Let truth be told, a simple interior isn't always the easiest to create. On the contrary, simple interiors are usually also the most demanding, requiring precision in choice of colors and an impeccable eye for detail and balance. And should any of these be lacking, the scheme can easily go off kilter, or worse, be passed off as a lack of design. In dealing with a home that wanted a quiet mien, however, the design team created a modern Zen concept that bears a hint of understated luxury.
Starting with the living room, the designers chose wood as a main material, backed by some quieter pale toned walls. This scheme evokes a sense of stillness, turning the living room into a temple of calm.
And being honored here is the television, set on the modern altar that is the console feature. Although natural wood tones dominate the room, well-placed steel inlays in the feature wall, colored panel insertions, and not forgetting the coat of varnish on the wooden flooring all serve to give the space a modern look.
Just beside but separated from the living room is the dining area, the team demarcates the space with a partial screen made of wooden slats arranged in gradations of browns and whites, thereby reiterating the color scheme of the living room.
For a harmonized, well-put together theme, the concept needs to be delivered through to every nook and cranny. This home is one such example of successful styling and impeccable interior design, with an astute focus on colour, space and disciplined lines.
A predominant palette range that spans white to black and every shade of grey in between ensures the theme emanates timeless modernity and elegance. Ebony furniture, TV display, kitchen countertop and dining room chairs are set against pure white walls, floors and cupboards for striking contrast. Grey motifs and metal railings, as well as stunning steel kitchen appliances and exposed furniture legs help to keep a balance while adhering to the theme.
The clever use of wide empty spaces keeps clutter to a minimum, ensuring that the home is spacious. It is the essence of a bare beauty, held together with strong lines and bold geometric shapes. For example, to complement the long minimalist sofa is a set of long angular panels that frame the TV display. White bedroom cupboards create the illusion of height, broadness and space with their horizontal and vertical lines. This concept is seen again with ceiling to floor accents.
Comfort and a sense of luxury were what the homeowners of this condominium apartment wanted for their new home. And, the design team managed to deliver exactly what the owners wanted – a stylish three bedroom apartment that oozes contemporary luxury.
Configured behind the living area is the dining space where a dining set of four anchors the space. Black and white chairs are placed alternately to break up the monotony of a single-colour set-up. But it is the glass panel that is affixed onto the recess in the ceiling that gives the space a unique twist.
The 120 square metre apartment is blessed with full height glass windows that look out to the city skyline. Opting to give the view pride of place, the design team kept the living area understand with clean lines and a subtle material palette.
Here, the living area set-up faces a feature wall that sees timber laminating used to frame a light textured wall. This gives the space an immediate visual focus and grounds this crucial space.
The apartment also came with a longer bar counter near the kitchen, whch was not to the liking of the homeowners. It also sat on a concrete base that was more of an obstruction than anything. Doing away with it, a compact bar counter has been built in its place while the floor has since been leveled and tiled for a cleaner look.
The bedrooms are no less elegant in this apartment. The master is a picture of luxury with an inviting bed taking centre stage. It is framed by a feature wall dressed symmetrically with wallpaper and dark tinted glass. To counter the darker colours, light colored translucent curtains have been chosen to let light filter into the space.
In contrast, the teenage daughter’s bedroom takes on a lighter color palette. Walls dressed in tone-on-tone floral print wallpaper give it a decidedly feminine feel. With a study desk and sufficient storage space, the room is an effective one that also manages to evoke serenity and comfort.
Located in the quiet surroundings of Grande Vista condominium, this two-storey five-room apartment is apt for the tranquil and warm ambience that the homeowners envision. The wife, who is an artist, had a specific vision for her new home: a cosy part-country and part Asian resort home that reflects the couple’s backgrounds and interests. Working with Weiken.com is a breeze, says the homeowner, “Their work is really good. We have had a good discussions where we discussed and dealt with the design together.”
Natural wood and stone were used liberally to achieve the specific ambience the homeowners desired. What’s notable is how each space flows into another – a deliberate arrangement that not only invites natural light, but also allows the couple to be constantly aware of where the other is.
Taking inspiration from Asian reports, the living room is a wide-space filled with cushy sofa vial for unwinding. Aside from the sofas, the couple’s furniture collection acquired through the years grace each space. Wooden furniture pieces with distinct Asian forms provide ample spaces where the homeowners and their guests can convene, whether in the living room, or at a dining table for six at the veranda.
In a clever bid for book space, the homeowners and the design team opted for an unconventional approach. The wall separating the living room and an adjacent room was duly removed. In its place is a customized wall-to-wall bookcase that in turn performs as a wall. At the end of the living room towards the veranda, a section of the wall is clad in teak veneer. Its rich textures form the backdrop of the wall-mounted entertainment equipment and recessed nooks for music paraphernalia.
Take a few steps up a short flight of stairs a pillar clad in stacked stone and here, the kitchen bears subtle country-inspired elements, with its earthy colour scheme and dining table in the centre of the space. Look up from the dining table and a double volume space that was not originally there hovers overhead as louvered windows from the bedrooms above peek down. Inspired by the beauty of Peranakan structures, the walls of the upper floor bedrooms were carved out to allow Peranakan-style windows and frames that are customized with Nyatoh wood.
