HAO Design Studio designed this apartment in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan for a couple, their three beloved cats, and all of their collectibles. They swapped out the bright marble floors for a more subdued concrete, which instantly set the tone for the modern/industrial space.
An iron panel welcomes the homeowners and guests upon entering with their favorite image.
Once inside, the space is bright and open and decked out with a mix of modern and vintage finds.
The massive plywood shelf is the highlight of the living room holding books and other ephemera.
In the dining room, the table is made from wood and pipes, as is the shelf hanging on the brick wall. A red vintage phone hangs beside it.
Just off the dining room is the cat den, a space for them to play and sleep.
The cats access the area via an arched doorway built just for them.
The display cases slide to reveal storage for their collection of records.
That space is also used to watch movies on a big screen that pulls down.
Photos by Hey!Cheese.

11 Comments
Rob Mair on 06.05.2015 at 08:29 AM
A poor design from the point of view of a cat lover.
Where are the high positioned cat paths?
Where are the cat hide-aways and climbing areas?
No this is not a design for cats.
rachelee on 06.05.2015 at 09:25 AM
I don’t care that much for the loft but OH MY GOD THE CAT DEN IS AWESOME.
KND on 06.06.2015 at 02:36 AM
Meh….I think the modern, industrial look is getting old. What’s next? Don’t get me wrong I love this stuff! But it’s overdone.
Patty on 11.28.2015 at 00:26 AM
I agree about the modern industrial look that all the people looking for homes on HGTV seem to favor. That and granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. If you want them in my house when I sell it, you will have to put them in yourself. I don’t even like those things! I definitely believe that many “househunters” should just custom build their house and forget about buying a used one.
Juno on 06.08.2015 at 14:09 PM
I find the wording on the entry panel disturbing and bordering on the offensive.
Agree with @RobMair – I don’t see anything that is nice for cats. They love to be high up and they love small dark hide-holes.
Rob Mair on 06.09.2015 at 11:12 AM
Thank you Juno.
Gregory Han on 06.09.2015 at 15:20 PM
The quote is a direct passage from J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye”; the context here is probably attributed to its reuse in the anime, “Ghost in the Shell”, but it’s also worth noting the literature reference:
“I figured I could get a job at a filling station somewhere, putting gas and oil in people’s cars. I didn’t care what kind of job it was, though. Just so people didn’t know me and I didn’t know anybody. I thought what I’d do was, I’d pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn’t have to have any goddamn stupid useless conversations with anybody. If anybody wanted to tell me something, they’d have to write it on a piece of paper and shove it over to me. They’d get bored as hell doing that after a while, and then I’d be through with having conversations for the rest of my life. Everybody’d think I was just a poor deaf-mute bastard and they’d leave me alone.”
Rorie on 07.14.2015 at 07:34 AM
I love the quote, love that book. “Phony” lol. Loving this space …. would love an open space like this ….& loving that cat den!!!!!!!!!! what I love the most is that massive plywood shelf, I am fixing to have something like that done because Im a antique collecter/dealer and just want huge massive shelves to alternate my weirdo finds for decoration!!!
Matt on 09.21.2015 at 22:54 PM
It’s from the Ghost In The Shell reuse. That’s the Laughing Man logo with the Salinger quote.
Patty on 11.28.2015 at 00:27 AM
Also it appears that there is too much sun and that the den could get very warm if there is a lot of sun shining in through the windows at any time of the day.
Kaley on 08.03.2015 at 11:01 AM
Thanks for the background on the quote … I couldn’t quite read it on my screen, and what I could read seemed kind of strange!
The space feels very cold to me, and I agree with my fellow cat people: NOT a good home for kitties … how sad, to be looking in at their people, separated by all that glass.
What I do love is the tile in the entry — unique and interesting.
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