Hock Hoon plays with light in this unit at Parc Esta condo to accommodate diametrically opposed needs
What happens when the inhabitants of the same home have desires that are diametrically opposed? This was the conundrum for Soh Xin Hui of design studio Hock Hoon, who was engaged to overhaul a four-room condo in Parc Esta meant to house her client, his parents and a helper. “His parents wanted brightness while he feels more comfortable in a darker space,” says the interior designer. Her solution was to carve out separate spaces within the home, where light and shadow would play out differently, and design a seamless transition between the two. The 1,119sqft apartment originally boasted four bedrooms but one bedroom was divided into a private lounge and room for the helper. Clearly, the lounge is for the client. “It is a quiet corner for him to wind down,” says Soh, of the shadowy space that is dominated by a set of shelves, which displays mementoes collected on his overseas work trips. “It was designed to create a one-point perspective with dark ash wood panels on either side and a lighter grey cement textured paint on the central…
A terraced tower in a unit in Hillion Residences makes for a brilliant small condo design idea by Metre Architects
OCTOBER SPECIAL | Small apartment interior design series, story 3 of 3 For civic authorities, sociologists, urban planners and architects alike, answering the evergreen question of how much domestic space one needs gained even more currency during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Entire families were confined for the greater part of the day within the literal…
At 35sqm, this micro-apartment in 38 I Suites by Studio Wills + Architects is its smallest project yet
OCTOBER SPECIAL | Small apartment interior design series, story 2 of 3 To watch any YouTube episode of Never Too Small, a Melbourne-based collective committed to the small footprint design of apartments, is to realise the ingenuity of the human mind. But it is also how, in the right hands of a sympathetic designer, less…
The Monocot Studio renovates a small apartment in Mackenzie 88 to be multi-functional
OCTOBER SPECIAL | Small apartment interior design series, story 1 of 3 There is something outrageous about paying a high six-figure sum for an apartment and then needing to do an extreme makeover for it. This was the challenging situation the owner of this apartment in Mackenzie 88, near Little India, found himself in. Compounding…
Pupil Office renovates a Tiong Bahru HDB flat by taking cues from Australian interior design
Ceremonies to officiate marriages are typically held in hotels or fancy restaurants but for the owners of The Tian Apartment, a five-room Tiong Bahru HDB flat, they decided to do it in their home. The reasons are clear: this is a couple who is incredibly house proud – and they have Amy Lim of Pupil…
Stacey Leong Interiors updates the ground floor of an inter-terrace to fulfil the needs of its multi-generational residents
Walk through the ground floor of House 19 with its graceful minimalism, refined detailing and elegant restraint and one would never imagine it used to be vastly different. Transformed with the help of Stacey Leong Interiors, it is now a perfect reflection of its inhabitants’ lifestyles. Over 15 years, the three-storey inter-terrace saw its residents…
Studio iF designed an apartment in Boulevard Vue with so many stories we barely knew where to start
A wall tiled with a mosaic design reminiscent of the Mediterranean; a standing lamp shaped like a tree; a room divider inspired by a meteorite shower. These are just some of the features of an apartment located in Boulevard Vue condominium designed by Studio iF’s Gwen Tan. Presented as a list, it all sounds a…
A display of vodka bottles is the centrepiece of this Bidadari BTO by Hock Hoon
Some homes have a strong focal point — the first thing a visitor notices when they step through the door. It could be a stunning view, a beautiful painting or a show-stopping piece of furniture. For this four-room BTO apartment at Bidadari designed by Hock Hoon, what immediately draws the eye is a collection of…
The linear forms of Carve House’s architecture by Ming Architects are stacked above an expansive basement
Pass this stratum-like semi-detached residence by Ming Architects along the street and it is not obvious there is more to it than meets the eye. In fact, its name, Carve House, is equally cryptic. But enter the grounds and all is immediately revealed. To mitigate what the owner felt was the challenge of a small…
At MeyerHouse’s show flat, luxury interior design has been redefined by MASSONEONG
In their ideal world, MASSONEONG would have designed this project for a French art gallery owner married to a Chinese lady. This is an important exercise it undergoes when it conceptualises show flats, and was what it imagined when commissioned the one for MeyerHouse, a freehold luxury condominium development in Mountbatten. “We invent our own…
A ceiling kept in its original state drives the design direction of this River Valley penthouse
Property agents often describe a house as having “good bones” when its current condition is not ideal but it possesses potential due to its inherent core qualities, structure and location. It was certainly the case with this River Valley penthouse designed by Inte Architects, which did not appear attractive initially because of its low ceiling…
Plywood forms the design foundation of this HDB flat in Telok Blangah Heights by The Monocot Studio
When The Monocot Studio did not immediately respond to their email about renovating their home, the owners of a HDB flat in Telok Blangah Heights personally went down to their office to look them up. So keen were they on Monocot’s style that they even signed off on the first proposed design. “It never happens,”…
Reconfigure then layer with thoughtful details was the direction of Apartment Serif by UPSTRS_
Most people who buy a unit in a newly developed condominium will avoid making significant changes to it. Not Sonny Hu and Gladys Lin though. At the urging of their interior designer, Dennis Cheok of UPSTRS_, they gamely went along with his direction and have ended up with a 1,200sqft home that is a vast…
The curved façade of Movement House by Genome Architects hints that it is no ordinary residence
There is so much to share about Movement House by Genome Architects that it is hard to decide where to begin. For instance, there are the unusual rounded edges of the exterior of the upper floors, a ground floor design that takes inspiration from an open garden deck and the tango of light and space…
This Geylang Lor 24A shophouse by Goy Architects melds modernism with regional craft and aesthetics
Sometimes, Goy Zhenru of Goy Architects observes wryly, “design happens accidentally”. In the case of this bijou home in a handsome Geylang Lor 24A shophouse built in the 1920s, serendipitous design outcomes certainly occurred on more than one occasion during the course of its renovation. The clients – a young Singaporean couple relocating home after…
12 trees are planted on the façade of House of Trees by L Architects to form a buffer
What do you do when the residence you’re asked to design sits directly in front of a bustling, six-lane road? For L Architects, the solution was to use trees and green landscaping to create a visual and auditory buffer. The result is House of Trees, a property composed of two, conjoined semi-detached homes. Located in…
A sophisticated material palette gives this penthouse in The Interlace a high luxe factor
Step through the front door and the most noticeable thing about this apartment is how opulent it is. There is texture and high gloss everywhere, coming together to create a space that is rich and dramatic. Conceptualised by DM Interior Design, The Interlace Penthouse is a sensorial experience up in the sky. The direction was…
CZARL Architects designs 3ASH House, a brutalist-style bungalow that resembles a tiered village
One good class bungalow composed of a series of interconnected villas. This sums up a project by Czarl Architects in Singapore’s prime residential neighbourhood of District 11. Sited at the junction of two roads on a fan-shaped, multi-tiered, 989.4sqm plot that slopes up from the front to the rear, the house, which has individual units…
Natural light floods this terrace house by Studio iF that hides behind an unobtrusive facade
If there is one lesson this residence teaches, it is to never judge an abode by its appearance. Part of four terrace houses in the east of Singapore that were once identical, it was recently renovated by Studio iF, which also gave the façade a makeover. The result is shorter windows and two rows of…
The curved courtyard of this semi-detached house by Ming Architects strikes a chord
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a “chord” is a curved line that forms part of a circle. It was therefore an appropriate word to use to name this semi-detached house by Ming Architects – after all, its most distinct feature is an outward-facing courtyard incised into its left corner along the party wall, arcing elegantly…