June 27, 2018
Specialising in designer furniture and homeware, Pomelo Home stocks products from brands based in the UK and U.S..
“Design is first and foremost, but it also has to be well-made,” says Raymond Quah, the owner of furniture store Pomelo Home. “And that’s essentially what our tagline says, ‘Good design, made well’.”
Make a trip down to Pomelo Home's showroom at Tan Boon Liat Building and you'll find that the store lives up to its motto. Awaiting customers here is a curated range of 16 designer brands covering furniture, lighting, and home accessories – each of them handpicked by Raymond, a design aficionado himself.
“Our brands tend to be slightly smaller, and are mainly from Europe or the U.S., like Case, Punt, Semigood, and Mattiazzi,” Raymond says. “Perhaps not so well-known, in these parts, but they make beautiful, beautiful pieces.”
Contemporary highlights that can be found at the store include Pott’s ‘Sponge Up’ pendant lamps (pictured above) – which are inspired by the porous nature of sea sponges – and California brand Modernica’s elegant Case Study stoneware planters.
For those who are searching for something a little larger, there are also gorgeous pieces available, like the Stanley Sofa from UK brand Case (above) as well as the sleek Mattiazzi Primo table and chairs, which are a great match for contemporary home settings.
Much like the brands it carries, Pomelo Home too hails from a humble origin.
“While furnishing my first home, there was a bunch of stuff that my wife and I wanted but couldn’t get locally. So, what we did was to buy and bring some of it back during our honeymoon. After that, we figured that if we like this stuff, others might too,” says Raymond, who first opened up shop in a surprising location: his own home.
“At that time, we were living in a walk-up apartment, and it basically became our showroom. The tables, the chairs, the bookshelf, the sofa, everything in the living room and dining area was for sale,” Raymond recounts.
Fast forward to today, Pomelo Home now occupies a slightly under 2,800 square foot space with a distinctive entrance. In this part of the showroom, tall stretches of plywood panels were installed as a nod to both mid-century modern design and the aesthetic of 1960s homes.
Equally inspired is the store's layout, which according to Raymond is “changed every 3 or 4 months” as a way of keeping things fresh.
“Whenever new collections come in, we try to put it up in front. But we also create settings that provide (customers with) an idea of how things will look like in a room,” says Raymond. “There’s no particular science to it, really.”
Yet, one thing is for certain: If you're looking for good furniture made well, Pomelo Home is a store that's worth dropping by.
Pomelo Home
315 Outram Road, #13-02 Tan Boon Liat Building, Singapore 169074
Opening hours: 11am - 6pm, except Mondays