Cover The double-height living roomin this Mont Kiara bungalow, where a burgundy sofa and a pair of abstract canvases sit against the marble floor, with the curved staircase visible beyond
The double-height living roomin this Mont Kiara bungalow, where a burgundy sofa and a pair of abstract canvases sit against the marble floor, with the curved staircase visible beyond
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DualSpace Studio spent four years building a Mont Kiara bungalow from an empty plot while watching the family it was built for grow alongside it
In Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, a young couple spent four years building a house from an empty plot, long enough that their child went from newborn to toddler between the first sketches and the final coat of sealant on the marble. The 7,000 sq ft house was designed by Eliz Wong and Yong Wei Lew, co-founders of the Kuala Lumpur-based interior design practice DualSpace Studio, who worked with the family from the very start.
Above The bungalow’s façade in Mont Kiara, its rounded concrete form wrapped in dark timber cladding
The bungalow’s façade in Mont Kiara, its rounded concrete form wrapped in dark timber cladding
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Living large
Above The double-height living room, with carefully chosen furniture and artwork, also offers a view of the garden
The double-height living room, with carefully chosen furniture and artwork, also offers a view of the garden
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Above A closer look at the tactile and curved furniture
Above A hallway vignette showing the mix of stone and warm timber finishes used throughout the house
A closer look at the tactile and curved furniture
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The house includes a basement car park, living and dining areas, dry and wet kitchens, a gym, a family area, a sauna room, a master suite and five further bedrooms, arranged around double-height ceilings and a curved staircase that sweeps through the centre of the house. Outside, a garden holds a single large bonsai, given enough room to anchor the landscaping around it.
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Above Three porthole windows along a corridor styled with a sculptural timber totem and a resin dog figurine
Above The curved staircase that sweeps through the centre of the house, framed in dark wood and black metal
Three porthole windows along a corridor styled with a sculptural timber totem and a resin dog figurine
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Above A closer view of the staircase, its black treads and timber panel
Above Slivers of daylight cut across the dark stairwell, one of the small architectural details Wong pointed to as her favourite
A closer view of the staircase, its black treads and timber panel
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The project also spanned a long stretch of the clients’ family life. “Since this house was built from scratch, we grew alongside over four years, starting when they had no kids, to completing the home right as their baby turned two,” said Wong. The clients came to DualSpace wanting something that departed from the studio’s usual style at the time, which Wong said gave the team room to experiment with material pairings they had not tried before.
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Firm decisions
Above The dining room, where houndstooth-upholstered chairs surround a glass-topped table beneath a pair of paper lantern pendants, with a large abstract canvas set against timber-panelled walls and the garden visible beyond
The dining room, where houndstooth-upholstered chairs surround a glass-topped table beneath a pair of paper lantern pendants, with a large abstract canvas set against timber-panelled walls and the garden visible beyond
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Above The family's dog beside the dining table, set beneath a cluster of paper pendant lights and a large abstract canvas
Above A study fitted with curved cabinetry in dark figured timber, an oval table with an ikat-patterned top and cylindrical base, and a navy carpet underfoot
The family's dog beside the dining table, set beneath a cluster of paper pendant lights and a large abstract canvas
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There was no single governing concept behind the design, according to Wong. The layout and finishes developed out of the family’s daily routines, matched against furniture and lighting the designers wanted to use at a scale suited to the house. That approach is most visible in the stonework, which runs through nearly every surface of the home. Wong and Lew used a range of natural marbles, travertines and sintered stones, each selected for a particular colour tone to distinguish one area from another. The stone is not confined to countertops; it appears on floors, arches and wall panels, and extends to bathtubs, door handles, wall lights and even the buttons inside the lift.
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Above The home’s lift and an adjoining dressing area, finished in the same considered material palette as the rest of the house
The home’s lift and an adjoining dressing area, finished in the same considered material palette as the rest of the house
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Sustainability, in the sense of formal green certifications or systems, was not the driving brief. “Rather than formal green features, our focus was durability and thermal comfort, using long-lasting natural stone and high-efficiency cooling to keep energy use down,” Wong said.
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Detail oriented
Above A corridor leading to the wet kitchen, its red-painted door standing out against the neutral palette
Above A pale blue-green marble sink set into the kitchen island
A corridor leading to the wet kitchen, its red-painted door standing out against the neutral palette
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Asked what she is most drawn to now that the house is finished, Wong pointed to the Jung LS990 sockets and switches fitted through the common areas. The team custom-matched different colours for each corner of the house, a detail meant to introduce small, specific accents of colour against the stone.
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Above The kitchen, where a tiled cylindrical hood and vertical splashback tiles sit above cream cabinetry, with a red socket adding a note of colour
The kitchen, where a tiled cylindrical hood and vertical splashback tiles sit above cream cabinetry, with a red socket adding a note of colour
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Above A closer view of a stone-lined niche, where a red tap and a squiggle-shaped red handle stand out against the black timber grain (Photo: TWJPTO)
Above A powder room in which checkerboard tiles in blue, black and white wrap the floating vanity and floor, set against patterned wallpaper and a wavy red towel rail
A closer view of a stone-lined niche, where a red tap and a squiggle-shaped red handle stand out against the black timber grain (Photo: TWJPTO)
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However, the building process was not without its difficulties. Wong described the greatest challenge as managing the volume of custom detailing on site, which required constant, hands-on coordination with contractors to ensure the design was executed as intended. That coordination shows in details such as the curved ceiling framing the double-height living room and a custom acrylic wall light built to run from inside the house to the exterior wall, so that when lit at night it glows across the façade as well as the interior.
A house that grew up
Above The master bedroom’s upholstered headboard and sofa-style bench seating, framed by the curved ceiling
The master bedroom’s upholstered headboard and sofa-style bench seating, framed by the curved ceiling
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Furnishing followed a similarly considered approach, if a shorter list. The Jung LS990 switches recur as a named source, alongside a sofa from King Living. Four years on from that first empty plot, Wong said she would not change a thing. “It’s like one of our own babies, and we love how it turned out,” she said.
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Above The desk has a modern yet old-world feel
Above The built-in wardrobe is styled with accent lighting
The desk has a modern yet old-world feel
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Above A bathroom vanity in stone and glass
Above The monolithic sink keeps the material palette spare and monochromatic
A bathroom vanity in stone and glass
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It is an apt comparison: the house and the couple’s own child grew up together, one finished just as the other turned two. And watching the family settle in so effortlessly has been, for Wong and Lew, the most rewarding part of it all.
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Photography: TWJPTO
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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.
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