Home Tour: A criminal lawyer & museum curator young couple’s 2-bedroom condo at Flora Drive

Aristotle and Jenevieve Eng are intrepid travellers who have been on numerous adventures, including a 10-day trek into the Upper Mustang, a restricted region in Nepal whose high-altitude desert landscape has remained relatively untouched by the modern world.

The couple - 30-year-old Aristotle is a criminal defence lawyer, and 29-year-old Jenevieve is a museum curator, also possess a deep appreciation for history and are fans of colonial designs. It comes as no surprise that they wanted a tropical-colonial home, one that resembles an explorer’s abode in the middle of a rainforest. 

Who Lives Here: A young couple
Home: A 2-bedroom condominium at Flora Drive
Size: 667 sq ft 
Interior Design: Spaceone ID Consultancy

Their choice of interior designer was also no surprise. Afterall, Adrian Heng, design director of Spaceone ID Consultancy has designed multiple homes for the Eng family, as well as their place of business. Working with a tight timeline of one month along with a tight budget, Adrian’s strategy was to keep built-ins to a minimum and to think out-of-the-box for creative solutions that can achieve maximum impact without breaking the bank. 

Green Interior Design

Interior designer Adrian took going green both literally and figuratively. The walls and ceilings of the entire apartment have been painted green. Three different shades of green distinguish the different spaces - a fern-like green for the entrance foyer, kitchen, living room, reading corner and corridor, shamrock for the study room, and an olive hue for the master bedroom.

Any reservation about all that green being overwhelming is quickly dispelled once you enter the home. The green colour palette makes an impression without being overpowering. This is complemented by other green elements, such as a living room rug with plant motifs and framed prints of flora and fauna above the sofa.   

“While we enjoy the black-and-white colour scheme that is typically associated with colonial designs, we agreed with Adrian that the use of green in our home really helped bring out a sense of adventure and draw in the tropical feel of the condominium’s external design and landscaping,” says Aristotle.

Tropical Interior Design

Tropical design goes deeper than just green paint and plant motifs. Interior designer Adrian tried to bring the outdoors into the home, which is extremely appropriate considering the ground floor unit is separated from the condominium’s swimming pool by a lush and verdant screen of foliage.

The balcony is located almost right beside the pool and by designing it as a dining area, the couple is able to enjoy a semi-alfresco dining and chill-out space surrounded by nature and serenaded by birdsong and the sound of water, not to mention freeing up space within the apartment itself.

The green-coloured walls and ceiling creates a tunnel effect that naturally draws you from the entrance, through the apartment, and towards the outdoors. 

Sustainable Furniture

Adrian also took pains to source for furniture and furnishings that are sustainable. These include natural materials such as rattan, cotton, linen and reclaimed wood. “As I procured the furniture from different suppliers, I had to ensure that they would all blend in together. The size of the furniture is also an important consideration because of the small unit,” he points out. 

Maximum impact, minimum budget 

Adrian put his creative mind to work and came up with a cost-effective way of making a statement in the living room. Instead of expensive marble or granite, he managed to create a feature wall behind the sofa using just paint and tape.

White lines form a grid pattern around framed prints that give the space a visual focus and serves as an aesthetically pleasing backdrop for the living room. The white lines continue around the side of the wall facing the corridor leading to the bedroom and study, establishing a sense of continuity between spaces.

This is a fine example of how with a bit of imagination and resourcefulness, even humble materials can be employed to achieve stunning effects. 

Study Room

The couple, who moved into their new home in November 2023, decided to designate the second bedroom as a study, which is their favourite space in the home in terms of its aesthetics. Set against the walls and ceiling painted in a deeper and richer Shamrock green compared to the living room is a vintage lawyer’s lectern gifted by a close friend of the couple’s, which they now use as a standing desk.

With the aged wood of the lectern and an old map on the wall, the room does evoke explorer vibes and you can almost imagine Indiana Jones poring over his journals behind the desk. Aristotle comments: “The vintage lawyer’s lectern represents our love of history, while the large map of South America imbues us with a sense of excitement as we venture into the unknown future.” 

Reading Nook

With one bedroom as a dedicated study, the original study corner along the corridor has been transformed into a reading nook. Although it is just a small, recessed niche, but with a few design strokes of genius, Adrian managed to turn it into a meaningful and very usable space.

An oversized, shaggy, light green rug that extends into the corridor physically, visually and psychologically expands the space beyond the alcove. Above the rug is a chaise lounge that fits nicely into the recess, and a set of open shelves. By deliberately selecting a shelf that is not full-height and which does not stretch wall-to-wall, it gives the impression of roominess. 

The interior design of this home is a departure from Adrian’s signature modern luxe style, but he is always game to try new things.

“I welcome the challenge and it makes things more interesting,” he says. Aristotle and Jenevieve agree that the home reflects their tastes and preferences very well. “It marries the spirit of adventure with a sense of nostalgia. In terms of lifestyle, the cosy and refreshing design helps us escape our fast-paced work each and every day when we come home,” he shares.