both body and soul can settle.

In this 1,000㎡ home, the design recedes into the background, allowing life to take center stage.
French elegance is no longer merely a style, but a posture for living; chromatic tension is no longer merely a design technique, but an expression of feeling; and the zoning of space is no longer merely a matter of layout, but a gentle articulation of familial bonds.

A sense of atmosphere isn't designed; it's lived. Home, here, becomes a verb. It evolves with the children's growth, bustles with family gatherings, and deepens with the passage of time.

And the most beautiful moment in design is when life has completely woven itself into every corner of the space—the moment when the initial vision is gently affirmed by time.

Project information
Project Name: A Modern French Home
Location: Beijing, China
Area: 1000 ㎡
Completion Time: 2025.08
Design Firm: Shangceng Design
Design Director: Xia Fu
Planning: Dou A
Photography: Xueman Hu
Video: Shan Xiao

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Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

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