Cover The living room features extensive latticework, which adds depth to the walls and reinforces the home’s ‘garden house’ theme
The living room features extensive latticework, which adds depth to the walls and reinforces the home’s ‘garden house’ theme
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A charming home that uses a dynamic interplay of colour and exuberant prints to bring the beauty of the outdoors inside
With its lively hues and meticulously applied decorative details, this three-storey landed house in Singapore’s Mountbatten district looks like a larger-than-life confectioner’s dream. Its exquisite spaces celebrate a candy-coated colour palette and eye-catching embellishments, appearing almost good enough to eat and radiating a life-affirming energy that would draw a smile from the most reticent visitor.
Its occupants comprise a Singaporean couple and their four grown-up children, as well as two grandparents and two domestic helpers. They had approached Chlöe Elkerton, founder of bespoke interior design firm E&A Interiors, to help them create an elegant and inviting home bursting with energy and colour, and brimming with a sense of joy and warmth.
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Above A perspective of the delightful living area
Above Another corner of this candy-coloured home
A perspective of the delightful living area
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“They also loved nature and gardens, and travelling to Europe and Japan,” says Elkerton, adding that the clients sought a “unique home that was different from what you would normally see in Singapore”.
“Ultimately, we wanted to create a ‘garden house’, where every room felt like a botanical oasis.”
Another requirement was for a tea room, akin to those in private clubs at the turn of the century; these typically resembled a garden pavilion with a fountain in the middle, wicker chairs, and latticework on the walls and ceiling, interwoven with lights and ivy.
Above The living area features an assortment of furnishings and decorative items such as handcrafted furniture from Asia
Above The home’s continental wallpaper and upholstery, antique plates from Spain and Vaughan brass lamps
The living area features an assortment of furnishings and decorative items such as handcrafted furniture from Asia
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Incidentally, refreshing the interiors of this 5,000 sq ft abode proved, quite literally, to be a happy homecoming of sorts for Elkerton, who had also worked on the same house in an earlier project for different homeowners.
A new marble-topped island and blue-painted cabinetry breathe vitality into the kitchen
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“The fact that we had renovated the house previously really helped as our contractor and team knew it inside out, which was beneficial with the planning stages as well as being familiar with all its quirks,” she smiles.
Where Elkerton had to reduce the home’s number of rooms and create an open-plan layout for the former occupants—a young couple—the current homeowners desired fresh changes to accommodate their own larger family and personal needs.
The tented ceiling brings a playful air to the TV room
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“It was an interesting brief as the clients had come to us as the designers of the previous house because they loved the design,” she says. “But they also wanted us to create something unique for them. We had to re-plan the spaces and put back rooms. The house also required much more cabinetry throughout.”
The designers worked to incorporate an additional bedroom and ensuite bathroom, complete with space for a bathtub, for one son on the third-floor mezzanine level.
Above The husband’s study features a vintage-inspired floral print on the wallpaper and curtains
Above The botanical motif here is balanced by masculine rust tones
The husband’s study features a vintage-inspired floral print on the wallpaper and curtains
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The two guest bedrooms, which were used by the previous occupants as a study and a nursery, were also redesigned to be suitable for the teenage daughters, necessitating proper study areas and an abundance of storage. The master suite also underwent a significant redesign.
The large bathroom was reduced in size, and an additional walk-in wardrobe and study space were created. The powder room was also overhauled. Overall, the budget was centred on carpentry work, and the home’s interior detailing and furnishings.
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Above The tea room is an enchanting space awash in coral and sage hues
Above The classic French doors leading to the tea room
The tea room is an enchanting space awash in coral and sage hues
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A selection of beautiful wallpapers and fabrics featuring flora and fauna ensures that each room tells its own botanical story. Although botanical prints are applied liberally in accordance with the garden house concept, the colours are kept light and fresh to avoid stodginess.
Natural materials such as wicker and rattan communicate a breezy, tropical feel
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A colour palette of browns, deep pinks, corals, burnt orange, sage and neutrals is judiciously enlivened with bright greens, sprightly blues and sunny yellows; all co-exist wonderfully to create a harmonious yet dynamic environment.
All the furniture was handcrafted in Asia. The solid teak bobbin coffee table and the half-moon console tables that flank the tea-room doors were made in Sri Lanka, and the wooden bone-inlay chests in the living room and master bedroom were crafted in India.
Above A rattan swing chair brings a leisurely touch to the elder daughter’s bedroom
Above Rapture & Wright’s Cloud Garden wallpaper infuses this uplifting pink bedroom with subtle glamour
A rattan swing chair brings a leisurely touch to the elder daughter’s bedroom
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The 3.5m-long teak dining table was customised in Indonesia, and the wicker and rattan pieces were crafted in Singapore and Malaysia. All the rugs were designed by E&A Interiors and custom-made.
Elkerton and the team used accessories to add layers of texture. Colourful artworks with botanical motifs are installed throughout the home to create visual interest; these are complemented by 1950s photographic prints by American photographer Slim Aarons as a remarkable backdrop.
The dining room is clad in a Pierre Frey wallpaper that mimics the unique look of espaliered trees, which are grown flat against a wall
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A combination of diamond and grid-shaped lattice work for the walls affords a more modern, sleek look. A pair of console tables with marble tops flank the cheery coral-hued tea room’s French doors, which are painted sage green.
In the dining area, an elongated teak table is paired with rattan chairs painted in black and bench seating at the ends. This eclectic mix encourages a casual and inviting atmosphere which is perfect for gatherings. A wicker sofa and rattan shelves give this space a tropical feel, as does the Espalier wallpaper from Pierre Frey.
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Above The master bedroom is a serene sanctuary with walls clad in a fetching chinoiserie-themed wallcovering from Fromental
The master bedroom is a serene sanctuary with walls clad in a fetching chinoiserie-themed wallcovering from Fromental
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“I love espaliered trees, and this felt like the perfect room to use this wallpaper, which resembles an arbour in different shades of green,” says Elkerton. The existing kitchen was given a makeover, with the cabinetry painted in a fresh blue hue; the handles and the lighting were also changed. A new, larger kitchen island with a marble top was designed.
The master suite is a tranquil getaway for the homeowners, featuring a chinoiserie wallcovering with bamboo leaves and birds in a calming terracotta shade from Fromental, complemented by the brighter coral and sage-green tones of the walk-in wardrobe, which features an island and seating.
Overhead, a Pagoda pendant lamp from Coleen & Company reinforces the chinoiserie theme. Lending a chic yet laidback tropical vibe is a bespoke rattan four-poster bed with bed-curtain fabric from Galbraith & Paul.
Above The walk-in wardrobe continues the coral colour scheme of the master suite for a unified look
Above This bespoke four-poster bed holds court in the master suite with its tropical-chic character
The walk-in wardrobe continues the coral colour scheme of the master suite for a unified look
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Ultimately, Elkerton and the team took much pride in pulling off what she calls a “complex project, with a lot of detailing throughout the house”.
“We always like to push ourselves as designers, and the results were worth it,” she says, citing the tea room as her favourite space in the home with its combination of mirrors and the trellis, and pretty colour palette of coral and green shades.
On her part, the wife adds that she loves the contrasting colours, stunning wallpapers and fabrics used, as well as the unique trellis on the walls. “This house gives us comfort, beauty, and a real sense of home,” she says with a smile.
Above The bamboo vanity in the master bathroom was resprayed in a dainty seafoam shade
The bamboo vanity in the master bathroom was resprayed in a dainty seafoam shade
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Credits
Photography: Mo Arpi Studio
