Around The World At Home

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has put a hold on many people's travel plans, including married couple Rajiv Gupta and Koh Yen Ling.

But the couple, who are both lawyers, can still enjoy that overseas feel in their apartment at Robertson Quay which features cross-cultural and decorative styles, but harmoniously put together by Sarah Tham, design director at Cube Associate Design.

This is the first home that Mr Gupta and Ms Koh are designing together since they got married a few years ago. While each had ideas for their ideal home, they joke that Ms Koh called the shots on the design brief, but Mr Gupta made the final decision as he was the financial controller.

What they jointly decided upon was buying this 3,800 sq ft apartment, despite it being poorly maintained by the previous owner. Having lived for about a decade in River Valley, Mr Gupta loved the Robertson Quay location, and the couple were wowed by the views of Tanjong Pagar and Marina Bay that the apartment offered.

The couple gave Ms Tham carte blanche to tear down walls and change the layout of the apartment, but they wanted a home that was "stylish, modern and not one that would go out of trend," says Ms Koh. As they come from different cultures, the couple also wanted their home to reflect that.

Mr Gupta cites the marble flooring as an example. "My childhood home in India has marble flooring, so this was something that I insisted on having when designing this home," he says.

Sharp-eyed visitors will notice that the marble flooring is book-matched, where two mirror-image marble slabs are placed side by side to each other. The patterned marble was placed strategically, such as along the foyer and in the living room, after consulting a fengshui master.

"The Chinese believe in fengshui, and the Indians believe in vastu shastra, which is the Vedic science of architecture and design of temples and homes," says Mr Gupta. "But we decided we would only apply fengshui principles to the home."

But to the casual observer, the bookmatched marble makes for an eye catching floor. Ms Tham explains, "there are not many walls in the home to hang art and such, so the flooring cannot be too plain."

When the couple and their toddler daughter want to feel as if they are enjoying a day in the Mediterranean, they can head out to one of the apartment's two outdoor terraces, next to the dining room.

Here, the space is decked out with blue and white Moorish floor tiles, complementing the light blue cushions on the grey outdoor loungers. When it gets too warm, they can go for a dip in the pool next to it.

The family room features an eclectic style, with an orange-red wall, inspired by the city walls of Marrakesh, paired with Moroccan lights, as well as an old wooden door from Rajasthan that is now a wall decor.

For their bedroom, the couple picked a classic, European style, with a light colour palette. "We were certain that we wanted our bedroom to look different from the rest of the home," says Mr Gupta.

Ms Tham says, "Rajiv and Yen Ling had many design ideas, but not all would complement each other. So we came up with a solution to keep the common areas of the apartment contemporary, while the bedrooms can take on different styles."

The home is also filled with pieces that the couple hand-carried back from their previous travels, such as a copper basin from Bali, a rain drum from India, lacquer trays from Vietnam, as well as a commissioned artwork from Thailand.

Since moving in, and prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, the couple entertained fairly often, which is understandable, since friends and family enjoy coming over, especially on National Day and New Year's Eve to catch the fireworks.

Knowing that there would often be guests, the couple wanted their home to be welcoming. Since there is a long foyer from the main door to the dining area, Ms Koh requested an entrance to wow visitors.

Ms Tham designed for dark wood panelling to run from one wall and across the ceiling. Part of the panelling on the wall hides an electrical box and shoe cabinets. But it also tricks visitors into thinking they are walking down a dark foyer, before they realise how bright and spacious the apartment is, once they are at the end of it.

The couple spared no expense for the powder room, which has since impressed every guest who has stepped in. To achieve an impact, Ms Tham picked a honey gold onyx bathroom counter, which glows when the lights are on.

Guests also enjoy hanging out at the island counter in the dry kitchen, as well as the organically shaped quartz bar counter.

But most of all, the couple couldn't be happier with the result. "Our home is a mix of cultures, which reflects our family," says Mr Gupta.