物我合和
Harmonious Sophistication
Shanghai, 2025
Interior Design/ FF&E
Objects in Harmony
In Chinese philosophy, He—harmony—extends far beyond human relationships. It is the delicate balance between people and nature, between object and spirit, between the visible and the unseen. Drawing on this timeless idea, this home becomes more than a place to live: it is a meditation on how design can nurture the soul. Every detail speaks quietly of Eastern thought, while resonating with the owner’s deep appreciation for tradition and craft.
A Threshold of Calm
The entrance hall sets the tone with a recessed vestibule that feels like a gentle pause before entering the home. A black lacquered wardrobe stands in refined contrast to a pale console, crowned with the sculptural Isola lamp by Alexander Lamont. Its parchment shade and bronzed base echo yin and yang, the tilted form casting layered shadows that shift with every step. Nearby, a walnut collector’s box gleams with a water-like sheen, polished through a rare straw-burnishing technique—an object designed not only to hold, but to be contemplated.
Here, objects are not decoration, but meditations. To pause, to notice, to reflect: the foyer becomes a passage from the outside world into a state of inner stillness.
Dining as Ritual
At the heart of the dining room, an inky black Noguchi table sits beneath the brushstroke presence of the character “和” (harmony) on the wall. Around it, Drop chairs by Fritz Hansen embrace the body with sculptural softness, their curved backs echoing the gesture of an embrace.
This space is where geometry meets poetry, where the order of design meets the flow of calligraphy. Dining here is less about sustenance, more about communion—of people, of ideas, of spirit.
Living with Poise
In the living room, pale fabric walls interplay with glossy black lacquer panels, creating a rhythm of light and shadow. Anchoring the room, Gastone Rinaldi’s Orsola sofa in deep green velvet softens the architecture with its rounded contours and chrome frame.
A lacquered screen, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, recalls a scene from Dream of the Red Chamber: noblewomen at leisure, painted with a grace that feels timeless. This is not merely decoration but an evocation of the owner’s vision of a cultivated life—where beauty and contemplation coexist.
Elsewhere, Noguchi’s coffee table sweeps across the space like a calligrapher’s stroke, while Antonio da Motta’s bronze-framed armchairs echo Han Dong’s bronze sculpture Rebirth, a reminder that even man-made objects can embody the eternal beauty of nature. Beneath it all, a bespoke rug titled Yi suggests the quiet strategy of a game of chess—black and white in delicate balance.
A Retreat of Stillness
In the bedroom, design becomes a meditation on nature’s rhythms. A lotus-leaf bedside table seems to float above the floor, while a carpet, layered in mineral greens, captures the depth and light of a forest floor.
Here, beauty is found in transience—in the shimmer of metal, the play of light, the bloom and fall of flowers. It is a call to slow down, to find peace in stillness.
The Art of Study
The study strikes a balance between discipline and grace. Jean Prouvé’s Compas desk pairs with the lily-shaped Lily chair, marrying ergonomics with elegance. Above, a lamp designed by Frank Lloyd Wright recalls light filtering through leaves—a modernist abstraction that resonates with the Eastern idea that simplicity carries the deepest meaning.
In this room, the air is thick with quiet rhythm: design that doesn’t shout, but whispers.
The Essence of Harmony
As the Book of Songs reminds us: “Let not sorrow linger; let harmony set the rhythm.” This home is a physical expression of that wisdom. It is not hurried, not ostentatious. It is a space that elevates the everyday ritual—making tea, reading, dining—into a moment of reflection.
In a fragmented age, this design is an act of resistance: a return to ritual, to slowness, to beauty that is neither showy nor fleeting. Here, objects breathe, and the heart responds. Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist aesthetics all converge, distilled into a single word—Harmony.
Project Name: Domus – Flat B
Area: 155sqm
Leading Designers: Vincent GU, Chen JIN
Team: Xiyu
Service: Interior Design, Construction Drawings, FF&E
Photographer: Zhu Hai
Client: Lonsen