In 2014, we were required to design a villa located at Shenzhen Bay in Nanshan district, Guangdong Province, China. Client Mr. Xu is a Teochew, who is from Chaoshan Teoswa where is the linguistic and cultural region in the east of Guangdong, China that is developing into a single metropolis. As we know, most Teochew people like design in malacosoma rich, bronze color and other heavy fine wood carvings, decorated in a warm atmosphere, which might not incompatible with our philosophy. Even more, Mr. Xu had already have one design plan which was being under pre-construction. He complaint that he was not that satisfied with that previous design. At the beginning, we were worried that he might not that into our design, but he indicated ‘modern’ was actually what he was looking for.

After the scene reconnaissance, we found the structure of this house differ from the usual one. The house includes a basement, four floors and a courtyard. There’s no making without breaking, we had to change the layout in order to create a livable and stylish house.

Here are our design strategies:
1.Install a glass roof for the outdoor courtyard to create a new interior space;
2.Set up a house elevator to increase convenience;
3.Take the core of the first floor, set the basement and the second floor as the public space and the third and forth floor as bedrooms;
4.Build a green wall system;
5.Expand the exterior space of the basement to improve natural light and ventilation.

Mr. Xu agreed about the five design strategies except the fifth point. He wanted to include a large outdoor glass fishbowl, but I insisted on my opinion and explained that expanding the exterior space for basement can improve air circulation and natural light of the house, which will be beneficial to his health. He eventually accepted my suggestion. And recently he told me I was right to fasten on that idea. Now he really enjoys staying at the basement for a moment, where he can step out for a breath of fresh air. Doing the right things is one of my design principles.

The courtyard is high but narrow. Installing a glass roof for it can expand a brand new interior space. Building a green wall system makes it become a very present sight to take in and also improve the air quality.

Living room and dining room are on the first floor and the basement includes a theater and a tea house, which are both wide-open spaces. The second floor includes a semi-open study. The master room, guest room and washroom are on the third and forth floor. There is an exquisite garden on the roof.

We bring sense of design and modern ideas into this program and create a simple and comfortable space showing strong structure of beauty. Light pours down through the skylight ceiling and is reflected off the green wall making this place full of life.

In the middle of the construction, Mr. Xu started to remain beautiful expectations and longing for his dream house. He hoped that we could help him purchase and decorate everything including furniture, artworks, mattresses, quit covers and even chopsticks, we were delighted to receive such impressive recognition and trusts. What he wanted was just a turnkey project.

At the end, the completed work was out of his imagination. He was really surprised about his new house which is full of beauty. We have deep feelings after completing this project. In fact, we seldom design private residences before, because the cost of communication is quite high. However, it gives us a sense of accomplishment and great worth when we see clients found of our design.

We give people different living experience by our creative work. There are many people with wealth and high education who could have better houses. They might not realize that they could live better life, or they don’t know where a good residential design company is.

We can do something for them. It’s a business, but it’s a business with feelings of beauty for us. We can change environment to make life better.

And then in 2014, DSSY Residential Interior Design (A subsidiary of Li Yizhong Interior Design) was established. It is specialized in high-end residential design for elite class clients, which creates and spreads delicate and elegant lifestyle.

We make things simple and beautiful.

Project Name: Shenzhen Victoria Harbour Villa
Design Company: DSSY Residential Interior Design (A subsidiary of Li Yizhong Interior Design)
Project Team: Li Yizhong, Fan Yihua, Xiong Can, Huang Jianfeng, Ou Xueting, Sun Bin, Ye Zenghui, Hu Peng
Location: Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
Area: 620 square meters
Service: Interior Design, Soft Furnishings Design, Lighting Design and Consulting Service
Materials: Italian Wood Grain, Juglans Wood Finish, Hard Fabric, Oak Floor Covering and Copper Stainless Steel
Photographer: Image Courtesy of Li Yizhong Interior Design
Awards: Best Villa Design of Jintang Price 2015, Best Living Space - Villa Design Award of China National Interior Decoration Association (CIDA) 2015.