Some people endure their pet peeves in silence. JinR knocks them down. In her Beijing apartment and new lifestyle centre on the outskirts of the capital, walls have come tumbling down - or never been built because she loathes them.
'Who says you can only sleep in a bedroom, eat in a kitchen or read in a reading room?' she says. 'Why do we have to live with walls? Why do we have to live within walls, and walls of walls?'
JinR's desire for openness is understandable considering the site of her latest venture. Green T House Living (GTHL) - which builds on the success of her landmark Green T House in Beijing's trendy Chaoyang district - is, as she puts it, 'in the middle of nowhere'. That explains why the 15,000-square-metre establishment, in the Wen Yu River area 30 minutes' drive from Beijing, is being touted as a 'lifestyle destination' - somewhere to go to enjoy its pavilion-like restaurant in the middle of fields and, next year, a tearoom and open-plan villa called the Retreat, which can accommodate up to 20 guests.
GTHL, which also sells Jin R's traditional-meets-trendy homeware, marks her personal growth, she says. 'This place brings me joy. The birds make me happy. I see the sunset. I forget time.'
Despite the success of Green T House - which is a restaurant, gallery, cultural-event space and, as its name hints, a teahouse - JinR compares the two as though one is the prodigal child and the other something made in heaven. 'Green T House Living is more for the soul, the spirit, the heart - not for the physical, the chic, the dramatic,' she says. Its precursor, she acknowledges, is a place where you go 'to be seen'.
A haven for style mavens, Green T House is known for its modern interiors featuring idiosyncratic furniture, much of which is for sale. Several pieces are the first designs of JinR (born Zhang Jinjie; the 'R' is short for erzi, or child). They include 'T', 3.28-metre-high rosewood chairs with backs that bring to mind calligraphy brush strokes executed with vim; and 'House', stern 2.26-metre high-backed chairs that appear to stand to attention. The furniture offered at Green T House is as high as that at GTHL is low - and grounded.
