Minimalist Design Residences｜Custom Home Examples by Architectural Offices13Picks Author: Qurasuki Editorial Department

In a minimalist design home, serene and poised spaces are created by subduing excess ornamentation and streamlining elements such as building forms, materials, light, and furniture. Keeping wall and ceiling surfaces clean, or integrating storage and fixtures seamlessly into the architecture, achieves a configuration that accommodates daily essentials while minimizing visual noise. The addition of natural light and material shadows imparts rich expressions even to concise spaces. The appeal of minimalist design lies not merely in reducing possessions, but in the harmonious integration of every individual architectural element. We introduce custom-built examples by architectural firms to explore how minimalist design is expressed architecturally in actual residences.

Smallest Hirotaka Sato Architects

Smallest is a five-story urban compact house built on an extremely small site measuring 37.7 square meters, with a building footprint of 7.8 tsubo. The rooms are vertically stacked, while the stairwell and elevator are consolidated to make efficient use of the limited area. The fully glazed stairwell connects east- and west-facing sightlines, while the floating kitchen and counter reduce the sense of confinement. Exposed concrete and minimal detailing highlight the beauty of the materials and the sculptural form of the staircase.

3×10 Court house — House with a Courtyard in Tsuchiura e do design architects

A residence for a family, built on a corner site in Minato-machi, Tsuchiura City, overlooking Lake Kasumigaura. Whereas many houses open to the south, this one deliberately opens broadly to the east, with an L-shaped configuration planned to capture light, breeze, and views. A courtyard is provided on the first floor, making the living/dining/kitchen (LDK) and the workspace pleasant places connected to planting and the sky. While experiencing the scenery of Lake Kasumigaura and the changing seasons, the home allows family time, work, and everyday life to naturally coexist.

House in Tateyama Tada Architectural Design Office

This secondary residence is built within a Quasi‑National Park in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, for enjoying the sea and nature. Taking advantage of a fortunate setting with views to the horizon beyond a windbreak forest, the design adopts a disciplined composition with large openings oriented toward the sea and a restrained treatment on the side facing the neighboring house. A generous earthen‑floored space for fishing and a deep‑eaved engawa gently mediate between interior and exterior. Joinery allows flexible changes in the way spaces are used, and a distinctive roof structure gives the expansive interior its character. The pared‑down, minimal dwelling nurtures rich moments together with the sea breeze.

emsh 「ha」 hosaka hironobu architect associate

A minimalist residence composed exclusively of three colors—white, black, and silver. Square apertures, skillfully arranged in varying sizes, punctuate the envelope to frame interior and exterior views and everyday moments as if they were framed artworks. Precisely calculated details establish a disciplined order within the spaces, allowing light and breeze to circulate comfortably throughout the building. Moreover, the furniture and interior fittings selected by the occupants respond to the architecture, further heightening its purity. A tranquil, refined home that beautifully enhances everyday life.

House Behind the School Building an Archi-Lab. First-Class Architect Office

This is a reconstruction plan of the long-occupied family home so that a mother and her daughter can live there. Under the severe condition of a narrow 19-tsubo site with an elementary school building pressing on the south side, a small garden and a nure-en (verandah) were provided on the southern side of the site to bring light, wind, and a sense of depth into the residence. Internally, multiple living areas were arranged according to degrees of privacy and openness, realizing a composition in which light moves throughout the entire house. While engaging carefully with the surrounding environment, the design cultivates a rich residential quality within a limited footprint. The phrase "a house you want to come home to" testifies to that comfort.

Residence in Shimogamo In-Ex Design Co., Ltd.

This residence, built on a compact site of approximately 18.7 tsubo, is designed for living with words. Taking advantage of the dogleg site geometry, the stair and book shelving that extend from the entrance form the spatial core. The shelving continues uninterrupted up to the second floor, arranged to envelop the study. From the first-floor living room, the bookcases enter the view alongside the garden scenery, creating a design in which the presence of books and language is felt naturally in everyday life. Within the constrained footprint, the house carefully weaves intellectual richness and a quiet sense of comfort.

Ha House Yosuke Ichii Architects

A home for a young couple and their small child, located in a quiet residential neighborhood in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. The white, two-story living volume is enclosed by courtyards and wet areas finished in black corrugated sheeting, ensuring natural light and ventilation while blocking views from the surroundings. In contrast to its closed-looking exterior, the interior is bright and open. White and black form the basis of the design, while a tatami area and two courtyards add comfort and playfulness. With household circulation organized around the kitchen, the home supports both family time and time for each individual.

House by Subtraction | A Condominium Renovation That Removes the Superfluous Yoshihiro Yamamoto Architects Associates

This is a condominium renovation for a young family. Although the existing unit was nominally a 3LDK (three bedrooms plus living/dining/kitchen), the LDK area was cramped. Working within a limited budget and constrained space, we removed the ceiling finishes and unnecessary partition walls to create a larger LDK, and fabricated a pared-down kitchen and movable shelving from plywood. The plan is configured to accommodate a hybrid seating arrangement—part chair-seated, part floor-seated—directly on solid wood flooring.

Clip Box KICHI ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Located in an urban residential neighborhood, “Clip Box” is a dwelling that creates a rich spatial experience within a compact footprint. The exterior, where three white planes interlock with a mortar-finished wall, attains a pronounced sense of depth through the shadows cast by the layered walls. Internally, a skip-floor (split-level) living area connects to the dining space via a staircase. Smooth, efficient circulation that consolidates the necessary functions provides a comfortable living environment.

House in Higashiyukigaya Takayoshi Nakamura Architects & Associates

This tiny house stands on an approximately 9-tsubo site along the Nomigawa River and comprises four levels, including a basement, with a total floor area of 21 tsubo. Inheriting the client’s attachment to the land where their parents once lived, the project sought to create a home in which its compactness could be enjoyed. The stringent slant-line restrictions are addressed through skip floors divided according to function. Changes in level and a spiral staircase bring rich variation to the space, while the distinctive roof form creates a serene and dignified presence.

House in Saito Aominami ARCHIXXX Satoru Shinno Architectural Design

This home is located in a newly developed new town. To protect privacy from the surrounding houses, the second-floor living/dining/kitchen area, bathroom, and terrace are enclosed by exterior walls, creating an inward-facing configuration reminiscent of a courtyard house. While limiting views from outside, natural light and ventilation are brought in from above, creating a comfortable living environment without a sense of enclosure. The first floor is designed as a pilotis-like driveway, allowing cars to pass through the parking area. Making the most of the site conditions, the home balances ease of living with privacy.

Moriguchi-Dainichi Residence Coo Planning

This is a two-story timber house in Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture. Located at the end of a dead-end road, the site conditions prompted a plan that emphasizes privacy from surrounding sightlines. The exterior is a minimalist design with minimized openings, while a skylight above the double-height void brings natural light into a bright, open LDK. The project also incorporates attention to equipment and systems—24-hour ventilation and photovoltaic power generation among them—achieving both comfort and energy efficiency. The dwelling provides the functions and livability required of contemporary urban housing.

vida *studioLOOP Architects

This suburban compact house stands in a densely built-up residential neighborhood. While neighboring houses surround it to the east and north and shops face it to the south, richly undulating tea fields extend to the west. In response to the stringent floor-area ratio and north-side setback plane restrictions, the second floor accommodates an LDK with large openings fitted with Low-E glass. Full-height storage and a dry area are incorporated into the single-room space, while the first floor compactly accommodates the bedroom and wet areas. The design brings in borrowed scenery while maintaining privacy, adding a bright accent to the streetscape.