Inside the Gallerylike Home of Degree Design’s Han Tseng

Taipei’s Degree Design has crafted poetic and provocatively restrained spaces throughout Taiwan and beyond. When chief designer Han Tseng began thinking about his own house, similar precepts applied. The 500-square-foot duplex utilizes every inch, for space that’s efficient without sacrificing emotion.

A stainless steel entry and Millettia Laurentii hallway flow into the main public space, an open expanse incorporating a kitchen oriented around a marble island and a living area anchored by a custom marble table atop a neutral rug. Without a doubt, the focus is the spiral staircase, made of iron spray-painted a gallery-worthy white. It rises to the second-floor bedroom, entered via a glass landing. “We hope the glass can be used as a railing,” Tseng says, “but it also has a visual extension. The curved part follows the flood design when going back downstairs so that you’re less likely to hit your head and it doesn’t feel oppressive.”

The white palette offers a similar feeling of freedom while lending the residence an artistic feel. “With carefully designed composition ratios and a mixture of raw, natural textures,” says Tseng, “we have transformed the space into a work of art.” And one that will no doubt influence new designs to come.