Art and Art Deco
An impressive mural and an art deco theme capture a family’s precious memories and aesthetic tastes in this house
A HOUSE is a repository of memories of the people living in it. For this homeowner, this idea becomes literal. When he moved into the three-storey house, he commissioned the artists of Ripple Root to turn his family’s memories into a colourful mural painted on a long boundary wall by the swimming pool.
He had seen the work of the creative group on many buildings around Singapore, including a shophouse wall at Cuppage Terrace and in the Mandala Club (which used to house members’ club Straits Clan). Founded by Liquan Liew and Estella Ng, the studio’s works capture South-east Asian narratives in exuberant and chromatic freehand-style strokes.
The imagery on this mural depicts each family member, as well as the places the family has lived around the world, such as Berlin and London. “There is also my dad walking the previous dog in an HDB (Housing and Development Board) void deck, and my two boys playing video games. And oh, here’s the current dog,” the homeowner chuckles at the other hound in the mural.
This picturesque scenery captures one’s attention through glass sliding doors in the living and dining areas. “We used to live in a cluster housing development. My parents – and my wife’s – lived with us and as they were getting older, we decided to move because we were looking for a house with a lift,” he says.
He engaged interior design firm Haus Atelier to imbue the simple interiors with a personality befitting his family. While the mural is entirely modern, the homeowner and his wife actually enjoy the Art Deco aesthetic – an artistic style popular between the two World Wars distinguished by geometric elements and opulent designs.
Priscilla Khiu, who runs Haus Atelier with her husband and business partner, Lorcan Duffy, says of her clients: “They love Art Deco as a style, but understood that it would be too loud and heavy to have it as the house’s main theme. Our solution was to have the basement in full Art Deco glory, and temper the theme to suit a modern contemporary home (for the other spaces).”
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On the first storey, the stylistic elements are found in the coffered ceiling and the bathroom’s Art Deco-style wallpaper. “The rich geometric patterns on the wallpaper vis-à-vis the strong Nero Marquina marble surfaces makes for a bold visual appeal that reflects the ethos of the Art Deco movement,” Khiu says.
Such theatrics are writ large in the basement, now a far cry from what the homeowner said was “an all-white space, with a washing machine”.
Khiu created three distinct areas in the space: a bar, an enclosed music room-cum-library, and a gym lit by a skylight. The coffered ceiling from the first storey is repeated here. Wall lamps sourced from Europe adorn the walls, while geometric, marble-like porcelain tiles with brass inlay take the opulence up a notch.
The curved bar counter provides the wow effect, and is named “Emerald Bar” for its rich, green marble countertop. Behind it, the music room was envisioned as a gentleman’s cigar lounge. “Leather chairs and geometric wall details in the carpentry, as well as ambient lighting, give it a sense of warmth and refinement – ideal for relaxation and conversation,” Khiu says. So dedicated was the family to the style that even the gym has Art Deco touches in the floor trims and wall embellishments.
Aesthetics aside, the house was designed for easy maintenance. For example, marble-like porcelain tiles were chosen over real marble for their capacity to handle moisture; this was paramount as the basement was formerly waterlogged.
Upstairs, plentiful storage makes the home feel uncluttered even with so many family members under its roof. The Art Deco theme is carried through to the attic occupied by the grandparents. Khiu decorated the bar-cum-pantry with antique mirror panels that “catch and reflect light, enhancing the room’s ambience while providing a subtle nod to the glamour of past eras”.
She highlights that the home’s vivaciousness suits the homeowners – “fun-loving people who love bright pops of colour, art, music and all expressions of creativity”. The home now has a dedicated space for the family’s musical inclinations. Aside from the basement music room, a corner in the living room is given to a grand piano, adjacent to a green wall that brings a flourish of green into the mainly white space.
“Coming from a line of musicians – most notably, a grand patriarch who was a classical opera singer – almost every family member is musically trained. Their love for the arts isn’t just a preference; it’s an essential part of their identity,” says Khiu.
This is true of the artwork too. The mural by Ripple Root is the largest in the home, but there are also several other pieces by other artists. Says Khiu: “Their love for the arts is beautifully embodied in their commissioned sculptures by Singaporean sculptor Chua Boon Kee, including a piece featuring the Chinese character yue, meaning joy, which also forms part of the word for music (yin yue) – a reminder that music and art represent joy itself.”
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