#36
Singapore
S$8.00
your sourcebook for home interiors, designers and products
Shortlist bringing regional craft back in vogue
Spotlight exemplary homes with a dose of personality
showcase interiors to whet your appetite for design
focus on
Condos Radical transformations 1 home, 3 looks Showflat ideas to steal
Star Power Sneak a peek at TV presenter Mark Lee’s home
DEsign by the decade
A guide to iconic armchairs in the last century
lookboxliving.com.sg
Singapore Design Week 2014
Creative Circuit As part of the inaugural Singapore Design Week, a Creative Circuit design trail brought curious design-lovers on a tour of some of Singapore’s creative, design-friendly hotspots. We tagged along for the ride and picked out some of the highlights.
Tyrwhitt General Company This quaint little store prides itself on its low profile. It’s hidden away on the second floor of an unassuming building (right above third-wave coffee joint Chye Seng Huat Hardware) with no signboards, directions or welcome signs to mark the storefront. We’re told that finding the store’s entrance is just part of the General Company experience. The design shop emphasises the joy of discovery, whether you’re searching for the front door, stumbling upon old-school tin boxes and unique coasters or picking up bookbinding or leather crafting during one of the store’s regular workshops.
150A Tyrwhitt Road Singapore 207563 Tel (65) 8444 5589 info@wearethegeneralcompany.com www.tyrwhittgeneralcompany.com
Foundry As one of the leading purveyors of design in the local scene, furniture retailer Foundry is a staple on the Creative Circuit design trail. The store at Seah Street (just next to Raffles Hotel) is a familiar destination for homeowners who appreciate well-designed furniture and accessories, including lamps, cushions and tableware. With a soft spot for craft, the company manufacturers its own eponymous furniture collection, and retails it alongside international brands that share a similar ethos such as Hay, &Tradition, SCP and Marset.
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3 Seah Street #01-01 Singapore 188379 Tel (65) 6339 6381 info@foundry-store.com www.foundry-store.com
Shortlist
Shopping Trail
The Redundant Shop An HDB housing estate isn’t where you would typically expect to find a store like The Redundant Shop. The lifestyle store makes it work however, and even shares the neighbourhood with other indie joints like cafes and photostudios. The Redundant Shop occupies two units on the ground floor of an inconspicuous HDB flat – one for retail and the other to conduct workshops. We browsed through an in-depth selection of design goods that range from fashionable bags to knickknacks and gadgets for the home. The people behind this concept simply wanted to take these products and put them in their natural habitat – alongside other well-designed goods. Almost every weekend, The Redundant Shop carries out workshops where you can try your hand at making copper pipe table lamps, silkscreen printed fabrics and origami cards, among other things.
Block 5 Everton Park #01-22A Singapore 080005 Tel (65) 6707 2005 www.redundant-shop.com info@redundantshop.com
Kapok @ National Design Centre
National Design Centre 111 Middle Road Singapore 188969 www.ka-pok.com
Hong Kong fashion and lifestyle brand Kapok has finally found a home in Singapore’s newly opened National Design Centre (NDC). Although the store officially opens in mid-April, a pop-up store and café was specially set up for Singapore Design Week. The pop-up was a solid preview of what the permanent store will offer: a welledited selection of local and international brands that range from fashion apparel to tableware to graphic wall prints. During the Creative Trail, local store Grafunkt provided furniture settings for the steady stream of shoppers to flop themselves onto after a busy day of design-hunting.
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Whimsy & Spice Pastel shades and bold patterns give this old HDB flat a playful twist, thanks to WYNK Collaborative’s creative touch.
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Style Kit Homes We Love
The rooms were initially laid out in an unconventional L-shape, but the WYNK Collaborative designers managed to rearrange the space into a more livable configuration. Pastel pink laminate walls and herringbone vinyl wood floors give the space its uniquely whimsical vibe, balanced out by the black and white surfaces. (Tableware from Grafunkt and Lifestorey; cushions from Lifestorey; rug from Grafunkt)
As with most homes, storage space was a prime concern for the homeowners. The designers made sure that there are plenty of shelves and cabinets built into the home, and even incorporated storage space hidden behind the walls. (Yellow vase and red house-shaped decor from Lifestorey; white ceramic container from Grafunkt; stack of boxes from Foundry)
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Style Kit
Homes we love
Home
4-room HDB
Floor Area 980 sqft
text Redzman Rahmat Photography Justin Loh, Shining Head Media Art Direction Betty Wong
W
hen it comes to interior design, many homeowners are heading down the industrial route. Exposed bricks, raw cement and burnished metals are not uncommon in many homes today. But Joanna Dong and Zachary Ho were looking for something different. “We definitely didn’t want the common industrial look,” emphasises Joanna. “We wanted to stay in a home that’s bold and unique. Something that we won’t get tired of in the long run.” When the couple found this 4-room HDB in Serangoon, they had their concerns. “It’s a really old flat with a weird layout and in a bad condition, but it’s also in a great
neighbourhood that’s near to my mum’s place, so we decided to just get this place and hire a designer to help us out,” says Joanna. WYNK Collaborative, a design firm that specialises in interior architecture, took on the project with Leong Hon Kit at the helm. “There were a lot of things that we wanted to do in this house,” he says. “The layout was really blocky and the rooms were in an awkward L-shape. There was a lot of wasted space and corners that couldn’t be used. It was a challenge, but we did a complete renovation to make the rooms as rectangular as possible.” Any extra niches throughout the home were efficiently turned into hidden storage space.
