Family’s Duplex Penthouse Condo is a Cosy Take on Modern-Luxe Design

And every piece in this tranquil home tells a story.

A couple of years after moving to Singapore, homeowner Julia and her family were looking into moving out of their rented apartment and into a space of their own. In a series of chance events, her chiropractor connected her with a realtor – who then showed her family this duplex condo unit in Buona Vista.

“We walked in and I pulled my husband’s shirt, like ‘This is it’”, Julia shares. “I could already imagine it: my husband working at the dining area, and my son playing in the living area while I’m cooking in the kitchen.”

The couple didn’t wait long after the first viewing to snap up the penthouse. The next step was finding an interior designer who could actualise their vision; and while that was no easy process, they found the perfect match in Alan, an interior designer at Le Interior Affairs.

We sat down with Julia and Alan – a plate of warm, homebaked cookies between us (courtesy of Julia) – to find out how the renovation took shape.

About the homeowners and their home

Originally from Hong Kong, Julia grew up in America and spent 20 years there before moving to Singapore with her British husband and young son. Besides the influence of their travels and diverse ‘East meets West’ background, there is a strong American-style lean to the interior.

This is visible in the emphasis on open-concept communal spaces, an abundance of natural light and the warm, earthy tones.

Julia shares with a grin that she took on the creative reins for the project – meaning her husband only saw their home twice: during the viewing, and after the renovation was completed.

With a firm vision in mind, Julia sought Alan’s help to achieve an open-concept communal space for her son and his friends to run around, as well as cosy private spaces for her family – all while ensuring practicality.

She liked the home as it was, so there were no structural changes. Instead, she and Alan focused on replacing the old carpentry, tiling and updating the wiring and plumbing.

On renovating the living room

With its spacious arrangement and plush furnishing, the living room is no doubt the heart of the home. It also sees plenty of light when the curtains over the full-height windows are drawn aside.

“I wanted a cohesive and open space,” Julia explains, pointing out how the natural flow guides visitors from the entryway into the spacious living room.

Alan also highlights the TV feature wall, an idea he conceptualised after some discussions with Julia, with storage space for cleaning items since he knows how particular she is about neatness and minimising clutter.

Behind the wide, cosy sofa for the family and/or guests to sink into, the dining table is the centre of action when Julia hosts. It’s lit with a warm glow from the striking pendant lights she sourced from Horizon Lights, though she switched out the lamp shades to suit her taste.

Though not pictured, Julia also grows her own plants and herbs at the balcony like basil and rosemary, which are perfect for her dishes.

About the open-concept kitchen and wet kitchen

As someone who loves to whip up a hearty meal for friends and family, Julia’s open-concept kitchen is a dream space for her.

It has plenty of room for cooking, and it’s perfectly positioned so that she can keep the conversation going with family and guests who are in the living area.

The peninsula demarcates the dry kitchen space, which is backed by a panel painting that holds sentimental value – much like every other piece on display in the home. These include two paintings from their trip to Mongolia and several other large pieces Julia painted herself in an unoccupied room while the renovation was ongoing.

“We call the panel painting the ‘circle of life’ because my husband bought it for me from a very unique shop in Hong Kong when I was pregnant,” she says with a smile.

Tucked away behind the dry kitchen is an enviable wet kitchen, which has an eye-catching backsplash made up of maroon tiles with high shade variation.

“I use the stand-alone island here to do all the chopping and rolling because the surface (a Dekton worktop) is more sturdy. The peninsula area is more for entertainment,” Julia explains.

On the guest bedroom-cum-study and stairs

Moving further down the living area, a corridor leads to the study that doubles as a guest bedroom. This is mainly where Julia’s husband works when he’s at home, though there are also wardrobes to accommodate guests.

From here, the stairs lead up to the second floor, where you’ll find a lovely settee midway for enjoying an unblocked view and curling up with a book.

About the junior bedroom and adjacent bathroom

“Julia and her husband really love their son, so their main focus was on his room,” Alan shares.

Indeed, there is nothing perhaps more impressive in the home than the treehouse-esque structure in the junior bedroom that Julia calls a “modernised man cave” where her son can keep all his toys and books.

“He loves having his own space to read and hang out with his friends. Plus, it’s quite spacious: we can have five kids up there! I got Alan to rigorously test the safety too.”

After bouncing off ideas on how to arrange the space, Alan and Julia ultimately settled on positioning the wardrobe under the treehouse, forgoing a study desk.

“I think she missed out the important part,” Alan quips. “Her son was part of the design panel. When we first showed him the 3D drawing, he felt that the bluish colour we proposed was too childish. He wanted more mature colours like these grey and wood tones.”

“He has very good taste. I think he takes after his mom,” Julia says with a smile.

In fact, this aspect of the renovation was one reason why Julia chose to work with Alan over ten other designers she had approached.

“When I talked to different interior designers, Alan stood out to me because I could sense his passion and how seriously he takes the job. He was willing to give the treehouse idea a try and he also shared his recommendations based on his expertise. I felt like I could trust him.”

The junior bedroom is also partitioned into a no-frills study for Julia who shares that the peace and quiet here helps her focus.

“Later on, my son can use this as his study since it’s part of the room. The whole idea is that the space can transform and grow with him.”

A little further down the corridor, Julia’s son’s bathroom sports a refined colour palette he selected, with orange epoxy grout used to add a unique pop of colour to the otherwise white tiles.

On renovating the master bedroom and ensuite bathroom

As Julia led us into the master bedroom, we were half-convinced that we were in a boutique hotel with a lush forest view.

The space is a warm mix of browns and greys, with the bed positioned such that it faces the full-height glass windows and a balcony overlooking a grand view.

“My husband and I didn’t want a TV in the room. We just prefer to wind down and catch up in bed, sometimes with a hot coffee.”

Though not immediately obvious in the pictures, there is a walk-in wardrobe by the bed that leads to the revamped bathroom.

Here, Julia chose to replace the single-basin vanity with his-and-hers sinks so that she and her husband can get ready at the same time.

As for the colours, the bathroom retains the brown and grey palette in the rest of the room – but takes a twist in the shower area, with grey-blue tiles for a touch of bold, yet muted colour to the space.

To sum up

Post-renovation, the stunning space is exactly as Julia had envisioned.

“One constant challenge was how we could incorporate my ideas with the existing structures. That’s why I really appreciate Alan’s open communication and how we could work together to come up with design solutions to make it all work,” she says.

On his thoughts about the renovation, Alan shares: “At the start, I saw this project as more of an opportunity to improve my portfolio, but the journey turned out to be very fun. Julia was very involved and hands-on, so it felt more like a collaboration and I think we can both agree we’ve become good friends in the process.”

Reflecting on the five months or so since they moved in, Julia says they’ve received a lot of compliments from friends and family on their home.

“It’s both sweet and stylish. One of our favourite things to do is chatting at the couch here, with my son in the middle with one leg each on me and my husband. We absolutely love our home.”

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