House with Second-Floor Living Room｜Custom Home Examples by Architectural Offices24Picks Author: Qurasuki Editorial Department

Homes with second-floor living feature a distinct spatial character born from positioning the primary living area on the upper level. Depending on the relationship with surrounding buildings, residents can more easily enjoy expansive views and the open sky, while capturing natural light from an elevated vantage point. As the outside scenery and quality of incoming light shift, the same living room can evoke different degrees of openness. Moreover, separating the roles of the first and second floors imparts a distinct composition to the entire house. Combined with double-height ceilings or expansive windows, these spaces emphasize the unique spaciousness of the upper floor. The choice of where to place the living room is a vital element influencing the overall impression and daily lifestyle of the home. Through custom-built examples by architectural firms, we introduce the spatial charm and architectural ingenuity generated by second-floor living.

House in Toyoshiki Yu Architectural Design Studio

This is a compact residence of approximately 26 tsubo of total floor area, built on a flag-lot in Kashiwa City. In a site surrounded by neighboring houses, a second-floor living room was adopted to maximize daylight. The openings facing the balcony are articulated with angled walls that skillfully control sightlines, achieving both brightness and privacy. A mortar-effect siding exterior is harmonized with a warm interior that leaves beams and columns exposed. By incorporating DIY elements to keep costs down, the house realizes a rich way of life through ingenuity and creativity.

House in Izumisano Kumi Inoue Architects

HE10 — AICA Project Example Contest, Excellence Award YIA Ishiue Yoshihiro Architectural Design Office

The site is located on the mid‑slope of Mount Ikoma. It is a flag lot with access from the east; to the west are views of Osaka Bay, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge and the Rokko mountains, and to the north a cluster of cherry trees. The LDK is placed on the second floor to secure elevation and incorporate changing surroundings and vistas. A transparent entrance hall is located in the flagpole access strip, and intersecting stairs guide sightlines, connecting to the LDK through cuts in the ceiling and wall. A deep, L‑shaped, frame‑like balcony establishes continuity from interior to exterior. The ceiling is a modified gable form with exposed ascending rafters.

House in Hamura Mochizuki Architectural Atelier

This home stands on a corner lot in a suburban residential area. While incorporating the park resembling a natural woodland to the east as borrowed scenery, the design considers privacy from the road and places the center of daily life on the second floor. Continuous openings from the kitchen through the dining area to the living room, together with varying ceiling heights, create a sense of expansiveness. The living room features a built-in sofa raised by one step, while a study nook allows the occupants to enjoy the view. The subdued interior color palette, mono-pitched roof, and exterior with varied materials create a quiet, modern impression.

House in Kotani Kurashi no Jōzōsho

Residence with an Atelier T-Architectural Studio

This is a private residence with an attached design atelier. Built on a site once familiar as a walking path, and intended to inherit the memory of a beach landscape cloaked in pine woods, its exterior walls are clad in thick timber. The timber is painted white to add softness, giving the house a presence that quietly blends into the surrounding environment. Internally, changes in floor and ceiling levels gently articulate the atelier, individual/private spaces, and shared areas. Lofts, a roof balcony, planted areas, and staircases create multi-layered spatial extensions between interior and exterior.

Bud Atelier Mana

This house stands in a quiet residential neighborhood in Naha and makes use of Okinawa’s climate and regulations governing roof pitch. A sequence of areas reminiscent of “buds” or “swelling” protects privacy from the surroundings while creating a home that opens inward. The megaphone-shaped rooms create diverse places for inhabitation despite being arranged as a single room. Openwork brickwork guides wind and light, along with ever-changing shadows, creating a cool and tranquil environment.

Unuma House Kota Goto Architectural Studio

An architect's own residence located at the northern edge of the Nōbi Plain on a site with a pronounced level change where the plain meets upland terrain. The square plan is rotated 45° to reconcile openness and privacy by avoiding direct sightlines from the main road and neighboring houses. The site's elevation difference is used so that primary living spaces are on the second floor. A hybrid concrete-and-wood structure leaves materials exposed to express their natural qualities. The layout centers on the dining area and allows for continuous circulation so that, except for sleeping, daily life takes place on the second floor. Materials such as solid timber, brass, and stone were chosen to develop patina over time and to harmonize with the southern rural landscape.

Wa house Yosuke Ichii Architects

This timber house is located on a small urban site surrounded by high-rise buildings. In response to the requirements of the fire prevention district, it was planned as a two-story quasi-fire-resistant building with a total floor area of no more than 100 m². The building is divided into two volumes, with functional spaces arranged over three levels in one and living spaces over two levels in the other. Connecting them with half-level shifts creates a stepped-floor configuration that brings a sense of expansiveness and an appropriate degree of separation to the limited floor area. It is a quiet, open living environment removed from the bustle of the city.

spread Moriya House e do design architects

Behind a façade of overlapping white walls, this residence conceals a rich "sequence." From the entrance, ascending to the second floor via the stair within a double-height void, the view opens toward a large south-facing opening and a deck, and beyond them the expanse of the sky. The LDK is a place where the family gathers comfortably while feeling connected to the outdoors. Attention is paid to storage, household circulation, and a looped circulation that allows the presence of family members to be perceived, creating a stage for a rich daily life that brings small discoveries and a sense of attachment to everyday movements.

