Upstate Home — Baicai Design

Upstate Home 04

This is a family residence located in New York State. Without overt decorative narratives, it seeks to convey a sense of warmth through details—natural light, the soft texture of wood, and the seasonal rhythms of greenery and the garden come together to shape an everyday landscape.

Project Info:

Status: built, 2024
Area: 433 sqm
Location: New York State
Photography: Yizhen Zhu

Located in the suburbs of upstate New York and surrounded by nature, the landscape feels like a natural extension of the house. Generous greenery was preserved to maintain a sense of visual and spatial continuity between indoors and out.

White louvered shutters soften the sunlight, while pale gray and warm beige walls complement each other to create a space that feels clean yet full. Subtle textures—linen, wool, rattan—weave through the rooms, tying each corner together with quiet warmth.

The living and dining areas are designed as open, flexible spaces centered around the sofa, fireplace, and long dining table. It's a place where family and friends can gather warmly or quietly enjoy their own moments.

This is a home without overtly curated "design moments," yet it responds to daily life through subtle details—the warm touch of the wooden stair railing, dappled afternoon light on the stone floor, books and instruments quietly placed in corners—all lending a sense of ease and fullness to everyday living.

There is no deliberate complexity in the design—only a quiet response to the home's natural scale and layout. Through the warmth of materials and thoughtful furniture details, we aimed to create a sense of home. More than comfort, we hope residents find moments of connection and joy with loved ones woven into the everyday.

About

Baicai Design is a multidisciplinary design practice based in New York and Shenyang, working across architecture, interiors, exhibitions, and spatial design. Its practice spans different geographies, scales, and cultural contexts.

Founded by Kaiwen Zhao, Baicai is shaped by his interdisciplinary background in design and architecture. Zhao studied Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Architecture at the Yale School of Architecture. He currently teaches in the Department of Industrial Design at RISD, and has previously taught at the University of Colorado Denver, lectured at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and served as a guest critic at Syracuse University.

Baicai approaches space beyond the conventional boundaries of interior design, bringing together architectural and product design thinking to address spatial questions. Through different scales of intervention, we explore the relationships between space, objects, and human behavior.

New York:
540 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY, 11201

Shenyang:
A07International Software Park, Shenyang, China

baicaidesignoffice@gmail.com

Awards

FRAME Wellness Space of the year Shortlisted
2026

Paris Design Awards Winner
2026

MUSE Design Awards Gold Winner
2026

Dezeen China Rising Firm of the Year
2025

POSITION Award China Best 100 Young Architect
2024

Guangzhou Design Week 40 Under 40
2024

AD China 100 YOUNG
2022-2024

Architizer Best Young Interior Design Firm Special Mention
2024

Forbes China 30 Under 30
2023

FRAME Small Residential of the year Shortlisted
2023

FRAME Award Best Emerging Designer Nominee
2023

APIDA Design Award Excellence Award
2023

FRAME Pop-up Store of the Year
2022

FRAME Window Display of the Year Shortlisted
2022

WYDF TOP 100 Designer
2022

Dezeen Award Shortlisted
2022

Architecture Masterprize Best of The Bests
2022

AD China 100 YOUNG
2020-2022

Architecture Masterprize Honorable Mention
2022

KUKAN Design Award Shortlisted
2022

DNA Award Winner in Workplace Design
2022

DNA Award Honorable Mention in Workplace Design
2022

DNA Award Honorable Mention in Showroom Design
2022

K-Design Award Winner
2022

Novum Design Award Gold Award
2022

Novum Design Award Silver Award
2022

IDA Design Award Honorable Mention
2022

FRAME Best of the Month
2022 April

Design for Asia Award Bronx Award
2021

Design for Asia Award Excellence Award
2021

IDEA Design Award Finalist
2021

Golden Pin Design Award Winner
2021

Golden Pin Design Award Honorable Mention
2022

Press

Baicai Design’s work has received international media coverage across architecture, design, fashion, and culture. The studio has been featured in publications including Gestalten, INTERIORS, AD China, FRAME, Interior Design China, My Home, and id+c, alongside leading global platforms such as Dezeen, Leibal, Architizer, Divisare, Vogue, ELLE China, Yatzer, Cosmopolitan, gooood, Archilovers, Designverse, and Archello.