Upstairs, too, the master bedroom exudes a quiet simplicity. A wide expanse of space simply done up with white walls warmed with a dark timber floor, the master bedroom allows ample room for a four-poster bed and a lounge chair. The highlight of this room however, has got to be the freestanding bathtub that rests a little away from the bed, separated only by billowy white curtains. Most definitely, retiring to this room after a long day is sheer bliss.
The key to create a home that exudes bold personality and spacious sophistication lies in the perfect blend of furniture, finishes and fixtures, and the mood it evokes. Here, the living room thrives on an open airiness, thanks to a beamless space that is paired with strong, rectangular furniture and set against a highly minimalist backdrop. The Kitchen plays with an array of textures and finishes, with the likes of wood grains, sleek stainless steel and smooth glass panels for a visual and tactile treat.
The dramatic effect of the bedroom stems not from the use of ornate details, but instead, from its bare simplicity enhanced and dramatised by versatile lighting, providing the flexibility in creating the mood one desires. Likewise, the bathroom is kept simple and modern, boasting a charming rounded-edged bathtub and sanitary ware set, for added contrast against the lines of the vanity, window frames and tiled walls.
Although each living space takes on a life of its own, Weiken.com has fused together various elements to ensure that the theme flows throughout the entire home: a clever combination of warm wooden pieces, neutral colours and contemporary accents sprinkled accross every month room for a touch of contemporary chic and roomy elegance.
What happens when a family with a penchant for Chinese hardwood furniture wants the comfort of contemporary interiors? The design team at Weiken.com has an answer: Have nondescript white walls against which Chinese designs and their ornamented intricacies may play off, introduce comfortable new pieces into old but beloved furniture house, the design team worked in all of these elements, but not before he incorporated an extension that is sheltered by a light glass skin.
Running down the side of the house. frameless glass panels from the extension to the main living space. While the panels unreservedly let light in, they also allow the interior to engage with the wood-decked scene right outside. To perpetuate a sense of lightness, glass sheets atop horizontal steet supports create a glass canopy that replaces traditional eaves.
Within the glassed-in space, the design team set up a cosy corner. Here, tea sessions can be enjoyed with a view outwards, but still conducted within the comfort of air-conditioning. Apart from glass display shelves ingeniously built into the house's existing columns, the house also shows off a custom-designed screen with Chinese motifs, spray painted white to blend in with the white walls.
Within the main living area proper, seating options, both modern and antique, mark out boundaries. An antique sideboard find itself strategically placed as a backing to the sofa. In front, the feature wall has been deliberately simplified to strip mirrors and laminate work so that the spotlight remains on the family's collection of furniture and artwork.
At the tail end of this common space, a bar area has been carved out to cater to a different kind of lifestyle enjoyment. In a practical U-shaped arrangement, the bar consists of a white solid surface top set upon simple laminated joinery. Finally, a blockish volume perched offset upon the worktop nails the modern, if not architectural look.
What happens when a family with a penchant for Chinese hardwood furniture wants the comfort of contemporary interiors? The design team at Weiken.com has an answer: Have nondescript white walls against which Chinese designs and their ornamented intricacies may play off, introduce comfortable new pieces into old but beloved furniture house, the design team worked in all of these elements, but not before he incorporated an extension that is sheltered by a light glass skin.
Running down the side of the house. frameless glass panels from the extension to the main living space. While the panels unreservedly let light in, they also allow the interior to engage with the wood-decked scene right outside. To perpetuate a sense of lightness, glass sheets atop horizontal steet supports create a glass canopy that replaces traditional eaves.
Within the glassed-in space, the design team set up a cosy corner. Here, tea sessions can be enjoyed with a view outwards, but still conducted within the comfort of air-conditioning. Apart from glass display shelves ingeniously built into the house's existing columns, the house also shows off a custom-designed screen with Chinese motifs, spray painted white to blend in with the white walls.
Within the main living area proper, seating options, both modern and antique, mark out boundaries. An antique sideboard find itself strategically placed as a backing to the sofa. In front, the feature wall has been deliberately simplified to strip mirrors and laminate work so that the spotlight remains on the family's collection of furniture and artwork.
At the tail end of this common space, a bar area has been carved out to cater to a different kind of lifestyle enjoyment. In a practical U-shaped arrangement, the bar consists of a white solid surface top set upon simple laminated joinery. Finally, a blockish volume perched offset upon the worktop nails the modern, if not architectural look.
If you think simplicity is unappealing or uninteresting,, think again. An uncomplicated design may actually offer more opportunities for self-expression, and provide a versatile, transposable space for rest, dining, work or play. Of course, a clean and classy look stretches your dollar too, in terms of staying timeless and relevant in times of ever-changing trends. By combining modern décor with a skilful use of space, a home is instantly transformed into haven.
Beige tones and whites need not be boring, especially when used in contrast to gunmetal greys and also to enhance other warm caramel shades. When these colours are paired with organic forms and taupe touches, the feel of it all makes the living room even more inviting. The colour scheme in the study is combined smooth surfaces and clean lines, in a bid to keep things focused for work as well.
The dining area is deceptively simple, yet extremely fashionable, thanks to the sleek, shiney accents of metal furniture legs, which are juxtaposed against a textured rug, the curves of dining chairs and the hard lines of monochrome walls and mirrors. Despite the absence of elaborate patterns or intricate motifs, this mix of contrasting finishes and materials adds texture and richness for an understated and chic home.
