CCD·ENSUE HOME | She Plays Piano, He Collects Wine: One House, Two “Situations”

What truly gives this space a resort feel is the white Yamaha grand piano in the living room. It's not tucked away in a corner; it's placed just right—the first thing you see when entering from the foyer, and the first thing you notice when turning your head from the sofa.

Mrs. Chen started learning piano at five, studied at a conservatory in college, and almost went professional. She later switched careers, but never gave up playing. At Sheshan, she plays more often now. The sunlight is gentler, the courtyard water shimmers, and the shadows of the window mullions fall across the keys.

"Sometimes when work gets frustrating, I come here on the weekend, sit down and play for a while, and it's all better."

As soon as the piano plays, the entire holiday home gains its own soundtrack. This round is hers.

The living room deliberately avoids defining a center. A U-shaped sofa arrangement with two symmetrical coffee tables creates a cozy, free-spirited nook. Mr. Chen says, "I don't like the idea of all the furniture pushed against the walls. People should be enveloped by the space, not hemmed in by walls."

🔻 Living Room

The dining room adjoins the living room, anchored by a long, steady table. The top is rounded pale marble with a cool touch. Its legs are hand-finished with a natural matte texture. The dining chairs are upholstered in cream silk fabric, with a strong sense of enclosure and a gently curved back; once you sit down, you don't want to get up.

At the center of the table is a reserved interchangeable decorative spot. Sometimes Mrs. Chen places a bouquet cut from the courtyard; other times a small sculpture she recently found. "When friends come for a getaway, we switch it to objects that match the theme.
When the table comes alive, dining becomes more than just eating."

Right outside the window is the courtyard. Large glass sliding doors open completely to merge indoors and outdoors. On a summer evening, the breeze blows in from the water, gently swaying the flowers on the dining table.

This is her other round. Weekend art salons, small gatherings with friends, ladies' afternoon teas... the long table is never just for dining. It's the focal point of holiday time, where conversations happen.

The crystal chandelier is shaped like butterflies—not a single one, but a whole cluster, suspended mid-air. Light refracts through each "wing," scattering delicate flecks on the walls as if a flight of butterflies is passing through.

Mr. Chen says that sometimes when he comes up from the basement at night, he unconsciously pauses here to look up. "I can't quite explain why, I just find it beautiful." This lamp is the most 'impractical' thing in the house, yet it has become an unspoken little ritual for the couple every vacation—passing by, slowing down half a beat, and looking up.

If the first floor is the holiday living room 'to share with friends,' then the basement is the late-night refuge for oneself and truly kindred spirits.

The tones suddenly deepen. Dark brown oil-wax leather sofas swallow you up as soon as you sit. Hand-knotted wool carpets make no sound underfoot. The walls are clad in distressed wood paneling, and the lighting is dim and intimate.

Here, Mr. Chen hosts old friends who drive up on weekends. "I don't like glaringly bright socializing. Too formal and everyone's on edge; too casual and it doesn't feel right. This is just perfect."

Unlike the long table in the living room, the table here is round.
This round table is made of Pandora luxury stone, its surface resembling flowing lava and a starry river, with every pattern unique. Mr. Chen says that the moment he first saw the stone, he decided on it. "It's unlike any other table; it's one of a kind."

The wine cellar next to the table isn't large, but every bottle is personally selected by him.
"Opening a great bottle of wine requires a place worthy of it."

This is his round. No business talk, just opened wine. Those matters that stubbornly refuse to be resolved in downtown meeting rooms often find their answers, almost serendipitously, around this round table in Sheshan.

By the water feature sits a long teak table. Unlike the marble dining table indoors, this one is wooden, rougher, and more casual.

Mrs. Chen says, "In the spring I arrange flowers on it; in the summer we eat watermelon on it; in the autumn friends come to drink yellow wine. On a breezy afternoon, sitting here with tea, the sound of water is right at our feet."

This table belongs to no single round. It belongs to the seasons, to the wind, to those holiday afternoons when you want to sit outside for no reason at all.

The story of this holiday home is actually very simple.
Two people
found a waterfront private residence at the foot of Sheshan,
and turned it into the place they want to return to every single weekend.
Mr. Chen said something that we think can serve as the closing words:

"A good holiday home

is a place where you are willing to waste time."
Mrs. Chen added beside him:

"And then I play a piece of music for him."

Project Name: Shanghai · Gan Yun Jian
Project Owner: Xizi International
Project Address: Intersection of Shexin Road and Sheyuan Road, Sheshan, Shanghai, China
Architectural Design: gad
Interior Design: GFD Guangfei Design
Hard Decoration Design: GFD Guangfei Design
Soft Decoration Design: CCD · ENSUE HOME

Art Consultant: CCD · ENSUE HOME

Material Platform: IDEAFUSION
Design Area: 1235 m²
Completion Date: December 2025