Dream Home Makeover | The Rebirth of a Century-Old House in Quanzhou, Measuring Only 1.5 Meters
Project Information
| Item | Detail |
| Project Name | Dream Home Makeover 2026 |
| Location | Quanzhou, Fujian, China |
| Design Team | Not A Studio |
| Product Applied | MoMo Tiles CR27, PS62 |
| Application Area | Feature Wall & Bar Counter |
| Project Area | 235 m2 |
| Completion Time | 2024 |
Project Background | The Emotion Carried by the Renovation
This episode of Dream Home Makeover takes us to the old town of Quanzhou. The urban village residence of Xiao Ye's family has carried the memories of four generations. The plot is an irregular triangle, with a long, narrow single-story extension at the front. At its narrowest point, it measures only 1.5 meters wide, leading locals to jokingly call it the "stubbornly crooked house." The old house was dark, damp, and featured steep, difficult stairs. Due to its close proximity to neighboring buildings, sightlines and sounds easily penetrated the walls, severely compromising privacy. With parents in their seventies and a great-grandmother over a hundred years old, daily living presented numerous challenges.
Originally built in the 1980s, parts of the old house exceeded the subsequently established building setback lines due to historical planning adjustments. Even after the design team pulled the new building boundary back within the legal setback line, neighbors still hoped the house would be set back further to a mutually agreed-upon scale, causing the project to halt temporarily. After multiple rounds of communication and negotiation, the team chose to yield once again. The final footprint of the house was 5.6 square meters smaller than the legally permitted area.
Project review
In this project, the Gu Yi team made three physical concessions: First, a boundary concession, retreating not just to the setback line but further inward to address the neighbors' practical demands. Second, yielding 10 square meters for an interior courtyard. Given the deep, enclosed nature of the old house, this newly created courtyard allows natural light and flowing air to enter the home. Third, setting back the street-facing single-story section by one meter. In an already congested alley, they intentionally created a small public rest area where passersby and neighbors could sit, extending a gesture of goodwill to the cramped old town streets.
Navigating "Distance" with Grace
Beyond the visible retreat of the building boundary, the design also made a psychological concession. Because the house is extremely close to its neighbors, the Gu Yi team utilized traditional Southern Fujian hollowed-out red brick lattice walls. This design dissolves the oppressive feeling of high walls, allows light to diffuse into the interior, and cleverly avoids the awkwardness of direct sightlines from neighbors.
Additionally, long-accumulated debris in the alley was cleared, and greenery was planted to give the congested street a visual sense of breathing room. The team also replanned the internal layout, moving the original corridor adjacent to the neighbor further inward. The staircase and elevator were placed against the neighboring wall, serving as a natural barrier to block external views and restore a sense of ease and privacy to the families.
The Narrative Continuation of "Home" After Rebirth
Materials Used | Original Texture, Blending Warmth into the Home
For an old house carrying the memories of four generations, the choice of materials must withstand the test of time, while conveying a warm, everyday atmosphere through touch and footsteps. This aligns perfectly with the brand philosophy of MoMo Tiles: "Original design, giving each tile its own story."
For the living room floor, the CR27 from MoMo Tiles' Yao Series was selected—a representative work of castle-style tiles. Utilizing a gold-carved surface technique, it presents a starlight-like subtle shimmer on a matte base, replicating the weathered traces of natural stone accumulated over years. Three different sizes are freely mixed to create rich spatial layers. As light sweeps across the surface, the starlight shimmer interacts with the natural light flowing from the courtyard, perfectly echoing the "restrained and minimalist" architectural language of the Gu Yi team—unobtrusive, yet worthy of repeated admiration.
For the bathroom walls, the PS62 model was chosen. Its soft, warm beige tone is paired with a micro-cement texture resembling natural limestone. The matte, soft-glow finish is warm and non-glaring. Large-format continuous paving with ultra-narrow grout lines creates a seamless visual flow between walls and floors. In the low-light bathroom space, the warm base absorbs light rather than reflecting it, creating a tranquil and healing atmosphere—much like the Southern Fujian perception of "home": understated, yet warm.
Slow And Simple Natural Aesthetics
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