For Noya and Zarif, cosy homestays have always been their favourite type of getaway. From warm lighting and soft textures to the overall feeling a space creates, they love how thoughtful interiors can instantly make a place feel welcoming. Inspired by these experiences, the couple decided to create a cosy homestay of their own.
But with zero renovation experience and no idea where to begin, turning an empty home into an Airbnb was no small feat. What started as a simple idea soon became a major project, one they documented along the way on their Instagram account, Villa Noa. Read on to learn more about the couple’s renovation journey of turning a villa in Bangi into a resort-style homestay.
About the couple
Noya (N): Hi, I’m a freelance content creator, while my husband works as a real estate negotiator. We met when I was doing an internship, introduced by our mutual friends, and the rest is history! We got married in June 2024, and now we’re excitedly preparing to welcome our first baby.
About the property
After we got married, we were staying at Zarif’s family home, which happens to be right next door. At the time, we noticed that the villa next door to us was vacant, so we started seriously thinking about buying it.
Located in Cerrado Condominium, Southville City, the property is relatively new, having been completed in 2020. It’s a 2.5-storey linked unit with about 2,100 sqft of space, featuring 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.
What made the villa special is that there are only 5 of these units in the entire development. They call it a “villa in the sky” because it’s located right on the facilities floor, so the swimming pool, gym, and other shared amenities are all just steps away.
We also love the concept of the villa where it comes with a direct access to our own private parking spaces. It gives you the feeling of living in a landed home while still being able to enjoy all the amenities of a condominium.
At first, we thought we’d live here ourselves, but the villa was way too big for just the two of us and our soon-to-arrive little one (it has enough beds for 10 people by the way!). So instead, we had the idea of turning it into an investment and earning some side income by renting it out as a homestay.
Location-wise, this villa is super convenient because the condo has its own toll exit to Southville City, which makes getting in and out of Bangi through the highway really easy.
We named it Villa Noa because “Noa” means peace in Arabic, and in Malay, it’s “damai” or “sejahtera.” We wanted the home to feel peaceful for us and to give our guests that same sense of calm.
The overall vibe of the villa reflects that idea of tranquility. Even the surroundings complement it. At specific times of the day, the water feature near the gym will start flowing, creating a soothing sound that feels like gentle white noise. It really adds to the calm, peaceful atmosphere of the home.
About the house design
For the renovation, we first reached out to our interior designer friends to help us come up with the design concept.
During our meeting, we explained that we wanted the home to feel open, airy, and spacious. We initially thought a Japanese MUJI style concept would fit perfectly, not just because of its minimalism, but also because we wanted something a little different.
However, when we saw the 3D renders, we realised that the pure MUJI or Japanese style might be too niche and might not appeal to as big of an audience. Since we planned to turn the villa into a homestay, we wanted a design that most people would appreciate. We also wanted the interior to harmonise with the outdoors surrounding that comes with a lot of greenery and water elements.
In the end, we fused the original MUJI concept with a tropical twist for a, vibe that’s both serene and welcoming.
Most of our inspiration came from Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok, especially villas in Bali we kept seeing online. I’ve always dreamed of going to Bali but somehow never made it there. Still, scrolling through photos of modern Balinese houses on Instagram gave me all the inspiration we needed for our own home.
Since our vision ended up being a bit different from what the interior designer proposed, we decided to take the project in our own direction. We paid for full consultation fees and 3D renderings, then tweaked the design to match our personal taste.
We also found our own contractors who were recommended either by our friends or family, and took an active role in overseeing the renovation ourselves. Living nearby made it easy for us to monitor the renovation progress and ensure everything went according to plan.
About the renovation works
The villa came with a kitchen cabinet and air conditioning already installed, but the rest of the space was quite bare.
Originally, the floors were tiled, but we replaced them with SPC flooring to add warmth and a cosier feel to the home. We also installed plaster ceilings throughout and added extra light points, since the ones provided by the developer weren’t enough.
We had the entire house repainted, including the doors, door frames, and staircase railing. For the colour scheme, we wanted something neutral and timeless. We visited a Vasari showroom, which is known for their textured paints, and chose the colours ourselves. For example, the TV wall features Vasari’s textured paint.
To complement that, we incorporated other tones like grey, off-white, champagne, with pops of green from the potted plants to bring the overall design concept to life. In some areas, like the bedrooms, we added wallpaper to create visual interest to the space.
