Urban Cocoon — a Modern Living Space (Interior Design）

Project Overview

In fast-paced urban life, many residents struggle to find a living room environment that truly balances a sense of openness and warmth, while also addressing issues like harsh lighting, poor material acoustics, and the lack of flexible zones for both relaxation and social interaction.

Problem Statement

Modern city apartments often feel cold and impersonal. Common pain points include:

1. Overly flat artificial lighting that creates glare and discomfort at night
2. Hard surfaces that amplify noise, making it harder to relax
3. Rigid furniture layouts that can’t adapt to both everyday living and entertaining guests
4. A lack of natural elements that connect the user to a sense of calm and wellbeing

Design Solution

To address these issues, I designed Urban Cocoon as a multi-layered, modern living room that softens light, absorbs sound, and offers adaptable zones for different moods and activities.

Key strategies include:

1. Layered Lighting: Indirect cove lights and integrated floor lighting eliminate harsh glare and create a relaxing ambience. Task lighting and accent lamps can be repositioned as needed.
2. Warm Materials & Textures: Combining dark wood paneling with soft textiles and a plush area rug reduces echo, adds warmth, and brings a tactile sense of comfort.
3. Flexible Layout: Modular seating, lightweight accent tables, and a movable statement piece (like the acrylic side chair) allow residents to easily reconfigure the space for solo reading, movie nights, or larger gatherings.
4. Biophilic Touch: A single large plant and organic shapes contrast the clean lines, adding a subtle connection to nature in the urban context.

Outcome

The final result is a cozy yet sophisticated living space that feels like an urban retreat — an intimate cocoon for relaxing alone or hosting friends, with balanced lighting, rich textures, and thoughtful flexibility that adapts to the changing needs of modern city life.

In this first step, I focused on developing the basic layout of the interior space. Using 3D software, I blocked out the major functional zones — living area, circulation paths, and partitions — to understand how people would move through the space and interact with each area.

This rough massing model helps test the scale, proportion, and spatial relationships before moving on to detailed design. I adjusted the initial walls, openings, and furniture footprints to create a balanced flow that meets the needs for both openness and privacy.

Starting with clear zoning is essential for defining how light, furniture, and material finishes will work together in the next stages.

In this second step, I refined the initial massing model by adding key structural elements such as beams, columns, and interior partitions. This helps ensure that the design is realistic and structurally feasible when moving forward to detailed construction drawings.

I focused on defining the entryway area more clearly by adding the main entrance door and adjusting its relationship with circulation paths and adjacent rooms. Proper door placement and beam alignment are crucial for both functional flow and architectural integrity.

In addition, I fine-tuned the proportions of windows, openings, and room connections to optimize natural light and ventilation throughout the space. These detail adjustments lay the groundwork for how interior finishes and furniture will later interact with the structural system, ensuring a cohesive and buildable design.

In this third step, I focused on enriching the living room area by adding key furniture pieces and designing custom built-ins to create a cohesive, functional, and visually balanced space.

I started by placing the main sofa set, side tables, and lounge chairs to define the seating zone and ensure comfortable circulation around it. Then, I designed a built-in TV cabinet that integrates storage with clean lines, helping to reduce visual clutter while adding practical functionality.

To enhance the sense of depth and warmth, I added a feature wall panel behind the sofa, which acts as a backdrop and helps visually anchor the furniture arrangement. Overhead, I created recessed ceiling light troughs to provide soft, indirect illumination, which highlights the textures of the finishes and contributes to a cozy atmosphere.

Additionally, I explored shelving units and accent cabinets that not only add storage but also offer display areas for decor items, books, and plants. Every element is positioned to balance openness and privacy, creating a refined and inviting living space ready for final material detailing and rendering.

In this step, I focused on finalizing the bathroom design by selecting appropriate materials, refining the lighting strategy, and producing realistic renderings to test the overall atmosphere.

Material Choices:

I chose a combination of neutral tiles and textured accent walls to create a clean yet inviting space. Large-format matte tiles on the main walls and floor help make the bathroom feel more spacious and modern, while a darker stone or wood-textured panel adds visual interest behind the sink or shower area. Fixtures like the sink and toilet are kept minimal in shape to match the contemporary style.

Lighting Design:

For the lighting, I combined functional and ambient sources. A recessed LED strip above the vanity mirror provides clear task lighting for daily routines, while subtle downlights ensure the whole room is evenly lit without harsh shadows. I also added indirect accent lights under shelves or behind panels to create a soft glow, adding warmth to the hard surfaces.

Atmosphere:

By balancing cool and warm tones in both the materials and lights, the bathroom feels fresh and hygienic yet not overly clinical. This mix of textures and layered lighting transforms the space into a calming, comfortable area for daily use. This stage helped test how the finishes interact with light and how reflections and shadows shape the final look.

In this final step, I produced a series of detailed renderings to showcase the completed bathroom design with fully developed materials and lighting. These images highlight how all design choices come together to create a modern, practical, and calming atmosphere.

Material Refinement:

I explored a balanced mix of matte and glossy finishes to add visual interest and functional benefits. For example, matte tiles on the floor help reduce slipping, while semi-gloss tiles on the shower wall reflect light subtly, making the space feel brighter without being harsh. The use of warm-toned stone texture for the accent wall adds depth and creates a sense of luxury. Brass or black metal fixtures were selected to provide a modern contrast against the neutral base, tying the entire palette together.

Lighting Outcome:

The final renders demonstrate how the layered lighting design — combining direct task lights, soft ambient sources, and hidden accent lights — brings warmth to the cool materials and highlights the space’s clean lines and textures.

Overall, this bathroom outcome reflects my focus on blending aesthetic refinement with user comfort. By carefully considering materials, finishes, and light interactions, the space feels clean, sophisticated, and welcoming for everyday use.

In this final rendering stage, I produced multiple visualizations of the living room to capture how the design adapts to different times of day. By showing both morning and evening scenes, I could test how natural and artificial lighting interact with the materials and furniture layout.

Daytime Rendering:

During the day, large windows bring in abundant natural light, highlighting the textures of the marble floor, the subtle pattern of the rug, and the warmth of the wood paneling. The greenery near the window adds a soft contrast, connecting the interior to the outdoor environment.

Evening Rendering:

For the evening scene, I focused on creating a cozy, layered atmosphere through carefully designed ambient and accent lighting. A key feature is the soft glow from the hidden strip light beneath the sofa, which adds depth to the floor area and subtly defines the seating zone. Recessed cove lights and indirect wall washing emphasize the warm wood finishes without creating harsh shadows.

Throughout the renderings, I paid close attention to small details like the balance of light and shadow on the ceiling, the reflections on the glass surfaces, and the way the lighting interacts with furniture edges. This outcome demonstrates how thoughtful lighting placement and material selection can transform a simple living space into an inviting and adaptable area that feels comfortable at any time of day.