Lasting Beauty

Robert Majernik and wife Christine are no strangers to remodeling; they’ve completed a slew of renovations in the past and have even fipped a home for resale. When the time came to start updating their newest home (built in the mid-70s), they knew just where to start: the kitchen, one of the most remodeled rooms under the roof. 

As they considered the budget and the hard-earned money to be spent on their project, Robert and Christine decided that they wanted a kitchen they could really love (and one that would be appealing to future buyers of the home).  With design trends and styles changing constantly, though, how do you create a kitchen that will 

stand the test of time and remain attractive through the fuctuating tides of real estate? Take a cue from the experts—the Majerniks—who have found a prescription for lasting elegance. 

And A Place to Call Home

When  their  youngest  daughter was  diagnosed  with  a  rare form of  lymphoma,  the McAvoy family was  living  in the northernmost stretch  of Mt. Pleasant, making  their  fartoo-frequent  drive  to  chemotherapy  sessions a real road trip. The family decided it was best to sell their home and move into a rental unit near downtown while they constructed a home closer to MUSC Children’s Hospital.  This  process  placed  a  burden on  their heart  for  other  families  traveling long  distances  to  take  their  sick  children to medical treatments; not only is the journey emotionally taxing, but it is also fnancially  taxing. Matt and Amy began a nonproft organization known as The Journey House, which  currently  funds hotel  stays close  to MUSC  for  families who need  the assistance. Their  future plan  is  to build a home  downtown  to  house  these  families.   

White Out

Exuding a nostalgic Scandinavian flavour, this open and airy home harnesses the best of this clean-cut style

Key Ideas

1. Brick walls are becoming the  hottest commodity as feature walls. Use strips of laminate to outline these coarse walls and make a stronger statement.

2. Claim the Scandinavian look with neutral doses of colour. Pastel, whitewashed and earthy hues all work well in creating a spacious and airy Scandinavian haven.

3.Be sure to select furniture with clean lines too. This helps with furnishing the space with an uncluttered feel.

4. Use fooring to expand the visual size of an area. A long strip of tiles or homogenous fooring from one zone to another can elongate the space effectively.

5. Move the vanity out of the bathroom if there are two people sharing it. Have double sinks so both users can wash up at the same time.

Sleek Sanctuary

Modern design strokes imbue this flat with an idyllic holiday feel

For the couple living in this HDB fat unit, the design of the interior makes their home the perfect place to unwind after a day’s work. Mesmerised by the stylish yet homely feel of service apartments on their trips abroad, they wanted to recreate that feel in their own apartment. To achieve that, they engaged John Chan from Genesis ID and in a mere fve weeks, they were presented with a service apartment-inspired house to call their own.

Doused in a soothing shade of dark brown and laid with marble fooring, the communal space is a vision of relaxation and elegance. Separated into two zones by a full-height display cabinet that provides storage and also doubles up as a divider, the living area features a zone for watching television and another zone for entertainment and games. When not in use, sliding glass panels conceal the screen and other entertainment peripherals.

Sensuous Spaces

This one-bedroom shoe uni is a definite show-stopper with its open versatile living areas, streamlined cabinetry, luxurious detailing and sensuous lighting. 

There are many occasions when it is simply not possible to physically enlarge your home, especially

when you live in a purpose-built block of apartments. However, inspired thinking can hlp you use the space you do have to best effect, at the same time creating the illuson that your home is much bigger than it really is. In this show unit, an edgy, urban vibe is cetainly felt by the palette of cooli idustrial colours of gaphite greys, black and ash browns. The living area is kept simple wit minimal furniture like the 60' inspired wooden-framed sofa filled with comfy pillows in a myriad of grey stripes and a sculptural tree-trunk, which also acts as a side table. A rush of playful colours is introduced by a floor rug which provides a vibrant energy to space. Not only that, accessories, like the framed black and white piece of art, are stylish must-haves for blank walls. 

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.

Open House

A complete reshuffle of this home’s original layout creates designated spaces for work, play and family time

Key Ideas

1. To break away from the norm, incorporate two or more different themes to create a distinctive look.

2. Closed cabinets can look stiff and block the fow of light and space. Opt for open shelving to create a look that is more free-spirited.

3. Instead of swing doors to connect rooms, use a sliding door or panel as a more space-saving option. 

4. Solid walls have the effect of boxing up a space. Reduce the boxed-in effect by replacing a portion of it with a glass panel to open up the space visually.

