Tatler Homes Design Awards 2026 - Malaysia: meet the winners

Judge Lillian Tay, Group Vice President, Veritas Group, called it a detailed, well-thought-out design where the indoor spaces flow seamlessly out to nature, praising its sensitive use of raw natural materials such as fair-face concrete, brick and timber.

Fellow judge Andra Matin of Andramatin Architects noted that the thoughtfully designed layout and openings perfectly respond to the surrounding context, adding that the use of natural materials gives the house a deeply grounded feel.

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Fabian Tan Architect’s pink concrete house in Kuala Lumpur was born from an unusual constraint: two terrace plots combined mid-construction into a single residence for a family of six. At its centre sits a courtyard that draws daylight and cross-ventilation deep into the floor plan, while dense perimeter planting reduces heat gain and supports the family’s edible garden.

The home’s sustainable systems extend to solar panels, rainwater harvesting and automated irrigation, all working alongside its passive design strategies rather than in place of them. Deep overhangs and the courtyard’s central void reduce dependence on artificial lighting and mechanical cooling throughout the day.

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Judge Bee Eu Tan, founder of Beta Architects, praised the project’s clever use of passive design, noting how it allows abundant natural light to penetrate deep into the home while promoting effective cross-ventilation, strategies that reduce reliance on artificial lighting and mechanical cooling.

Tay also pointed to the house’s deep overhangs as its identifying design feature, calling them a clear commitment to practical, passive sustainable design strategies.

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Nevermore Group’s The Collector’s Reserve in Seri Tanjung, Penang, was designed to showcase its owner’s collections of art, wine and exotic cars without competing against them. The living room’s clean modernist lines and muted white palette form a deliberately restrained backdrop, one calibrated to hold its own against the vivid pieces placed within it.

Against this neutral shell sits the Mah Jong sofa by Roche Bobois, upholstered in hand-stitched Missoni fabrics whose chevron patterns contribute a kinetic charge, alongside a ten-piece set of KAWS prints that adds a further layer of graphic colour. The result is a space where saturated colour and pattern read as curated rather than chaotic, offset by the architectural restraint of the surrounding surfaces.

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Judge Lai Siew Hong, co-founder of Blu Water Studio, pointed to the restrained palette of soft whites and metallic accents as a calm, timeless backdrop that allows the colourful artworks and iconic patterned seating to take centre stage, with vibrant fabrics, rich textures, and expressive hues bringing energy, warmth, and personality, striking a sophisticated balance between elegance and playfulness.

Matin said what makes the project exciting is that the architecture truly serves as a blank canvas, ensuring that the artwork and other colour elements don’t compete with one another.

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Fully fitted and furnished, 932 Design Group’s show units for developer Magma Property’s Wolo Mont Kiara KL present three unit typologies, ranging from a compact 606-square-foot two-bedroom layout to a 987-square-foot plan suited to multigenerational households.

Across the three units, a consistent material language of pale oak, rattan panelling and ebonised joinery threads through distinct spatial arrangements, from the Type L’s onyx marble and oak kitchen island to the Type M’s rattan-panelled room dividers. The effect positions architecture, interiors and furnishings as a single continuous decision rather than a sequence of separate finishes.

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Judge Nada Debbs, founder of Studio Nada Debs, noted that the project goes beyond presenting a beautifully furnished show unit to create a complete living experience, with thoughtfully planned spaces and beautifully crafted joinery that adds warmth, character and a sense of permanence, adding that the way architecture, interiors and furnishings are considered as one creates a cohesive, inviting environment that allows potential buyers to easily imagine themselves living there.

Matin observed that while each room features a distinct theme, the entire space feels deeply elegant and maintains a seamless sense of harmony throughout.

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Matthew Lim Associates transformed a 12,000-square-foot ancillary structure in the Klang Valley into a Mediterranean-inspired clubhouse, organised around an art gallery, a private omakase bar, a wine cellar and a cigar lounge. Lim describes the guiding concept as quiet monumentality, spaces that feel grounded and architectural yet intimate, achieved through proportion, rhythm and the interplay of light and texture rather than a literal recreation of regional style.

The material palette stays restrained and earth-toned throughout, with warm timber floors, textured plaster walls and light-toned stone surfaces establishing continuity across the clubhouse’s curated spaces. Fluted columns and arched openings recur as a quiet architectural rhythm, while the furnishings, from a Roche Bobois Mah Jong sofa to pieces by Hermès, are chosen for design over provenance, allowing the space to read as considered rather than showy.

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Tan noted the design’s brilliant confidence in its control of shades, hues, textures and materiality, creating a rich yet cohesive atmosphere. Lai observed a sophisticated balance between architectural strength and everyday comfort, adding that, guided by the concept of quiet monumentality, the home feels grounded and enduring yet remains warm, intimate, and inviting; its contemporary interpretation of Mediterranean principles creates a cohesive, timeless living environment.

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Wuuu Studio, an interior design studio based in Setia Alam, Selangor, was established in late 2019 and has since grown from a solo practice into a five-person team. The studio describes its process as cultivating ideas the way a farm cultivates a harvest, an ethos it channels through playful, unrestricted experimentation across its body of work, which spans both spatial design and tailored client experiences.

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Among the projects presented to judges, one in particular stood out for its adaptive reuse of an existing structure, reworking an old building into an entirely new spatial identity rather than starting from a blank site.

Matin noted that while all the showcased projects boldly embraced colour while retaining a sense of warmth, the third project stood out for the studio’s impressive ability to create a completely new space from an existing old building. Tay praised the studio’s elegant, Japanese-inspired design sensibility.

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SCDA’s Soori Penang transforms 15 heritage shophouses within the Khoo Kongsi compound into a 15-suite boutique hotel, restoring buildings previously subdivided into some 40 hotel rooms back to the coherence of individual dwellings. Founder Soo K Chan, who grew up in the compound, drew each suite around its own airwell, veranda and reflecting pool, and rather than leaning on the Peranakan iconography common to George Town’s heritage hotels, the interiors take a restrained palette of wood, granite, travertine and porcelain, reinterpreting references such as oversized rice grinders repurposed as water features and stone lions remade by craftsmen in southern China.

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Debs said the project redefines what a heritage hotel can be, capturing the essence of the place through light, materiality and spatial experience rather than relying on literal references to the past. Lai called it a living tribute to place, memory and design, noting that each intervention respects what already exists while creating meaningful connections between past and present.

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