Home Tour: An Australian lawyer & investor couple’s ground floor apartment at Moh Guan Terrace
“It’s a bespoke layout…There are only a limited number of pizza-shaped apartments in Tiong Bahru. And this one is a ground-floor walkup.”
By Shannon Osztonits -
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Exposed original redface brick walls…A black and white colour palette offset with pops of green from a plethora of indoor plants…Metal finishes, urban-cool screeded floors, genius mirrored cabinetry and an abundance of natural light filtering through the ceiling sunlights, windows and doors…
This stunning (and rare find) pre-war pizza-shaped home in the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood transports you to the likes of Brooklyn, New York City. Yet, it still feels very much Singaporean, totally reflecting the area’s tres trendy vibes!
For those unfamiliar with Singapore’s pizza-shaped properties, think of it more like a triangular layout as opposed to the standardised rectangular and square ones. It was one of the reasons homeowners Nicky and Thomas fell head over heels for the home.
So much so, Nicky patiently waited five years for the unit after she originally spotted it on the market years prior. Patience is a virtue, right?
With a passion for interior design, Nicky has always been drawn to modern Japanese, Mid-century and pre-war aesthetics – much of which she loves to bring into her homes.
“This is an Art Deco apartment, and that sort of vintage style is always in our house,” says the homeowner. “I wanted the Singaporean black and white feeling with the Art Deco, and then the overlay of the horseshoe building.”
Who Lives Here: An Australian couple in their late 40s (the wife is a lawyer and the husband is an investor in the tech sector), their two children and their dog
Home: Pre-war pizza-shaped ground floor apartment along Moh Guan Terrace (privatised HDB built by SIT)
Size: 1,000 sq ft with access to a common courtyard
Interior designer: Chandan Dass of SG Interior
Australian Family
Originally from Perth, Australia, the couple have been living in Singapore for 14 years, and their kids go to boarding school, often returning on weekends. After doing the whole rental thing for a few years, they eventually decided to buy a privatised unit.
Before moving to the area, the family often frequented Tiong Bahru, so they were heart-set on a home in the same neighbourhood.
“We’ve always loved Tiong Bahru, and would visit a lot of restaurants, bars, galleries and bookshops here. It was always very much a weekend destination for coffee and that sort of thing,” recalls Nicky.
The home features two bedrooms, a generous study, an open concept living room and kitchen, and a dining room which leads to another open-plan study-meets-guest room.
Mirrored Bespoke Cabinetry
For these homeowners, a big focal point of the home renovation was custom, bespoke cabinetry. All of the previous cabinetry was replaced, and Nicky and Thomas also requested to add in a whole lot more, featuring this stunning mirrored-effect option – which you see throughout the home.
Opting for a partial renovation, the couple worked with Chandan Dass of SG Interior.
“We researched various options, and I really liked the online examples of SG Interior’s work. I visited their studio,” tells Nicky. “What I was most focused on was the cabinetry because I wanted an upgrade of all of the cabinetry, and they had some really beautiful examples in their studio. I also appreciated our interior designer, Dass. He really understood what I was wanting to do.”
Constructed from black metal rims and with a mirror glass overlay, the light literally bounces off the cabinets from multiple angles. It’s a clever way to introduce and enhance the home’s natural light!
NYC Loft-Style Living Room
The original brickface makes a star appearance in the living room, sharing a structural wall between this area and the open-plan kitchen (which it leads to).
The space manages to achieve a cosy feeling, but still feels really open and light. The homeowners added a massive, nearly floor-to-ceiling leather trim mirror, which enhances this effect.
The modular, neutral-toned Minotti sofa pairs perfectly with the screeded flooring, but the space is splashed with colour thanks to the bright Mooi carpet beneath the central Kettal coffee table.
Decorating exposed white walls are Cappiello Art Deco posters, which have hung on the walls of at least six different homes throughout the years. Forgoing a standardised TV, instead, an electronically-operated projector and screen (that rolls down at the click of a button) takes its place.
“We invested in a Dyson air purifier and dehumidifiers in different places of the house to try and keep the humidity down, and it’s also important to maintain the health of the bricks and the cabinetry,” explains Nicky. “We try to keep the humidity out most of the time.”
A moment for the books
There’s an interleading section between the living room and the kitchen, where the redbrick structural wall sits.
Against this are three rows of red standing book stacks from Xtra, each piled high with books. In front is a delicious redish maroon Persian rug. This entire section adds a yummy pop of colour across the screeded floors.
Galley-Style Kitchen
The galley-style kitchen overlooks the living room, and the homeowners wanted it to be primarily white for a flowy sort of feel between the spaces.
All of the white kitchen cabinets and drawers are custom-built by the interior design studio, and the appliances are concealed. A thoughtful touch is the cupboard’s light grey interiors to match the screeded floors.
The island is custom, constructed from black granite, along with the kitchen countertops. Hanging above the island are three sets of Occhio pendant lights. There is also black-trim track lighting in the kitchen (as well as in other rooms, such as the living room). This adds to the home’s New York industrial-cool vibes.
For safety reasons, the homeowners replaced the gas burner stove with an induction stove.
Light-Loving Dining Area
“The dining room is my favourite space in the home as it has tons of light coming through, and in such a small space we managed to fit a table for eight,” says the wife.
With sunlight during the day and stars to look up at night, it’s not hard to imagine why Nicky loves the dining area. The set of skylights is incredible!
Its wooden slate floors are the original, but the couple had them painted black to match the rest of the home’s theme.
The oval, longboard-shaped dining table with its stone top and wooden legs is from Kettal, and the dining chairs are from Tribu. Above the dining table hangs a solid bar pendant light from Occhio. Woodnotes custom-made the white carpet, balancing the room’s colour palette.
Looking up, framing the room are pothos plant vines, and with ficus indoor plants standing in the corners.
A space behind the dining room is an open-plan study-turning-guest room, separated by a thick curtain. The Tempur sleeper couch converts into a queen-sized bed.
Master Bedroom Design
One of the first things that catches your eye in the wedge-shaped master bedroom is the Loei d’Or Cappiello poster above the king-sized bed (purchased from Tempur, headboard included).
These homeowners added soundproofing to the windows, as well as the entire set of customised, floor-to-ceiling mirrored cabinetry.
There is a black and white en suite, with a shower, toilet and vanity, and they repainted the original tiles black to match.
Daughter’s Bedroom Design
Not only is the pizza-shaped bunk bed a custom build, but so is the Heveya mattress, designed to fit into the unusual shape.
“I got this beautiful mattress custom-made to go up there because the bed is actually not a perfect rectangle. It’s kind of a pizza-shaped bed to fit the space that was available,” explains Nicky.
Below the top bunk is a sitting chill area, with bottom storage drawers beneath this. The bedroom doors are a mirrored film overlay, so the room gets light coming in from the inside, but it’s mirrored from the outside, and you cannot see within.
Black & White Study Room Design
The large study showcases how to perfectly balance black and white tones.
The door (which is actually the front door) was repainted black, planters are a combination of black and white, the study cabinet drawers were chosen in white, and the office Aeron chair is black. Tying it all together is a black and white circular carpet from Tom Dickson London.
“We got our home done fairly quickly, within five months,” the homeowner says. “Singapore is much easier to manage than a renovation in Australia.”
As you can tell, it’s not the couple’s first renovation.
“I am glad that we used an interior designer. Even though I knew exactly what I wanted, I wouldn’t have managed it without Dass. The studio knew the right contractors, who to use for cabinetry, and project management was a real strength of our interior designer.”