Close comfort

There is a kampung spirit among the residents of this Pasir Ris development. -BT
Tay Suan Chiang

Thu, Jun 21, 2012
The Business Times

Conservative homeowners may shy away from living at this private development at Pasir Ris, but not the Ang family.

The condominium comprises 28 townhouses with a 120m lap pool running down the middle of the land.

With the mere 4.5m-wide pool separating the units and the bedrooms having glass windows all around, the family can easily look into their neighbours' homes and vice versa.

Kampung spirit in this Pasir Ris condominium Click on thumbnail to view

"Sometimes we can hear their conversations and they can hear ours too, but we have gotten used to this closeness," says Jimmy Ang, a pilot.

The neighbours are known to share food with each other too.

"There is that kampung spirit here," says wife Angela, who runs her own business.

The couple live with their two daughters and Mr Ang's parents.

Despite the close proximity to the neighbours, the family still get their privacy, thanks to some clever tricks by their interior designer, Sarah Tham of Cube Associate Design.

For example, a small window on the side of the dining area on the first storey is blocked by a feature wall.

"From the side of the house the neighbours cannot look into the dining area," says Ms Tham.

In the dry kitchen area, Ms Tham created a series of four long cupboards that hang from the ceiling.

There are similar cupboards on the floor, which can be easily dismantled and removed if necessary. "These cupboards help to block the view of the mess in the wet kitchen," says Ms Tham.

The living and dining room is furnished with reproductions of classic design pieces, such as the Chair One by Konstantin Grcic, an Eames La Chaise lounge chair, and Mercury lamp by Ross Lovegrove, which Mr Ang shopped for in industrial estates.

He also wanted to have colours on the ceiling, hence cutouts were made in the false ceiling and coloured red and purple.

For the walls, Ms Tham chose a muted colour, so that it would blend with the coloured ceiling and the wood on the stairs leading to the bedrooms.

At first glance, the walls look like concrete, but they are in fact, wallpaper with that same effect.

"Homeowners who like that raw, concrete feel, but don't want to change their walls permanently, can consider such wallpaper," says Ms Tham.

Just by the living area, is a balcony which leads directly to the pool.

"The kids here all know each other and sometimes they swim up to my home," says Mr Ang.

On the second storey, there is a study and a bedroom for Mr Ang's elderly parents.

As they are getting on in age, Mr Ang worries that climbing the stairs to the second storey will be a problem in the future.

Ms Tham assures him that a lift can be installed in the house should there be a need to.

On the third storey is the master bedroom which was converted from two smaller bedrooms.

On one side of the bedroom is the couple's study.

Each has their own work area, which is separated by a sliding shelf.

The clever placement of mirrors under the couple's work table, make the table appear as if it's floating.

The other side of the bedroom is the couple's sleeping area.

This section of the room has numerous glass windows which provide for little privacy.

To solve the problem, Ms Tham created a feature wall to block a section of the windows.

A television was also mounted on this wall, so the couple can catch up on TV viewing from their bed.

There is an additional bedroom in the attic belonging to Mr Ang's daughters, Shanice and Zandra.

The room is decked out in pink, the girls' favourite colour.

A customised bunk bed that comes with hidden storage fills the room.

The room opens up to a small balcony, which has unblocked views of the neighbourhood.

"We gathered here on Valentine's Day, with the girls and their boyfriends. It was so romantic sitting under the stars," says Mrs Ang.

The home comes with bay windows in all the bedrooms that some homeowners might find a waste of space. To make full use of the bay windows, Ms Tham built cupboards over them, to provide extra storage spaces for the family.

The 4,700-square-foot home which the family moved into last year, also comes with a basement, which has been converted into an activity room for the girls and their cousins, who come by every weekend.

In this room, there is a rock-climbing wall and a dance studio, with full-height mirrors and ballet barres.

The basement also leads to the private parking area.

As Mr Ang flies often for work, the home is filled with items bought from around the world.

Mrs Ang declares, "He is a bigger shopper than I am."

For example, there are didgeridoos that Mr Ang bought from Australia, masquerade masks from Venice, art pieces from South Africa, and hammocks from Amsterdam.

The hammocks in both balconies are well-used, especially when Mr Ang's extended family come by every Saturday night for dinner.

"There will be 20 people and the crowd will spill from the living to the balcony areas," he says.

And when everyone leaves, the family find themselves still lazing on the hammock. "It is very relaxing to be out here and to look at the pool," says Mr Ang.

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This article was first published in The Business Times.