Cover In the evening, the retained ‘90s architecture of the Good class Bungalow designed by Ong Teng Cheong and Ling Siew May holds its distinctive silhouette, while Peter Tay’s new interiors shine in all their golden glory like a radiant lantern
In the evening, the retained ‘90s architecture of the Good class Bungalow designed by Ong Teng Cheong and Ling Siew May holds its distinctive silhouette, while Peter Tay’s new interiors shine in all their golden glory like a radiant lantern
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Celebrated interior designer Peter Tay brings the interiors of a Good Class Bungalow on Singapore’s Third Avenue designed by a former president and first lady into the present, for a multigenerational family
This Good Class Bungalow, which stands on an unusual triangular corner plot, has a lineage few homes can claim. Between 1993 and 1995, around the time Ong Teng Cheong became Singapore’s fifth president, he and his wife, Ling Siew May, both architects, designed it as their family home. The couple later moved to a larger home in Dalvey Estate, and the house changed hands.
When it came up for auction in 2023, the homeowner, a former engineering entrepreneur, bought it having seen only the facade. Inside, however, the rooms were showing their age. When he asked the Knight Frank Singapore executive director who had handled the sale for a recommendation on who could bring the house up to date, he got one answer: Peter Tay. The objective, as he puts it, was to modernise the property for a household spanning three generations.
In case you missed it: An F&B magnate’s modern luxe Good Class Bungalow near the Singapore Botanic Gardens
Above In the Good Class Bungalow’s double-volume living room, the pitched ceiling in hand-applied gold leaf meets mirrored panels that reflect the garden and the grand piano below
In the Good Class Bungalow’s double-volume living room, the pitched ceiling in hand-applied gold leaf meets mirrored panels that reflect the garden and the grand piano below
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A storied shell
Tay very nearly said no. On his first walk-through, he found that the interior of the house was full of walls, with half-height windows, segregated rooms, and no true living space. “You walk in and it looks like a foyer,” he recalls. “I told myself, this is a project I cannot do.” But he didn’t tell the owner outright. Instead, he explored the house and its surroundings, weighing whether he could do a good rework of the existing house. The neighbouring houses were modern; this one had a unique presence.
Above The Good Class Bungalow’s gold-leaf ceiling follows the pitch of the original roof across the double-volume living room
The Good Class Bungalow’s gold-leaf ceiling follows the pitch of the original roof across the double-volume living room
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Another contemporary addition and alteration, Tay decided, would erase what made it special. “Let’s keep the architecture,” he told his client. “That’s a legacy. We need to respect the love the architects put into this house.” The roof form, the columns and the balustrades stayed. But Tay did away with many elements to make the house more breathable.
Above Full-height glazing replaces the original half-height windows, bringing the garden to the sofa’s edge
Full-height glazing replaces the original half-height windows, bringing the garden to the sofa’s edge
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He replaced every window with floor-to-ceiling glazing in white aluminium frames—a first for him—to maximise the natural light while blending them with the existing whitewashed exterior of the house. “I said, let’s do this like a white house in Singapore,” he elaborates. “Not to show off, but to respect the architecture.”
Still, before accepting the commission, he offered a design concept first, to make sure the homeowner saw his vision. One look at the rendering of the reimagined living room, crowned by a generous pitched expanse of ceiling finished in hand-applied gold leaf, and the homeowner was won over.
Above A polished steel console stands against a wall of book-matched grey marble
A polished steel console stands against a wall of book-matched grey marble
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Made for gathering
Tay then turned to the people who would live in it: the homeowner and his wife, their son, their daughter and son-in-law, and two grandchildren aged six and four. He interviewed each of them, asking about the books they read and the clothes they wear, then wove their differing tastes into one scheme. Above all, the homeowner wanted a house that would keep his family together. “After dinner, I don’t want the grandchildren to go into their rooms to sleep,” he says. “The family must have places to stay together.”
Above Full-height glazing in white aluminium frames replaced the Good Class Bungalow’s original half-height windows
Full-height glazing in white aluminium frames replaced the Good Class Bungalow’s original half-height windows
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Tay answered with pockets of space in which to linger. Walls came down wherever the structure allowed, and where columns had to stay, he slipped a display cabinet between them as a visually permeable screen, zoning a second family space without closing it off. Full-height glass now draws in the greenery across the road, so that by day, the blinds are rarely lowered.
