Cover The living room of this modern tropical home has an open shelving unit and abstract painting anchoring the central zone, and the dry kitchen and bar
The living room of this modern tropical home has an open shelving unit and abstract painting anchoring the central zone, and the dry kitchen and bar
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Endo KL designed a sprawling 12,000-square-foot modern tropical home in Selangor’s Sierramas enclave, completed after nearly five years of design and construction
JT House sits within Sierramas Resort Homes, a gated enclave north of Kuala Lumpur, and covers approximately 12,000 square feet across three floors. The clients, a family of four, commissioned it to be built from the ground up, with Ong & Ong Architects for the structure and Endo KL for the interiors. The family first contacted Endo KL’s co-founder, Effendy Nadzri, through Instagram during the pandemic. Construction began in 2021 and lasted nearly five years, including a period during which the main contractor was replaced midway through due to performance issues. The design and documentation phase alone took close to a year before work on site began.
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Above The three-storey facade of JT House, designed by Ong & Ong Architects within the Sierramas Resort Homes enclave north of Kuala Lumpur
The three-storey facade of JT House, designed by Ong & Ong Architects within the Sierramas Resort Homes enclave north of Kuala Lumpur
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Above The sculptural spiral staircase, paired with the custom thirty-foot rattan pendant installation, produced in collaboration with local supplier Rattan Art, within the double-volume void of JT House
Above The custom thirty-foot rattan pendant installation by Rattan Art runs the length of the double-volume void alongside the sculptural spiral staircase, viewed from the first-floor landing
The sculptural spiral staircase, paired with the custom thirty-foot rattan pendant installation, produced in collaboration with local supplier Rattan Art, within the double-volume void of JT House
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Effendy says the architectural language drew him to the project from the start. “The clean contemporary form, generous spatial volumes, and strong connection to natural light immediately resonated with us. Our role was to design interiors that would complement and soften the modern architecture, introducing warmth, tactility, and a sense of lived-in comfort while remaining cohesive with the overall architectural vision.” The approach he settled on was a modern tropical language with Southeast Asian material sensibilities, worked out through what he describes as extensive discussions, material studies, and spatial refinements with the clients over the course of the design year.
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The ground floor staircase hall with angled timber soffit, travertine wall cladding and a fluted stone console table
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The ground floor was planned for entertaining. Spaces are open and connected, flowing out to private landscaping on all sides, with a formal dining area, a dry kitchen, and a theatre kitchen where guests can watch the chef at work. The intention was that no single room would feel self-contained, and that the floor would function as a single continuous surface for gathering.
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The open-plan ground floor, designed for entertaining, with spaces flowing continuously from the foyer through to the dining and living areas and out to the private landscaping
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The first floor holds an entertainment lounge and two guest bedrooms. The second floor is reserved entirely for the family: a master suite, children’s rooms, a family lounge, an office, a wardrobe room, and a spa-style master bathroom. Each floor operates at a different register of privacy, and Effendy says the sense of moving between them was something he wanted the house to make legible. “There is a sense of journey and discovery throughout the spaces, which was something we wanted to achieve from the beginning.”
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The living room features cognac leather armchairs, an open timber and steel shelving unit and a large abstract painting, with the landscaped garden visible beyond the glazed doors
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Above The family dining area with a solid timber table, olive-upholstered chairs and vertical timber wall panelling
Above Detail of the three-dimensional fish wall artwork by James Seet in the family dining area on the ground floor
The family dining area with a solid timber table, olive-upholstered chairs and vertical timber wall panelling
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Two interior elements anchor the house visually. A double-volume living space draws daylight and ventilation through the centre of the plan, keeping the interiors light without relying on artificial means. A sculptural spiral staircase is paired with a custom thirty-foot rattan pendant, produced with local supplier Rattan Art, that runs the full height of the void. “Both pieces were designed in close collaboration with local craftsmen and vendors,” Effendy says. “They became key focal points within the home.” Several bespoke furniture pieces were also made for the project, among them a dressing table for the client’s wife and a sculpted marble vanity for the powder room.
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The curved timber accent wall of the entertainment lounge on the first floor, with a white and gold figurine installation by James Seet
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The entertainment lounge on the first floor, fitted with a ceiling-mounted projector, acoustic wall panels and a sectional sofa
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Materials throughout are travertine, natural stone, terrazzo, solid timber, and timber veneers. Effendy cites Ilse Crawford’s Cathay Pacific lounge as a reference point for the project’s material register, a space known less for visual drama than for the quality of what you can touch and sit in. “We intentionally selected finishes that age gracefully and possess a tactile quality,” he says. The palette is kept spare, leaving light and shadow to move across stone and timber surfaces as the day progresses.
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The master suite on the second floor with vertical timber wall panelling, an upholstered headboard and solid timber flooring
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Approximately half the furniture was custom-designed by Endo KL. Additional pieces came from local studio Fiske and selected makers in China, with the formal dining pendant sourced from Ock Design Bali. Lee Sin handled styling and object curation.
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Above A detail of the timber joinery and built-in shelving in one of the second-floor rooms
Above The family hall on the second floor features full-height timber shelving with integrated cabinetry
A detail of the timber joinery and built-in shelving in one of the second-floor rooms
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Above A built-in backlit timber shelving niche in the master suite on the second floor, with the bespoke dressing table designed by Endo KL for the client’s wife at left
Above The spa-styled master bathroom on the second floor features natural stone wall and floor cladding, a freestanding bathtub and timber venetian blinds
A built-in backlit timber shelving niche in the master suite on the second floor, with the bespoke dressing table designed by Endo KL for the client’s wife at left
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What Effendy says he values most about the completed house is harder to locate in any single room. “It is difficult to pinpoint a single favourite space because the house was designed holistically, almost like a boutique hospitality experience. What we appreciate most is how each floor carries its own unique atmosphere and function, yet still feels cohesively connected as one home.”
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Jennifer Choo is Regional Managing Editor of Tatler Homes, covering architecture, interior design, and art across Asia. Based in Malaysia, she oversees regional content on luxury residential design and contemporary art collections. Legally trained but choosing to pursue her passion for design, she previously led notable design publications and worked as an interior stylist and art consultant for property developers, design firms, and private clients.