Design Notes
By installing tracks along the wall, the designer created a sliding panel. This is a simple and creative way to make a multipurpose space: slide the panel to hide the storage shelf when guests arrive. (Photo credit: WYNK Collaborative)
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Star Power We sneak a peek at Weiken.com ambassador and TV show Home DÊcor Survivor host Mark Lee’s new home.
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special feature weiken.com
Large canvases of artwork are applied to walls and the ceiling like modern murals
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Design by Ciseern
One home, Three Looks When it comes to condominium renovations, homeowners tend to be less adventurous with built-in designs and go with neutral design schemes. It’s perfectly understandable – the investment made in the property is not to be taken lightly. At the same time, a kick of personality in our homes is always welcome. For Ciseern, the best of both worlds can be had. Take this condominium apartment for example. Designed as a polished white canvas, the apartment can easily be adapted to various looks just by changing up the furniture and accessories. Ciseern puts together three different looks that would work well in a neutral space like this. 110 | lookboxliving.com.sg
Design by Ciseern
Spotlight
condominiums
Summer Love
Greek isles and Mediterranean escapades serve as inspiration for a blue and white scheme. Pair casual textures with a bit of shine, and throw in tongue-in-cheek accessories for an easy, summery home.
Block stools, Price upon enquiry, from Mode Studio
fall comforts
If you are partial to the delicious warm tones of autumn, accessories in auburn shades and dark woods will be right up your alley.
Tribu Branch armchair, $1,120, from XTRA
Deer cushion, $112.35, from Lifestorey; Henrika throw, $39.90, from Ikea
Judy photo frame, $59 and Derek suitcase, $319, both from Galanga Living Porter bar cart, $749, from CB2
Batan bottle, $39, from Galanga Living; striped cushions, price upon enquiry, from Bungalow55
Menu Marble wall clock, $482, from Grafunkt; Panton cash tray (small), $160, from John Erdos
Winter wonderland Samy Salmon cushion, $43.90, from www.gracesmiths.com; Caitlin round basket, $139.95, from Crate and Barrel
An all-white colour scheme can be made more interesting when a variety of textures and metal tones are thrown into the mix.
Kartell T table, $401, from Lifestorey; Northern rug, $1,845.95, from BoConcept; Retro 3 lights floor lamp, $690, from Molecule
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Easy Elegance Renovating a home is not the easiest of things to do. But when designer and homeowner are located in different countries during the renovation process, the task becomes downright gargantuan. Such was the case with this apartment. Its owners, who had been living in Hong Kong for eight years, were finally returning to Singapore and wanted a modern and elegant space to come home to. Addressing the brief head on, interior design firm Altered Interior not only delivered a refined apartment that is easy on the senses, but also managed to pull it off while the owners were still in Hong Kong during the entire design and construction process.
Project Type 3-bedroom Condominium
Floor Area 1,421 sqft
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Aligning Priorities Glass doors from the private lift lobby lead directly into an airy and open space, with the living area resting one side and the dining and kitchen on the other. That the entire space feels streamlined is no accident. Designer Christina Choong shares that adjustments to the layout had to be made. Beside the dining area, the store room and common bathroom were aligned and cleverly concealed behind sliding panels that work in tandem with a simple but welldetailed mirror feature in the centre of the space.
Showcase
Altered interior
A Fetching Pair The owners have a keen appreciation for design and wanted to fill their home with some of their favourite designer furniture pieces. This is most obviously seen in the dining area, which is a picture of contemporary elegance. The dining set and distinct lamps were all handpicked by the owners in Hong Kong with the help of Christina, and shipped over when they made their move. Complementing the dining area is the partially open kitchen. By moving the kitchen entrance to the side, Christina could create a convenient serving counter between the kitchen and dining area.
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A Clear Study The renovation came with its fair share of hacking, not least when it came to creating a new study for the family. Walls were replaced with glass partitions for a bright and airy space that is conducive for work. A generous amount of storage was also included to organise the heaps of books and files that come with running a full household.
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Showcase
Altered interior
Care and Share The owners’ two children share the same bedroom, so it is important that it is conducive for both of them. Not only did Christina custom build a bed with a pull-out for the younger child, she also implemented two desks at different heights to accommodate each child. A composition of storage over the desks plays the part of both practical necessity and graphical feature in the room.
Cosy Up The master bedroom is best described as a cocoon of earthy proportions. “We chose neutral brown and grey colours to create a very relaxing ambience,” says Christina. Practical interventions also took place with additional cabinets in a row at the front of the room. Instead of buying an off-the-shelf bed, a customised under-storage bedframe ensures that the design of the room remains consistent.
“The owners… wanted to fill their home with some of their favourite designer furniture pieces”
Altered Interior PTe Ltd 5 Tank Road #04-02 Nagarathar Building Singapore 238061 Tel (65) 6235 8498 Fax (65) 6235 8495 info@altered-interior.com www.altered-interior.com
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