Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Terrace Adds Fresh, Modern Character to Neighbourhood
The contemporary, climate-sensitive rebuild was done as the owners required more space
With a growing new generation, this family’s home needed more space, as well as an update in looks. They turned to award-winning firm Ming Architects to transform their two-storey corner terrace into a three-storey, climate-sensitive abode.
On the ground floor: a car porch with space for alfresco seating, the open-plan living and dining area, the seniors’ bedroom with ensuite bathroom, dry kitchen and helper’s quarters. Outdoors, there is the wet kitchen and laundry.
The oversized Burmese teak front door brings the wood look into the monochromatic living and dining areas. The architects customised built-ins such as the black granite TV console and the dark timber display shelf; the owners selected the loose furniture themselves.
Marble and granite: Polystone
Marble and granite: Polystone
The marble and wood look continues in the kitchen, although the cabinetry is clad in a lighter wood-look finish.
Tan emphasises the importance of using light-coloured materials: “Semi-detached/terrace houses suffer from dark, enclosed spaces alongside the party wall,” he says. Large picture windows and light-hued and glossy surfaces such as the Italian Carrara marble bring sunlight and brightness in.
Tan emphasises the importance of using light-coloured materials: “Semi-detached/terrace houses suffer from dark, enclosed spaces alongside the party wall,” he says. Large picture windows and light-hued and glossy surfaces such as the Italian Carrara marble bring sunlight and brightness in.
Likewise, “We countered this [dark, enclosed issue] by creating a double-storey airwell over a small landscaped area on the second storey. This filters light down the entire staircase and improves the quality of the circulation spaces. ,” Tan says.
On the second storey are three bedrooms, each with ensuite bathrooms, and a family room (not pictured).
Ironmongery: Kawajun
On the second storey are three bedrooms, each with ensuite bathrooms, and a family room (not pictured).
Ironmongery: Kawajun
The third storey serves as a master suite. It has its own entertainment lounge, complete with bar. A balcony allows the owners to enjoy the outdoors while winding down with a cold drink, before joining the rest of the family for dinner.
The master bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe that leads into the ensuite bathroom. It also has a home office that’s separated from the sleep space.
The marble and teakwood theme is balanced by the use of tiles and simple finishes to stay within budget, says Tan. “Controlling the materials to certain areas helped with the cost. This was important to us – as a result, the image of the completed house is classy and retains a certain elegance which would not have been possible with [just] tiles and composite wood cladding. This was balanced with Italian-made tiles for the bathrooms and simple, understated finishes for other areas to achieve the budget.”
Sanitary wares and fittings: Sheano Pte Ltd; Tiles: Rice
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Sanitary wares and fittings: Sheano Pte Ltd; Tiles: Rice
See more of this project
Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, save the story, and join in the conversation.
House at a Glance
Who Lives Here: A yuppie couple, with parents and a domestic helper
Location: Yio Chu Kang
Type of Property: Three-storey corner terrace house
Size: Approximately 3,500 square feet (gross floor area), with seven bedrooms
Project duration: 12 months
Designers: Tan Cher Ming (lead architect) and Erica Chan (architect associate) of Ming Architects
The previous house was razed to the ground, and the architects built a new structure with a different programme of spaces for the growing family’s needs.
The architects used Italian Carrara marble and Burmese teak to create a cohesive, contemporary-tropical look from the outside in. “The owner liked some of our previous projects where we used teak [on] ceilings/claddings and we introduced this in a controlled manner for the main living areas. The colour of the wood also fits in well with the contemporary look of the house and helps to ‘soften’ the rectangular edges of the building form,” says lead architect Tan Cher Ming.
On the facade, where privacy and sun shading were required for the second storey, teak vertical louvres provide these functions. This breaks up the scale of the house horizontally into three distinct levels. The teakwood theme continues up to the third storey to the open balcony, which is framed and sheltered by a teak-clad canopy frame.