House tour: A Singapore home where wildlife meets Wes Anderson
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Firm bout: A Singapore home where wild animals meets Wes Anderson
Surrounded past greenery, the home of this immature family blends nature with quirky retro touches and geometric shapes reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film.
The open up-plan living and dining makes the entire first storey conducive for gatherings. Guests tin spill out to the generous deck with an outdoor pavilion and Jacuzzi. (Photo: Studio Periphery)
04 Oct 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 05 Jul 2022 12:47AM)
Several years agone, Royston Tay and Deng Yingzhi quit their jobs to follow their dream of travelling to far-flung places before starting a family. Tay had sold Zopim, the tech company he co-founded, to U.s.-headquartered visitor Zendesk, where he was a general director for several years. Deng was a artistic group head at advertising firm DDB.
For a year, they went from 1 exotic location to the side by side. "We adult an interest in nature and wildlife on our travels in South America and Antarctica," said Deng. This governed their selection of a new home later she gave nativity to their daughter.
A four-storey strata-landed house wrapped in nature ticked all their boxes. Throngs of exercise buffs and nature's sounds prelude the arrival into the estate, which is located near a nature reserve.
"The estate reminded us of our feel of living in a tree firm in one of Costa Rica'south remote rainforests, waking up to the calls of Howler monkeys and hanging out with toucans. A combination of the forest-facing views, accessibility to nature and the [off-grade concrete] architecture blending so well with the site led us to buy the property," said Tay.
"The estate reminded us of our experience of living in a tree business firm in i of Costa rica's remote rainforests, waking upwardly to the calls of Howler monkeys and hanging out with toucans." – Royston Tay
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Agreed Deng, "This abode is perfect for usa because nosotros can fall asleep to the audio of singing crickets and get serenaded awake by chirping birds. The view may exist all copse, merely it is never boring. There'll always be something out at that place – a woodpecker, a family of wild boars or a party of monkeys. Wild fauna watching is a matter of looking out of the windows!"
Designed by CSYA Architects, the pinwheel-similar layout of each block ensures that every flat and room have ample green views. The development offers seclusion merely also convenience, with an MRT station just a x-minute walk abroad.
During our visit, nosotros spied a family of primates scampering atop the boundary fence. Information technology makes for bully entertainment for the owners' now well-nigh ii-year-old toddler.
To design the interiors, Tay and Deng called upon Mikael Teh of Monocot Studio, whom Deng had heard most from friends. Trained every bit an architect and having caused feel at reputed firms like SCDA Architects, Forum Architects and Studio Milou – where he worked on the National Art Gallery – Teh brings a strong spatial sensibility to residential interiors.
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It was important for the design to embrace the views, as they were why the owners bought the property in the first identify. They also desired a playful vibe for their girl.
"I wanted [the atmosphere] of a Wes Anderson motion picture, with retro touches, geometric shapes and pastel shades but [tempered] to match the tranquillity of the surrounding forests," shared Deng of her cursory to Teh.
Curves feature abundantly in this home. While they contribute to the interior's amiable presence, the rounded edges also brand the habitation safer for the toddler. Doors and bathroom mirrors are arched, a porthole-like window brings light into the helper's room from the stairwell and orb-like lights pop from walls like bubbles. Even the washbasin in the powder room is round and set into a semi-round niche.
In the first storey dining, a quartet of round lights floats in a higher place the rotund dining tabular array and chairs from Scandinavian furniture brand Menu. As the owners like to entertain, Teh borrowed space from the big dry out kitchen to create a buffet-like bar counter and shelves for lingering at and placing decorative objects.
Kitchen appliances were tucked out of sight to reduce the area'southward utilitarian feel. The open-plan living and dining makes the entire first storey conducive for gatherings. Guests tin can spill out to the generous deck with an outdoor pavilion and Jacuzzi, which replaces a formerly large pool.
Here is where the family spends well-nigh of their time together. "It's prissy to look out at the greenery while working on the laptop or lazing on the hammock, and occasionally smelling coffee or something delicious from the kitchen. And if our daughter is not in schoolhouse, she would be wrecking havoc in the background, admitting in beautiful ways," mused Deng.
Teh applied the aforementioned material and color palette throughout to unify all four storeys. "Kit Kat" tiles and mosaics dress the kitchen and bathrooms; timber parquet, cabinetry and half-wall cladding in the main living area echo the feel of nature outside the windows; and a gentle moss shade colours the bottom half of corridor and room walls to break the monotony of white walls, while channelling greenery in abstract.
Every bit the owners enjoyed relaxing in steam rooms overseas, Teh replaced the existing bathtub in the main bathroom with a shower-cum-steam room. He also covered a courtyard in the basement guest room with a glass roof to plow information technology into a tatami room for meditation, which the owners picked up on their travels.
Indeed, the firm embodies their globetrotting passion.
"We used to succumb always and so often to impulse buys. They ended upward furnishing our home. For example, nosotros lugged the carpets back from Turkey and the huge Thangka painting on the living room wall was from Bhutan," said Tay. While it resonated with his Buddhist behavior, Deng was drawn to its graphics and tones due to her creative background.
The owners formerly lived in a five-room HDB apartment with windows that also framed the tree canopy. Now they have four levels of that. Just initially, they were concerned that their new iv-storey home would exist too big and disconnecting for their small family.
"[Over time], it turned out to be perfect, particularly now that we're working form home," said Tay. Later enjoying a period of "semi-retirement" and full-on early on parenthood, the couple formed a travel start-upwards with another partner. GoTrippin.co taps into their personal experiences to create better travel journeys.
The couple appreciates that they tin develop their app and engage users from home while spending fourth dimension with their girl in her early years. When she needs a spot of tranquillity, Deng heads to the master sleeping accommodation as her haven of choice due to its panoramic forest vistas.
He shared that if they need to stretch their legs even more, they need non travel far. "With the nature reserve at our door footstep, nosotros get our dose of forest therapy everyday, heading there for running or mountain biking."
Non surprisingly, they had no complains about existence holed upward at home during the circuit breaker.
"The dwelling house's multiple levels gave each of the states a sanctuary to engage in serious work when necessary. If it were our old home, it would take been very tough for u.s. to work with our daughter in the same room. Nosotros were also able to use the extra space to create different play zones whenever she needed a change of scenery. I remember the surrounding nature made it feel a bit like a detoxing retreat rather than a lockdown," Deng mused.
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