Home tour: A 1960s Malaysian bungalow transformed into a family sanctuary by embracing its quirks

Rather than eliminate the offending column, Chua chose integration over obliteration. Working with Gobuild, the construction team, she convinced the family to keep it and transform it into something purposeful—evening out the sizes of the existing columns and integrating an arched feature that creates a gentle transition from the living area to the kitchen. “We managed to convince them to keep it,” she says. “Rather than concealing it, we embraced the structure.”

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The house had already grown considerably during the renovation process, with the former backyard—where the previous owner parked his car and carried groceries directly into the kitchen—transformed into a new kitchen and dining area. Above this addition, an extra bedroom and bathroom expanded the 4,215-sq-ft house across its 5,974-sq-ft lot, giving the family room to spread out properly.

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Chua’s material choices balanced practicality with atmosphere throughout the renovation. The timber veneer Senply covers most surfaces, selected for its cost-effectiveness and ability to take stain beautifully, while natural tones dominate the palette, aligning with the family’s preference for sandy, warm colours. Only the master bedroom deviates from this approach, featuring a darker walnut stain to create what Chua describes as “a bolder, more intimate atmosphere.”

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More distinctive than the wood, however, is the surface treatment that covers every wall and ceiling: Murobond textured paint, infused with sand and applied by hand with brushes rather than rollers. “The result is a subtle, tactile finish that responds beautifully to light,” Chua explains. “You can really see the texture come alive, almost like the surface of a cave wall.”

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The master bedroom presented its own spatial puzzle, originally configured as a long rectangular room with the problematic central column and a bathroom too cramped for the bathtub the owners wanted.

Chua’s solution required careful reconfiguration: removing the existing toilet wall and merging the bathroom with the walk-in wardrobe, then using that troublesome central column to anchor a low dividing wall that separates the sleeping area from a newly created home office.

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“By combining the two previously separate spaces, it now feels like a luxurious suite,” she notes. “Whether you see it as a large bathroom or a large wardrobe depends on how you look at it.”

Perhaps the renovation’s most unexpected success story unfolds in the attic space under the slanted roof, which the family had initially planned to seal off entirely as too awkward to use. Chua saw potential for the children instead, transforming the space into a hideout complete with bifold louvre doors that double as toy storage. “We saw potential and proposed turning it into a playful hideout,” she says. “Now it’s a special nook for the boys.”

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The finished house accommodates six rooms across two floors—a ground-floor guest room now used as a gym, a dedicated theatre room, and four bedrooms upstairs—while a small landscaped garden separates the car porch from the main entrance, fulfilling the owner’s vision of cutting fresh flowers for the house.

Custom elements throughout reflect the family’s lifestyle without unnecessary flourish, from the television cabinet that functions as a feature wall with open niches for books and toys (its carved legs each shaped slightly differently) to the dining setup that combines a custom base from Dads Wood with a black sintered stone top by Nex. King Living theatre sofas provide reclining comfort for movie nights.

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The project represents a collaboration between Figs Format and Xaan Space Studio, reflecting the evolution of the design team during the renovation process. However, for Chua, the approach was deliberately uncomplicated. “There wasn’t an overarching concept in the traditional sense,” she explains. “With most of our residential projects, we don’t typically start with a fixed theme or narrative. We believe that a home should be a direct reflection of the people living in it.”

The brief was straightforward—warm, cosy, home—and the design process followed function over form, with natural light entering through security-meshed windows that can remain open safely, Persian rugs anchoring the living and theatre rooms, and that distinctive textured paint creating depth without overwhelming the senses.

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“They’ve shared that the home feels cosy, warm, and very much ‘them’—which is all we could ask for,” Chua says of the family’s response to the completed renovation.

The house now operates exactly as intended: a place where two boys can play freely, where movie nights happen in proper comfort, and where the awkward column that once seemed like such a liability has become an integral part of the home’s character. Sometimes the best design solution is simply recognising what doesn’t need fixing.

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