Organizing living spaces. Highlight items the family feels excited for.

Interview with the Ho family

Mr. Ho and his wife and daughter live in a condominium in an urdan district in Hong Kong. Their home is a typical size for Hong Kong families, but storage space is a problem. MUJI puts Compact Life into practice to help the Ho family think about their lives by renovating their living space, which was overflowing with clothes and everyday items.

Problems prior to renovation

• Not sufficient storage space. There are so many things at home, some of them belong to our son who has moved out after getting married. Our daughter loves shopping but there is not enough storage space in her room, so she has to put some of her things in the living room or dining room.
• There is no window in our son's room. After he moved out, sometimes our daughter would sleep in her brother's room because her room is too crowded.
• We often have large family gathering. It is difficult to make everyone comfortable due to the size of our living room.
• There is no proper dining space because things (e.g. shoe boxes, handbags etc.) are often piled on top of and crammed under the table.

Renovation requests

• To have furniture that can be stacked or extended
• To maintain current kitchen and toilet layout
• To keep the good ventilation at home
• To keep the buddhist alter, which must not face the entrance door
• A simple style of furniture is preferred

Thoughts after the renovation

• The home seems bigger and brighter after renovation. The Stacking Shelves are so convenient for our storage as they help us establish a more organized storage habit.

Changes in lifestyle after the renovation

• Easier for us to get the things we want because everything is organized by categories and kept in designated places.
• We have a deeper understanding of how to store things to maintain comfortable activity space.
• When our family and friends come over, all of us can enjoy a more comfortable activity space.

Lives around the world can be changed by “arranging living spaces”

How will the problem of overflowing items at the Ho family home be solved by MUJI? That was the starting point for the renovation. MUJI has versatile products with efficient designs that can be used in any room. The concept for this renovation is to shape life using one main MUJI product. The entire home was renovated using Wooden Stacking Shelves*, which provide storage and serve as walls to divide the rooms.

The renovation was carried out using the suggested steps to a Compact Life. First, we worked with the family to create categories and seperate items into ones that are meaningful to them and those that are not. As a result, what is left are items that are truly necessary. We also showed the family how to properly fold and put away clothes, and stored them in Stacking Shelves according to criteria such as how often they are used. In order to maintain a well-ordered lifestyle, the family had promised not to acquire any more unnecessary items by putting concept into practice. For example, they are encouraged to rethink the pieces of clothing they possess whenever they want to make new purchases.

The Ho family values gatherings of family and friends, so to accomodate for this, a combination of Unit Sofas were used in the living room. In addition, four tables make it possible for each family member to have their own area in the limited living space. When several people gather, the tables can be pushed together. Places to sit and relax, as well as personal table spaces, were created to give a spacious feel even within the small space.

Special memorabilia that were once part of the clutter give a very different impression when placed amid an organized living space.

Organizing living spaces clearly highlight items the family value.
This lets their personality shine and leads to a more pleasant lifestyle.

*The stacking shelf measurements are different from ordinary specifications.