The Chic Home: Colourful living in East Coast walk-up apartment

SINGAPORE – “Colours, joy, rainbows, functionality”. These were the keywords that the home owners of a 1,141 sq ft walk-up apartment in East Coast Road used to define their vision.

The married couple – Mr Sauman Mahata, a technology consultant in his late 30s, and Ms Gisela Sim, an associate project director in a creative advertising agency in her early 40s – entrusted the project to Ms Pamela Ong, director of Third Avenue Studio.

The home owners put together reference materials and a colour scheme, taking inspiration from the art of Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky.

The couple opted for painted carpentry on raw plywood instead of using laminates. PHOTO: THIRD AVENUE STUDIO

Some of their requirements were very specific, such as opting for painted carpentry on raw plywood instead of using laminates. As they have two pet cats, Billy and Bella, the home also had to be cat-friendly.

Ms Ong and her team removed a few walls, mainly in a storage area between two bedrooms.

In that spot, they placed a full-height display for the couple’s vintage teaware collection and a walk-in wardrobe behind it, within the master bedroom.

A full-height display for the couple’s vintage teaware collection sits between two bedrooms. PHOTO: THIRD AVENUE STUDIO

The unit’s original palette was mainly black and grey. At the owners’ request, Ms Ong introduced shapes, patterns, colours, textured glass and other materials within the home.

These are most apparent in the extensive carpentry works that were added in the living room, kitchen and yard.

Patterns and bold colours in the yard brighten up the space. PHOTO: THIRD AVENUE STUDIO

“We used a number of bright colours, shapes and patterns, all of which come together nicely, just like a rainbow,” Ms Ong says.

Painting the raw plywood using water-based paint was challenging, but the team pulled it off. “Everything was done freehand, just like art,” she adds.

The yellow and blue palette extends to the hexagonal pattern on this bathroom’s walls. PHOTO: THIRD AVENUE STUDIO

The renovation took about three months and the couple moved into their new home in August 2023. The cost came up to about $110,000 excluding furniture and furnishings.

For the home owners, their new home is an amalgamation of diverse cultures, colours, textures and materials in what they describe as a “deliberately orchestrated, yet enchanting cacophony”, with each element carefully proportioned such that no aspect overpowers the entire composition.

Combining bright colours can be difficult, but this couple pulled it off. PHOTO: THIRD AVENUE STUDIO

• This article first appeared in Home & Decor Singapore. Go to homeanddecor.com.sg for more beautiful homes, space-saving ideas and interior inspiration.