fān xiū zhè gè fáng zi

翻修这个房子

Renovating this house

zuì qiáng liè de yuàn wàng

最强烈的愿望

My intention

wǒ fù mǔ yī zhí huì jiù zài zhè gè fáng zi lǐ miàn

我父母一直会就在这个房子里面

Is to have my parents live in this house

néng ràng tā men néng gòu shēng huó dé hǎo yī diǎn

能让他们能够生活得好一点

They can be comfortable here

wǒ hé wǒ lǎo pó shì chóng míng běn dì rén

我和我老婆是崇明本地人

My wife and I are Chongming island locals

chóng míng hěn yǒu duō lǎo fáng fān xīn

崇明很有多老房翻新

Many old houses in Chongming were renovated

yī bān jiù zuò chéng nà zhǒng xīn nóng cūn bié shù

一般就做成那种“新农村别墅”

In a "neo-countryside mansion" style

zhè gè fáng zi yǒu duō gè chuāng hù

这个房子有70多个窗户

The house has over 70 windows

měi gè chuāng hù dōu yǒu tā dú tè de fēng jǐng

每个窗户都有它独特的风景

Each window has its unique view

yǒu miáo pǔ shù lín tián yuán

有苗圃、树林、田园

Nurseries, woods, fields

tōng guò zhè xiē chuāng dòng bǎ tā men dōu chuàn lián qǐ lái

通过这些窗洞把它们都串联起来

They are connected by the windows

xíng chéng yī gè tè bié de kōng jiān tǐ yàn

形成一个特别的空间体验

Forming a special experience

liǎng tiáo dù zhóu xiàn de yī gè dòng xiàn guān xì

两条45度轴线的一个动线关系

The circulation relation between two 45-degree axes

yǒu yī gè nèi tíng yuàn hé wài tíng yuàn zhǔ dǎo zhù zhěng gè fáng jiān bù jú

有一个内庭院和外庭院，主导著整个房间布局

An inner garden and an outer garden dominate the floor plan 15

wài qiáng shì bái sè tú liào

外墙是白色涂料

The outer walls are painted white

shì nèi de dì miàn yě shì bái sè de zì liú píng

室内的地面也是白色的自流平

And the indoor floor is white self-leveling underlayment

xuǎn zé bái sè xī wàng zhè gè fáng zi gèng jiā jí jiǎn

选择白色希望这个房子更加极简

We chose white as the theme color for minimalism

zhàn dì miàn jī dà gài duō píng fāng mǐ

占地面积大概1000多平方米

The house covers an area of over 1000 square meters

wǒ dāng shí yù suàn duō wàn

我当时预算100多万

My budget was one million

zuì hòu huā le dà gài duō wàn

最后花了大概250多万

While the final cost was over two million and a half

dā shàng le zhěng zhěng nián de shí jiān

搭上了整整4年的时间

Plus four years of my life

jǐ jiàn bì xū de jiā jù chuāng lián dēng

几件必须的家具、窗帘、灯

Except for some necessary furniture, curtains and lights

fáng zi lǐ miàn de zhuāng shì jǐ hū méi yǒu

房子里面的装饰几乎没有

There is almost no decoration

kè tīng de zhèng zhōng jiān zhǒng le yī kē shù

客厅的正中间，种了一棵树

In the middle of the living room we planted a tree

yī kāi shǐ fù mǔ yě bù lǐ jiě

一开始父母也不理解

My parents didn't quite understand

dàn hòu lái wǒ cái zhī dào

但后来我才知道

But later I heard

wǒ bà jīng cháng qù fù jìn de shù lín hé biān

我爸经常去附近的树林、河边

That my father would go look for the tree I want

bāng wǒ zhǎo wǒ xǐ huān de zhè kē shù

帮我找我喜欢的这棵树

In the nearby woods and river banks

zhè gè shù shì zuì wǎn xuǎn de yào zhǎng dé gāo hái yào shēng mìng lì wán qiáng

这个树是最晚选的，要长得高，还要生命力顽强

The tree was the last to be planted, it must be tall and tough

wò shì lǐ miàn shè jì le yī gè xiǎo mén

卧室里面设计了一个小门

There is a tiny door in the bedroom

tè bié tóng qù hǎo wán de dì fāng

特别童趣、好玩的地方

It's a super fun design

chū qù shì yào wān yāo de wài miàn shì gè yáng tái

出去是要弯腰的，外面是个阳台

You have to stoop to get through, and it opens to the balcony

shàng miàn tōng xiàng sān lóu lóu tī

上面通向三楼楼梯

These are stairs to the third floor

wǎng shàng zǒu de shí hòu kě yǐ kàn dào nèi yuàn

往上走的时候可以看到内院

You can see the inner garden while stepping up

chóng míng yǒu yī gè lǎo guān niàn

崇明有一个老观念

There is a tradition in Chongming

wǒ men zào de fáng zi bì xū yào yǒu yī gè hěn dà de tīng zuò hóng bái xǐ shì

我们造的房子必须要有一个很大的厅，做红白喜事

A house has a big hall for weddings and funerals

xiàn zài zhè gè fáng zi méi yǒu zhè gè gōng néng

现在这个房子没有这个功能

But our house doesn't

wǒ shuō yǒu shēng zhī nián néng gòu ràng nǐ men ān xiǎng wǎn nián

我说有生之年，能够让你们安享晚年

The most important thing

zhè shì zuì zhǔ yào de

这是最主要的

Is that you enjoy your old age in peace

wǒ fù mǔ yě bǐ jiào kāi míng jiē shòu le wǒ zhè gè guān diǎn

我父母也比较开明，接受了我这个观点

My parents are open-minded enough to accept my concept

wǒ men zǒng yǐ wèi fù mǔ lǎo le guān niàn chén jiù

我们总以为父母老了，观念陈旧

We often think our parents are too old to understand us

qí shí shì yīn wèi wǒ men bù qù hé tā men jiāo liú

其实是因为我们不去和他们交流

That's because we don't talk to them

wǒ de wài pó xiàn zài shì suì

我的外婆现在是87岁

My grandmother is 87 years old

tā men jiù yī jù huà wài sūn fáng zi zào dé tài hǎo le

他们就一句话，外孙房子造得太好了

And all they say about the house is that, you make a brilliant house

hěn hòu huǐ de yī jiàn shì qíng jiù shì shuō

很后悔的一件事情就是说

It's a pity

wǒ zhè fáng zi zào dé màn le

我这房子造得慢了

That I didn't build this house earlier

wài gōng tā qù shì dōu méi zhù guò

外公，他去世都没住过

my grandfather never lived in the house

zhè gè wǒ hěn shāng xīn

这个我很伤心

It hurts to think about this

měi cì yī huí lái jiù jué dé xīn lǐ hěn píng jìng

每次一回来，就觉得心里很平静

I feel peaceful every time I come back

yǐ qián wǒ men duì jí jiǎn de lǐ jiě jiù shì jiǎn dān

以前我们对极简的理解就是简单

My understanding of minimalism was simple

dàn shì zhù jìn zhè gè fáng zi yǐ hòu

但是住进这个房子以后

But now that I live in this house

kāi shǐ jué dé jí jiǎn zhǔ yì kě néng shì

开始觉得极简主义可能是

I start to believe

rén bù bèi wù zhì qīn zhàn jīng shén shàng huò dé gèng duō zì yóu

人不被物质侵占，精神上获得更多自由

That minimalism is spiritual freedom from material invasion