Home Tour: A lawyer & artist expat couple’s 4-bedroom condo at Scotts Road

Irina Forrester is a Russian-born, British artist who moved to Singapore from the UK with her family more than seven years ago. The 56-year-old has exhibited in over 40 shows and art fairs in the last three years alone and her works can be found in private collections in the UK, USA, Europe, Russia, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

Prior to this, commitments in work and raising a young family meant that she had to take a hiatus from her art. Relocating to Singapore and with her two sons, now aged 23 and 20, all grown up, Irina took the opportunity to pick up her brushes again.

“To blow away the initial cobwebs, I attended a series of short courses at LASALLE and NAFA and I am currently an active member of some of Singapore’s life figure and portrait drawing groups that helps me keep my eyes sharp,” she shares. 

Who Lives Here: An artist and her family 
Home: A 4-bedroom condominium at Scotts Road
Size: Approx. 2,000 sq ft

Scotts Road Condo

After a few years in Singapore, Irina and her 59-year-old husband, John, who is a partner in a law firm started looking for a new place and this apartment at Scotts Road checked all the boxes.

The four bedrooms meant that apart from their master bedroom and a guest bedroom for when their sons, who are currently living in Europe, visit, Irina could have a dedicated studio space while John gets his own home office, one that is spacious enough for his golfing equipment and even an indoor putting green. 

$5,000 Home Decor

As it is a rental condo unit, Irina focused mainly on decorating the interior and abstained from any hacking or major renovation works. Most of the key furniture pieces and other decorative and furnishing items in the house came with the family when they relocated from the UK, but she did acquire some new additions for this apartment.

“I wanted to have some new items that reflect our life in Asia,” she says. She shopped instore and online at Tangs Homeware, Takashimaya, HOOGA, IUGA and Island Living for tableware, decorative vases, cushions and faux flowers, which came up to about $5,000.  

Irina Forrester Artist

Just as the apartment reflects the family’s life in this part of the world, Irina’s paintings document the life around her. The apartment is filled with paintings capturing the past seven years in Singapore - scenes from the Botanic Gardens, Fort Canning, local flora and still life pieces with local fruit as their subjects.

“Painting from life is at the core of my practice, capturing subjects ranging from plein air landscapes in Singapore and abroad to more abstract explorations in recent works. Each piece is an emotional response to the world around me, where the act of putting feeling onto canvas becomes a journey of discovery. This approach results in a diverse body of work spanning portraits, life drawing sketches, landscapes and still life. Through my art, I strive to preserve fleeting moments, transforming them into visual narratives that connect emotion, memory, and experience,” she reveals. 

Modern Contemporary Interior Design

The overall look of the interior is modern and contemporary and incorporates a lot of textures and muted tones. Natural materials, wood and glass can be found around the home as this is the couple’s preferred palette. The living room illustrates this.

Apart from Irina’s paintings, family photos are prominently displayed on a sideboard behind the sofa. The family photos and paintings play an important role in decorating any space. Without them, the walls and spaces look cold and bare,” she highlights.

Also on the sideboard are wooden hand carved decorative durians from Island Living, the only durians that Irina would have in the apartment.

Master Bedroom Design

In the master bedroom, wood furniture takes centre stage comprising a wooden bedframe, side tables and a chest of drawers.

Complementing the wood ensemble are pops of colour from the textiles, throws and cushions, along with portraits of the boys and life drawings lovingly adorning the bedroom walls. 

Home Art Studio

Like the rest of the rooms, Irina’s studio is blessed with abundant natural light throughout the day, which allows her to work from morning to evening even on overcast and cloudy days. The studio space is kept flexible so that she can move her easel and work area around according to her needs and her subjects.  

“I wanted to create a home away from home, a place which reflects my aesthetics and a space filled with familiar objects and new additions that we collect living abroad,” she says.

While the move from their previous apartment took just two days, once everything was unpacked, it took Irina another few months to put up her paintings and purchase some new decorative pieces. “The space was transformed from a house to a home only after my paintings have gone up. I often switch them around as some get sold and some are being exhibited locally or abroad,” she points out. 

For Irina, the house is “always a work in progress” and it can never be completely finished. “At the moment, I do not actually need anything else for the apartment, but it does not stop me from looking,” she admits candidly.