THE secret to a good interior is to make it personal. This 260?square-meter flat in downtown, which Dai Di shares with her husband, Frederic Jouve, chimes with this philosophy.

When you walk into her home, you instantly feel at peace and weightless. A sense of order and calm pervades the space -- a fact that Dai puts down to being good at clearing out unwanted possessions. The homeowners wanted the interior to be modern, with a timeless appeal. It is a heaven of calm, their little piece of paradise away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

After leading the design team at Shanghai Trio for seven years, Dai launched her own brand Oshadai, featuring elegant fashion accessories and household items. Her house style shares the same philosophy as her product design -- it's bright, cozy and contemporary.

Having lived in their previous house for five years, Dai and her husband discovered that as their storage grew, their 140-square-meter flat seemed to shrink and got messier. As they started to search a bigger house in the downtown area, Dai had a very clear picture of what they wanted: "We wanted a spacious high-rise flat in good location, something with a great city view and abundant natural light," Dai said.

After six months' search, the couple chose this top-floor apartment to purchase, just one block from their old house. It is ideally located in a residential community on Xizang Road S., with an easy drive to both the Hongqiao area and Pudong and there's easy access to the highway, yet it's so close to the Xintiandi area and Huaihai Road.

"We also fell in love with the amazing view from here where we witnessed the construction of the China Pavilion at World Expo," she said.

Dai said the flat's irregular shaped interior layout was exactly what she wanted. "I was never into narrow spaces in old houses nor the new apartments with square shapes. I was up to the challenge of creating a functional, comfortable interior based on irregular shapes."

With plenty creativity, Dai set out to ensure that their new home would be impeccably designed. And she wanted to create a sense of space and light.

She did an especially daring thing -- the striking element easily noticeable upon entering is the wall in the living and dining area. This accent wall is made of zinc sheets, a piece of art created by Paris-based artist Pascal Catry.

The couple had visited Catry's studio in the Paris suburbs and admired his passion and his works. They asked him to design a zinc wall for their new home and it took the artist 15 days to complete the installation. The artist's desire to communicate led him to decipher the language of materials. His zincs introduce a sense of calm and cool tranquility.

"This special artistic wall became the inspiration for the rest of the home design," Dai said. "After the wall was completed, we started to select theme colors and furniture pieces all in tune with the wall color and texture."

They painted the other walls entirely white and covered the floor in natural wood so that attention is drawn to interior details: the sleek dining table with steel legs and wooden top created by a Taiwanese designer; three Livingstones (rock-shaped pillows) in different shapes and sizes that look as though they have been picked up from a beach; ultra-streamlined Kartell Lizz Chairs in both gray and orange matching perfectly with the colors of the accent wall; and a group of Oshadai linen cushions designed by the homeowner herself.

The clean white and wood palette also enhances the open floor plan in which the living and dining areas flow seamlessly into the kitchen and out to the roof terrace.

"I don't want doors and useless walls. The kitchen, which was previously enclosed, was reconfigured and enlarged into an open-concept space for cooking, eating and entertaining," Dai said. "The kitchen is the heart of our home and also the hub of our family and social life."

Everything is white in the kitchen except the gray floor tiles. Lots of white is always a winner and cannot fail to look clean and crisp, and some flowers can add a touch of prettiness. A piano-shaped central island is used for food preparation as well as dining.

"It's our favorite room where we can cook and chat with each other seated at the bar-height table," the homeowner said.

Dai's approach to furnishing this large, flowing space was characteristically understated. The long corridor connecting living area on the left side and the study and bedrooms on the right side is furnished with built-in cabinets in stone-gray, solving storage problems.

Built-ins are not only functional, they also personalize a home. Dai said it was important to have a clear idea about how to use a space, to decide what to do in each room.

Next to the study, she created a traditional, Japanese-style tatami room for reading and relaxation. With its simple furnishings and open atmosphere, it brings a traditional Oriental accent into a contemporary space. Tatami mats create a cozy room with a comfortable floor -- slightly springy, slightly cushioned, comfortable to walk on, sit on and sleep on.

Inspired by the Japanese way of living, creativity drives practical solutions in this limited space. The room could accommodate a family of three or four and beneath the removable tatami mats are abundant storage spaces.

In the master bedroom, Dai painted the walls white and built cabinets in stone-gray to infuse it with a great sense of minimal style. Her approach to bedroom interior is all about clearing the clutter and reducing the elements of bedroom down to the bare essentials while at the same time retaining an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Dai likes not having a door between the bedroom and its bathroom. The master bathroom has the right proportions, soft lighting, chic furnishing and fittings as well as smooth lines. The Japanese bathing ritual is the concept behind the customized bath tub and shower fittings.

This is quite different from a Western-style bathroom that is based around the shower or shallow bath tub. Dai created the washing area strictly according to Japanese standard, which calls for a small stool where a person washes and rinses before getting into a hot bath for a soak.

"Japanese interior design has been slowly and tastefully evolving over the centuries and I'm deeply influenced by their way of living, their design philosophy," Dai said. Indeed, her invariably clean and well-kept home space makes careful use of space and light and every furnishing is artistically crafted and made to perfection.Q: What's the best thing about living in Shanghai?

A: Free! Comfortable!

Q: Describe your home in three words.

A: Warm, comfortable, slow down

Q: What's the first thing you do when you get home?

A: Change clothes

Q: How do you unwind?

A: Read

Q: Where do you spend most of the time?

A: Kitchen

Q: What's the best view outside your window?

A: Shanghai World Financial Center

Q: How do you scent your home?

A: Natural, from the sea

Q: What's your favorite object at home?

A: The wall made of zinc from an artist in Paris.

Q: Where do you source furniture in Shanghai?

A: Until now I have not found the place.