Every little detail was considered in this designer’s carefully renovated family home.
When hunting for property, home seekers are often advised to consider location, location, location. After all, you can always upgrade a home, but you can’t change your surroundings.
For Kobe Wong and his family, finding a home in the right locale was key. They wanted to be closer to their daughter’s prestigious school and to later enrol their son in a similarly well-regarded primary school nearby.
This home presented the right opportunity, and its sizeable layout was also a big draw.
Living room: The avid hosts wanted an open plan with seating for at least 10 people. Kobe designed the custom sofa with storage for his children’s crafts and toys and added louvred slats to the stairs, allowing the parents to check on the kids or keep the slats closed for a more formal appearance. As a Pinterest fan, Kobe loves creating his own furniture, often with balance materials from other projects, and he reimagined an amalgam of ideas to create the mirrored coffee table.
Its dated interiors may have given others pause, but as the founder of KDOT Studio, Kobe saw possibilities. Wanting to fine-tune the space into the ideal family home, the Wongs took their time to renovate the residence over six months.
Every detail was carefully considered, from ergonomics to storage requirements and upkeep, ensuring every need would be covered.
Through the design process, Kobe’s young kids were constantly on his mind, translating into child-friendly features around the house such as rounded corners, openings to keep a watchful eye over the young ones and shared spaces that encourage the children to bond.
Wet and dry kitchen: The meal prep zones were carefully considered to minimise mess and maintenance. Ample storage units were crafted throughout to tuck away the more unsightly cooking supplies, and in the wet kitchen, durable EDL laminates were chosen for the cabinet fronts, complemented by Dekton surfaces to ensure the kitchen would hold up to heavy cooking and traffic. In the dry kitchen, the island utilises a Cosentino surface that seamlessly flows into an integrated sink, nixing tricky joint lines for easy cleaning.
Hidden powder room: Concealed by seamless panelling, a sleek and understated powder room can be accessed on the ground floor through the wet kitchen.
Primary bedroom: A darker scheme was chosen for the main suite to evoke an industrial-luxe vibe, complete with textured walls and a swathe of padded headboard panels for a cosy effect. Much like a boutique hotel room, the space also has a separate vanity area.
Main bathroom: The elegant en-suite was inspired by hotel bathrooms and features large-format tiles with marble veining from Hafary. Kobe admits that the tile installation was rather tricky as the slabs are just 6mm thick, making them difficult to manoeuvre and cut without risking breakage. The stakes were worth it in the end, with visitors often heaping praise on this place.
Children’s room: This open and airy space is shared by both kids and is intended to help them bond. At the same time, separate spots for each child help them grow independently.
Since his daughter is eight years old, Kobe hoped to spark her interest in design early, bringing her to Hafary, a tile and stone supplier, where she got to shortlist tiles for her own bath.
Kids’ bathroom: In this fun and unique bathroom, 2.7m-tall tiles were chosen for the walls in an earthy tone to impart a grounding yet uplifting atmosphere. The playful mood was enhanced with a vanity that sports child-friendly rounded edges, as well as a backsplash with wall-matched grout lines.
Upstairs bathroom: Situated on the third floor, which Kobe designated as the idea-generating space, this bathroom has a minimalist and futuristic concept.
Study: This zone functions as a spot for client meetings as well as the missus’ working area. The pull-out steps are functional drawers that hold stationery and enable access to the loft, which was added after demolition works made it possible.
With free rein over the design concept, Kobe also took the chance to incorporate different ideas and materials so visiting clients would be able to experience the options in person. At times, his vision proved highly challenging for the tradespeople and almost tipped them over their limit.
Entertainment area: Furnished with a comfy King Living recliner and custom pieces, this media zone provides the family with a secondary gathering spot.
Design studio: Curves and organic textures against a neutral backdrop create an inspiring environment for dreaming up ideas. The designer used four types of handles here—three exposed and one concealed—bringing out the experimental nature of his material lab.
However, having lived in the house for just over a year, Kobe shares that the family loves their new big space. For him, having a whole level where he can have a proper working environment and material lab without heading to the office is the icing on the cake.
This post was adapted from an article originally published in the July 2023 issue of SquareRooms.
