Muji has launched a single-storey prefabricated home called Y? no Ie that has a large outdoor deck to encourage indoor-outdoor living.
Y? no Ie, or Plain House, is intended for use in rural settings and is the first stair-free dwelling in Muji's line of prefabricated timber homes that launched in 2004.
The 74-square-metre structure responds to a growing demand for low-profile homes in suburban Japan, and the retail company hopes it will provide "a wide range of generations" with more choices of places to live.

"[Y? no Ie] enables you to interact with gardens that are difficult to realise in such urban areas," explained the Japanese retail company.
"You can buy it for the first time, at the end of your home after the children have settled, or as a villa. [Y? no Ie] should be a pleasant answer for a comfortable home."
Y? no Ie is a compact single-storey home without columns or fixed divisions. It was designed by Muji for flexibility and will allow owners to reconfigure its layout to meet changing needs.
True to the brand's minimalist aesthetic, it has a pared-back interior finish composed of pale wood floors and white walls.

Three full-height doors line one side of the house, opening up to the outdoor decking that features a sunken segment for use as a fire pit or garden.
This decking area is intended to form a seamless extension of the house's interior, so that the division between them has been made as flush as possible. Muji hopes this will...