Interior designer Dan Wu is well-versed in crafting interiors. The founder of Dan’s Workshop is a versatile designer, going above and beyond conceptualising creative interiors that meet and anticipate his clients’ needs. But when it’s time to design his own home, the designer went through a process of exploring a variety of styles and colours to cater to the needs of the client: himself. “I couldn’t decide on the colours and concept. And the design also went through a few changes,” he recalls with a laugh.
Eventually, he chose a masculine-looking monochrome theme, matching it with punches of deep blue, grey and brown. “I don’t want the home to look grey. So, I explored having a sofa in a colour like green or brown,” he says. “Then, the staff at Urban Nordic showed me fabric upholstery in this shade of blue.” The deep blue sofa takes centre stage, its saturated colour enriching the entire interior. He paired the sofa with a rug from IKEA that features washes of blue. Together, the rug and sofa pop from the rest of the space.
Black and white form a versatile base for accessories in colour. That said, Dan kept to grounding colours like green, clay and blue for his accessories. In the dining area, however, the trio of PH 5 lights by Louis Poulsen are in crisp white to stand out from the background.
Like most homeowners, Dan found ample storage essential to the home. He created wall-to-wall storage solutions that serve as a backdrop to the dining area. Vertical grooves were added to the storage cabinets for visual interest. This textural element also creates a visually taller space that balances the length. Aside from embracing his love of clean lines, he also wanted an easy-to-maintain home. So, hardwearing materials such as laminates and quartz surfaces were chosen. The lighter shade on the upper section helps to reflect light into the area too.
Dan shares the home with his pet dog, which means that the flat provides him with more than sufficient space for his needs. So, one of the things he did was combine the two bathrooms. He also hacked away one bedroom to make a larger living area that flows easily to the dining area. “With a larger living area, my pet dog has more space to run around in the home,” he quips.
Using a similar colour palette for the bedroom, he picked out royal blue curtains that would stand out from the monochromatic space. Every detail enhances the combination, from the lighting and artwork to accessories like an all-black dreamcatcher.
Like many creatives, Dan expresses creativity in various ways. Other than being passionate about interior design, he is also keen on baking. He produces cakes, pastries and desserts as a hobby. Therefore, the kitchen is another vital space. He ensured sufficient countertop space to work on, as well installed both upper and lower cabinets to store his tools and equipment. Here, the walls and cabinets are decked out in black, which he livened up with the marble patterns on the countertops and flooring.
He says, “I want this home to be lasting, so much so that it could last 15 years or more.” It might have been a challenging process, but Dan got what he wanted: a home that expresses his individuality and panders to his creative spirit.
This was adapted from an article originally written by Rossara Jamil published in the August 2019 issue of SquareRooms. Photo credits: Dan’s Workshop
