Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: East Meets West in this Award-Winning Renovation
Asian art and antiques, and feng shui principles, are incorporated in the fresh, contemporary design of this family home
When you have a busy client who understands your expertise – and that’s why she’s commissioned you – combined with a generous space and budget, you’re able to craft a true dream home for her and her family. This dream house, it begs to be mentioned, has been lauded at the International Property Awards 2016, International Design & Architecture Awards 2016, Asia Pacific Best Interior Design and Andrew Martin Interior Design Awards. The judging panel at the 2016 Asia Pacific Property Awards says, “This crisp, clean and contemporary design harmonises beautifully with the desired chinoiserie theme. The resulting elegant and light-filled living spaces also complement the client’s art and antiques perfectly”.
Nikki Hunt, founding director of Design Intervention, describes the owner of this house: “As a doctor, the wife’s brief was very clear, she said at the very first meeting that when a doctor meets a patient, they relay their symptoms and then it is up to the doctor to prescribe. In the same way, she was going to trust that we were experts in our field. She would fully detail her brief and needs and then would trust us to design the home. She was true to her word and this allowed us the freedom to develop our designs, and to create a home that is truly unique, tailored in every way to the needs and preferences of this particular family”.
Nikki Hunt, founding director of Design Intervention, describes the owner of this house: “As a doctor, the wife’s brief was very clear, she said at the very first meeting that when a doctor meets a patient, they relay their symptoms and then it is up to the doctor to prescribe. In the same way, she was going to trust that we were experts in our field. She would fully detail her brief and needs and then would trust us to design the home. She was true to her word and this allowed us the freedom to develop our designs, and to create a home that is truly unique, tailored in every way to the needs and preferences of this particular family”.
“The client is also a big believer in feng shui so we have integrated many feng shui colours and elements throughout the design: gold-coloured elements and eight-sided shapes have been repeatedly used to usher in wealth,” Hunt says. The octagonal details include the coffered ceiling design and marble floor motif at the foyer, the shape of the newel post, as well as octagonal carpets in the house.
The foyer, located at the front corner of the house, opens into the living room, which Hunt furnished with two generously-sized sofas flanking the intricately carved antique coffee table. A slipper chair in muted Greenery – Pantone’s Colour of 2017 – and an ottoman in coral upholstery, along with soft furnishings, bring that vibrant colour that the client had asked for into this room.
The foyer, located at the front corner of the house, opens into the living room, which Hunt furnished with two generously-sized sofas flanking the intricately carved antique coffee table. A slipper chair in muted Greenery – Pantone’s Colour of 2017 – and an ottoman in coral upholstery, along with soft furnishings, bring that vibrant colour that the client had asked for into this room.
Adjacent to the living room is the dining room, dressed in the same colour scheme, and modern-chinoiserie look that defines this home.
Hunt, who is known for her bold use of colour and pattern mixing, deftly demonstrates this in the playful combination of printed chair backs and drapes.
Hunt, who is known for her bold use of colour and pattern mixing, deftly demonstrates this in the playful combination of printed chair backs and drapes.
From the dining room, pocket doors open to the breakfast nook and dry kitchen. A change in floor finish indicates the less formal function of these spaces – where the living and dining rooms have the octagonal floor pattern, here it’s a wood-grained herringbone tile.
The colour scheme is also different – bright blues with whites, and a touch of coral – and the chinoiserie elements are more delicate. Large windows allow the lush green landscape outdoors to add to the interior colour.
The colour scheme is also different – bright blues with whites, and a touch of coral – and the chinoiserie elements are more delicate. Large windows allow the lush green landscape outdoors to add to the interior colour.
Note the octagonal table and ceiling alcove, as well as the oriental Tiffany-style chairs at the breakfast nook. The kitchen also includes an eat-in bar option.
Hardware in rose-gold and gold hues add warmth and that feng shui touch to the dry kitchen.
A guest bedroom is located on the first floor of this house. Here, a queen-sized bed takes the form of a custom-designed daybed so that the room can double as the children’s den. All the new furniture pieces in this home were designed and made by Design Intervention.
