Home tour: inside an eclectic Coronation Road West black-and-white colonial bungalow by Kri:eit Associates

The wider project also involved comprehensively reworking the mechanical and electrical systems while bringing the house up to date for contemporary living. Throughout, the existing architecture remained central to the scheme.

“The property itself was a particularly rewarding canvas to adorn and enhance,” says Teo. “Every corner offered an opportunity to reinforce its character, charm and sense of history.”

The classic living room sets the tone for the rest of the house. Rather than following one decorative period, it brings together objects that appear to have arrived from different chapters of the resident’s life.

A traditional eight-claw-leg bench sits against the main sofa, while Salvador Dalí’s Don Quixote hangs behind an antique black horsehair folding screen with studded detailing. A chinoiserie coffee table adds another historical reference, while coral-crowned ostrich eggs decorated with beads and tassels occupy the patio doors.

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The room is also designed around the rituals of entertaining. Music comes from a self-playing Yamaha chrome baby grand piano, while a gold-leaf-framed mirror reflects both the architecture and the collection gathered within it.

The effect is deliberately layered. Each object introduces another point of interest, allowing the room to feel assembled over time rather than arranged in one sitting. It is a principle Teo applies throughout the house.

“I believe a home should feel collected rather than contrived, with every piece contributing to a narrative that is personal to its occupants,” he says.

That approach also explains the relationship between the house’s traditional architecture and its contents. Rather than reproducing a period interior, Teo uses the black-and-white bungalow as a backdrop for objects drawn from different eras and cultures, allowing the contrast between old and new to become part of the home’s character.

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The foyer makes a much bolder first impression. Its feature walls were painstakingly puttied smooth before being spray-painted in a vivid Kermit green, a finish executed by Paint 101. The colour draws on the primary-colour vocabulary of Pop Art and has a direct connection to the occupants’ collection of Roy Lichtenstein works.

The high-gloss surface turns the entrance into a moment of arrival, while the intensity of the green establishes a visual language that recurs through the home in less literal ways.

The entertainment mezzanine takes a different approach. Here, the floor is divided into three zones: a dimly lit media room, a wellness studio and a casual meeting area between the two.

The media room is deliberately cocooning, with a grey palette and deep mahogany furniture punctuated by silver trophies and vintage newspaper advertisements from French fashion houses, held in silver frames. The adjacent wellness studio is more open, with Technogym equipment arranged around a generous floor area for exercise.

Between them, an Art Deco meeting table and chairs sit beside a Ralph Lauren bar. The arrangement gives the mezzanine a practical flexibility, accommodating work sessions before shifting easily into drinks in the evening.

The master bedroom occupies the entire upper floor. A pitched ceiling with exposed timber rafters gives the room its strongest architectural feature, while carefully layered lighting developed with Sol Luminaire and Lutron accentuates the structure overhead.

The palette is more restrained here. Warm khaki envelops the walls, with off-white architectural timberwork providing contrast. Rich mahogany Baker furniture and Ralph Lauren soft furnishings use complementary fabrics, giving the room a cohesive character without obscuring the original architecture.

The bedroom also demonstrates the broader strategy behind the house. The colonial setting provides a foundation, but the furnishings and lighting shift the spaces towards contemporary living. The result is particularly apparent in the way the bedroom balances the visual weight of the exposed rafters with softer, more comfortable elements below.

Across the bungalow, Teo’s approach remains consistent: preserve what makes the property distinctive, then allow the contents to tell the rest of the story.

“Layering of history, culture, art and contemporary living has become central to my design ethos,” he says.

For a home filled with objects from different periods and places, that gives the eclecticism a clear logic. The pieces do not need to belong to the same era or decorative vocabulary. Their connection comes from the person who chose them, and from the architecture that holds them together.

Founded by Roy Teo in 2003, Kri:eit Associates specialises in highly individual residential interiors and distinctive concept properties. Deliberately selective, the practice undertakes only a handful of projects each year. Its portfolio includes private residences for prominent personalities, Forbes listers and discerning collectors, with a focus on individuality, sophistication and refined design.

Kri:eit Associates, 5 Jalan Kilang, krieit.com

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