This home doesn’t need to be dramatic. It simply needs to fit the rhythm of my life,’ says the owner of this apartment in Taichung – Taiwan’s second-largest city – which he shares with his wife. Generous in scale and filled with natural light and multiple colours and textures, the space feels balanced, light and quietly composed.
Translating the couple’s lifestyle and refined tastes into a seamless environment was the responsibility of ChingJu Chen, designer and founder of In Order Studio. With a background in architecture, his training instilled a near-obsessive sensitivity to order, scale and proportion – principles that inform not only his approach but the very name of his practice. Inspired by his client’s fondness for the Spanish painter Joan Miró, ChingJu developed a design rooted in balance and fluidity.
Upon entering, the living room, dining area and study open up in a single sweeping view. A sandy-yellow bookshelf wall anchors the space, its tone chosen to echo the colour of the owner’s cherished audio system.
Unlike the traditional Taiwanese living-room layout – where the main sofa sits against the wall with a coffee table in front — the unconventionally shaped ‘On the Rocks’ sofa by Edra, paired with an Angelo Mangiarotti marble side table, allows the couple to shift orientation freely, adapting the seating to mood, occasion or gathering. When friends visit, everyone can sit in the round, creating a more relaxed and engaging atmosphere. The designer explains that in his process it is as much about what is concealed as what is shown.
At the junction between the kitchen and living room, the charging devices used daily are discreetly hidden, while the refrigerator’s ventilation slot is cleverly tucked into the door gap, maintaining airflow while remaining out of sight. Beside the hob, each hook is shaped differently so objects can be identified by touch alone.
Other concealed storage solutions (including recessed cabinetry and a niche designed to house a Muji trolley) keep the space easy to maintain without disturbing its clarity. ‘A home’s functions should breathe naturally,’ ChingJu says. ‘They shouldn’t require effort or constant thought.’
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Both the owner and ChingJu Chen are uncompromising when it comes to detail. ChingJu laughs as he recalls how the owner approaches materials with almost an engineer’s mindset: ‘He never asks whether something looks good. His first question is always about its water-absorption rate.’
The headboard in the bedroom perfectly captures this shared spirit. Birch panels in varying tones are precisely joined, with corners finished seamlessly and every gap measured to perfection. Buttons and sockets are hidden within the grain, and even the light switches – the owner insisted on toggles – required a more complex wiring plan, yet add undeniable charm.
Balancing design, function, visual clarity and everyday flexibility is no simple task. As ChingJu puts it with a smile: ‘Design is like body fat – you can’t have none, but too much and you lose mobility.’
In the end, a home should feel effortless; somewhere that offers ease, stability and a sense of belonging, without drawing attention to how carefully it has been designed. Here, the calibrated interplay between fixed elements and furnishings creates a quiet sense of ‘just enough’: beautiful, but never restrictive. inorder.studio
