Singapore Houzz Tour: Serial Collectors Showcase Pop Culture
This couple craved an edgy design style that's anything but 'safe' and adorn their walls with retro finds
Verlaine Marquez
4 November 2018
Houzz Singapore Contributor. Former editor for a home and design magazine for five years, and now a full-time freelance writer for various online and print publications for the past decade and counting. Part-time crafter, wannabe gardener, and breast cancer thriver.
Houzz Singapore Contributor. Former editor for a home and design magazine for five... More
We all like to collect and display objects that are, or have been, meaningful to us at some point in our lives. This couple, however, take their passion for collecting rarities up a notch. It translates into their entire home being designed around their prized collections, even though that meant sacrificing two bedrooms. The owners commissioned Singapore-based interior designers Liew Guofeng and Wong Zihao of Studio Super Safari to tackle this meticulous revamp.
“The owners work in Singapore’s design industry, and as such have very strong, articulated design interests,” say Guofeng and Zihao. “On top of that, they have a wide (and still growing) collection of vintage and pop-art style furniture and display items relating to their years growing up in Singapore in the 1980s.” In fact, the owners had an entire rental storage container full of pieces that the designers carefully curated to go hand-in-hand with the interior of their apartment and the reconfiguration of its spaces.
“The owners work in Singapore’s design industry, and as such have very strong, articulated design interests,” say Guofeng and Zihao. “On top of that, they have a wide (and still growing) collection of vintage and pop-art style furniture and display items relating to their years growing up in Singapore in the 1980s.” In fact, the owners had an entire rental storage container full of pieces that the designers carefully curated to go hand-in-hand with the interior of their apartment and the reconfiguration of its spaces.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A young couple who collect vintage and pop-culture furniture and display pieces
Location: Tiong Bahru, Singapore
Size: Approximately 93 square metres
Designers: Studio Super Safari
Not only was showcasing their collections important to the owners, they also wanted a bold and edgy design language for their four-room apartment that they purchased off the plan. “There were numerous times when our earlier proposals felt too ‘safe’ to them, and they were very active in pursuing a very bold outcome,” say Guofeng and Zihao. “We worked very closely with them to select which of their collectibles to showcase, most often because we were not familiar with the history behind the items and needed their input on what and how would be most suitable.”
Who lives here: A young couple who collect vintage and pop-culture furniture and display pieces
Location: Tiong Bahru, Singapore
Size: Approximately 93 square metres
Designers: Studio Super Safari
Not only was showcasing their collections important to the owners, they also wanted a bold and edgy design language for their four-room apartment that they purchased off the plan. “There were numerous times when our earlier proposals felt too ‘safe’ to them, and they were very active in pursuing a very bold outcome,” say Guofeng and Zihao. “We worked very closely with them to select which of their collectibles to showcase, most often because we were not familiar with the history behind the items and needed their input on what and how would be most suitable.”
Instead of pinning the project down to a specific theme, the designers went for a concept that “explored ‘contrast’ and ‘edges’,” particularly when conceptualising the various cabinetry and display areas. In the main entry hall, a dedicated floor-to-ceiling L-shaped shoe shelf was built to display the owner’s 50-plus pairs of sneakers, some of which are limited editions. The timber-and-laminate shelf made of geometric and angular forms is a sneaker enthusiast’s dream.
Opposite this display is a pair of vintage foldable cinema seats, for the owners to easily don and remove said sneakers. A few steps away is a cabinet made from glass and teakwood that houses an assembly of home phones and Singapore Telecom rotary pay phones.
“The kitchen and dining area are seamlessly connected, and evoke a naturally ventilated cafe experience,” say the designers. Cement screed is used for the benchtops and flooring for a utilitarian look.
A vintage dining table topped with Formica pattern from the 1980s, its associated chairs, and two PH 5 Louis Poulsen lamps take centre stage in the dining area. The space is flanked by a feature wall made of Indonesian teakwood pieces arranged in a chevron pattern. On the wall is a bespoke black-steel framed open shelf that the design team nicknamed ‘constellations’ by virtue of its stellar-like shape. An assortment of old food tins, radios and incense bottles from the Japanese cult brand Neighborhood are on display here.
Covering the windows is a pair of bamboo blinds from Malaysian home and lifestyle shop The Great Indoors. When closed, these ‘chick’ blinds feature a Dutch Baby advertisement, harking back to the old days of painted cinema posters.
A vintage dining table topped with Formica pattern from the 1980s, its associated chairs, and two PH 5 Louis Poulsen lamps take centre stage in the dining area. The space is flanked by a feature wall made of Indonesian teakwood pieces arranged in a chevron pattern. On the wall is a bespoke black-steel framed open shelf that the design team nicknamed ‘constellations’ by virtue of its stellar-like shape. An assortment of old food tins, radios and incense bottles from the Japanese cult brand Neighborhood are on display here.
