When the D’Marvel Scale designers first arrived on site, they were concerned by how little daylight this terraced house received. Design Principal Derrick Lim says, “The floor plan is quite elongated and with a staircase in the middle, the light path was blocked by several obstacles.” This lacking in light culminated in a brief to open up the space which ensures a fluid light flow. Since the house is more than two decades old, the team was also tasked to modernise the home and to make it more liveable for the family of three living here.
Plenty of re-configuration work was required to open up the light path on level one, where the communal zones resided. Recognising that the enclosed stairwell was one of the main obstacles that hindered the light flow, the designers removed the boxed up staircase and changed the entire setup to something open. This clears up the entire light orientation and it now streams smoothly from the foyer to the kitchen. They also changed the sliding door of the foyer into bi-fold doors. Derrick explains, “When drawn to the side, the bi-fold doors create a larger opening as opposed to the old sliding door, and this lets in a lot more light.”
To preserve the old-school charm of the home, the designers stripped away the white plaster on the wall in the living area to reveal the old brickwork. The red bricks create a striking focal point and this feature wall goes well with the modern minimalist colour scheme of monochromatic tones.
The kitchen comes into full view after the staircase which sits in the centre axis at level one. The designers have updated it into an open-concept kitchen which also falls in line with the light and airy ambience of the house. Besides carving out a cosy dining spot which is conveniently tucked next to cooking area, the designers turned their attention to extending this area with a chill-out corner complete with skylight windows. This relaxation corner is not only surrounded by greenery, but these newly-added skylights also bathe the space with a serene glow.
More re-configuration works were done to the second level, where the bedrooms are located. The team also updated the relocated master bedroom with the modern addition of a walk-in wardrobe and swapped the locations of the master bathroom and communal bathroom.
The new orientation of the master bedroom sees part of the previous walkway now replaced by the walk-in wardrobe. For added convenience, it leads right into the master bathroom where the designers have worked in a skylight to brighten up the entire space. Through the restoration and renovation, this old home has literally seen a new light. And now with new blood nesting here, it will continue to thrive with the new modern designs introduced by the D’Marvel Scale designers.
This was adapted from an article originally published in the May 2019 issue of SquareRooms. Photo credits: D’Marvel Scale
