Rugged Simplicity

Primary elements of loft houses are applied in small doses to create a cosy apartment with a raw edge

Inspired by the edgy industrial feel of loft apartments, the young couple of this four-room fat wanted to recreate that atmosphere in their new home. With that understanding in mind, the designer team from Exin went about to accomplish this task.

In one and a half months, this new apartment was transformed into a cosy and functional home for the pair of newlyweds. Whites, browns and textured surfaces have been cleverly applied in appropriate areas to create a warm, natural look that  can  easily  be  jazzed  up for entertaining.

Nordic Calling

Unpretentiously warm and welcoming, this bachelorette pad’s quiet Swedish style is livened up by dashes of cool blue

Key Ideas

1.Blue is a cool shade so it is very complementary to an all-white colour scheme. It will instantly switch the mood from cold to inviting. 

2. Brighten up dull and petite kitchen spaces with the use of vivid hues  and implement some open shelving. An entire kitchen of closed cabinets will box up the space and make it  look narrow. 

3. Keep multi-purpose rooms versatile with portable furniture. This home’s study room features a desk that slides along the window niche so the settee can be accessed as a spacious reading corner.

4. For a lighter and roomier feel, go for low-lying furniture so it doesn’t hinder your line of vision.

Contemporary Hideout

A soothing Balinese vibe with a modern twist marks the style of this light-filled home

What makes a home a sanctuary for the soul? Is it the aura of calm that envelopes your senses as you relax into a plush sofa or is it the furnishings that evoke memories of a faraway holiday destination? To the owners of this three-bedroom condominium, it is a Balinese theme interspersed with modern design elements that provides a tranquil haven for them. Designer John Kow from Rhiss Interior gave this theme an eclectic twist which is most evident in the shared living and dining area. 

The walls are adorned with wallpaper with a coarse texture akin to that of natural pebbles and one of these wallpapered walls also serve as a living room feature after being fanked symmetrically by two veneer frames. Continuing the horizontal patterns of the frame, the area near the bay windows is installed with dark brown timber blinds to make it more conducive for relaxation. The base of the windows is deliberately left untouched, letting natural light pool at the bottom for a sense of lightness to the space. 

Ultra-luxe Chelsea Apartment

Luxury is brought to a whole new level in this gorgeous Victorian triplex in London. 

This expansive 600sq m triplex resides behind the façade of a Victorian ‘grande dame’ in Chelsea. Purchased as a shell and core of 3 floors, our international client engaged the services of SHH to transform the apartment into a glamorous contemporary haven for him and his family. "Although the floor plan was generous, there were some major challenges to work around” explained Architect Guy Matheson. "The first of these was that there was very little natural light on all floors, including the upper floor, which is also whrere visitors first enter the apartment. We therefore took the unusual decision to ocate the master bedroom on this storey to ensure that the main living quarters on the central storey below benefited from the apartment's major light source - the outside garden. To maintain a dramatic sense of arrival, however, we made the doors to the bedroom suite ‘disappear’, so that the focus instead is on the central stair, which we moved to its present location and which draws visitors’ eyes straight down through the space.”