A Home for Living with Cats Tetsuya Kimura Architects

Located in a residential area near Osaka, this home is designed for a family of five and their two cats. Despite its compact site, surrounded by neighboring houses, the second-floor living room and pitched ceiling create a spacious, open interior. Clerestory windows bring in light and ventilation, while a variety of places allow residents to spend time as they wish while remaining aware of one another. The home also incorporates careful consideration for the cats’ lives, including a catwalk along the beams, cat flaps, and doors to prevent escapes. It is a warm home where people and cats can live comfortably together.

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.

House in Meguro Troom

This house stands on a long, narrow east–west site near a street lined with cherry trees. In response to the site’s limited access to natural light, the living room and children’s room, which are used extensively during the day, were placed on the second floor, with clerestory windows bringing in light from above the neighboring roofs. The roof of the parking space, which projects to the street, becomes a spacious terrace that screens views while allowing the cherry trees to be seen from the living room in spring. Corridors running through the house from east to west on both floors allow light and air to pass throughout the home.

Kaleidoscope V Masahiko Sawamura Architect and Associates

An urban modern style that incorporates an internal garden living space.

House in Sayama Coo Planning

A residence for a family of four built on a narrow site in Osaka Sayama City. Set within an environment flanked on both sides by three-story houses, the project pursued a rich spatial experience while reconciling numerous programmatic requirements, such as a parking space, bicycle storage for each family member, private rooms, and a rooftop. The emblematic element is the cube-like double-height void created in the second-floor living room. By securing a two-story height, it achieves a sense of openness and expansiveness that transcends the limited floor area. This is a home in which structure and design have been refined and integrated.

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.

Miyanosawa House Yosuke Tomiya Architectural Design Co., Ltd.

This is a two-family house located in a residential neighborhood in Sapporo. Taking advantage of the site, which is surrounded on three sides by roads and retaining walls, the house is configured to gently screen views from outside while opening broadly toward the forest of the adjacent park. The living and dining areas are arranged along the south side, allowing the family to share views of the forest and natural light. A cross-shaped layout centered on the kitchen, split levels, and a circulation loop create a gentle sense of connection among family members. High levels of insulation and airtightness, together with a ground-source heat pump, provide a comfortable living environment suited to life in Hokkaido.

Residence Featuring an Indoor-Integrated Terrace Archiplace

This is the final residence for a couple who have finished raising their children. On the second floor, which serves as the heart of daily life, the living and dining areas are arranged to frame a southeast-facing terrace. The semi-outdoor terrace, created by openings in the roof and walls, screens views from the surroundings while admitting light and natural ventilation, providing a place where the changing seasons can be felt up close. Changes in floor levels beginning at the music room on the first floor, the double-height void, and the observation terrace give the spaces a rich sense of depth, allowing residents to enjoy the continuity and variety characteristic of a three-story timber structure.

Forest Atelier KASA ARCHITECTS

A building quietly set within the forest, with state-owned woodland extending to the north and views toward the foothills of Mount Asama to the south. The first floor accommodates a confectionery workshop, while the second floor serves as a residence, forming an integrated live-work dwelling. The design fosters an intimate relationship with the abundant natural landscape, where craft production and daily life gently interweave.

House in Senriyamanishi Abax Architects

This residence takes advantage of a long, narrow site and incorporates a semi-basement tennis court. The living room is located on the second floor, and by deliberately exposing the structural framework an expansive, airy interior volume is achieved. A lawned courtyard faces the first-floor bedrooms, creating a secure environment where young children can play.

Seiseki-Sakuragaoka House Takayoshi Nakamura Architects & Associates

A garage house for two generations of an extended family, set on a hilltop in Seiseki-Sakuragaoka, Tama City, and designed to make the most of its expansive views. The second-floor living room features a courtyard-style deck, combining privacy with a sense of openness while incorporating the large cherry tree directly in front of the house as part of the borrowed scenery. In addition to a shared family library, the house provides each spouse with a workspace and hobby room, accommodating their work in publishing. Provision has also been made for the future installation of a home elevator, creating a residence where family members of different generations can live together with a comfortable sense of distance.

Residential House in Tarumi In-Ex Design Co., Ltd.

This house, situated on a site a short distance from the station, accommodates a gentle coexistence of residence and office. The street-facing first floor is planned as an office, with spaces that extend to the south garden being flexibly used as a studio, exhibition area, and meeting space. Private areas are compactly arranged, while the garden-facing household/utility space is designed as a comfortable place to linger. On the second floor an open-plan living-dining-kitchen (LDK) overlooking the Akashi Strait is provided, creating a composition in which indoor and outdoor living integrate. The home is designed to accept the mild local climate as well as occasional severe wind and rain, enabling residents to enjoy a way of life unique to this site.

House in Uji ARCHIXXX Satoru Shinno Architectural Design

A residence located in a densely built-up residential area of Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. The position and height of each window were carefully planned to obtain as much natural light and as expansive a view as possible within the limited conditions of the site. The built-in garage uses a lattice sliding door rather than a shutter, reducing its sense of enclosure in relation to the street. In the second-floor dining area, when seated in a chair, the surrounding buildings disappear from view, leaving only the sky extending across the entire window. At night, light spilling through the fixed window illuminates the ceiling, creating a quiet expression both inside and out.

Kunitachi Music House Takeshi Hirobe Architects

Planned as a home for music and daily life, this residence carries forward the old hackberry tree that remains in the garden. Designed to support young musicians in performing, recording, and producing videos, the second-floor living room has been finished as a hall-like space with a rich resonance. The high ceiling and timber structure gently diffuse sound, while careful attention to sound insulation also creates a comfortable thermal environment. A large window opens toward the hackberry tree, creating a view that feels as though one were sitting in its branches. It is a home that quietly supports nature, music, and human growth.