Covering the windows is a pair of bamboo blinds from Malaysian home and lifestyle shop The Great Indoors. When closed, these ‘chick’ blinds feature a Dutch Baby advertisement, harking back to the old days of painted cinema posters.
Adding to the raw and edgy look are black metal rims and edges that line the kitchen benchtops, and cabinets that feature a grained-timber appearance. Above the island is a matching black hanging rack with groove-concealed strip lighting that delineates and adds mood to the open-plan kitchen.
A two-metre glass sliding door with wire mesh, which tucks behind the shoe shelf, separates the living space from the combined dining and kitchen area. “This is to prevent cooking fumes from entering the air-conditioned sitting area,” say Guofeng and Zihao.
Getting rid of two bedrooms made way for an open-concept living and study area, accentuated by warm timber flooring. The chevron-patterned wall from the dining area continues into this space, doubling as a TV feature wall.
A mix of vintage furniture pieces peppers the open space. Some objects were found and restored at a local carpenter’s yard and one of these finds is the study table with 1980s Formica pattern, which matches the dining table. An Einar Larsen sofa and a Hans Wegner armchair, both sourced from Singapore-based Noden Collective, make up the cosy sitting area.
A mix of vintage furniture pieces peppers the open space. Some objects were found and restored at a local carpenter’s yard and one of these finds is the study table with 1980s Formica pattern, which matches the dining table. An Einar Larsen sofa and a Hans Wegner armchair, both sourced from Singapore-based Noden Collective, make up the cosy sitting area.
The timber finish of the shoe shelf folds into a continuous wall that conceals the doors to the storage room and the guest bathroom. It also sets the stage for a Donald Duck figurine that was once a carousel seat in a now-defunct amusement park ride.
Behind the study area is the bespoke cabinet walls for the owners’ prized collection of whisky and Absolut Vodka. The bottles glow softly against the backlit, tinted glass-and-timber panels.
Behind the study area is the bespoke cabinet walls for the owners’ prized collection of whisky and Absolut Vodka. The bottles glow softly against the backlit, tinted glass-and-timber panels.
Tucked between the walls of bottles is another sliding door, decked out in simple arrow-like stripes, which leads to the master suite.
“The owners wanted their room of rest to be different from the other spaces, hence the use of a more subdued palette of pastels and whites,” say Guofeng and Zihao. “Nevertheless, the striking geometry that relates to the other spaces is used in the bedroom.”
Replicating the stripe detail of the bedroom door, different laminate colours create a chevron effect on the wardrobe doors and the low shelving unit that separate the sleeping and dressing areas. A tint of green – the owners specified a mint green – helps break up the uniformity of the wood and metal elements.
The storage unit is actually a part of the platform bed and serves as a long bedside ledge for the couple’s speakers and other items. Another conversation piece hangs above the bed – a refurbished and newly painted metal grille – which the owners salvaged from an old Singaporean Housing and Development Board unit.
Replicating the stripe detail of the bedroom door, different laminate colours create a chevron effect on the wardrobe doors and the low shelving unit that separate the sleeping and dressing areas. A tint of green – the owners specified a mint green – helps break up the uniformity of the wood and metal elements.
The storage unit is actually a part of the platform bed and serves as a long bedside ledge for the couple’s speakers and other items. Another conversation piece hangs above the bed – a refurbished and newly painted metal grille – which the owners salvaged from an old Singaporean Housing and Development Board unit.
The master bathroom is like a cool oasis. Blue-green Japanese mosaic ‘swimming pool’ tiles surround the space, with a diagonal accent of cement screed on the floor.
Tell us
Tell us what you find most striking about this apartment in the Comments section below and share which objects you can’t resist collecting. If you liked this story, share it, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Craving more insights about how people live? Catch up with last week’s Houzz Tour: It’s Easy Being Green in This Californian Bungalow
Tell us what you find most striking about this apartment in the Comments section below and share which objects you can’t resist collecting. If you liked this story, share it, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Craving more insights about how people live? Catch up with last week’s Houzz Tour: It’s Easy Being Green in This Californian Bungalow
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As I looked at each picture, I thought, 'Oh, I like that', yet as a whole, the flat didn't quite grab me. Apart from finding the shoe and vodka bottle collections too much like museum exhibits in what is supposed to be a home, I think what I felt it needed was some softness on the strong, hard floors and walls - curtains, rugs or maybe some carpeted areas. But as Kathy says, their taste only needs to appeal to them.
Agree with Jilly & Kathy - there's something missing? though the construction of spaces is very interesting and seems well thought out and generally seems of very good quality. Hopefully as their tastes expand, probably influenced by a change in their lifestyle they will be able to adapt the apartment.
Having just visited this part of the world recently it is interesting to see what might lie behind the apartment facade, though this looks higher end than your average home. Thanks for this article I look forward to more from Singapore.
Love the shelving unit used for displaying the sneakers.
My favourite item is Donald Duck.
I will definitely look around for a similar one.