Japandi Meets European Chic in ID Couple’s Revamped Buangkok Flat

Their years of home design experience culminated in a perfect blend of the East-meets-West styles.

For us, stepping into this 5-room resale flat in Buangkok felt like a warm hug after a long day.

As we admired the iconic chevron flooring and vintage rugs, it became clear there was an undeniable European influence.

“My wife, Annie, and I are both interior designers. During our travels in Europe, we appreciated the cultural heritage and vintage aesthetic. However, we also wanted to incorporate local trends, so we ended up mixing and matching to get this unique design concept that we love,” explained Schubert, co-founder of Anhans Interior Design.

Naturally, we asked if he had a name for this interior style. With a smile, he proffered “Japandi fusion”.

As Schubert showed us around the warm, light-filled home, he explained how they conceptualised the spaces and smoothed over their differences (like any other couple).

About the homeowners and their home

After more than a decade at their old place, Schubert and Annie decided to upgrade to a bigger space for hosting friends and accommodating their elderly parents who sometimes stay over.

One thing that drew them to this unit was its open and spacious layout. Schubert added that for Annie, a big draw was the unobstructed view of the living and dining area the moment you open the door.

“Though most new homes nowadays have open-concept kitchens, we prefer to have privacy while cooking. That’s another reason we liked this layout, since the kitchen is sectioned off from the living/dining,” said Schubert.

Schubert and Annie had some tough discussions about certain design preferences, but they were in agreement about having a clean look.

They did so by hiding trunking and wall niches (created by existing beams) from sight.

WATCH: Homeowner and interior designer Schubert talks about giving his home a makeover

About the living room

As we shuffled after Schubert, we felt a pervading sense of calm. The reason? The choice of earthy tones and textured surfaces for a timeless finish all around the home.

“We used only two laminates around the whole home for a cohesive look,” said Schubert. “We picked them from Lamitak and Admira because they happened to have the only ones with a similar colour and texture we wanted. The ones in the kitchen just have a more yellow tone, compared to these ones outside.”

He explained that having too many colours can disrupt the visual harmony in a home, a tip they share with their clients too.

“Bulky built-ins can cramp up the space, so we wanted to keep them to a minimum,” shared Schubert. “We still needed a lot of storage space though, which we included at spaces like the pantry and the island.”

While simple, the TV feature wall was done up with a subtle curve – one of many in this home, like the curving false ceiling with its soft recessed-in lighting.

The duo also love to experiment with texture, evidenced by the pinhole texture coating they used for the wall, which has a rough and sandy effect.

On the topic of texture, Schubert and Annie decided to completely hack away the original flooring to replace them with chevron tiles.

“Rather than the usual large format tiles, we chose these to achieve a warm wood feel,” shared Schubert.

About the dining area

There’s much to admire about the dining room, whether it’s the sophisticated island, the slim dry pantry behind it – or even the sleek, designer pendant light from Italy that hangs above.

“From the start, we wanted a spacious area for a big table,” said Schubert. “This hosting space is important for us. Annie especially loves to cook and share a meal with our friends.”

If you’re curious about the sintered stone end of the island (which provides extra countertop space), it’s from Consentino – Dekton specifically.

“We used sintered stone for our island and kitchen because chemicals from the material don’t transfer to the food, like the dough Annie prepares here,” shared Schubert.

The pair made sure to include handy storage drawers on the side of the island facing the kitchen for baking equipment.

About the kitchen

Schubert pointed out that there was originally a small protruding wall at the entrance to the kitchen. They hacked it away to replace it with a unique glass block feature.

“Apart from partially enclosing the kitchen, we really like the visual interest it adds to the space,” said Schubert.

He led us through the walkway to the kitchen – a simple space filled with soft neutrals like the rest of the communal area, and storage the couple needed.

We asked about the curved shelves, to which Schubert said: “Though Annie preferred closed cabinets all around the home to avoid clutter, we eventually decided that incorporating some open shelves would enhance the aesthetic appeal of the space.

And, of course, we went with a curved design since I like curves (laughs).”

About the brick wall

“We struggled with the decision to install this brick wall until the last possible moment,” Schubert shared candidly. “It’s a bold choice, and we couldn’t decide if it would make or break our home’s look.”

While taking time to mull over it, they stumbled upon a Japanese restaurant that had the same brick wall they envisioned.

“It looked good, which gave us the reassurance we needed to go ahead with it,” said Schubert.

“These are recycled bricks and they came from a heritage site in Korea. I wanted a random placement, so I guided my tiler on how to break them. You’ll see a smaller piece every fourth or fifth tile,” he said.

Seeing the final result, there’s no doubt the duo’s leap of faith led to a one-of-a-kind feature.

About the study-cum-walk-in-wardrobe

One of the two junior bedrooms was left as a guest room while the second was converted into a study-cum-walk-in wardrobe.

Since the wall between this junior bedroom and the master bedroom had already been hacked, the couple just built a wardrobe between the rooms, with a study at the corner.

“As you know, the ladies usually get about 80% of the wardrobe space, and the guys get 20%,” Schubert joked, eliciting a smile and a shake of head from Annie.

“In our case, I got 30%, which I use mainly to store my camera equipment and gadgets.”

The coolest part of this room for us though? The ‘hidden’ door leading in from the master bedroom. We couldn’t spot a handle anywhere on the smooth surface, so we wondered out loud about it.

Schubert demonstrated what sets it apart: it can only be opened from the master bedroom side.

“Since we may need to use this room as a guest bedroom in the future, making it accessible only from the master bedroom ensures our privacy,” he explained.

About the master bedroom

As we observed from a distance, Schubert showed us how they had lowered the ceiling at the bedroom entrance to conceal the structural beam there.

If you thought the couple’s home couldn’t get any more charming, the bedroom would prove you wrong.

A feature wall coated in limewash paint greeted us, giving the space a cosy, patinated look.

The couple love the unblocked view from their room, so they built a settee by the window that doubles up as a day bed.

About the master and common bathrooms

Simplicity, timelessness and functionality are at the core of every space Schubert and Annie designed. This is evident even in the bathrooms, which are mirror images of each other.

The main difference is the type and size of tiles they used (from Hafary): Schubert picked darker pebble-like tiles for the master bathroom while Annie chose lighter, speckled ones for the common bathroom.

Both have stone-like textures since the pair appreciate organic elements.

They did a half-wall design for the shower partition, blending it with the wall tiles and using glass only for the top half for easy maintenance.

One key feature they included in both bathrooms was the built-in shower ledge.

“This makes it easier and safer for our elderly parents when they come over,” explained Schubert. “On top of that, we made sure the tiles were anti-slip for their safety.”

To sum up

“Some might think it’s easier to do the renovation since we’re both IDs,” said Schubert. “In fact, it was even more challenging for us since we both have our own design ideas and decisions so we had a lot of discussions to sort things out.”

The pair were on a tight timeline to move out of their old place, so they needed to coordinate several teams working on the home at the same time to complete their renovation on time.

There was also the fact that they could only work on their renovation at night since they were occupied with client projects during the day.

“During this whole process, we also got to understand some of our own clients’ concerns and perspectives as homeowners better,” said Schubert.

The couple were all smiles as they talked about the project and how they can’t wait to get back home after a long and tiring day of work.

We get it – we were pretty reluctant to leave too!

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