Tropical Zen

WINNIE CHAN AND James Quan both grew up and lived in the Thomson area for many years, and never thought they would one day move out of their familiar neighbourhood.

But an irresistible price for their Upper Thomson home made the decision for them, as they felt the time was right to get a place closer to town, as Ms Chan always wanted.

The founders of Bynd Artisan moved into their 1,900 sq ft home near Orchard Road a few months ago, and they love its convenient location. The Singapore Botanic Gardens, where Ms Chan enjoys her walks, and Tanglin Mall are nearby. It is a short walk from their store at ION Orchard, and an MRT station will open nearby in a few years' time.

While Ms Chan had always left the designing to Mr Quan, she played a more decisive role this time. With plenty of inspiration from Pinterest and the choice of a modern and contemporary look, the couple with two kids designed the two-storey apartment themselves.

They went with a light grey palette for the walls and floor tiles for its soothing feel, and "we wanted the space to be like an art gallery, so that we could showcase locally designed works," says Ms Chan. While grey can make a space feel small, the strategic placement of full-length mirrors makes the apartment feel more spacious.

The kids' bedrooms are on the lower floor at the back of the apartment, which looks out onto greenery.

Greenery dominates the rest of the home, from the tall standing plants in the balcony to the various floral arrangements on the side console and dining table, giving the apartment a tropical feel. A floral artwork on the wall by Australian abstract artist Amber Gittins adds a colourful touch to the dining area.

The couple's bedroom is on the upper floor, where they have chosen a light coloured palette to give the room a relaxed feel. As there wasn't enough storage space in the original layout, they added a row of cupboards and turned the area into a walk-in wardrobe.

With the experience of designing their first home, the couple could make some improvements in the new place. Lights by the bed are now placed slightly lower, for better illumination. The headboard comes with moveable panels to hide power points and phone charging cables.

In their son Josh's room, the display cabinet is now bigger to showcase his growing collection of model cars, and there are now proper storage cases to display his sneaker collection.

As owners of a local company, the couple firmly believe in supporting local talent, particularly through their extensive collection of artwork in the home.

A painting in the master bedroom, Between Oceans, of a remote landscape, is by Wyn-Lyn Tan, who is trained in traditional Chinese ink painting and Western painting. A wall in daughter Vera's room is covered with artist Dawn Ng's Perfect Stranger - a collection of 61 texts printed on sheets of paper, displayed like a series of pearlescent plaques.

An outstanding piece displayed by the staircase is a photograph of the iconic dragon playground in front of a block of HDB flats, which is part of acclaimed photographer John Clang's Land of My Heart series. It's of special significance to Mr Quan, as he used to live in that block of flats.

There's another significant framed photo along the staircase, but this time appealing to the couple's taste buds. It's part of photographer Lavender Chang's series titled A Dissection of ..., where she shoots the various components of a local hawker dish. This one is #24, featuring mee pok, sliced pork, liver and dried sole fish - all the ingredients in a bowl of bak chor mee. "Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle at Crawford Lane is our favourite place for noodles, hence we had to get this piece," says Ms Chan.

Finally, there is Ministry of Design's The Measure of Reflection Mirror - a 'designer' mirror that was once featured on the cover of Wallpaper magazine.

Apart from the convenient location, Mr Quan likes how the different areas of the house are now better demarcated than their previous home. "We have our bedroom upstairs, and the dining and living areas are clearly separated. It feels like a bigger home even though the floor area is similar," he says.

In turn, Ms Chan likes having her bedroom on the upper floor. Cooking fumes no longer waft into her bedroom like before, and the family enjoys more home-cooked meals. "I definitely feel more settled now and this feels more like a home," she says.

In fact, "I told James that when we retire we should move somewhere closer to town, so this could be the last time we move."