Home tour: a Kuala Lumpur terrace house renovation that pairs Japanese design with Brazilian influences

Strictly speaking, the house stands at 2.5 storeys in height; however, the design team managed to carve out 3.5 distinct levels. The entry (150 sq ft), at street level, sits on a half-level split above the rest of the house. Beyond the threshold, one walks over a bridge-like section that runs along the edge of an opening that gives the TV lounge below extra height. A few steps down is the top level (850 sq ft) which comprises the living, dining, and kitchen. Beneath that is the middle level (1,000 sq ft) with the aforementioned high-ceilinged TV lounge along with the study and guest snug. Finally, descending to the ground level (800 sq ft), one arrives arrives at the hushed retreat that is the primary suite.

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It was a deliberate choice to have every level open onto its own outdoor space. For one thing, Lim and the client shared “a love of making gardens”. This hillside lot with its enviable aspect provided the perfect setting where such gardens could have the natural backdrop of the surrounding “borrowed landscape”. Another contributing factor is that the project was developed during the pandemic. In their brief, the client had asked for plenty of views outwards and upwards, having spent so much of that time confined at home. And so we find here multiple viewports, cut-out voids, and picture windows, not to mention the skyroof over the entry bridge. Lim explains: “The house keeps offering a way out, even [at a time] when nobody could actually leave.”

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The structure itself contributes to the home’s environmentally-friendly approach to cooling. The verticality of the entire plan removed the need for corridors, making it such that air moves easily through the interiors and up the stairwell, rather than pooling in the middle. Meanwhile, the glass roof at the entry void may warm the air immediately below it, but a slim gap running around its edge lets that warm air drift out; this process in turn quietly pulls cooler air up through the house from below. Heat load is further mediated by deep overhangs and by the application of clear solar film on the home’s wide expanses of glass.

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Much of this residence’s unique charm is derived from the way it blends the two disparate cultural references requested by the client: Japanese and Brazilian. The Japanese inspiration is immediately apparent in the entry sequence, where a tataki (area for dirty outdoor shoes) is succeeded by an agari kamachi, a raised timber step at the threshold. Within the house, there are ribbed and fluted glass screens that soften and diffuse light rather than blocking it outright – these function in the same way as the shoji room dividers of traditional Japanese architecture. Meanwhile, at the ground level, the primary suite features a deep bathtub that opens fully onto the adjoining garden, creating a private onsen experience.

The Brazilian influence is most evident in the exuberant colour scheme. There is a neutral field of white plaster and raw concrete, but this muted backdrop allows for the bold colours to pop: from the glowing reds, ambers, and greens of the glass pendant clusters to the vermillion of the kitchen island; and from the rainbow palette of the curtain and cushion fabrics to the bronze green of the aluminium door and window frames.

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Many of the decorative pieces bring in an even wider international scope. The client sourced and hand-carried a number of pieces personally, including rugs from Turkey and lamps from Vietnam. There are also antique 19th Century Syrian panels, an assortment of Kartell lamps and stools, and wallcoverings from Waltex. Displayed throughout are works by artists represented by Richard Koh Fine Art, as well as vintage posters and framed photography.

All of these treasures sit within a home which draws you in with its characterful spaces, its playful design thinking, and the way in which it has attuned itself to its surroundings and to nature. Lim delights in the fact that “you can really feel the rhythm of the day in the movement of the sun, and can choose to step downward from sun-drenched rooms into others sitting in dappled shadow below.”

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