Quiet Wisdom

Korean design star Teo Yang bridges cultures and crafts for his first residential project in the United States

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In Korean tradition, comfort is often found in what’s left out,” explains the Seoul-based designer Teo Yang. “That emptiness is actually treated as a presence, not a void.” This was a guiding ethos for his first residential commission in the United States: a family home in Manhattan Beach, California, where restrained interiors and furnishings catalyze cross-cultural dialogue. Yang says his longtime, down-to-earth clients wanted someplace that could “harmonize eastern and western sensibilities.”

Visit Seoul and you’re likely to encounter some of Yang’s work: He’s designed the Birkenstock flagship store, several Blue Bottle Coffee cafés, and multiple hospitality spaces for Kukje Gallery. His sleek skincare line, Eath Library, is used in the spa at the city’s Four Seasons hotel. And the traditional hanok where he lives and works is known among tastemakers as one of the most stylish houses in town (