Standing their ground: Selling home aspirations through storytelling

ANGELENA CHAN

Founder, Index Design

WHAT do potential homebuyers see when they step into a showflat? Do they see a stylish apartment or are they able to see themselves living in such a home?

When property developers look for interior designers who can spruce up an empty space, they often turn to Angelena Chan, founder of Index Design, to do the job because of her knack for storytelling.

"Sometimes it is hard to tell who lives in this home when you step into a showflat that just looks pretty," says Chan, who has worked with developers including UOL Group, City Developments Ltd and GuocoLand.

Her storytelling style is subtle and depends on the context of the project. For example, if the condominium is near a park connector, she imagines the future residents will enjoy cycling, and will have real bikes in the showflat to show how they can be displayed or stored. Or if it is a home for a multi-generational family, she would throw in nostalgic elements, such as a pile of old newspaper cuttings in the grandfather's bedroom to create a sense of sentimentality.

"These little touches are easy to style, and they make a space more impactful," says Chan, who has also thought up innovative ways to create more usable space and introduce smart storage solutions particularly for small apartments.

Her clients appreciate the effort, as it makes it easier for them to market the property.

Chan didn't plan to be an interior designer. She studied architecture because she loves art and furniture design. After graduation, she spent three years at a large architectural firm, but found that her role there did not have much design scope.

She wanted to join a smaller firm, but she was asked by a friend to be an adjunct lecturer teaching interior design at a local polytechnic.

"I realised I had an affinity for interior design, and at that time, there was a gap in the industry, for interior architects. Interior design then was seen as adorning or decorating a space," says Chan, who set up Index Design in 1994.

The firm was recently named Best Design Firm 2021 at the Singapore Interior Design Awards, organised by the Society of Interior Designers Singapore. The jury was won over by the company's design philosophy of embracing versatility over ego, and providing inspiration for fresh ideas and concepts for every project.

Chan's architectural training provided her the ability to look at how spaces could be made more interesting through clean lines, form and the use of lighting.

Her first few jobs were designing homes, where she had to balance between aspiration and functionality. "Showflats, on the other hand, are mostly aspirational and there's more room for experimenting with different ideas," says Chan.

A home that she designed was featured widely in the press, and that caught the attention of property developers.

That led her to doing more corporate work, and today, designing showflats and hotels makes up the majority of her work.

Chan calls it the folly of youth when she set up her own firm when she was just 28. She recalls being cheated by a contractor but found it a hassle trying to claim back what she was owed. "It wasn't a small sum of money, but I chose to move on, so that I could concentrate on the real work," she says.

Since then, she works only with a regular pool of contractors, "because we have worked together for some time and are familiar with each other", she says. Her clients are repeat customers, so there is always a ready supply of work.

Over the course of her career, Chan says she has not faced gender discrimination. "It is wonderful to state that I don't face such bias," she says. "There have been equal opportunities."

Her team of 25 are a mix of men and women. While she doesn't want to generalise, she does find that her female colleagues are better at styling, while the men are more proficient at technical work. "But that said, the technical team is headed by a woman," she says.

Many of her staff have stayed with her for at least a decade. Director Rebecca Wong, who has worked with Chan for 20 years, says that she appreciates that she is given a free hand to work. Another colleague, Lai Fong Yin, who has been with the firm for seven years, says, "Angelena trusts us and is very open to teaching us the ropes."

As a leader in the firm, Chan tells her staff, "there should be no politics, and all egos should be left at the door".

She says her biggest achievement is "having staff that treat the firm as a business where they are team players, and it's not just a place of employment".

To all the women who have led the way, happy International Women's Day. For a limited time only, purchase a Business Times subscription and receive up to $80 worth of Grab Ride vouchers. Find out more at btsub.sg/btgrab