A friend of a friend asked for my help for this project, having seen the weirdness of my own apartment (and yet she still wanted my help!). I'd already helped produce some wedding invitations for this pair a few months back, and so they came back saying that they would be opening a tennis coaching school in late 2000. They had bought some shop premises in Tobata (the ward west of Kokura, see map) which they wanted to convert into a sort of clubhouse for their members. They asked for a really relaxing atmosphere, and suggested some Bali influences might be about right.

Having seen the premises, I was rather surprised to find an empty concrete shell, running right onto the street. The only contents were two windows, strip lights and a couple of water pipes. Being given free reign is really something I like to hear! After a couple of weeks of feverish slaving away, I gave in some plans and schemes, and they happily agreed that all the elements were feasible - it's due to become reality in October of 2000. Drop in and chill out sometime....

So without further ado, I'll take you on a little guided tour.

Street entrance
The space is divided into a public area (front), and a private work area (rear) which is built on a raised wooden platform, and separated by a grill screen (same as shop front windows). Two large sliding doors open into the shop, with comfortable seating immediately to the right (behind the stupidly-placed column!), while further in is the main desk and desk seating. The desk is in fact a large wooden antique table donated by the couple's parents, which inspired the theme - lashings of natural wood. The private area at the rear includes a small kitchen, shower cubicle and toilet, and some desk space.

Kitchen and toilet areas
The toilet walls are decorated in a contrasting colour and texture (blue ragging) to the walls in the rest of the interior (which are a coarse yellow cream). The small kitchen area features a custom-designed sink and cabinet fitting. On the left is the sink basin, dustbin and cleaning items, the centre cabinet contains a small refridgerator with two gas burners built into the top surface, and the right-hand cabinet has storage space for glasses, cutlery and food. The ceiling uses a cover of reed-matting-effect vinyl (not visible in the photos), with wood beams crossed to help hide the light fittings and air-conditioning units.

Shower and private workspace
With your back to the kitchen, you'd get this view of the shower room, with it's heavy inset shelving built into the wall, and floor tiled in dark green slate. As with the kitchen, internal workings for the water supply and drainage are hidden, with only the shower head and basic controls visible - clean, bold lines being the essence of Bali architecture. The curtain rail provides a small changing area, increasing the apparent space of the desk area, which is divided from the customer area by the screen grill, giving some privacy but without cutting them apart completely. Thereby the continuity of the interior can be carried through.

Customer and shop area
The warm terracotta flooring is extended right up to the door of the toilet. The side entrance to the shop also features a sliding door and wood grill-work, with a small glass fish bowl beside, to provide the sound of bubbling water. The far corner contains a large sofa on two walls (two tall windows above it are just out of sight) and side table tucked behind the structural column, with a large wicker armchair to its right. Hopefully the overall effect is 'relaxing with a touch of luxury', and should be a pleasure to visit. And just in case you want to, these shop premises are located at Nakahonmachi 11-2, just off the main arcade by Tobata station. Drop by and marvel...