A traditional Korean house with a modern Italian style

When I first saw the eye-popping lime-green living room with the humongous traffic mirror in the corner I knew I had to report about it in Made In Slant.  From the outside, it looks like a traditional Korean house (called a hanok), with a carved wooden door and pagoda-style roof.  On the inside it is “a puzzle of open views and hidden storage,” said Simone Carena, the Italian architect and owner.

The home, located in the Samcheong-dong district of Seoul, Korea, is a 1100 sq ft U-shaped structure, set so that the opening — and the courtyard — faces west and offers views over the surrounding rooftops, toward the sunset. Its interior is thoroughly modern.  In the living room lies a sunken sitting area, a whimsical traffic mirror and studio lights.  Multi-use spaces are everywhere – a retractable shelf in the bedroom, a loft bed above a work area, a cellar room used for storage, play and sleeping.

*Photos from the New York Times.