Cool sanctuary

WHEN Japanese expatriate Mitsuya Nakata was looking for an apartment in Singapore, he wanted it to be as similar to his previous home as possible. "My old apartment was in central Tokyo, with easy access to the office, shopping, restaurants and the sea. And I also could enjoy the views of Tokyo's tall buildings from my balcony," says Mr Nakata, who works at a hedge fund company. He moved to Singapore 16 months ago.

Mr Nakata's apartment is located in Beach Road, not too far away from his office in Raffles Place. There are bars and restaurants nearby, and the apartment overlooks not the sea, but Kallang River, with a clear view of the Sports Hub. His current apartment is a one-bedroom, 850 square-foot unit, which he says is about the same size as his old apartment. The space is not big, but Mr Nakata has managed to create plenty of seating space for when he has guests over.

When it came to furnishing the apartment, he went back to the same retailer that he patronised for his Tokyo apartment. "I'm a fan of BoConcept, because their pieces are well-designed and pocket-friendly," says Mr Nakata, who has been collecting BoConcept catalogues for the past 12 years.