Cover The Singapore home's living room is an airy space replete with well-articulated design details
The Singapore home's living room is an airy space replete with well-articulated design details
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The Mediterranean-influenced Singapore home of Haus Atelier’s founders celebrates the passing of time and nature
After graduating with first-class honours in architecture from the National University of Singapore, Priscilla Khiu practised at DP Architects. She then launched self-initiated businesses in carpentry, construction and furniture design, until she established Haus Atelier in 2017 with her husband, Lorcan Duffy.
Khiu, the firm’s creative director, takes an approach grounded in curiosity and has a penchant for soulful touches, along with an insatiable need to test ideas. An example is her Mediterranean-inspired Singapore home, in which materials such as rough-hewn stone, weathered wood, terracotta tiles and wrought iron accents evoke an old-world rustic charm.
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The colour and material palettes feature neutral hues and a plethora of textures
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After purchasing the semi-detached house, which stands at the end of a cul de sac in a residential neighbourhood, the couple transformed its run-of-the-mill spaces into calm settings for family living. A new gate separates the long driveway from the area in front of the main door so that it becomes a pleasant outdoor space for the couple’s two young daughters to safely play in.
“As one enters, you are greeted by the nuances of landscape and a raw brick wall planter at the car porch. We even went out of our way to hunt for [the right] rocks. I changed part of the garden’s landscaping to sand to accommodate an olive tree, and lined it with a rockscape,” Khiu explains.
This “lead-in” is her favourite part of the house. “The little touches, the signage, the brass outdoor lamps that light the garden, the little lamps at the arched door, the details of the arched door, the brickwork, the texture and the smell of plants—I really love the fresh smell of home when I return. It’s peaceful, tasteful, authentic and natural. This is my sanctuary,” she declares.
Above A leather-clad modular sofa is the centrepiece of the living area
A leather-clad modular sofa is the centrepiece of the living area
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One walks through the arched double doors into a vestibule, created by extending the house outwards to the porch. Khiu marked the portal between this space and the living area with timber panelling and variances in the ceiling detail. This extension helps the room “look large and breathable”, she says.
Khiu elaborates: “I love vestibules because they set the tone for the house. The language of the two spaces is consistent, yet slightly different.” On the vestibule floor, a gridded tile underlay mimics a long rug. It is mirrored by a wall-hung geometric artwork flanked by wall sconces from Visual Comfort, above a wooden console with brass handles from furniture brand Bailehomme.
Throughout the abode, ash-grey veneer introduces character. “I find young wood too rich. Also, a tinge of grey in wood shows a bit of age and authenticity. We paired these with beige cream large-format floor tiles, similar to sandalwood,” Khiu explains. A chocolate-coloured sofa from King Living and a woven white-and-sand rug from McGee & Co cement the scheme.
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Above Geometric patterns lend visual interest to both the vertical as well as the horizontal surfaces
Above The sandy rock portion of the yard accommodates an olive tree
Geometric patterns lend visual interest to both the vertical as well as the horizontal surfaces
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The most significant change is in the living room, where a new window frames the olive tree, evoking a Mediterranean feel. “The large window allows immense natural light to enter. The tree and the garden’s night lighting are especially dreamy and romantic in the evening,” Khiu enthuses.
Light also enters through another door in the dining area, which is demarcated from the living area by a level change. Khiu wanted something other than a circular or square table in the square-shaped space, so she designed her own.
The difference in elevation between the dining and living areas demarcates the two zones while keeping the overall interior open
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“We host a lot of dinner parties and often have a lot of guests around the dining table, but on a daily basis, we are a family of four. By rounding the edges, I allowed the seating space for 10 to still be there, without the visual bulkiness of a typical 10-seater table,” she explains.
Also in the Singapore home's dining area is a coffee-cum-alcohol bar made from Amazonia marble, which was a long-time dream feature for Khiu. “We are coffee fanatics, and to smell a fresh cup of coffee every morning the moment you come down the stairs truly makes this home,” she smiles. On the backsplash, fluted grooves speak of Khiu’s love of detail.
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Above Glossy countertops lend a luxurious feel to the kitchen
Above This well-appointed sitting nook brings cosiness to the staircase area
Glossy countertops lend a luxurious feel to the kitchen
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The kitchen is another showcase, designed in the traditional European style. It includes trims on the cabinetry doors, a deep ceramic sink, unpolished brass taps, and Visual Comfort brass pendants hanging from an oak timber veneer ceiling.
Next to the dining area, Khiu replaced the patterned balustrades with minimal vertical versions, and the former dark-wood railings with light blonde wood to bridge it with the home’s breezy, minimal character.
The kitchen island doubles as a stylish breakfast counter
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On the second storey, the master bedroom, combined from two smaller bedrooms, offers picturesque views of the foliage, enhanced with a green rug from Aratamete. An overall white palette, sheer drapes, white bedsheets, shutters and trims in the joinery complete the resort ambience.
Verdant outdoor greenery forms a living backdrop in the master bedroom
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The large sliding doors that mark the threshold of the Singapore home's master bedroom also add to the capacious feel. “During the day, these doors are always open so the study becomes part of the master bedroom, visually extending that focus,” Khiu comments.
Details in the master bedroom accent the girls’ bedroom, such as shutters layered over the original arched windows that the couple decided to retainfor their charm.
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Above These practical storage units are a pleasing visual match with the bedroom doors
Above Arcged carpentry and window add softness to bedroom
These practical storage units are a pleasing visual match with the bedroom doors
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The daughters’ delightful bedroom features subtle accents of baby pink
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Interestingly, Khiu and Duffy decided to share the same level as their daughters rather than occupy the Singapore home's attic level, which now houses two guest rooms with elegant pitched ceilings.
“I always feel that a building sheds more light on [the characteristics of] a person or a family than what you know about them. To me, this house is a peaceful sanctuary—quiet yet unabashedly beautiful,” says Khiu. “It accepts imperfection, nature and texture. It does not clamour for attention or demand to be noticed, but its beauty shines through.”
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