Above Set between two retained structural columns, this display cabinet screens off a second family space without closing it in, its lit niches holding the homeowner’s ceramics
Above Lit niches in the display cabinet hold the family’s collection of ceramics and sculpture
Set between two retained structural columns, this display cabinet screens off a second family space without closing it in, its lit niches holding the homeowner’s ceramics
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Even the old house’s oddest feature was given a role. High above the double-volume living room, a Juliet balcony looked out from an attic that sat unused. Reshaped with a curved glass front, it is now a lift landing to an entertainment room, where a home cinema sits beneath the angled planes of the roof. A new lift, something the house never had, now stitches the levels together and rises straight to this level, so guests can access the entertainment attic without having to pass by the bedrooms.
Above In the family lounge, a gilded oval cove feature echoes the living room’s gold-leaf application
In the family lounge, a gilded oval cove feature echoes the living room’s gold-leaf application
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On the way down, the same lift sends guests to the garden level, where the lounge, dining room and dry kitchen open onto the terrace. It is here that the morning papers are read, the grandchildren play, and the family members gather for weekend breakfasts.
For all this togetherness, everyone still has a space of their own, from the son’s gym to the bedrooms styled for their occupants. And the piano, played by the homeowner’s wife, daughter and son, plays itself when no one is at the keys.
Above The console’s mirrored form catches the light from the marble behind it
Above Seen from the staircase landing, a window reveals the sloping site that lets the basement level open onto the garden
The console’s mirrored form catches the light from the marble behind it
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Gilded Homecoming
At the car drop-off, the canopy’s pitched roof had been hidden above a false ceiling. Tay removed it to expose the full height of the pitch. He did the same with the living area’s roof and gave the generous slanted expanse a hand-applied gold-leaf finish, so every return home and guest arrival happens beneath a gilded canopy.
“From the carport to the living room, you feel the belonging and the sense of arrival,” says the homeowner. “When you reach a certain height in life, you want a feeling of achievement,” he says. “The house should be luxurious, but not too loud.”
Above The basement level opens up to the garden thanks to the sloping nature of the site
The basement level opens up to the garden thanks to the sloping nature of the site
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Above A close-up view of commissioned paintings that distil Tay’s reading of the house into overlapping geometric forms
A close-up view of commissioned paintings that distil Tay’s reading of the house into overlapping geometric forms
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That restraint runs throughout, although the sense of luxury is palpable. Floors are large, book-matched marble slabs, and dining-room artworks commissioned from an artist in China echoes the triangular site in overlapping geometric forms. The family brought nothing from their previous home, leaving Tay to choose every piece of furniture and every accessory, refining the scheme as the construction progressed.
Above At the garden level, a backlit onyx panel anchors the lounge, where sliding glass opens onto the terrace for weekend breakfasts
At the garden level, a backlit onyx panel anchors the lounge, where sliding glass opens onto the terrace for weekend breakfasts
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Above On the terrace, the original columns and balustrades frame a spot for weekend breakfasts
Above Book-matched marble floors run the length of the dining room to the backlit screen beyond
On the terrace, the original columns and balustrades frame a spot for weekend breakfasts
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Above Peter Tay’s signature mirrored surface doubles the view of this sitting lounge
Peter Tay’s signature mirrored surface doubles the view of this sitting lounge
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After dark, the house glimmers like a lantern, an effect Tay likens to a James Turrell work: light that draws you home. For now, the homeowner is delighted with how the house holds his children and grandchildren, and he intends to stay in it for decades. Regardless, he is already looking ahead, eyeing a nearby property for his as-yet-unmarried son’s future family, with this house remaining at the heart of them all. “Maybe I’ll get Peter again for that one,” he quips.
Above Converted from a disused attic, the entertainment room can reached directly by lift via the reworked Juliet balcony
Converted from a disused attic, the entertainment room can reached directly by lift via the reworked Juliet balcony
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Above A Venetian blind made specially for the gable-shaped window of the attic
Above Angled ceiling planes follow the roofline in the attic turned home cinema
A Venetian blind made specially for the gable-shaped window of the attic
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Credits
Photography: John Heng
Topics
Jakarta-born, Bandung-raised and Singapore-based, Asih Jenie trained in Visual Communication Design at Bandung Institute of Technology and Architecture at Parahyangan Catholic University. She brings both rigour and heart to design journalism, infused with a distinct Southeast Asian voice.
As a child, she doodled on the edges of her schoolbooks and never outgrew her fascination with all things well-made and well-told. Her 15-year career spans editorial roles and bylines in Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Australia, across spatial design titles such as Dwell Asia, Cubes, Design Anthology, Habitus Living, and Home & Decor.
After a brief stint in public relations, she returned to publishing in 2023 to lead Tatler Homes Singapore, where she continues to tell stories about how we shape the spaces that shape us.
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