To Dwell Guesthouse

Light and shadow fill the garden courtyard as afternoon tea is served

A rattan chair swings gently in a spacious inner courtyard, creating a contented atmosphere while sunlight streams through the tree leaves, falling across a little wooden picnic table like specks of silver laughter. Your new friends lay out cushions and excitedly serve afternoon tea with a considerate array of Tainan-style western pastries. Friendly laughter and conversation fills the air as you sip coffee and refresh yourselves with local pudding and fruit cake.

Opening the door, you are met by a cool, polished cement floor and warm wooden furniture. Like walking into the pages of a design magazine, the breathtaking surroundings remind you of a brightly-lit den. The playful multi-level design of the living room connects to a simple, open-style kitchen. Sitting on the sofa, you can unfurl the large projector screen and enjoy the selection of treasured movies, or face the floor-to-ceiling windows and gaze upon the luscious scenery beyond. A family atmosphere is created as barefooted companions chat freely around elevated wooden tables. The varied tastes of the family are reflected in the large selection of books filling the shelves along one wall.

A family-friendly lodging with heartwarming interior design

“The design proposal for this space was based upon the concept of a single-user guesthouse, so that we could approximate the needs of a whole family on vacation together.” Teddy and Winnie, simultaneously designers and hosts, fused family ideals with individual design specialties and, with love, created “Come to Dwell” so that families could enjoy beautiful vacations together! In the four-floor space, there are three two-person suites, each of which has been attentively arranged to provide a layered and unique sensual experience. Every little corner, every resting place can be the starting point of activity, inspiration and connection.

Walking up to the Vertical Japanese Room on the second floor, you find the traditionally horizontal concepts of Japanese design renewed into a vertical arrangement. Lighting from large plate glass windows and unique light fixtures balances the dark-colored paint and window blinds, creating a leisure space which changes completely when daytime turns to night. Even the grandparents can appreciate such a design. Suddenly, the tiny feet of a giggling grandchild can be seen beneath a cabinet suspended beside the windows. How remarkable that a secret hiding place has been constructed into the back of the wooden cabinet, a little wonderland waiting to be discovered. On floor 2.5, you discover the spacious Bedside Story Room. The slanting ceiling, extending from the wooden table up to the large windows, provides a secure feeling of looking out from within the safety of a sheltering cave. In the evening, you enjoy a fragrant bath in the comfortable tub, talking drowsily at the end of the day with your lover who swirls wine in a glass by the bar. You light the lamp above the bed and exchange stories, perhaps a fairy tale to ponder over. The Glass Display Room on the third floor is a skylit greenhouse, with glass partitions that draw the outside greenery indoors. The purity of the transparent construction simplifies and beautifies even the most ordinary daily event.

Golden rays of sun falling upon Anping Harbor, companions talking cheerfully in the cool evening

At dusk, the setting sun drapes its golden glow across the third-floor greenhouse garden. Beer in hand, you walk up to the secret gardens of the third-floor patio. With the expansive harbor spread out before you, both sunrise and sunset are visible from this place. As the cheerful conversation of your companions adorns the evening, you breathe easy in the breezy night air.

As the birds chirp the morning awake, you stroll through the patio garden, allowing the sunlight to warm your heart. Up on the third floor, your family members open the window and sit facing inside the room, while children turn on the stereo in the stairwell. Lively music provides the rhythm for you and your companions as this ideal lifestyle comes alive with a smile.

A dream from Mrs. Wang’s youth led to the reunion of Winnie’s family, and so it came to be that Mrs. Wang was the proprietor for the first design project that Winnie and Teddy undertook together. From the initial hesitance in designing a space that broke with traditional design layouts, to coordinating the needs of each family member through compromise, until the final stages where complete trust allowed for full creative control, in the end, Come to Dwell was constructed in accordance with the heartfelt wishes of every member of the family. “Please come stay with us again!” As you set out on the road again under the hot tropical sun, the family waves goodbye against the backdrop of Mr. Wang’s magical gardens, their splendid smiles etched into your memory.