Home Tour: $110,000 Feng Shui renovation for a banking couple's 3-bedroom condominium in West Coast

In recent years, luxury retail store designs have been imbued with elements that make them feel like the elevated version of one’s dream home, often featuring inviting, plushly furnished spaces that welcome customers to linger while they shop.

This 3-bedroom condominium apartment on the West Coast shows that the opposite also applies, that a residential project can incorporate elements borrowed from the luxury retail realm to create a uniquely stylish family home. All it took was a synergy between an adventurous designer and a daring homeowner.   

Who Lives Here: A family of four
Home: A 3-bedroom condominium apartment in the West Coast area
Size: 1,066 sq ft
Interior Designer: Wolf Woof 

Feng Shui interior design

Designed by interior design studio Wolf Woof, the 1,066 sq ft apartment is home to a couple in their early 40s – both working in the banking industry – and their two sons, aged 10 and 8. Their interior design brief requested a feng shui-compliant modern luxe home with maximised storage space.

The house must also be worthy to display the wife’s massive collection of crystals and gemstones. This last request was simultaneously the biggest challenge and source of inspiration for Wolf Woof’s founder, Carmen Tang.

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Crystal collection display

“I was initially very panicky at the thought of dealing with gems and crystals because they are often associated with geomancy. So how do you design the home without making it look like a Feng Shui shop in Fortune Centre?” the interior designer admits.

As it turned out, the key was the courage to reinvent the genre. “I told myself that if I set out to design a Feng Shui shop, it would look like one. But if I can just reinvent it a little, things can go very differently. So instead of shying away from showcasing the gems, l made them the stars of the home,” she shares.

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Glass display

Hence, she came up with the idea of designing the space like a high-end jewellery boutique.

“I gave a traditional art form a modern twist because I wanted to prove a point: your home, your rules – who says that a house full of crystals and gems must look old school and blah?” she quips.

The stars were aligned because the clients enthusiastically embraced interior designer Carmen’s idea, which required demolishing an entire galley kitchen, including its carpentry – a bold decision for a unit in a condominium that’s just been completed less than a year – and a utility bathroom.

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Large crystal collection

“We were attracted by Carmen’s unique designs where they are ahead of the curve,” says the wife, who started collecting crystals and gemstones when she was 18 and now has amassed a collection that’s, in her own words, “large enough to open a boutique.”

The risk paid off. The refurbished home combines the best of both retail and residential typologies.

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Entrance foyer

Stepping inside, one is wowed by an opulent foyer; one side is dressed in geometric metallic tiles, and another is finished with a smokey mirrored finish. An artificial green wall lends a biophilic ambience while a gilded brass table lamp and a decidedly contemporary water feature elegantly check the feng shui requirements and add soothing light and sound effects.

Rounding the corner, the space opens up to the seamless living-dining-kitchen area, reimagined into a domestic “jewellery boutique”.

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Laundry room

The material palette comprises dark and metallic shades in a wealth of textures. Dark vinyl flooring demarcates the dining and kitchen area, which features a white marbled sintered stone that stands out amongst black carpentry and a hidden door that leads to a roomy utility and laundry area.

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Glass display cabinet

Opposite the kitchen island, the missus’ crystal and gemstone collections are displayed exquisitely in custom fur-lined glass cases and wall-mounted storage cabinets with porthole accents. Paired with velvet-upholstered barstools, these display cases also serve as a bar and a secondary surface for working.

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Luxury living room

On the other side of the room is the living room, anchored by a custom TV console framed with a black and gold geometric pattern that ties it to the rest of the room, and a backdrop of a crocodile-textured wallpaper that adds tactility.

A plush leather sofa, cowhide rug, brass-finished lighting and another wallpaper with glossy black filigree complete the opulent look.

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Balcony Ziptrak Blinds

The balcony next to the living room has been turned into a workspace for the husband via Ziptrak blinds, which can be lifted to expose it to open air when the weather is gentle enough. Meanwhile, the wife gets her own working space, formerly the unit’s flexi room.

While snug, the room is comfortable enough for a desk and overhead display for more crystals and gemstones. The dark-finished walls lend a solemn air that translates well for finishing tasks.

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Master bedroom

The living area’s high-end boutique treatment extends to the master bedroom, which features more display cases for the couple’s bag and accessories collections and a sumptuous selection of soft furnishings in black and gold.

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Son's bedroom

Another challenge in the design was ensuring that the sons’ bedrooms gel with the overall vibe of the house without sacrificing their characteristics, yet making the spaces timeless as they grow up. Carmen achieved this via a slew of dark finishes that serve as a canvas for their knick-knacks.

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$110,000 Renovation cost

“Each corner of our house is so meticulously planned and well thought out – from the maximisation of spaces right up to the interior lighting,” shares the couple. They also credit the successful translation of the high-risk design to interior designer Carmen’s communication skills.

“She effectively communicated her thoughts and visions to us.” The home’s transformation took four months to finish to the tune of $110,000. The family moved in in January this year, just in time to celebrate the Lunar New Year in style.

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