The living room
My favourite part of the house is the living room because it’s truly the heart of the home. The big sofa can fit plenty of people and when you open the house entrance sliding doors, the gentle sound of the water fountains outside adds a calming touch to the space.
In this area, we created an arched feature wall with open shelves, which instantly became the focal point of the room. Since we couldn’t hack into the original wall to form a real arch, we used a cement board, which is thicker and sturdier than plaster. We also added fluted panels to bring in extra texture and detail to the feature wall.
That said, one thing we realised after the renovation is that the feature wall does take up a bit of space, so the sofa can’t be pushed fully against the wall anymore.
Meanwhile, on the ceiling, we installed a wooden beam to give the room a period-home charm. It isn’t real wood, but it was painted to look like wood, and we sourced it from Maze Concept Technology in Puchong.
The kitchen
Next to the living area is the kitchen. We added an island to separate it from the living space. The countertop is made of porcelain stone, which we chose due to its durability and resistance to stains and scratches compared to other natural stones like quartz or marble.
The original kitchen cabinet doors and frames were originally yellow in colour, but we had them replaced to match the walnut tone of the furniture found throughout the house. It comes fitted with an electric cooker, so guests can easily prepare their own meals during their stay.
The dining area
We didn’t make major structural changes to the home except in the dining area. Originally, it was quite small and separated from the staircase by a sliding door.
We removed the wall and added ventilation bricks, which improve airflow, brighten up the space, and create the illusion of a bigger area. We also replaced the sliding door entrance with an arched wall finished in wood, giving the dining area a more open and inviting feel.
Once we furnished it with a wooden dining set, the whole space came together and now feels warm and welcoming for our homestay guests.
The bedrooms
You might notice that none of the bedrooms come with built-in wardrobes, and that was intentional. Since we’re renting the space out as a homestay, we didn’t feel the need to install them, plus it helps keep the rooms feeling more open and less cramped.
Instead, we added wall hooks and clothes racks for guests to hang their clothes, which keeps things simple and functional. If we ever decide to move into the villa ourselves, we’d probably add wardrobes then.
Other than that, we’ve furnished the rooms with loose furniture, added cosy touches like rugs and the throw pillows and finished the look with wooden blinds or curtains to create a cosy space for resting.
The bathrooms
We wanted the whole home to feel like a complete experience, which is why we didn’t leave the bathrooms out. To us, a basic toilet just wasn’t enough; we wanted our guests to feel that same sense of design and comfort the moment they step into the bathrooms.
So we fully upgraded the bathrooms by re-tiling, changing the sanitary fittings and adding cabinets, mirrors, lighting, and drawers. Everything was chosen to match the overall design of the house, so the look and feel stay consistent throughout.
The family area
Up on the top floor, there’s this open space with a double-height ceiling that we turned into a family hangout spot. It’s perfect for gaming, especially for the younger ones since we’ve got a PS5 here. We love chilling here too, the tall ceiling makes the room feel open and relaxing.
We did think about turning the double-height ceiling into an attic at first, but after checking the costs, it was way over our budget. So for now, we’re holding off the idea. Maybe in the future, we’ll turn it into an attic, and it could even double as a kids' sleeping area.
On challenges encountered
Since we had no experience with renovations and decided to tackle it ourselves, the whole process ended up taking a lot longer than we expected, about 4 to 5 months.
A big part of the delay came from planning and the flow of the renovation. For example, our first contractor ended up delaying their work, so we had to replace him to get things moving again. If you’re renovating, our advice is to make sure you find a reliable contractor or interior designer. Even though our first contractor was recommended to us, it still wasn’t smooth sailing. Try to find one with more than just 1 or 2 reviews, the more, the better.
To sum up
The total cost of our renovation came to about RM160,000, including furniture. For us, the whole process was actually pretty fun! We really enjoyed hunting for materials and visiting home expos. And since this is our first time renovating and buying a home, we definitely learned a lot along the way.
For instance, if we ever take on another project, we now know to tackle the messy stuff like wall hacking or wet works first and leave furnishing to the very end. We learned that the hard way!
However, we’d only recommend you taking on a renovation yourself if you’ve got the time, patience, and passion. If not, it’s definitely worth leaving it to an interior designer, they can handle everything without all the stress and hassle!
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