Home ideas : Beyond Walls

Be led visually and spatially from one room to the next in this cool, clear flat.

Vertical blinds become a sleek room divider to separate the study from the dining area

Unusually enough, the couple who own this 5-room flat were not too concerned about creating more space. What more, they had move from a larger apartment to this 110 sqm unit. Homeowners generally like their homes to look as large as possible, but this wasn't a priority here.

"What they emphasised instead was good utilisation of space". So He made sure he played with space interaction, or "developing the right angle for inter-linking the rooms".

You can sculpt the view from each room so that the owner gets an aesthatic view of the next. This not only opens up the rooms and makes it feel larger, each individual space feels likes an integral part of the overall look.

From the bedroom, you get a good look into the living room, and from the dining room, a striking, aesthetic view of the kitchen. We even replaced part of one wall of the master bathroom with a glass divider, so that you can catch a glimpse of the vanity area from the bedroom. This allows the naked contemporary of the bathroom - with its glass and wood-clad walls - to flow into the bedroom. Both rooms remain light and airy in atmosphere.

In the bedroom, light bars were set into the ashwood platform and headboard "to give the room a soft, intimate feel. The low-set lights cast a very warm glow around the bed and is very relaxing."

Concealed lighting is featured in the dining area as well. Here, an L-shaped light bar illuminates the transparent dining tabletop from beneath and continues up the on one side, landing afuturistic feel to the space. The sophisticated glass-on- white dining set is cosy enough for family meals yet large enough to seat seven. This is the definite plus for the owners who enjoy entertaining occasionally.

Pointing out the recessed display ledge forming the backdrop of the dining area. "We were going for an art gallery feel." Well-placed downlights show off art pieces while the ledge hides storage space bellow.

Beside the dining area is a study corner. He points out that the vertical blinds neatly demarcate the space from the rest of the room and add to the play of light and shade. "We wanted to use the right materials to create the right ambience."
The overall white-and-glass colour scheme blends harmoniously with the light parquet floors and is a winning combination that has been carried over into the kitchen.

"Most young couples don't do heavy cooking nowadays. So the kitchen just needs to be functionally enough for light meals." As a result, bulky items such as the cooker hood are done away with, which leaves the kitchen looking streamlined and neat.

Raw touches such as the cement screed walls and warm colours on the vaneered cabinets keep the otherwise pared-down style interisting and inviting. "Everything has to kept in balance. Neither too wild, nor too plain and simple!"