House Tour: Bold designs and unconventional features in this two-bedroom apartment in River Valley
By Home & Decor Team -
When doctor-lawyer couple Lin Diyan and Desiree Tan were shortlisting interior designers for their home, they sat through some run-of-the-mill presentations, until Liew Kok Fong from Studio Super Safari came along with some very novel and interesting proposals. “It was his ideas and also his sincerity that won us over,” says Diyan.
During the course of the project, the couple had many ideas. “It was Kok Fong who helped distil this hotchpotch of ideas and bring everything together,” Desiree recalls. Unconventional and bold design decisions were made because they addressed the homeowners’ brief requirements and lifestyle needs. “The scheme is not style-driven but, rather, it is generated by the clients’ personalities, which should come through in the interior design,” emphasises Kok Fong, who is also an architect.
The living room extends out to a balcony surrounded by greenery, where one can hear the sound of falling water from the condominium’s water feature. The oversized rug measuring 3m in diameter was custom-made by a friend of the homeowners.
Red-and-blue Peranakan tiles were used only on the floor and shower wall, not the entire master bathroom, so as to create a focal point.
While stripping away the ceiling boards, the renovation team uncovered an additional metre of space that housed the air-conditioning ducts and various pipes. “It was a pleasant surprise and the extra headroom makes the space feel more spacious,” says Desiree. The pipes were subsequently concealed within the walls and they did away with the central ducted air-conditioning system.
Inspired by the discovery of the additional ceiling space, Kok Fong introduced a loft in the study. A platform was erected to create the loft, with a 2.1m space below. A study desk was constructed beneath the platform, and pedestal shelves double as steps leading up to the loft. The structure, which Kok Fong likens to “a tree house made of built-in furniture”, injects an element of fun and playfulness in a typically serious study environment.
Kok Fong loves doubling the functionality of things.The corridor is a walk-in wardrobe, the kitchen’s sliding glass door serves as the glass front for a display shelf, and the study shelves are also steps leading to the loft.