Chocolate Pleasures

Earthy browns and peaceful creams are great colours for interiors. They can be stylish and elegant and match with many other colour schemes.

In this condominium residence, we beleive that designers Sunny Chow and Tony Tao of Sky Creation Design Sdn Bhd, created these beatiful interiors with delicious inspirations from a cup of cappucino with wiped cream, white and dark chocolate, a slic of marble cheesecake or even new leather seats in soft cream and tan colours. All throughout the interior, the primary colıur scheme do not stray away from cream or brown. In the living area the cream is almost white, and the brown almost black, whereas in other spaces, such as the master bedroom, the two colours more pronounced and almost identical. 

Metropolitan Flair

Developer extraordinaire Bolton Berhard merges Manhattan chic and Scandinavian serenity in this apartment beauty, located in Puchong.

This spacious apartment starts off with a stunning view of the living and dining areas, from a sleek neutral sofa surrounded by chrome-finished tables, to a dining table sheathed in gleaming surfaces and flanked by siz crisp white designer chairs. We absolutely adore the stylish mid-century TV bench in a rich shade of honey, a perfect juxtaposition to the contemporary yet ethereal looking drapes which allows plenty of natural light in. But we must admit, the ultimate scene-stealer would be the striking feature wall, a 60's inspired medley of wood, black marble and mirrored surfaces, all placed randomly to create a lively artwork of colour and texture. 

Double Vision

Decorating Ideas

No matter if your home-decorating budget is sky high or, well, limited to somewhere around the tree-tops, achieving a stylish home is never out of the question with these fabulous picks

Foyer 

Go for hardy decor in this high-traffic area; think heavy-duty yet easy-to-clean surfaces. 

Living Room

Start with neutral-coloured basics like couches and rugs. Then, flesh out the decor with accessories that are dear to your heart to create a room with soul and personality. 

Eating Clean

Organization is the key for this clean-lined kitchen remodel

“A  place  for  everything  and  everything  it  its  place.”  This  age-old adage  describes  the  thought  process  Komal  Sheth, Allied Member, ASID,  used  when  conceptualizing  this  total  kitchen  transformation. Owner of Spaces Designed Interior Design Studio, LLC, in Austin, Texas, Sheth  created  a  space  for  every  individual  item  hiding  all  gadgets and appliances  for a  streamlined  look. After completely gutting  the original, basic builder  kitchen,  she  redefned work  zones,  creating a professionally  styled  kitchen  that’s also a  family-friendly  entertaining space. 

“The owners wanted their kitchen to be clean, modern, yet friendly,” explained  Sheth,  noting  that  they  also  wanted  a  transitional  style that would  blend  in with  the  home’s  overall  look.  Placing  emphasis on  maximum  effciency,  she  reconfgured  everything  in  a  far  more functional  manner.  “All  of  the elements  were  there,  but  they  were scattered,”  she  noted.  “We  broke  it  down  into  distinctive  stations  for cooking, food preparation and baking.” 

Elemental Wonder

A contemporary touch for this executive apartment ties each space together to create a place called home for this family of three

Having worked on a number of homes that are designed according to Feng Shui standards, designer Cindy Fong from Darwin Interior is no stranger to the basics of this Chinese geomancy system. Thus, when the designer drew up the design proposal for this executive HDB fat, it happened to be in sync with the homeowners’ Feng Shui requirements and they were pleased to go along with it without major modifcations.

This naturally airy apartment is made spacious with the use of light-coloured tones and the integration of the balcony space into the living room. Since there was an additional study room to spare, of which the couple and their young daughter did not need, the designer decided to have its walls hacked to create even more space for the living area. Next to the living room, the dining area exudes an elegant atmosphere with its plush seats and chandelier lighting. Panels of mirror and laminate form a feature wall to conceal the entrance of the bomb shelter.

A Touch Of Class

Luxury beckons in this two-bedroom apartment unit which is decked out in simple yet sophisticated touches

For most people, the storage space within the home is just as important as any other aspects of a home. And so it came as no surprise when renovating their new home, the young owners of this two-bedroom apartment unit wanted to maximise the space. Designer Daniel Loi of Space Defne was tasked with the apartment’s design and unperturbed by the limited space, decorated the interior in accordance to their storage needs while accommodating to the owners’ style preferences. 

