Doma Living｜Custom-built homes by architecture firms6Picks｜A Generous Doma at the Center of Daily Life

“Doma living,” which integrates the doma with the living room, is one approach to creating a rich spatial composition that reinterprets the wisdom of traditional Japanese dwellings for contemporary life. A generous doma directly connected to the outdoors accommodates a variety of everyday scenes: a work area where one can spread out belongings without removing shoes, storage for outdoor equipment and bicycles, and a third‑place–like zone for casually receiving guests. The selection of finish materials such as mortar or stone, the detailing of level changes and boundaries with the living area, and the strategies for daylighting and ventilation all strongly affect the usability and comfort of the doma. Design firms consider the doma’s size and location in relation to the client’s lifestyle, proposing homes that create a generous open margin at the heart of daily living.

This is a residence for a family of four planned on a site adjacent to a forest at the foot of Mount Fuji. It also serves as a creative base for the husband, a ceramist, and the wife, an illustrator, and the theme is to incorporate the forest scenery into daily life. The living area is a double-height space that opens widely toward the forest, and a black earthen floor (doma) echoes the exterior scoria, blurring the boundary between inside and outside. The building keeps its height low, sitting quietly as if to nestle against the forest.

A residence inspired by an environment like a "blank" residual open space where the sky opens widely, located at the back of a densely built residential area. For a family of five who enjoy outdoor play, the aim was to create spaces that connect with the outdoors and the neighborhood while allowing family members to sense one another. Generous gardens are provided to the north and south of the building, and a multipurpose doma space with no predetermined use is positioned at the center. By gently connecting to the gardens and each room, it becomes a place where the family naturally gathers. In addition, by opening to the neighborhood while maintaining an appropriate distance from the road and adjacent properties, the design fosters opportunities for community interaction and simultaneously enhances the richness of both the dwelling and the street.

Taking advantage of a location a five‑minute walk from the sea, this residence was designed to enjoy a resort‑like everyday life. Returning from the beach and heading straight to the bathroom, or enjoying barbecues and parties on the terrace, enables a lifestyle in which interior and exterior spaces connect naturally. On the first floor, centered on a courtyard terrace, the living, dining and kitchen (LDK) and the bathroom are arranged in a U‑shaped plan to create an airy, open interior. In addition, the floors, walls and parts of the terrace were finished by the owners themselves through DIY, deepening their attachment to the home. The house embodies a seaside lifestyle that continues to mature over time.

A stoic residence housing a gallery, located in Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture. The plan uses a courtyard placed at the center of the building as a focal point, allowing daily life to unfold beautifully. The entire ground‑floor slab is finished in steel‑trowelled concrete, and the exterior walls are unified with a mortar steel‑trowel render treated with a water‑repellent coating — simple wet‑applied materials that retain the traces of craftsmen’s handwork. The pared‑back, simple and tranquil spaces, stripped of superfluous ornament, present the occupant’s daily life and art in a modern manner.

A 128-year-old kura attached to a kominka built in 1897 (Meiji 30) was renovated into a comfortable residence. Damaged beams and a leaning foundation were reinforced, and the heavy, difficult-to-operate entrance joinery was repaired and reused. By improving insulation and airtightness, the interior remains cool in summer and warm in winter. Existing floorboards were repurposed for kitchen surfaces, stairs, and counters, while some wall and ceiling finishes were executed by the residents themselves, retaining the building's memory and character.

Located in an urban area of western Saitama Prefecture, this project replaces a long-held family property with a two-family (two-generation) dwelling. The existing garden, with its mature trees, constitutes a valuable remnant of greenery within the block; the design carefully addresses both the preservation of this garden and the spatial relationship between households. Retaining the wisteria pergola, the scheme provides a single shared entrance while otherwise fully separating the two households, and includes two built-in garages. The entrance and garages are located on the west-facing street, and a central hall distributes access to each unit. Each household is organized around a living room that opens onto the garden and takes advantage of the roof slope to define the interior volume. The exterior is expressed as a large mono-pitched roof, with eaves and ceilings finished in solid Nishikawa-sourced hinoki (Japanese cypress) boards.