A house for parties and private retreats

PILOT David Tan and his wife are a sociable couple who enjoy lively gatherings with family and friends, but they also recognise the value of calm, quiet spaces and privacy. When the time came to rebuild their 30-year-old corner terrace house, their brief to architect Fiona Tan was to create a contemporary home that was conducive to both. 

The result is what they call The House of Many Faces, a nod to its unconventional exterior features that feature “various opening sizes customised to suit the different spatial needs in the house”, says Fiona, principal architect and founder of Design Studio Atelier IF.

While the district 21 house was part of a 28-unit, developer-designed estate, “current URA guidelines allow for enhancements such as adding an additional floor to the home”, she says, referring to the leeway to alter the layout entirely.

Social space

The plan was to maximise the corner plot to create a comfortable semi-outdoor setting for the family to enjoy views of the surrounding garden and street outside. “By opening the space to the outdoors, an illusion of expanse was created in the open living room, providing an area for the family to entertain or unwind in the evenings, surrounded by the outdoors,” says Fiona. 

Says David: “This semi-outdoor setting creates the sensation of a big garden within our relatively small terrace plot. The perforations in the boundary wall let us enjoy the greenery of our own garden and that of the street outside. The sound of birds singing adds to the ambience of a tropical home.”

In the original house, the kitchen and dining room received the brunt of the heat from the westerly sun. To mitigate this, there are no windows directly facing west. Instead, large sliding doors are strategically positioned on the first floor to improve cross-ventilation and access to the outdoors.  

Interestingly, the main door is designed such that when open, it is flush with the floor-to-ceiling wooden wall panels, which in turn hide storage spaces within. “In the day, the main door is kept open to allow a light breeze through to the dining room,” says Fiona.

Additionally, she decided to position the guest bathroom in the front of the house, making it more convenient for visitors.  

An open-concept kitchen space overlooks the dining room and is connected to the adjacent wet kitchen via a pocket aluminium door. The sunken courtyard just outside the dining room is separated by bi-fold aluminium doors. There is a small ledge for the family’s pet dog to sit and observe the activities in the dining room. The well-behaved boxer is trained to discern the texture of the floor – she is not allowed to enter where the finish is smoother.

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Rest and relax

The upper floors are by contrast more private, featuring proportionately smaller split-level areas and more intimate spaces of rest. 

The family can use the lift or the stairs to get to the other two floors.  On the second storey is a family room that extends to the balcony to create a further illusion of depth. Lending a charming touch to this area is the detailing on a corner brick feature juxtaposed with glass panels. Fiona wanted to reinvent the traditional technique of brick work while keeping the look contemporary.

“The master bedroom in the rear can be accessed via the covered balcony or through a door leading from the walk-in wardrobe into the bedroom. It allows more flexibility in cordoning off the walk-in wardrobe and bathroom from the bedroom; this minimises disturbance on days when the couple’s work or sleep schedules may be different,” she says.

More private spaces 

On the third storey are two en suite bedrooms – positioned at the front and rear – for more privacy. They are separated by a ramp and steel-perforated decking that functions as a communal reading deck. “The design of the floating stairs leading to the perforated reading deck evokes lightness, and also lets daylight filter in from the roof skylight into the double-volume space on the second storey,” says Fiona. 

The bedroom at the rear was designed to be the most private sanctuary. Fiona says: “It is deliberately sunken 450 mm down from the common corridor to afford a sense of enhanced privacy for the owner’s adult daughter.” With the small openings, the family gets to look outside, but passers-by can’t look in. From the outside, the room looks like a striking red box surrounded by a perimeter planter.

The few square holes on the wall facing north-west allow for a play of sunlight and shadows from the plants to filter into the room. David adds: “We kept these openings curtain-free for light to gradually enter in the morning. It creates interesting shadows throughout the day.” 

On the attic floor is a small home office for his daughter. It is accessed via a flight of stairs at the end of the corridor. This provides even more seclusion as it is kept away from all the other circulation routes within the home.

Lending character

Atelier IF introduced a playful element – portholes for the bathroom windows, reminiscent of those in aircraft cabins or ships. They are also a nod to David’s profession as a pilot and the family’s love for travel.

Of the furnishings, David says: “The interior design is kept simple and consists of mainly loose furniture that we chose, to complement the finishes within the home.” 

Fiona adds: “The process is very much a collaborative one. We kept to a clean material palette of oak and grey tones for the bathrooms, and a seamless matt white terrazzo floor finish for the interior of the first- and second-storey social spaces.” 

To inject some greenery into the home, Fiona introduced planters and outdoor spaces throughout the house, especially around the bedrooms. She says: “A perimeter planter is integrated into the design of the second storey outdoor deck, allowing a thin veil of vines to hang down into the outdoor living room space.” 

The home was completed in December 2022, just in time for Christmas. It was when the House of Many Faces lived up to its name as both a place for social gatherings and quiet contemplation.