“The brief from the clients – a young professional couple – was for a bright open space incorporating lots of plants and accommodating their growing art collection. It was to be an apartment where they could comfortably relax and entertain friends,” says Marc Webb, who runs the Singapore-based design studio with his wife Naoko Takenouchi, on this Singapore apartment that delights with an assortment of textures and colours.
To open up the interior, the pair reconfigured the four-bedroom apartment. Walls were removed to add one bedroom to the main bedroom to make it larger and a bathroom was removed to create a larger study out of another bedroom. The last bedroom became the meditation room, furnished with tatami mats and softened with a curved wall and ceiling. Walls around the private lift lobby were also removed and replaced with a console and open shelves to create an informal enclosure without blocking light and views.
“The living area is flanked by two balconies and with lots of planting so we wanted to bring this outside space indoors. We also wanted to bring a sense of warmth through natural materials for the flooring and furniture, so there is a lot of Oak timber [for the joinery] and stone to complement the neutrality of the [white plaster] walls,” elaborates Webb.
He oriented a Cameleonda sofa from B&B Italia toward the lush green balcony on one side and an end wall, where a ceiling recessed screen and projector can be activated. Thus, wall space normally reserved for a television can be given to art. The original flooring in the main living areas was replaced with Moleanos limestone.
Personality is added to the interior with arched doorways and alcoves. At the arched opening in the living area, the floor finish changes to oak timber, drawing focus to an arched display shelf at the end of the corridor.
“As entertaining was a big part of the brief, we customised a long, free-edge solid teak table to seat eight, and added a Linsey Adelman pendant above as a feature light. The dining table sits against a marble island counter that houses a wine fridge below and is where cooking preparation can also be done,” Webb highlights, on the gathering space that opens up to the living area to accommodate large groups of guests.
In the powder room, Gucci wallpaper featuring herons is an artwork in itself. “It was chosen as a counterpoint to the simple materials in the rest of the apartment,” explains Webb. A custom-made Bianco Carrara marble basin adds texture and balance. This palette is carried to the bathroom next to the meditation room, with walls clad in pink-terracotta ceramic tiles of Bianco Carrara marble. “The arch motif was taken into this space with the door to the shower area and accented with brass sanitary hardware,” Webb points out.
In the main bedroom, a grooved Oak timber wall behind the bed adds a touch of warmth, mirrored with a built-in Oak veneer wardrobe at the opposite end. “Sheer fabric Venetian blinds moderate the daylight to give a soft atmosphere during the day,” Webb points out.
Only the study is dressed in a darker timber palette for a moodier atmosphere. Overall, the home has been transformed into a backdrop for daily rituals and the wonderful collection of artwork that animate the walls.
Project details
Interior design – Takenouchi Webb
Photography – Studio Periphery
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