Opening up: Crafting an open interior in a home

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The exterior of this sharply defined, rigid-looking house in Tanah Kusir, South Jakarta, may trick you into assuming its interior is similarly spartan.

Once inside the house, however, people get a totally different experience as they enter the "open" concept for the interior.

"The house strongly resembles a simple white box, an expression to represent honesty," said architect Kusuma Agustianto, better known as Anto, who chose the whitewashed, strong yet simple geometric shape for his own home.

Despite the massive white walls, there is not a single corner inside the house which does not receive optimal natural light -- thanks to the careful positioning of the openings.

"I added openings only in parts where windows and doors are mandatory. Otherwise, there are only massive walls," said the architect.

The 8 m x 18 m house, which stands on a 12 m x 24 m plot of land, was built on the west side of the site, leaving a four- meter-wide section along the east border.

Anto said the decision was taken to allow the morning sunlight to flow into the rooms; during sunset, the areas are overshadowed by the high walls.

The space in the east is planted only with grass and the area is embellished with a reflecting pond to create a soothing outdoor atmosphere. The greenery -- stretching from the front to the rear part of the house -- gives a sense of freshness along with the relaxing sound of water from the pool.

During the design phase, Anto emphasized the house's functional aspects as priorities. They were carefully planned with a design theme that he selected in order to bring to life the soul of the house.

The interior concept was created with an open orientation, aimed at making it easy for the house owners to see different parts of the house from one point. For this reason, a huge void space in the center of the house was created to act as the core of the building to which every room faces.

The ground floor is allocated for semiprivate rooms, like the family room and an open dining room. The same floor also accommodates a two-car garage, a kitchen and the service area; the last two areas are contained in the rear part of the house.

The second story is for private areas, like the master bedroom, two bedrooms for children, a play/computer room and a study. Anto said the latter also serves as a small studio where he can find inspiration.

Both the study and the master bedroom are equipped with an individual terrace -- with a simple steel structure, neatly lined with bars of merbau wood.

The staircase, located between the garage and the dining room, doubles as a massive divider. There is also a skylight in the study room allowing sunlight to fall evenly on the white painted wall under it, and also enabling the natural light to reach the garage in the ground floor.

Anto created a flexible interior with white walls so that they can act as a huge canvas, which can be filled with any motif or elements to harmoniously complement the interior theme.

"White walls instill calmness, spaciousness, honesty and peace in the interior. While on the exterior, it helps accentuate the box shape," explained Anto, who acknowledged Japanese influences on his work.

To bring out warmth, the architect chose dark brown colored furniture with a dash of orange for accents. Panels of wooden strips aligned horizontally are displayed as wall ornaments, while one in the exterior also doubles as a wooden screen.

Communication between rooms is also facilitated with the use of glass walls equipped with white horizontal blinds, allowing the owner to view every room when standing in the void area on the ground floor. The limited space seems to expand during the day as all openings allow optimal views inside and outside the house.

Stark contrasts prevail in the house, where massive walls come into contact with the openings and between the greenery and the black-painted neighbor's wall.

Now the house has been completed, Anto recalled that the process of its building -- from choosing the location to designing it -- was a crucial stage in his life for it is where he and his wife will raise a family.

"It is like a 'living partner' with whom my wife and I will grow together," the architect said, adding that he felt a unique satisfaction from overcoming challenges to design the home.