The guest bedroom/children’s den is decked out in fresh lime and grass green colours mixed with Tiffany and azure blues and highlighted with cheerful pinks. Oriental-inspired motifs and side table based on classic Chinese forms continue the modern-chinoiserie theme.
The guest bathroom, albeit darker and more opulent in feel, features the same blues and oriental detailing.
On the second floor is the family lounge and adjacent kids’ study room, and the bedrooms.
“The family room was designed as a retreat for the family to relax in with the kids. There are sliding doors to an adjacent kids study room, and these doors can be opened up to create a larger space when the kids are not studying but closed off when the kids are having lessons”, says Hunt.
“The family room was designed as a retreat for the family to relax in with the kids. There are sliding doors to an adjacent kids study room, and these doors can be opened up to create a larger space when the kids are not studying but closed off when the kids are having lessons”, says Hunt.
“With four kids, we included additional study tables by the windows, big enough for laptops so that the other children could still have areas to do homework, when the study room is being used by a tutor”, Hunt shares.
Hunt says that the colour theme was inspired by the clients. “We mixed and matched the fabrics on the sofa, using three different shades of green for the seat cushions to give a soft ombre effect. This is eminently practical as it means that if a child does stain a cushion and it cannot be removed, we can simply re-cover a single seat cushion without worrying about the need to perfectly match the rest of the sofa.”
Hunt says that the colour theme was inspired by the clients. “We mixed and matched the fabrics on the sofa, using three different shades of green for the seat cushions to give a soft ombre effect. This is eminently practical as it means that if a child does stain a cushion and it cannot be removed, we can simply re-cover a single seat cushion without worrying about the need to perfectly match the rest of the sofa.”
Seven-year-old twin girls share this sweet bedroom with an en suite bathroom. A stylised take on the modern-chinoiserie theme is evident in the bespoke botanical wall mural and the birdcage chandelier.
Six-year-old twin boys share a room with an en suite bathroom. Hunt gave them sporty car-shaped beds set against a simpler backdrop that can easily be adapted as their needs change.
The modern-chinoiserie theme continues in the master suite, which includes this double-volume study space. Bird-print wallpaper draws the eye up to the cascading chandelier towards the apex of the ceiling. A laser-cut lattice-patterned screen tracing the perimeter of the wall conceals aircon units.
Hunt designed a chinoiserie-inspired moulding for the vaulted ceiling of the master bedroom. “Ceilings are actually one of my favourite things to design. Walls are usually interrupted by windows and doors, floors have furniture, but ceilings provide a blank canvas for design and no where is it more important that in a bedroom. When lying in bed, your eye naturally travels up”, she says.
The master bathroom takes on a different modern-oriental look: Art Deco meets Japanese. Backlit onyx is set into a Japanese-inspired framework to give a soft glow that infuses the space with a sophisticated, romantic mood.
“We decided to showcase the larger pieces of the husband’s collection of contemporary Asian art in the stairwell”, Hunt says. “These are strong, arresting and vibrant pieces so we have intentionally kept the design of the balustrade simple. However, we injected a thin gold detail and crystal finials on the newel posts to give the glamorous finish that the wife desired.”
The attic features a playroom for the children and references the husband’s aeronautical engineering training. Design Intervention created the bespoke table with a base that is the actual casing from a Boeing engine, and added vintage airplane models. A trellis-patterned wallpaper brings the modern-chinoiserie theme up to this floor, all the way to the ceiling.
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See more of this project
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What do you like best about this home? Let us know in the Comments section.
Who lives here: A businessman, his surgeon wife and four kids all below 10 years of age – twin boys and twin girls. The also have two helpers and two dogs.
Location: Bungalow in District 10
Size: 743 square metres (8,000 square feet)
The design brief was to create a glamorous home in the 1980s bungalow so that it would be full of colour and light but also cater to the needs and rigours of four young children. The project involved completely gutting out the bungalow and adding an extension to the original structure.
The husband had inherited a large collection of Asian art and antiques that he wanted integrated into the home, Hunt adds. “Marrying Asian art into a glamorous scheme was quite a challenge”, she says.