TYPE: Semi-Detached
LOCATION: Jalan Pari Burong, Singapore
HOME TO: 3 Adults + 2 Children
STATUS: Ongoing
OVERVIEW
With the modernisation of their house for the growing kids, our clients opted for a dynamic family home through the appreciation for the site. It assimilates in all aspects of the abode - from the way light enters the interiors to the casual juxtaposition of privacy and openness to the tones and textures used. Gearing up for the long days spent indoors, our clients turned to Mark and Marcus who, shared insight on injecting colour and personality into the shared spaces of their house. At the end of the day, their home should be their sanctuary, so it needs to be a nurturing space that reflects our clients’ characters.
Visual Connectivity
The design brief called for more space, an opening of communal areas and a delivery of natural light. Challenged by the size of the site, Mark utilised the stairwell as the central spine of the three-storey terrace. It opens up the house considerably, transforming it into a four-bedroom, five-bathroom abode with open plan living and a spacious outdoor area. The emphasis on creating numerous social spaces within the home caters to our clients’ lifestyle of hosting and entertaining family and friends. Furthermore, the addition of the elongated corridor provides unobstructed viewing into their garden when guests first enter the house.
The installation of numerous black, steel-framed doors and windows, positioned throughout the home, creates a subdued connection through the length of the rooms. They also enable filtered light to play beautifully onto the floorings and furnishings. Sunlight from the terrace’s eastward view is expertly scaled and segmented, namely by the subtle separation between the living room and the other communal areas. It creates a serene setting, with a sense of space and fluidity moving freely from room to room.
Cooling and Bright
Natural lighting goes a long way in creating a contemporary identity for the home. Sunlight consumes the house’s open expanses, inviting a welcoming vibe and a brilliant lustre to the spaces and surfaces. This newfound radiance highlights the interesting textures and finishes used such as the various wooden, stone and metal materials. Moreover, the skylights allow light to flood the staircase, bouncing off the white walls to gently enhance the scale and height of the geometry at play in the terrace’s structure.
The home also adopts passive sustainable design elements, by maximising the amount of natural light streaming in through the usage of transparent, steel-framed doors and windows. They capture the east sun in the mornings, helping to activate the social spaces within the home. Additionally, the pitched roof enables strategic ventilation. It contains the warm air at the top, leaving the living spaces to be of comfortable temperatures.
Outdoors Dining
At the rear of the terrace, a casual dining area furnished in black and brown tones creates a relaxing place to unwind, introducing an additional social space in our clients’ abode. The dining table allows the residents and guests to sit around with the glass-stacking doors opening up to the garden, gently bringing in the outdoors. The black, steel-framed doors combine the interior and exterior living spaces, with the framing providing spatial definition between the areas. Complemented nicely with the bi-fold doors, this is an elegant way to add depth to a new extension.
The Host House
Modernising the home was first achieved through making minute changes such as the roof’s colour and windows. The main façade of the terrace is maintained as the double brick external walls keep the interiors cool. The plain interior walls and floorings create a hard-wearing foundation for the furnishings to take center stage.
The black steel-framed doors and windows cement a strong sense of geometry throughout the house, accentuating the volume of the living spaces, kitchens and staircase. On the first floor, the transparent, full-length doors open up the outdoor dining area to the lush garden views.
The house features a striking black kitchen, an inviting sitting area on the upper level, ample bedrooms and bathrooms for every family member. The kitchen is a moody contrast to the home’s lightness, with the full-length black cabinetry and metal tap while the bathrooms introduce a fresh contemporary style, utilising grey stoned tilings and floorings.
To gather, together
There are several communal areas sprinkled throughout the house. The various types of social spaces involve varying levels of intimacy, with the focus on the dining and kitchen areas. Food is the core driver of dialogue within our clients’ family. An open plan kitchen, living and dining areas are their home’s beating heart, where the residents of the house come together to interact and share meals as well as stories.
The crisp white palette of the living room area creates a calm and airy feel, providing the perfect backdrop for the display of modern furnishings. Meanwhile, the dining area mixes the contemporary and the traditional, through the incorporation of the table, chairs and hanging lamp. Suspended above the dining table, the understated luminaire is a delicate emphasis on light, geometry and contrast.
Continuing through to the open kitchen, the magnificently-shaped island sits centre stage, featuring intricate timber panelling elements and a Calacatta island benchtop. The island shape and finish detailing enhance the minimalist kitchen.
Resting Quarters
The light-filled and roomy bathroom boasts elegant stone tiling, leading towards a freestanding bathtub and an open shower that caps off the natural design elements of the home. The white basins and matte black taps evoke a sense of sophistication within the space while also working in perfect harmony with the light grey stoned tilings.
Choosing the correct elements is the first step towards crafting a sanctuary that truly reflects a tranquil yet durable bedroom aesthetic. The palette features natural timbers, steel frames and textural fabrics. These materials are interwoven in subdued white, brown, grey and black tones. Furnished with minimalist and modern furniture, the bedrooms set a sumptuous ambience.
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