Exquisite Gentleman Residential

Exquisite Gentleman Residential

Exquisite Gentleman Residential is an award-winning interior design project that exemplifies the sophisticated integration of classical Baroque aesthetics with contemporary design sensibilities, created by designer Tzu Lung Liao for CY Interior Design in Taiwan. Completed in April 2021 after a four-month development period, this 128-square-meter residential apartment represents a unique design challenge that balances the preferences of a father who favors traditional Baroque styling with the future needs of his son, who will eventually occupy the space. The design employs a refined palette of black, gray, and white tones as its foundational color scheme, establishing a masculine yet elegant atmosphere that permeates throughout the living environment. Upon entry, visitors encounter a meticulously crafted mosaic floor featuring black and white floral totems, which serves as a transitional element leading to a striking focal wall composed of iris glass and iron pieces, demonstrating the designer's commitment to material diversity and visual interest. The spatial organization of Exquisite Gentleman Residential addresses both functional and aesthetic requirements by connecting the living area, tasting room, and dining space in a fluid arrangement that accommodates daily living while providing suitable venues for entertaining guests and displaying the owner's collections of tea and wine. The design vocabulary throughout the space incorporates classical wire panels interwoven with contemporary linear elements, creating a rich textural dialogue through the strategic deployment of wood grain, glass, mirror, and iron components that collectively establish a layered spatial expression. A significant design challenge involved addressing a large structural beam that traversed the center of the living room, which threatened to create visual oppression and disrupt the spatial continuity of the public areas; this obstacle was ingeniously resolved through the application of collaged materials including wood grain and mirror surfaces that echo the facade's material connections while extending visual continuity from the living area to the dining space, enhanced by indirect lighting that frames both zones and suggests a unified open-plan environment. The living room features a luxury stone television wall selected specifically for its natural leopard-like pattern, a distinctive characteristic that influenced the owner's decision and necessitated installation without visible joint lines to preserve the stone's inherent visual drama. Throughout the public spaces, display cabinets are strategically positioned to accommodate the owner's collecting interests, integrating storage functionality with decorative purpose. The private quarters demonstrate a shift in design approach, employing totemic wallpaper to introduce subtle pattern variation while maintaining the overall design coherence, thereby creating a softer atmospheric quality appropriate for rest and relaxation while continuing the project's emphasis on detailed craftsmanship. The dining area reinterprets classical design language through glass elements, presenting what might be characterized as contemporary romance through the marriage of traditional forms with modern materials. Exquisite Gentleman Residential earned recognition as a Bronze winner at the A' Design Award in the Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design category in 2025, one of the world's most prestigious design competitions, which acknowledged the project's creativity, ingenuity, and professional execution in addressing complex spatial requirements while maintaining aesthetic excellence. The Bronze A' Design Award designation recognizes designs that demonstrate skillful creativity, authenticate designer experience and resourcefulness, and represent highly-regarded artifacts that incorporate best practices in art, science, design, and technology, with particular attention to details that enhance quality of life. The project embodies CY Interior Design's artisan spirit philosophy, which emphasizes continuous innovation and the infusion of new vitality into each space through designer ingenuity, supported by integrated operations that manage every detail from initial design conception through engineering execution. The designer's background in woodworking contributed to an understanding of material properties and construction techniques that informed the project's sophisticated material palette and detailed execution, enabling the seamless integration of diverse elements ranging from mosaic tilework to luxury stone surfaces, from classical moldings to contemporary metalwork. Exquisite Gentleman Residential represents a thoughtful exploration of intergenerational design considerations, creating a space that honors paternal preferences while anticipating the evolving needs and tastes of the next generation, achieved through careful material selection, spatial planning, and the balanced incorporation of both traditional and modern design elements that together establish a timeless yet contemporary residential environment suitable for multiple functions including daily living, social entertaining, and the display of personal collections.

Interior design integration, classical contemporary fusion, residential space planning, material layering techniques, structural challenge resolution, intergenerational design considerations

— Adam Dawson

CITATION : "Adam Dawson. 'Exquisite Gentleman Residential.' Design+Encyclopedia. https://design-encyclopedia.com/define/exquisite-gentleman-residential?E=483018 (Accessed on October 14, 2026)"