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Location: Japan
Architect: Kenji Tamaoki
Interior Designer: Atsuko Tsukahara (Studio Cotan)
Construction Company: Hishida Contractor’s Office

The clients are a young couple with astrong interest in music. They requested Studio Cotan to design their master bedroom with the theme of their favourite music video. The video was created by a Japanese musicians’ group, and the title is “A Carnival of Fire and Forest”.The designer visualized the mysterious atmosphere by use of lightings, fabrics and vibrant colour combinations. Gradation of leaves is expressed by the beautiful wallpaper with a complex layer of colours, which makes a clear contrast with the vibrant orange of the bed headboard.

The gorgeous curtain and iridescent sheer curtain reflect the idea of sunlight coming through thousands of leaves into the dark forest. The sheer curtain was also aimed to blur the border between the interior and the exterior, and this gives a feeling of being in nature. The naturally shaped handcrafted pendant lights and shiny black table lamps illuminate the serene space representing a midnight forest. The project is in a suburban area of Nagano prefecture in Japan, and is well known as the place where Japanese Ukiyo-e print artist Hokusai painted a dragon and a phoenix on the ceiling of a festival floats during his stay. The vibrant colour combination of orange and blue on the paintings inspired the designer so she decided to use the ideas in the design scheme to reflect the energetic expression by Hokusai as well as to reflect the culture of the district.

The designer used the iridescent sheer curtain to bring the exterior to the inside and create the atmosphere of being in nature. The layers of colours on fabrics and wallpaper are also the key part of this design to represent the idea of “a carnival of fire and forest” provided by the clients. The carefully chosen materials, are effectively lit up. The lighting techniques demonstrate their beautiful texture, which gives a clever contrast in the rooms and provide depth to the space.