Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Global Flair in a Conservation Shophouse
A well-travelled expat settles in Singapore, hoping to showcase his growing art collection in his new home
Decorated in two phases so that he could settle in immediately (the second storey with the bedrooms was phase 1), the makeover took a total of 4-and-a-half days, says Chin-Geyler.
“While the client had no specific brief and trusted us 100 per cent, he did ask that we try to incorporate his art wherever possible. He’s an art collector with a growing collection,” Chin-Geyler says. He also wanted the house to be entertaining-ready, with ample seating to accommodate large groups.
With the aim of maintaining the shophouse’s historical integrity, Chin-Geyler and her team gave the house a fresh coat of paint and selected furnishings that would complement the art collection and reused some existing furniture.
“The entryway is a little darker but we painted the space in a darker, moodier tone to let the collectibles shine from the get go,” Chin-Geyler says. Two of Andy Warhol’s Mao Series prints hang over the antique yoke-back chair and console.
“While the client had no specific brief and trusted us 100 per cent, he did ask that we try to incorporate his art wherever possible. He’s an art collector with a growing collection,” Chin-Geyler says. He also wanted the house to be entertaining-ready, with ample seating to accommodate large groups.
With the aim of maintaining the shophouse’s historical integrity, Chin-Geyler and her team gave the house a fresh coat of paint and selected furnishings that would complement the art collection and reused some existing furniture.
“The entryway is a little darker but we painted the space in a darker, moodier tone to let the collectibles shine from the get go,” Chin-Geyler says. Two of Andy Warhol’s Mao Series prints hang over the antique yoke-back chair and console.
To the right of the entry is a receiving room. More antique furniture and collectibles are displayed here, together with the owner’s wine cellar. This space opens to the living area, which extends to the dining room and kitchen.
The first storey, which comprises the entryway and ‘wine room’, the living and dining areas, kitchen and powder room, and the outdoors was the second phase of the makeover.
“Because the space is so large and has an outdoor pool which is rare for shophouses, we decided to go with an open-plan living space that would integrate the indoors and outdoors,” Chin-Geyler says.
In this open-plan area, walls were painted a clinical white to emulate a gallery feel and spotlight core art pieces. “The colour palette was taken from the beautiful piece you see in the dining room. The client likes deeper colours, so we anchored the space with deep blues and brought in orange and yellow accents to lighten,” says Chin-Geyler.
“Because the space is so large and has an outdoor pool which is rare for shophouses, we decided to go with an open-plan living space that would integrate the indoors and outdoors,” Chin-Geyler says.
In this open-plan area, walls were painted a clinical white to emulate a gallery feel and spotlight core art pieces. “The colour palette was taken from the beautiful piece you see in the dining room. The client likes deeper colours, so we anchored the space with deep blues and brought in orange and yellow accents to lighten,” says Chin-Geyler.
As he had existing furniture pieces that were darker and heavier, Chin-Geyler and her team intentionally kept their new purchases more modern for balance. “We refurbished where we could like the dining set that we painted in two tones to update the look. We also made seat cushions in a lighter accent colour to temper the visual weight of the chairs”, she says.
The decorator used strategically-placed mirrors to increase the amount of light around this space.
Custom-built sideboard, furnishings, sofa, chaise, coffee table, rug and mirror: Arete Culture
The decorator used strategically-placed mirrors to increase the amount of light around this space.
Custom-built sideboard, furnishings, sofa, chaise, coffee table, rug and mirror: Arete Culture
“Because you can see the outdoors from inside the house, we kept the outdoor furniture to the same colour palette for that seamless indoor-outdoor flow,” Chin-Geyler says. Her team also worked on the landscaping as it needed some freshening up.
On the second storey are the family room (which is watched over by a pop-art portrait of Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej as a young man), the master bedroom, two guest bedrooms and the study.
All bedrooms have en suite bathrooms and are amply-sized.
All bedrooms have en suite bathrooms and are amply-sized.
Chin-Geyler painted a dark blue feature wall in the master bedroom to frame the bed. She paired the owner’s art with complementary furniture, and styled the en suite bathroom.
Guest bedrooms and bathrooms were minimally touched; they benefited from decorating to become cosy, welcoming rooms.
The study was decorated for comfort and organised to store the owner’s travel books (he lived in Hong Kong and Bangkok prior to being posted to Singapore). There is even enough space for him to stretch and work out, and actually work. “As a busy lawyer, he usually entertains guests and clients from the office,” Chin-Geyler says.
See more of this project here and here
TELL US
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, bookmark the story, and join in the conversation.
See more of this project here and here
TELL US
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, bookmark the story, and join in the conversation.
Who Lives Here: A British corporate lawyer who grew up in Singapore as an expat kid
Location: Chinatown/Tanjong Pagar
Type of Property: A pre-war two-storey corner terrace house
Size: Three bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, and a study
Built between the 1920s and 1930s, this corner terrace is wider than most shophouses. The Urban Redevelopment Authority gave its conservation by multi-disciplinary design firm Ong & Ong an architectural heritage award in 2006.
In 2018, the shophouse welcomed a new owner, who wanted to move in as promptly as possible. He commissioned interior stylist Caroline Chin-Geyler of Arete Culture, who specialises in swift makeovers, to make this house his home.