Home Tour: A young family’s 3-bedroom condominium at Newton
A “vacation from the world” is how this couple describes the safe sanctuary that is their home.
By Lynn Tan -
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Working professionals Tyrone Lee and Ariane Lin had been house hunting for a while and was starting to feel rather jaded, but they persevered. “We believe that it is always the house that looks for its rightful owner and there is a special affinity with the house, aligned with time and space,” says Ariane.
Their resolve paid off when this 3-bedroom apartment in Newton showed up on their socials. Although it was not a new launch, it checked all the right boxes - Tyrone loved the Newton Novena location and Ariane has a preference for low-rise, boutique developments tucked in quiet residential enclaves away from the main road.
Given the apartment’s central location close to the city, interior design Phylicia from Mesh Werk Studio set out to craft a living environment that offers a sense of calm and quietude after a day of hustle. “The design draws heavily from the clients’ travel experiences and take inspiration from the resorts and hotels that they have visited around the world,” she says.
Who Lives Here: A couple and their young son
Home: A 3-bedroom condominium at Newton
Size: Approximately 1,000 sq ft
Interior Designer: Phylicia from Mesh Werk Studio
Dark-toned carpentry and a travertine backdrop set a calm, grounding tone, with fresh flowers adding a welcoming pop of colour.
Entrance Foyer
The dark toned wood elements complemented by white stone finishes at the entrance foyer reflect the couple’s preferred palette. A vase of flowers against a travertine backdrop offers a welcome gesture and visual focus. “I love arranging flowers in my free time, which is almost a weekly affair, so I wanted the deep coloured carpentry to make the colours of the flowers pop. There is something special about coming home to the sight of fresh flowers that give us and our guests a welcoming and calming feel,” shares Ariane.
The dry kitchen island doubles as a breakfast nook and coffee corner, designed with meticulous measurements to fit every appliance.
Hotel-inspired pull-out trays below the island store snacks and essentials, just like a private minibar.
Dry Kitchen and Island
A new dry kitchen island was introduced next to the existing wet kitchen. It serves as a casual breakfast spot and also a dedicated coffee corner for the two coffee lovers. Due to the space constraints, the dimensions for the carpentry and even the coffee machine had to be meticulously calculated.
Interior designer Phylicia incorporated additional storage below the island for snacks and other essentials, including a pull-out tray for easy access, just like a hotel minibar.
Slatted wood panels and a seamless TV wall define the resort-inspired living area, anchored by the couple’s King Living sofa.
Living Room and Dining Terrace
The most striking features in the living room are the slatted wood design and the television feature wall. “These elements create a sense of flow and continuity into the living area, while the layered treatments help introduce visual depth and improve spatial circulation,” Phylicia explains.
Taking centrestage is a King Living sofa- the first piece of furniture that the couple purchased even before engaging interior designer Phylicia. A row of full-height storage cabinets with a clean and seamless finish serve as a backdrop for the sofa. Integrated with these cabinets is a study nook that also incorporates a niche for docking the robotic vacuum cleaner.
To maximise spatial efficiency, Phylicia moved the dining area to the balcony. A retractable zip track system allows the alfresco space to be enclosed when necessary, enhancing flexibility and comfort.
Handwoven textures and subtle silver accents on the bedhead wall bring hotel-style sophistication to the space.
Master Bedroom
Inspired by luxury hotel rooms, interior designer Phylicia opted for a stylish bedhead wall featuring a wallcovering from Carlisle & Co. with handwoven textures and subtle silver accents that give the master bedroom an understated elegance. Ariane recalls: “The subtle glitters exude a soft, feminine touch in contrast to the wood laminate. I literally screamed in excitement when I first saw the sample.”
Converted from an adjoining bedroom, the new wardrobe flows seamlessly from the master bedroom and echoes the home’s slatted design language.
Walk-In Wardrobe
The master bedroom and the adjacent bedroom underwent major reconfiguration of the layouts to convert the latter into a walk-in wardrobe. The existing bedroom door was sealed off to maximise wardrobe space and the walk-in wardrobe is now accessible from the master bedroom. The existing master bathroom door was also repositioned to face the walk-in wardrobe instead of the master bedroom to create a better spatial flow and zoning.
Slatted wardrobe doors provide ventilation while cleverly concealing “half-clean clothes” and daily essentials.
The reconfiguration not just facilitated the addition of a new walk-in wardrobe, but also created more wall space for a dedicated wardrobe at the side of the master bedroom for hanging damp towels and what Ariane refers to as “half clean clothes”- clothes that have been lightly worn, but not ready to be laundered yet. The wardrobe doors have a consistent slatted design that evoke a resort feel and echoes a similar language in the entrance foyer and living room.
Functionally, they provide ventilation while concealing any clutter. “The tradeoff was sacrificing a whole lot of new, existing carpentry and vanity cabinets, which was a pity, but definitely worth it considering the ease of daily functional use and blending them into the overall design,” Ariane comments.
Resort-style finishes and a rare fabric wall lamp create a spa-like escape to “wash away the grind of life.”
Master Bathroom
Modelled after resort bathrooms, the master bathroom is where the couple can have a relaxing shower to “wash away the grind of life”, according to Ariane. They wanted a fabric wall lamp that was also water resistant and this was not an easy find. Phylicia managed to source one from Ovas with a treated fabric that was originally intended for outdoor application.
The family moved into their new home in March 2025 after a four-month renovation. The couple expressed their immense gratitude to interior designer Phylicia for orchestrating every single detail to bring the renders to reality. Beyond the most pristine and Pinterest-worthy interior design, what makes a house a home for Ariane is “the laughter of our boy echoing through the house, the smell of home cooked minestrone soup bubbling on the stove and freshly baked cakes.”