Zen

Where it comes from

Japanese domestic interiors and their relationship to emptiness.

Zen is the most demanding remodel brief in this list, because the entire style is the absence of things. Concealed storage, level changes instead of furniture, a palette of two or three natural tones and daylight controlled with screens.

Lighting

Indirect and even, hidden entirely. Any visible fitting is an object, and objects are what this style removes.

What breaks it

• Tall furniture
• Visible storage
• Applied pattern
• Strong colour of any kind

Where to spend

Storage volume. Every clear surface implies a cupboard somewhere, and the remodel has to build them.