Cover Terri Tan, design director of Designworx Interior Consultant, explores how to create timeless designs that balance functionality with aesthetics
Terri Tan, design director of Designworx Interior Consultant, explores how to create timeless designs that balance functionality with aesthetics
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Designworx’s director Terri Tan draws upon her diverse work experiences to craft enduring designs tailored to each client’s specific needs
If working in different industries is the key to professional growth and adaptability, Terri Tan’s career would qualify as an unmitigated success. The design director of award-winning firm Designworx Interior Consultant enrolled in an architectural course at the National University of Singapore, but applied to work at Singapore Airlines (SIA) as a member of the cabin crew after she graduated.
Then, after flying for two years, she joined a local distributor that carried Italian brands, one of which was Poliform. Time spent on marketing the wardrobe systems, in retrospect, had less to do with furniture and more to do with learning how to see. Pieces were designed with a certain quiet confidence: proportioned, considered, and built to last. It was an introduction to a different kind of discipline, one that valued restraint as much as expression. Just as telling was observing how clients chose. They often returned to the same piece not because it stood out, but because it felt right. “My time marketing Italian furniture brands introduced me to the Salone del Mobile Milano, a Milan furniture fair, which paved the way to set up Designworx Interior Consultant,” she says.
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All Ears
Above Terri Tan, design director of Designworx Interior Consultant
Terri Tan, design director of Designworx Interior Consultant
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“Looking back as a former cabin crew member who went on to build a 28-year interior design practice, I realised the SIA training instilled in me discipline, attentiveness, and consistency, and these qualities continue to shape how I design homes and run a business today.”
SIA’s stellar reputation in the aviation industry was built on its exemplary customer service and attentiveness. These foundational values have stayed with Tan to this day, resulting in many satisfied clients who reappoint the firm for new assignments. “We spend a lot of time listening, to truly understand the client’s brief,” she reveals. “Often, during face-to-face meetings, we can pick up unspoken cues on what they like or do not like. Tailoring the design to a client’s wants and wishes then becomes easier. We have many repeat clients because we ‘get’ them.”
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Above A 6.6m feature wall in the foyer of the Leedon Park Good Class Bungalow, where a large glass-and-bronze light from Serip’s Coral collection stands out against a stucco backdrop, sets the tone for the project
A 6.6m feature wall in the foyer of the Leedon Park Good Class Bungalow, where a large glass-and-bronze light from Serip’s Coral collection stands out against a stucco backdrop, sets the tone for the project
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This early grounding in design restraint and curation now finds expression across her projects: from the layered complexity of Good Class Bungalows to the clarity required in hospitality environments such as Venue Hotel and Days Inn by Wyndham Singapore Novena which is set to open 3Q 2026. A new hospitality establishment that will focus on wellness as a key theme. Incorporating fitness and modern lifestyle experiences, it features a “wellness deck” that integrates nature, movement, and recovery into a cohesive guest experience. Inspired by Hyrox-based fitness principles which emphasise water, flow and resistance, it allows guests to participate in dynamic workouts that combine hydrotherapy elements, functional training and restorative practices.
Whether it is a hospitality or other commercial entity, or a private homeowner, the firm strives to attain that sweet spot between timeless elegance and practicality. “Our repeat clients often tell us that the spaces we design for them do not look dated even after 10 to 20 years,” Tan declares. “We grow with clients by creating new homes for them (and their children) as they move through the various stages of their lives. We are guided by experience yet driven by evolution, and we will continue to refine our approach of creating timeless spaces that remain relevant for years to come.”
We take a look at some of Tan’s most memorable projects, each of which features visually delightful yet practical interior spaces that highlight its owner’s story, principles, and personality.
Making Waves
The opulent living room, graced by the owner’s border collie
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A collaboration between Designworx Interior Consultant and East 9 Architects & Planners, this Good Class Bungalow in Singapore’s Leedon Park neighbourhood features various marine-inspired motifs and opulent touches that elevate its clean lines to great effect.
Christopher Guy’s expansive, modular sofa with deep, plush cushions, offering sleek comfort for the family in the lounge of the master suite
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Setting the tone is 6.6m feature wall in the foyer, where a large glass-and-bronze light from Serip’s Coral collection stands out against a stucco backdrop, its form inspired by the complex shapes of coral reefs. Wave-like panels concealing shoe cabinets, customised tables with seashells set into their tops, a Manooi Artica crystal chandelier, aquamarine accents in the entertainment room, a shagreen feature wall and pool mosaics in various tones of blue reinforce the nautical theme beautifully.
This project is memorable because the client would bring his border collie for meetings at our office. The dog would sit quietly under the table and patiently wait for him to announce that the meeting was over and they could go home.
Open Season
The living room is clothed in comforting neutrals
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This bright and airy bungalow on Sundridge Park Road features a basement, two levels and an attic on a 12,000 sq ft plot of land. It is owned by a returning client whom the firm had previously designed a home for in Begonia Terrace. “They approached us to conceptualise the design for the interiors when they confirmed the purchase, and on-site work started the moment they collected the keys,” says Tan.
Above The terrace landscaped central courtyard serves as the heart of this landed home
Above Dappled sunlight falls on these floating stairs
The terrace landscaped central courtyard serves as the heart of this landed home
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The bathroom boasts views of greenery beyond
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The home’s common areas are set around a terraced and landscaped central courtyard; it is essentially a modern interpretation of a traditional Chinese courtyard house. A carefully curated selection of furniture lends a contemporary bent, comprising pieces from Minotti and Fendi Casa in the formal and informal living areas respectively, a dining set from Poltrona Frau with Occhio Mito Sospeso dining lights overhead, a Meridiani low table, bookcases, a bar cabinet and side table from Porada, and Visionnaire Bastian beds.
Room Service
The hotel won the Best Hotel Interior - Singapore accolade at Asia Pacific Property Awards 2014
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Winner of the Best Hotel Interior - Singapore accolade at the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2014, the Venue Hotel on Joo Chiat Road is an alluring and cosy amalgamation of old and new. Featuring the architectural charm of its heritage shophouse facade and a refreshed interior with a modern Peranakan aesthetic and brightly coloured elements, it is an apt representation of the firm’s ability to blend authentic elements such as traditional patterns and symbolic colours with modern functionality to create soulful, personalised spaces.
Venue Hotel on Joo Chiat Road is housed in a heritage shophouse
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“When it comes to conservation projects, the cultural significance of the buildings and localities inspires our design,” says Tan. “It often includes reinterpreting heritage and traditional layouts, for example, circular dining seating, to ensure a respectful, non-appropriative, and harmonious mix.”
Returning to What Endures
After 28 years in practice, the trajectory of Terri’s career is not a series of shifts but a continuous refinement. Architecture instilled discipline, SIA introduced sensitivity, Italian design emphasised restraint and Milan provided perspective. Together, they form a philosophy that resists spectacle. In a time when design is often driven by speed, visibility, and constant reinvention, her work returns to judgement, proportion, and the quiet confidence of knowing when to stop. In the end, the most enduring luxury spaces are not those that seek attention. They are the ones where there was freedom to choose what feels right, long after everything else has changed.
