Cover A view of the beautiful Ardmore Park residence, designed by Mosh Interior
A view of the beautiful Ardmore Park residence, designed by Mosh Interior
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Unlock your home’s luxurious spirit with Mosh Interior’s guide to curating opulent furniture, divine materials and the perfect lighting for luxury interiors
Much goes into the creation of a home that exudes luxury; a highly functional and airy layout, a flawless selection of furnishings and décor pieces, the ideal lighting to set the desired ambience, and of course an exquisite array of materials and tactile finishes.
Shermaine Ong, the founder of Mosh Interior Design, emphasises the importance of simplicity and honing in on the underlying elements of the space to truly bring out the luxury factor in a residence: “I try to avoid complicated design,” she tells us. “We want the furniture masterpieces and the choice of materials to stand out.”
Personalisation plays a key role in transforming a space as well. New definitions of luxury stray from formulaic interiors and instead adapt to each homeowner’s particular taste and preferences. “I design what our clients like and not what I like,” Ong explains. It’s not always an easy process, often involving a level of design education and exposure to quality finishes to align the client’s taste with a timeless and pleasing aesthetic.
From furnishings to lighting, materials and layouts, these are the crucial elements Ong pays close attention to when designing a luxury residence.
Read more: Home tour: A beautiful apartment in Singapore with a Parisian spirit
Choosing timeless finishes
The dark walnut veneer distinguishes the Ardmore Park entryway from the open-plan living and dining spaces, which predominantly feature the use of light wood
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A rich mix of materials can go a long way to exude luxury. “For example, if I choose a beautiful marble slab, depending on how elaborate the grain is, the choice of layering will be different,” Ong expands. “I might add some metal elements to bring out a lighter grain. If the marble grain is loud, such as black marble, I may layer it with black veneer, to soften [the effect of] the marble.”
Artificial materials that emulate natural ones, such as laminates with marble and wood-look finishes, should be chosen with much care. “If we choose those wrongly it will quickly cheapen the whole design,” she cautions.
Particular attention is paid to the finishes in the kitchen and bathroom, high-traffic spaces that require sturdier, more functional surfaces. “For luxury kitchens, I use a lot of spray paint, acrylic panels for the cabinets, or higher-end laminates,” Ong shares. “As for work surfaces, a nice quartzite can make the place stand out. Metal skirting takes the kitchen to another level.” She further advises choosing the backsplash carefully, as any material shortcomings are easily spotted at eye level.
In the bathroom, she minimises grout lines first and foremost, opting for large-format tiles. High-end sanitary wares, including automated shower toilets, will lend the bathroom a curated, modern appearance beyond its material palette.
See also: How Mosh Interior balances intergenerational needs and wants in this sleek apartment
Picking the perfect interior lighting
Backlighting accentuates the linear details of the dark-wood joinery in the Ardmore Park master suite
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Good lighting is often underestimated. In reality, it can make or break a residential design, and easily takes interiors from mediocre to luxurious. “We love to use indirect lighting, which [evokes] a relaxed and expensive ambience,” the designer tells us, drawn to lights tucked behind mirrors and cabinets. Indirect lighting is especially effective in private spaces and quieter corners of the home, such as the bedroom and bathroom.
“I think the bedroom, especially the master bedroom, can go a little darker, with a richer texture and a more sensational feel with softer lighting,” Ong elaborates. According to the designer, homeowners often draw inspiration for their bedroom design from their favourite hotels, wishing to emulate those luxurious getaways in the comfort of their own homes.
Don’t miss: Home tour: A minimalist semi-detached house in Singapore with a monochrome palette
How to curate luxury furniture
A Bocci pendant lamp from Space Furniture floats above the Minotti Oliver dining table at this Nassim Park abode
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Selecting furniture for a home is not as easy as picking and choosing individual items. The relationship between various furnishings is just as important, particularly when it comes to balancing items of various sizes and with contrasting finishes.
“The first thing we need to do is plot out the size and configuration of the furniture,” Ong explains. “I normally have the renders out so that we can see if the furniture goes well with the interior design. We can narrow down the style and colour of the furniture that we should be sourcing from there, and decide on brands.” Of course, the final selection process always involves the client. “We re-render it again to ensure the client has made the right choice. In some projects, we even do a site marking to visualise the proportions of the furniture, especially if the furniture is very expensive.”
If given free rein, she is drawn to pieces by Minotti and items from Space Furniture, as well as bedroom furniture from Savoir, some of which can be seen in this luxury apartment she crafted for an expat family in Singapore. Poltrona Frau is another brand at the top of her list.
Occasionally, clients take joy and pride in sourcing their furniture themselves, something Ong encourages more homeowners to try their hand at if they so wish. It is, after all, their very own dream home. In these cases, the designer guides the clients through the furniture sourcing process, agreeing upon sizing, colours, and finishes to ensure a successful result.
Incorporating existing furniture can be a challenge, occasionally deciding the direction of the final design, but oftentimes not an element worth prioritising according to the designer. “I will take a look at the value of the existing furniture, and if I think it’s not worth it for the entire interior design to match this piece of furniture, I will advise my client that we go ahead and design the interior based on what is suitable first,” she shares. “Furniture is loose and can be replaced, while fixed elements like floor tiles, marble slabs, and carpentry works cannot be removed [as easily].”
Crafting functional, personalised layouts
The large kitchen island counter creates a sizeable working area for food preparation in this Ardmore Park home’s culinary zone
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There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to luxury interior design, particularly layouts. Despite luxury often being misconstrued as purely aesthetic, true luxury recognises that beauty and functionality go hand-in-hand. As Ong points out: “What’s the point of a beautiful interior design that doesn’t meet the client’s needs and ends up cluttered due to insufficient storage space?”
One point she wishes to emphasise is that functionality can absolutely be high-end, and aesthetic appeal does not need to take a backseat to let practicality reign. Take a fully functional storage cabinet—she suggests designing it as a striking feature wall that conceals the storage cabinet itself.
What ultimately determines the layout of a home is often its floor area, the distribution of its space, and the number of people inhabiting it. An apartment will require a different approach from a terraced house, necessitating careful attention to detail in order to maximise its square footage. Luxury often comes into play in the form of customisation here, adapting to exact dimensions and making the most of limitations for a grand result.
In the case of multigenerational households, accessibility is another important factor that enhances the luxurious outlook of the home and brings out the level of thoughtful personalisation that a good interior designer can work into a space. This requires in-depth discussions with family members to determine how extensive adaptations to the home should be, and whether they are expected to involve shared spaces or only select private quarters.
Regardless of how extensive a renovation one embarks on, Ong holds firm that luxury need not be complicated. Personalisation, materials, and sophisticated detailing—these are the elements that truly define a luxurious home.
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Credits
Images: Courtesy of Mosh Interior