The style of the home is a  simple concept: modern, luxurious with artful arrangements of furnishings and a clever utilisation of colours. To create a bigger entertaining and relaxation area, the living and dining areas were combined into an open-plan space, while keeping the other areas of the home such as the sleeping quarters private. The owners wanted a neutral backdrop, thus walls were painted and wallpapered in white while the foors were laid in pale marble tiles. The background of white walls is complemented with a large TV console in black stucco fnish. 

Chic Sophistication

Classic meets experimental to create a country-styled home that surprises

A European favour marks this 4-room HDB fat unit even before you step foot into its premises. Wood decking lies at the doorway to welcome guests. It is reminiscent of a verandah and the proud owner of this Scandinavian-inspired haven is a bachelorette. Engaging the design team from Renozone, they spent seven weeks transforming the place into what it is now.

For a look that is more country, the fooring of the entire apartment is clad with a timber-like laminate fnish. The walls in the living room and bedrooms are plastered with foral-themed wallpaper to play up the element of countryside living. In the kitchen however, the design moves to one that stems from the raw industrial look.

Malibu Marvel

A luxury duplex apartment in Malibu is the closest thing to perfection with gorgeous aesthetics paired with practical functionality.

Completed in 2009, the 800m² duplex apartment was designed for a young enterprising businessman. On the lower floor, the central idea was to enhance the living area so as to provide maximum integration among the spaces, as is the case with the gourmet kitchen, integrated with the dining-room. Likewise, the stairwell and elevator casing thst provide access to the upper floor were designed in glass, so as to integrate the living-room to the media room and the exterior, where we find the exterior, we find a bold swimming-pool, also built from glass, after thorough superimposed structure and load-bearing calculations. Glazing theelevator case and the clear glass steps on the stairs proved to be major challenges in the design of the apartment. 

Modern Artistry

These modern duplex condominium interiors designed by Nu Infinity unite classy, relaxing styles with a luxurious, upper-class feel.

Acquiring a well-executed modern interior design can result in a really exclusive and luxurious look in a home. This posh residence in Damansara Heights boasts of an array of neutral coloured designer furniture, with a mix of lavish materials and a touch of contemporary to achieve a really elegantly designed home. 

Expert Interior Lighting Tips

What kind of lighting does each room need?

There are two rules of thumb: You should have a mix of light sources at different levels to create a flatteringambience, and you need appropriate task lighting for whatever you do in that space (reading, sauteing, getting dressed). Here are tips for five key spots.

1. Living Room 

Light three of the four corners, focusing one of those lights on an object (art, a plant, a striking chair). Use a combinaiton of table lamps and floor lamps, some with a downward glow and some that shine upward. If you have an overhead fiture, put it on a dimmer. 

2. Dining Room 

To draw people in, make the table the brightest spot in the room. Use a chandelier or a pendant above the table, limiting the total wattage to 100. Elsewhere in the room, indirect lighting is best-it's relaxing and flattering. Give the space a subtle glow with a pair of small table lamps on a sideboard or matching sconces on the wall above. Battery-powered votives inside a glass-front china cabinet can be a nice touch.

Studio SC

 Three different concepts were cleverly fused together to result in this beautiful space.

“The architectural project of this photography studio, specalized in food photos, emerged from an internal competition held at StudioMK27. The team was divided into 3 groups that worked on the development of different ideas for one day. From these first rough sketches a new project, which, in part, was a synthesis of all these sketches and, in part, an entirely new project, was elaborated.

In the definitive design, the land was longitudinally divided into two. The Northern part, with a width of 7.2m and a length of 43.5m, was reserved for a generous garden. This space functions as an internal esplanade for the building. The Southern part, with a width of 12.2m and a length of 43.5m, in turn, was totally built and contains the program of the studio.

How to Increase Your Property Value

Smart design decisions can help you improve the ROi (return on investment) of your home. I outline some key areas where you should consider upgrading, inside and out.

Colour

Rather than opt for a white interior, choose a softer colour to showcase your home. Coordinating a full colour scheme is best left to a qualifed interior designer or decorator; however, if hiring a professional is not in the budget, consider colour palettes created by paint company designers. 

Kitchen

The biggest, single investment you can make is to update the kitchen. If your budget allows, stainless-steel appliances, stone countertops and refaced (or freshly painted) cabinets are a good place to start. Granite and quartz have the most pizzazz and are desirable features when reselling.