A bizarre B&B, where strangers share spaces and discomfort becomes an unexpected invitation to connect. Does every space need to be designed for maximum comfort and convenience? Or can a space that’s a little challenging actually encourage people to interact and rely on each other?
We usually believe that good design is about making things easy. A well-designed space should seem comfortable, be simple to use, and be accessible. The aim is to eliminate obstacles and get things moving smoothly. Yet what if a small surprise or a bit of a challenge actually belongs in the experience? Might a space that causes us to stop, requires us to solve a problem, or even asks a stranger for help result in connections that we wouldn’t make in a place that is perfectly convenient?
Maybe inconvenience doesn’t always drive people apart. In the right setting, it might actually bring them closer.
Kian’s Bizarre B&B brings this idea to life. On this South Korean Netflix reality show, a short stay turns into an experiment: what happens when a place doesn’t act like a typical hotel? The idea is simple, give guests an experience they wouldn’t usually have. But the outcome is far from ordinary.The show centers on Kian84, a South Korean webtoon artist and entertainer. Instead of following the usual rules of hospitality, he starts with sketches for something intentionally strange. He turns these ideas into real spaces that challenge what we expect from a B&B.
In Season 1, Kian’s idea was a bit like a floating amusement park in the middle of nowhere. Getting there was part of the adventure: guests came by boat, entered on the first floor, and had to climb a wall to reach the house. The pantry and kitchen were downstairs, but you got to them by sliding down a pole. To leave, you could take a water slide, and some beds even folded out onto the outdoor walls.
It sounds like a blast, but also a lot of effort. That’s exactly what makes the show so interesting.
The things that make the B&B stand out also make it inconvenient. Guests have to solve problems, help each other, and sometimes rely on someone else just to get around. Space doesn’t always let them do everything on their own. Season 2 seems to acknowledge some of these difficulties. Instead of recreating the same extreme spatial challenges, Kian takes a completely different approach: a regular studio apartment, but roughly twice as large. The result is an oversized version of an otherwise familiar home, allowing guests to experience something closer to Gulliver’s Travels. The design becomes less about making everyday activities difficult and more about making the familiar feel strange.
Across its two seasons, the show offers two very different kinds of spaces. But the main idea stays the same: what happens when a space is designed to break our usual expectations? Staycation experiment. It raises an uncomfortable question for designers-
“If comfort makes us independent, could a little inconvenience make us more connected?”
The answer seems to emerge naturally through the guests’ experiences. They lift each other, encourage one another, figure things out together, and adapt to each other’s ways. As their stay continues, they begin to understand each other’s lifestyles, why they chose to be there in the first place, and eventually share meals, conversations, and celebrations.
There’s hardly any chance to hide away in your own world. The space keeps drawing people back together.
Of course, this does not mean that inconvenient design isn’t always good design. If a challenge affects basic accessibility, safety, or comfort, you shouldn’t excuse it just to create an ‘experience.’ Interesting possibility: perhaps not every challenge needs to be designed away.
When people travel, especially if they want to meet new people, spaces that encourage a bit of dependence, curiosity, and interaction can be valuable.
The goal isn’t to make spaces uncomfortable. Maybe it’s to make them comfortable enough to stay, but just challenging enough to help people connect.
Source/Credits: Netflix. (2025, April 8). Kian’s Bizarre B&B. https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81902047
All observations, interpretations and design reflections in this article are the author’s own.
