The Chic Home: Going with the flow in this three-bedroom apartment

SINGAPORE – Mr Wong Wen Shun and Ms Charissa Li had a clear vision for their new home: “a sanctuary with defined yet fluid areas, which brings in the natural light, ventilation and greenery of the surroundings”.

A tech executive and a media producer respectively, the couple – who are both in their late 30s and have a son – have been spending more time working from home because of the pandemic.

Consequently, the spaces in their three-bedroom, 1,270 sq ft condominium apartment in Bukit Timah have to be versatile enough to accommodate multiple functions.

They discovered one of Akihaus Design Studio’s projects at The Tropic Gardens in the east that featured clean lines and efficient use of space, like the rest of the home-grown firm’s other projects. The areas also flowed naturally from one to another. Most importantly, the designs had the right vibe, say the couple.

Design director Lawrence Puah took the same architectural approach for the apartment’s interior design as he did for his projects, creating a series of interlocking volumes that he could add to or subtract from to produce a composition of solids and voids.

For a start, the kitchen to the left of the main entrance, as well as the dining area, were created by removing existing walls.

The open kitchen is ideal for the couple because they rarely cook, so they do not have to worry about smoke or grease. A generous island serves as a dining table for six, a kitchen work surface and a desk. Below are storage drawers.

By using a consistent palette across different spaces, there is visual and spatial continuity.

The wall that extends from the main entrance, along the kitchen-dining area and to the windows in the living room was painted with a special-effects paint from Wallco. The paint was customised to match the cement look of Lamitak’s Urban Slate laminates on the full-height kitchen cabinets and living room feature wall on the other side.