The Opening Every home begins with a move. Like the opening move in chess, one small idea shapes everything that follows. For this project, that idea came from the clients themselves, a couple of busy dentists who just wanted a place to completely unwind after chaotic workdays.

“We spend all day in bright, clinical white rooms looking at teeth. When we come home, we want the exact opposite. Give us a moody, cozy cafe vibe where we can just shut off our brains.”

As a nod to their love for chess, they fell in love with unique, small tiles and the structured look of checkerboards. They wanted their space to feel less like a standard apartment and more like a nostalgic retro sanctuary where they could spin records or host late-night mahjong. This is where the theme came alive, layering materials and thoughtful ideas like pieces atop our chessboard.

First Rank

We knocked down walls to turn a weirdly shaped living area into a perfectly square, open room. We also added a gorgeous, dark wood cutout window between the kitchen and the front entryway.

Now, the second you walk through the door, you get a view straight into the heart of the home, letting the light, and the vibe, welcome you instantly.

“Coming home now feels like walking into our favorite neighborhood coffee shop,” they laughed during the final walkthrough. “We half expect someone to hand us a menu at the front door.”

Counterplay

Instead of doing something loud or overwhelming, we let the checkerboard pattern act as a signature language. It started on the kitchen floor with a vintage-inspired tile that anchored the rich walnut cabinets. The pattern naturally traveled into the furniture, a custom gridded coffee table, and the artwork on the walls. It even shows up in the bathroom with stacked green tiles, and out on the balcony with a specialized geometric layout.

From that single shape, we began telling a story throughout the home. We paired rich timber tones with warm oranges, and even found a rare, green marble tile for the kitchen island that acts as the anchor for the whole room.

We also had to design around a very real constraint: the husband is exceptionally tall. “If I stretch too high in the morning, I can literally hand-check the ceiling fan,” he pointed out during our early site visits.

To keep the space feeling open and safe for him, we left the living room ceiling at its full original height. We only dropped false ceilings over the entryway and dining space, creating a beautiful transition where the home feels like it opens up dramatically as you walk in.

Castling

Towards the back, we completely flipped the bedroom layouts. We moved the master bed away from the bathroom wall and turned that main room into a massive walk-in wardrobe and study. For sleeping, we used the third bedroom and set up a projector, giving them the ultimate cozy movie-night setup. “The bedroom is strictly for sleeping and movies now,” they said. “It feels like our own private Gold Class Theatre.”

Checkmate

At some point, rigid design rules fade.

Beyond the pieces, patterns, and references to memories, a home is simply about how it feels to live inside it.

In the end, great design determines how our ordinary days fill a home,

and of course, how good it looks doing so.