House with a Doma Living Room｜Custom Home Examples by Architectural Offices10Picks Author: Qurasuki Editorial Department

Earth floors (doma) were once used as practical spaces connecting the outdoors and indoors. In recent years, their roles have expanded, and some residences are planned as spaces where families gather, relax, and enjoy hobbies. In a home with a doma living area, the casualness of keeping shoes on coexists with indoor comfort within the same space. Floor heights and material differences create gentle functional divisions, yielding connections to the living room and garden. Additionally, because bicycles, outdoor gear, and plants can be naturally incorporated, the individuality of the residents' lifestyle easily reflects in the space. The doma often functions as the heart of the residence rather than a mere extension of the entryway. Through real examples, we showcase how this unique space connects with the entire home to create rich places to dwell in custom houses by architectural firms.

A Small House Making the Most of a Chamfered-Corner Lot | House at the Street Corner Yoshihiro Yamamoto Architects Associates

A small detached house located on a street corner in an urban area. In response to the site’s frontage on two roads, the building is arranged in a T-shape to create a triangular garden while securing privacy with slit windows. By arranging the living room and wet areas around the garden, the compact home achieves a sense of spaciousness and openness. Mortar is used for the floors and built-in kitchen, while the wood tones are carefully coordinated, creating a space where the richness of the materials coexists with minimalist beauty.

House of Earthen Floor and Cloister 12mm Architects

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.

Renovation of a 128-Year-Old Kominka JYU ARCHITECT

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.

House in Obama ARCHIXXX Satoru Shinno Architectural Design

A residence in Obama City, Fukui Prefecture, for a family that runs a steel fabrication plant. The layout and materials were selected by carefully considering the sense of distance from the adjacent factory. Inside, a circulation route was planned around a handmade Japanese-style room constructed with steel frames, allowing the family to move freely throughout the house. Steel furniture and staircases made by the family themselves are placed throughout, creating a dialogue between the presence of steel as a material and the warmth of craftsmanship. By bringing the activities of the factory into the life of the home, this is a richly lived-in residence where the character of the family comes alive in every detail.

House of a Potter Tatsumi Negishi Architectural Studio

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.

Hillside House Far East Design Lab.

A residence sited within a housing district on the slopes of the Tama Hills. Making use of a plot that sits a half level below the street, two primary floor levels were arranged at the street and site elevations and linked by staggered split-level connections, creating an open spatial volume approximately 2.5 storeys in height. Each floor offers panoramic views across the town, while the upper levels afford vistas that convey a strong sense of the sky. The living room, which opens onto a garden set a half level below the road, provides an expansive yet private interior space.

Ta house Yosuke Ichii Architects

Located in a quiet residential neighborhood, this residence was designed for enjoying home parties. A timber construction system with metal connectors and engineered wood was adopted to control construction time and cost, while achieving a large, open space and generous ceiling heights without the constraints of columns and shear walls. Two living, dining, and kitchen areas with identical plan layouts are arranged symmetrically inside and outside and connected by expanses of glass to form an open, integrated space of more than 100 tatami mats. The wet areas are consolidated, while the second floor contains private rooms and a catwalk designed to function as an art gallery.

Uchi no Uchi Mitsuhiro Kojima Architects

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.

Villa SSK Takeshi Hirobe Architects

On a site nestled between the sea and a rocky mountain in Minamiboso, we planned a residence that connects the sea and the mountains in the vertical dimension. A tunnel-like frame composed of a large timber spatial truss arch and LVL walls creates an expansive space that evokes the sea, sky, and rocky mountain. The courtyard serves as a play area for the dog, an “outdoor living room” continuous with the LDK, and a reflecting pool. The reflecting pool projecting toward the sea was designed to appear connected to the surface of the sea from the bathroom and living room. With a guest room and garage, the residence brings together a rich landscape and everyday life.

House in Takao Mochizuki Architectural Atelier

This home stands beside a clear stream flowing from Mount Takao, on a site with mountain views to the south and a shrine and bamboo grove to the north. To blend with the surrounding natural environment, the building is bent into a dogleg in response to the shape of the site, with the living room positioned at its center of gravity. A roof following the south-facing slope, a continuous timber ceiling, and changes in floor level create calm zones within the horizontally expansive layout. Careful attention was also given to the eaves and soffits, with the aim of creating a home where the family can slowly enjoy the changing character of nature.