Tour this 5,000 sqft Bungalow in Penang with Open Plan Layout

A family home that is both aesthetically pleasing and personal.

A family of five in Penang needed help to renovate their newly purchased bungalow. After submitting their request for recommendations through Qanvast, they were introduced to JZone Interior Design.

The end result - a family that's proud of their cosy space. We spoke with Joyce Ng of JZone Interior Design, the project manager who oversees the entire renovation, where she shared the design concept and work done for this huge transformation.

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About the client

Joyce Ng (JN): Mr Chew is a business owner in his 40s. He lives with his wife and three sons, ages 16, 10, and 5.

They are currently residing in 5,000 sqft bungalow in Bukit Mertajam.It is a newly constructed home with 3 floors, 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms. In addition, he installed a lift next to the staircase for easier access to the various floors.

About the design brief

Creating a large and open feel was one of Mr Chew’s priorities when designing this home. He doesn't want the design to be too bright because the double volume mezzanine and numerous windows already allow plenty of natural light to enter the house. He also wanted his house to stand out from the other cookie-cutter units in his neighbourhood.

We went with darker tones of brown, grey, and black, and completed the look with occasional accents of green and orange for that pop of colour.

The renovation works include carpentry design, plastering of ceilings, installing fixtures such as lights, curtains, retiling and flooring for the kitchen and master bedroom.

About the renovation

Based on Mr Chew's feedback, we proposed an open-concept contemporary design in the communal areas - living room, dry kitchen, and dining area. This allows family members to feel connected when they are in these rooms.

For the mezzanine, we converted it into a nook with a seating area that overlooks the patio area. With this configuration, it is easier for Mr Chew to keep an eye on his children playing on the patio from the mezzanine area.

Also, if you noticed, there isn't a 'formal' dining area as Mr Chew prefers quick meals over long conversational ones, hence we kept the dining setup relatively simple.

The dry kitchen and dining area, located next to the mezzanine, is my favourite part of the house. It's situated between the wet kitchen and the laundry room. The dry kitchen has built-in cabinets and an island with a connecting dining table.

The wood panel ceiling is one of the most distinctive features of the dry kitchen. We added that accent to fill up the gap between the walls and the upper cabinets - an unused area in most homes as it is usually difficult to reach. LED lighting was added to the cabinetry for that elegant vibe.

To create the visual consistency in the big space, we went for plenty of customised carpentry for storage and display.

About the home's major reconfiguration

Originally a small maid's room, we configured the space to accommodate a wet kitchen, and added a glass sliding door to connect the wet and dry kitchens.

We tiled the floors and fitted the kitchen with built-in cabinets to make the space functional.

In addition to the kitchen, we also made structural changes to the master bedroom. The original bedroom space was small and Mr Chew requested for one of the walls to be hacked to accommodate a walk-in wardrobe, a vanity and a study area.

The vanity and study were placed on the same side of the room, on a suspended design to minimise bulky carpentry.

In line with the open space concept, a glass door was installed to demarcate the space between the bedroom and walk-in wardrobe. It also prevents the cool air from the air-conditioner from escaping.

The original vinyl flooring was badly damaged when the walls were removed, so it was replaced with new vinyl flooring. The rest of the house still uses the same flooring that came originally with the house.

Last but not least, we expanded one of the boys' bedrooms by converting the balcony into a study area. We also added large windows to let light into the space. To improve the room's functionality, a built-in study table and wardrobe were installed.

To sum up

The renovation process took us around 8 months, due to MCO as well as some back and forth discussion of the home's design. Despite this, the end result was worth it!

I'm glad to know that Mr Chew is very pleased with the outcome and he has also received compliments on his renovated home.

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