The Case for Courtyards
Walk through a traditional machiya townhouse in Kyoto and you will notice something unexpected. The building is narrow — sometimes barely four metres wide — and deep, stretching back from the street like a corridor. The rooms are dim, the walls close. And then, somewhere in the middle of the house, the walls fall away. […]
When Everything Is a Feature, Nothing Is
In Japanese ink painting, the master’s hand is recognised not by what is included but by what has been cut away. A branch removed from the composition. A corner of the landscape left unpainted. An entire figure suggested by three brushstrokes rather than rendered in full. The Japanese call this Kirisute no Bigaku (切り捨ての美学) — […]
Danshari: Before You Renovate, Let Go
At Yoko Kloeden Design, when we take a brief for a new project, we ask our clients to provide a full inventory of their storage requirements. What arrives is a laundry list: seasonal wardrobes, sports equipment, wine, books, kitchen appliances used once or twice a year, collections accumulated over decades. The brief then becomes a […]
A Tale of Two Gardens
I grew up in Kyoto, visiting the Katsura Imperial Villa grounds as a child. I first visited Versailles as a university student. Two gardens built in the same century, on opposite sides of the world, both extraordinary — and yet the feeling of being inside each could not be more different. One makes you feel […]
Why Your Garden Needs an Architect
In most London renovations, the garden is the last conversation — not the first. The architect designs the extension. The builder constructs it. And months later, once the dust has settled and the budget has recovered, a garden designer is brought in to work with whatever space and conditions remain. By that point, the most […]
Can a Home Be Calm and Bold?
As the evenings draw in and light fades earlier from our windows, it’s natural to retreat indoors—physically and emotionally. This seasonal shift brings an instinctive longing for warmth, protection, and intimacy in our homes. But for many, it also rekindles a design dilemma: how do we create spaces that feel calm and timeless, yet still […]
Homes as Living Systems, Not Objects
The way we design our homes reflects how we see our relationship with nature. As a studio working between cultures — rooted in Kyoto, practising in London — I have become increasingly aware that this relationship is under strain. Climate change, overheating buildings, and a growing sense of disconnection from our surroundings are forcing us […]
How to Assess Your Property’s Potential
Every home holds more potential than its current layout suggests. But understanding what is genuinely possible — and where the real opportunities lie — requires seeing your property with fresh eyes before any design work begins. This is not about measuring rooms or counting square metres. It is about reading the qualities your home already […]
How Long Does a Renovation Take?
It is the question every homeowner asks first. And the honest answer is: it depends — on the scope of work, the approvals required, and how well the project is prepared before construction begins. What catches most people off guard is not the build itself, but the stages that come before and after it. Design, […]
Permitted Development vs Planning Permission
If you are thinking about extending or remodelling your home, one of the first questions you will face is whether you need planning permission. It sounds simple, but the answer rarely is. In England, certain types of building work are covered by permitted development rights — a set of national rules that allow homeowners to […]