When it came to designing his own home, head honcho Kobe from KDOT Associates knew exactly what he wanted and how to go about doing it. As a project manager and interior designer, Kobe had all the technical expertise and the creative ideas to ensure that his house was well-designed.
Qanvast: What was the overall idea behind your home?
Kobe (K): My wife and I often travel to different countries and we like the modern, contemporary feel of hotels. I also have a preference for a monochrome palette and dark wood finishings so I knew that these were features that I wanted in my home.
K: On top of that, I also want my home to function as a sort of “showroom” so that I can let my clients see and feel the carpentry, and help them to decide what they want for their home.
Qanvast: How does your experience as an interior designer shape the way in which you went about designing your place?
K: I knew that I wanted different accents for the various rooms. For example, I wanted my kitchen to fully adhere to a monochromatic palette whereas in my bedroom, I wanted to rely on darker wood finishings for a cosy vibe.
K: Although there are all these different accents, the overall look must still be coherent and that’s where my experience as an interior designer helped because I knew how to ensure that the design transitions smoothly from one room to the next.
Qanvast: Can you share more about how you ensured that the design remained consistent?
K: I made the overall design continuous by sticking to a monochromatic colour scheme for the hallways while I used a wood finishing and black, white and grey colours in the living area. By doing so, I incorporated different themes into the overall modern contemporary look of my home.
Qanvast: With these ideas in mind, how did you plan the design of your home?
K: I began by searching for the relevant mood images on Pinterest and consolidating them. With all these inspiration, I could then start planning the design and selecting suitable materials for the various parts of my home.
As an interior designer, I like to try and test new materials and innovations. For example, in the kitchen, I tried a new matte laminate, and for the bedroom, a new soft close, anti-slam sliding door, to name a few.
Qanvast: Tell us about the thought that went into planning the lighting in your master bedroom.
K: I used the concept of zoning when planning the placement of the lighting in my bedroom. What this means is that each light will light up a specific zone. I organised the lights in such a way that if I wanted to go to the bathroom at night, the lights will illuminate a path which I could take without disturbing my wife and vice-versa.
Qanvast: Is that expensive to do?
K: Yes because I have eight lighting points in my room. For homeowners who are on a budget, they can just install one light on top to illuminate a particular spot.
Qanvast: How did you plan the space in your walk-in wardrobe?
K: I used carpentry to segregate different sections in the wardrobe for different types of clothing. For example, my sporting attire and my coats are in different sections. This makes the entire wardrobe look neater.
I have another wardrobe - we reoriented the space to fit it in. My daughter sleeps with us, so I come in here to do my work and shut the door so she isn't bothered by the light.
Qanvast: How does your home serve as a showroom?
K: For my bedroom, I shied away from carpentry work because I want to let homeowners know that carpentry is not always necessary to make a room look nice. Instead, I want to show them they can rely on the design of the bedsheet, the side tables and lighting fixtures to spruce up their room.
K: Furthermore, carpentry can be quite costly as a headboard, for example, can cost up to $1000. Thus I would especially advise homeowners on a budget to consider using furnishings to decorate their room.
Qanvast: How can homeowners easily achieve a modern contemporary hotel theme like yours?
K: They should choose materials that look subtle and clean, and avoid materials that are too fanciful or contain too many details.
Qanvast: What advice can you give to homeowners about the placement of power points?
K: On top of planning their power points around electrical appliances like the television, homeowners should think about where they plan to connect their vacuum cleaner and consider whether they want to install home security cameras because the power points for those have to be installed in the ceiling.
K: Homeowners also need to be certain about their power point placement because it is difficult to install or change the placement of a power point once the wiring or rewiring has been done.
Qanvast: How can you help homeowners who are on a budget and do not want to spend too much money on power points?
K: I am able to do up a cabinet in such a way that an extension cord can fit inside. Besides hiding the unsightly wiring from view, this can help homeowners to save quite a bit of money because one extension plug usually costs around $15 while a power point can cost around $60 to $70.
Qanvast: Do you have any final tips for homeowners?
K: I encourage homeowners to overlay the flooring in their toilet. If they just erect a curb, this will cause stagnant water to accumulate which looks unsightly and poses a safety issue. Hence, even though overlaying is more expensive, it is something worth spending on.