An 850 sq ft condo in Joo Chiat goes for a ‘Japandi’ look with a Peranakan touch

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An 850 sq ft condo in Joo Chiat goes for a 'Japandi' look with a Peranakan touch

CNA Lifestyle's Making Room serial looks at small homes with large transformations. This week, we visit a bachelorette pad that blends Japanese and Scandinavian designs with a nod to the neighbourhood's heritage.

12 Sep 2022 06:30AM (Updated: xi Jul 2022 12:59AM)

Tucked away in the centre of Joo Chiat, this 850 sq ft apartment is a peaceful haven that provides the female homeowner much-needed respite from her high-pressure banking job.

"The homeowner had an interesting combination of styles that she wanted. She had lived in Nihon, so she would like a bit of the Japanese influence. She was also drawn to the whole Scandi kind of look and feel," said Arjan Nijen Twilaar, the Dutch-born founder and primary designer of interior design firm Aiden T.

CNA Lifestyle's Making Room series look at small homes with big transformations. This calendar week, nosotros visit a bachelorette pad that blends Japanese and Scandinavian designs with a nod to the neighbourhood'southward heritage.

And then, he decided to infuse the apartment with "Japandi" design, which mixes Japanese and Scandinavian influences.

"The underlying design philosophy is clean spaces, peachy lines, and light colours. Combining these two styles together works," he explained.

The modest balustrade abreast the living area overlooks the pool, and is furnished with a pair of wicker chairs, and a pocket-sized round table with a wire cage base. (Photo: The Moving Visuals Co)

READ: How this 722 sq ft HDB flat combines tropical colonial charm with industrial chic

Arjan added: "But because we're in the historic eye of Singapore, Joo Chiat, we wanted to bring in a flake of that Peranakan vibe as well. It's a nice bridge considering the Japanese expect, in terms of its make clean lines, is a footling fleck hard. Whereas working with a female person homeowner, I wanted to create something a bit softer."

The original beige marble floors of the living and dining areas were kept intact and given new life thanks to the improver of a polished forest border.

Every bit the overall goal was to create elegant and minimalist spaces rooted in functionality, Arjan decided to create various visual zones inside the apartment.

Having a minor home doesn't hateful everything needs to be minor. A large painting can become a design statement. (Photo: Aiden T)

"When yous design small spaces, people tend to go minor scale, so yous finish upward with a minor dwelling house with a modest sofa, a small painting, and everything becomes pocket-size, small, small. If you really want it, brand it more of a design statement; yous overscale some of the stuff," he said.

The starting time thing that catches the center upon entering is the ash wood beam ceiling of the living surface area. (Photo: Aiden T)

A detailed await at the forest beam ceiling. (Photo: Aiden T)

The first thing that catches the eye upon inbound is the ash wood beam ceiling of the living area. A big black-framed contemporary painting of a woman in a graceful white gown against a deep beige background imbues the space with an undeniably feminine vibe.

A clean-lined leather sofa, in the same shade of beige as the painting's background, and accented past Scandi-print cushions, anchors the living infinite.

Across from it are two mid-century-styled wooden armchairs upholstered in muted pinkish fabric, against which blue-and-white tile-impress cushions pop. A round coffee table, which features vibrant Peranakan-inspired turquoise and pink floral motifs, completes the ensemble.

The transition between living and dining "zones" is subtle merely the elements tie in neatly, such every bit the similar colour tones for the sofa and the painting. (Photo: Aiden T)

READ: Transforming a 990 sq ft HDB flat into a 'little Japan' – complete with an onsen

The small balcony abreast the living area overlooks the pool, and is furnished with a pair of wicker chairs, and a minor round tabular array with a wire cage base of operations for an airy feel.

"The living room is actually very apparently – four walls, a floor and a ceiling. Simply where are my pattern details? They're actually on the floor and ceiling," Arjan explained.

A deep blue vase on a small accent table in rock and brass, placed in forepart of a sculptural wall-mounted sconce, subtly demarcates the living expanse from the adjacent dining area.

An oversized monochromatic landscape painting of mountains forms the chief focal point of the dining area, providing a dramatic bear upon to the space, which is furnished simply with a round dining table in pale wood.

The elementary dining area features an expandable wooden dining tabular array with matching rattan-backed dining chairs, mixing austere Japanese sensibility with tropical living. (Photo: Aiden T)

The custom-made slice is expandable likewise, and can fit anywhere from 6 to eight people. Matching rattan-backed dining chairs channel the thrift of Japanese design, with a nod to tropical living. Overhead, a vintage glass pendant lamp casts a soft, warm glow.

In that location was an electrical distribution box on a wall bordering the kitchen – "a very unsightly piddling thing", said Arjan – so, he concealed it by building an elegant rattan-fronted cabinet with contumely handles, thus creating storage space in the process.

The electric distribution box on a wall virtually the kitchen was concealed with a rattan-fronted chiffonier with contumely handles. (Photo: Aiden T)

Other smart storage solutions include pushing out a wall virtually the forepart door and building cabinetry flush with that new wall, for integrated and almost invisible shoe storage.

READ: How a nostalgic couple brought 'old Singapore' into their new 700 sq ft BTO apartment

Drinking glass doors bring more than lite into the kitchen, where biscuit terrazzo countertops, a white-tiled backsplash and white top-hung cabinets marshal with the Japandi principle of simple lines and plain colours. Deep brown base cabinets, accented by brass drawer pulls, add a touch of warmth.

The common bath draws heavily from both Japanese and Peranakan aesthetics, thanks to earth-toned multi-patterned fish-scale wall tiles, and honeycomb-shaped floor tiles in muted grayness. A deep blue nether-sink cabinet with vintage crepitation-glazed porcelain knobs adds a mannerly finishing touch.

The mutual bathroom draws heavily from both Japanese and Peranakan aesthetics. At that place are little charming details, too, such as the vintage porcelain knobs in the under-sink chiffonier. (Photo: Aiden T)

Cheque out the various patterns on these fish-scale wall tiles in the bathroom. (Photo: Aiden T)

The master bedroom is designed as a at-home and gentle Zen space, with pastel blue walls, a celadon-green chest of drawers and floral arrangements adding a bear upon of softness and colour to the otherwise minimalist space with its austere forest article of furniture.

The master bedroom'due south soft color tones brand information technology a calming infinite, while the bay window has been transformed into a reading nook. (Photo: Aiden T)

The bay window was transformed into a light-filled reading nook, cheers to the use of white blinds and sheer defunction.

But Arjan's favourite thing in the entire apartment, is the bold, middle-catching feature wall comprising cement cakewalk blocks confronting a mirrored dorsum, which conceals the passage to the bedroom.

Breeze blocks were used in Peranakan architecture and offering a nice nod to the Joo Chiat neighbourhood. (Photo: Aiden T)

Breeze blocks were commonly used in Peranakan compages for privacy and ventilation. Their geometric pattern also adds a sense of nostalgia. "It embodies all the design elements of this home," he said.

An 850 sq ft condo in Joo Chiat goes for a ‘Japandi’ look with a Peranakan touch

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