Home Tour: A professor husband & pharmaceutical global head wife’s 4-bedroom condo in The Arcadia

After living in rented homes around the world over the years, homeowners GK and DK are now living in what they have called their forever home. GK, a professor, lives with his wife, a global business head of a pharma company in their 4-bedroom home. The couple’s two children, who are now in their twenties, work and study overseas. Although it’s an empty nest period of their lives, the couple spent much of their time with friends in their home. Space was still essential for them.

“From living in rented homes, our biggest realisation on what we truly wanted was a functional home with space. We had little need for non-functional things. We like to move towards things that are easy to use and provide function. And we want to leave a lot of space for movement in the house. In a rented home, we live with what we got,” GK says.

Who Lives Here: A couple in their 50s
Home: A 4-bedroom condo in The Arcadia, Bukit Timah
Size: 3,800 sq ft
Interior Design: Calsia Lee, project lead and interior designer from MuDian

The Arcadia Condo

With a floor area of 3,800 sq ft, their apartment at The Arcadia provided them with the space they needed. The low-floor unit also gives the feeling of being surrounded by greenery. “The challenge was to balance living on a lower floor with greenery and natural light,” he adds.

When they were searching for an interior designer to work with, the couple was impressed by their friend’s home, which was in the same development. Interior design firm MuDian, which worked on their friend’s home, had completed several projects there. The team was familiar with the issues the 41-year-old development presented. “The Arcadia property presents inherent challenges with its dark interiors and limited natural ventilation,” says Calsia Lee, the project lead and designer.

Original Marble Flooring

Interior designer Calsia and her team aimed to preserve the 4-bedroom condo’s existing character when designing the couple’s home. They retained and refreshed the original marble flooring. Instead of removing the existing parquet flooring in the bedrooms, they recommended a vinyl overlay.

Given that homeowners GK and DK wanted to settle down in this home, they were looking at more than just aesthetic changes. “It should provide peace of mind visually and from the long-term point of view. So, we’ve also done work that is not visible, such as replacing the wiring and plumbing,” GK shares.

Home Art Collection

What is most visible is the vast collection of art in the home. Avid collectors of artworks by contemporary Indian artists, the couple envisioned a neutral palette with wall space to showcase their art collection. They also wanted open areas where they could display sculptures.

This collection of art, along with most of the furniture, has been amassed over the years. The artworks would travel with them to wherever they had lived. Most of the furniture was low-slung and neutral in colour so that the attention would naturally go to the art pieces on the walls. The soft furnishings provide pops of colour informed by the colours in the art.

Redesigned Condo Layout

The layout reconfiguration was another aspect of the interior design renovation that enhanced the spatial experience. By adjusting the internal walls and removing the bulky centralised air conditioning ductwork, interior designer Calsia and her team expanded the kitchen. Clever built-in storage and cabinetry optimised the functionality of the kitchen. 

Dining Room Design

“In the dining room, we eliminated the existing double doors to create a more open and connected space,” says interior designer Calsia. Now, a kitchen island dining table anchors the space, able to accommodate large gatherings and intimate family meals. For the couple, the open layout ensures a seamless flow between the living and dining room seating areas so guests can move around comfortably.

Guest Bedroom Design

With both children away, the other bedrooms are now guest bedrooms. Another room is an entertainment room. Aimed at improving privacy and efficiency, interior design Calsia and her team converted the shared bathroom between two bedrooms into a private ‘jack and jill configuration’, which would no longer be accessible from the corridor.

Walk-In Wardrobe

An external storage room that was accessible from the outside of the apartment was integrated into the son’s bedroom, now transformed into a functional walk-in wardrobe.

The couple moved into their home in July 2022 after a two-month renovation period. “We have a flow of people coming through the home quite frequently,” says homeowner GK. “We want to make sure it’s as functional as possible for people, so that we don’t have to move or add anything around when there’s a large group at home. It reflects the philosophy of how we are with other people as we are without other people.”