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A new house to the lineup in the Cocoro series with an overlap of both design and function.

There is a relationship between people and the houses they live in. People imagine how their lives could be lived as stress-free as possible when designing and building houses, however upon completion something is often discovered to have been left out or missed. 

This is similar to interactions among people themselves. Meeting someone new you are not completely aware at first, but the more your relationship deepens you come to know their true character.

And so today we bring you Cocoro Okurayama, a female-exclusive sharehouse 7 minutes walk from Okurayama station on the Tokyu Toyoko line. It has already been 4 years since the house first opened its doors, and we headed on over to check out their recently renovated common-use areas.

The renovations were carried out upon discussions with the residents about which aspects are inconvenient and how the house could be made more user-friendly, and just by looking at the finished product it goes without saying they’ve really upped on the functionality of the house.

Now, without further ado, let’s head on inside!!

「Cocoro Okurayama」House Details Page

   

A great location 10 minutes to Yokohama station and 25 minutes to Shibuya station

Okurayama station sits between two terminal stations, Yokohama and Shibuya, and the area around it is lined with supermarkets, convenience stores and drugstores indispensable for buying everyday necessities, making it a very convenient area to live. Cocoro Okurayama can be reached by a 7-minute walk from this station. 

Having a look out back before going inside we find a clothing line in the garden area. 

Returning to the front we open the door and head inside. In the photo on the left is the shoe storage cupboards. 

These brand new cupboards were put in with the renovations. There is also a shelf for boots.

The IDEE brand furniture filled room creates a fresh, warm and comfortable atmosphere

The communal area was renovated in September, 2013 incorporating the tenants opinions to fix its hard-to-use aspects and take both its convenience and design up a notch. What resulted is this comfortable area as clean and fresh as a newly-built property.  

The green-colored sofa stands out against the wooden furniture. It’s also quite comfortable to sit on. 

The dining room may seem like a simple design but if you look closely at the chairs you will notice that each is slightly different. The lighting fixture is also from IDEE. 

Against the dining room wall is a bit of artwork and space to keep books.

On the shelf when we visited the house was Globetrotter travel guidebooks. I guess there are a lot of travel lovers here. 

The window blinds are also wooden. They not only look nice but shut the light out very well. 

Let’s move on to the kitchen, which the manager is quite fussy about to get it just right. 

The refrigerator and other electrical appliances which were once out on show in the living room now have their own place in the kitchen. 

New shelving has been put in with plenty of room for each tenant to use. The tea towels are folded away nicely in this drawer. 

A different angle of the kitchen. With plenty of preparation space you can enjoy cooking without any stress. 

Pull down the cover behind the light to find a shelf for storing spices and things. When not in use everything is stored away nicely out of sight. 

There is also a built-in water purification system, with clean and pure water coming out of the tap with you turn the small nozzle on the right. 

Like all houses in the Cocoro series, the kitchen floor is fitted with mosaic tiling. 

Space has also been added to charge electronic devices so that you can plug in your iPad and follow a recipe while cooking.

The stove is a gas stove with 3 burners. 

Lastly we’ll show you the bathroom, laundry and toilet facilities. This is the washstand and laundry room. 

The bathroom is fitted with a tub.  

And, in a novel idea, the shower is located next to the toilet. 

 

Managing this property is Arco Design Works. The manager worked for a company doing housing and hotel planning, design and interior design before breaking away to go independant and now develops houses with both functionality and convenience. The plan is to continue to develop more houses in line with the Cocoro series unified by its consistent theme.

They also gain points for demonstrating that they manage their houses by listening to the needs of its tenants by endeavoring to create even more simple environments to live in, as can be seen by today’s remodeled common area.

Due to there already being tenants living in the property during our visit we were unable to show you the rooms, however as several of them are being considered for remodeling we hope to bring you updates on that front in the future.

Return home to be welcomed by good quality furniture bathed in the warm glow of the lighting. You’ll love sitting on the green sofa, and your daily routine will become one of waking up early on weekdays to calmly eat your breakfast with a coffee in one hand. Your days off will be spent getting into cooking following along with a recipe on your tablet and hanging out with friends at the dinner table.

Looking around at the house after speaking with the manager, the above scene played over and over in my head, most likely because they had spent time focusing on not only design but functionality as well. This visit really made me rethink my definition of what an easy-to-live-in house was.

/Author: Kagawa

 

Cocoro Okurayama
House DetailCocoro Okurayama
Area Tarumachi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa
Rent -
Access
7 min walk from Okurayama Station
18 min walk from Tsunashima Station
Condition Female, 学生不可
Now fully occupied