By Annie Ooi | May 5, 2010
Photographs by M. Azhar Arif
Memories of places visited
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| Greetings; at the entrance. |
This couple was well travelled, until the kids came along three years ago. Travelling as a couple ground to a halt, but they can still relive memories of the places visited in the confines of their house.
"Many parts of this house replicate what we have seen in our travels," says the homeowner, a lawyer, aged 40. The result is a cosy place, and with a collection of paintings ranging from French to Chinese and Australian aboriginal art, plus a mantelpiece and winged armchairs. The house has a certain international feel to it.
It is also a place where the house owner is able to show his creativity. His wife, 34, who is a pharmacist, describes him as, "Artistic, and loves music and gardening. He comes up with the ‘big’ ideas, and I inject a bit of practicality, as we have young children. It has worked out really well."
They bought their house in 2007 at the developer’s price of RM1.2mil. But neighbouring houses are now priced at RM2.1mil.
Contemporary Look
Driving up to his front yard - there’s no individual gate in this gated community - the double-storey detached unit with a built-up space of 360sq m (4,000 sq ft) has the trendy, contemporary look of grooved, concrete walls and tall, narrow windows without grilles.
A neighbouring house stands out with a big expanse of a black painted wall, "but we chose to have neutral colours with a splash of red," said the house owner of his house facade.
The memories start from the lawn. A lone, wooden bench placed here is reminiscent of a park in a temperate country.
A koi pond with water lilies floating in it is placed in front of the living room’s windows. "This reminds us of our stay at The Datai resort in Langkawi," explains the house owner.
Down the side of the house runs a garden which is artfully designed to reflect different parts of the world. The first section has a Chinese theme with eight bamboo plants planted at the side. Eventually, the bamboo should grow tall enough to hide the grooved, concrete wall of the neighbour’s porch.
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From left to right: A corner of the dining area set in a European style;
Happy hours at the casual bar area. The display divider is on the right;
The marble table top is from Italy and with a French-style chandelier, the dining area looks quite European. |
The second section is Japanese inspired, with stone steps and lanterns, pebbles and bonsai.
The third section is the "Balinese" area, with the ubiquitous water feature in the corner. Wrought iron chairs placed in this area bring back memories of Provence, wineries and chateaus.
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| Herbs at the ready outside the kitchen, for the avid cook. |
More plants at the edge of the house add more greenery. "This is where we have afternoon tea, and at night, with each plant having its own down light, this place is magical," says the house owner.
Down the garden’s common side with the neighbour, a row of eugenia is planted, so that the foliage can provide privacy in a couple of years.
Entering the house, the entrance foyer looks right down a hallway to the casual bar area near the kitchen, but a display divider with 18 compartments shield the occupants sitting there from the visitor.
"We got this idea from the display at the entrance to Ming Ren Restaurant up in Genting Highlands, but had to gel the whole idea with the bar," says the house owner’s wife.
Taiping bench
To the left of the foyer is the sitting room, furnished in "a fusion of east and west, but predominantly Chinese," says the owner. An abacus lamp base, a painting with a Chinese theme, and a 130-year-old wooden bench from Taiping - hometown of the owner’s father - are part of "the things thrown together, but they work well as a whole," says the house owner.
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| The lily pond at the front of the garden is a welcoming sight. |
Mirrors are placed strategically, both on a wall and near the television area, to reflect a sense of spaciousness.
A grand piano stands on what used to be the powder room, which has been moved into the study-cum-library. Much planning has gone into the study-cum-library. A sofa in a corner serves as a bed for overnight guests. A long table by the window is in place for the kids when they are big enough to sit there in front of their computers.
At the formal dining area, the dining table is topped with marble from Italy, and a fireplace mantel evokes a European air. The bar counter area is nearby and with numerous bar stools, a refrigerator stocked with drinks and a wine chiller, this is the place to hang out when visitors drop by, and also the owner’s favourite place. The kitchen is nearby, just in the next room.
Outside the kitchen is the herb garden, with the plants neatly arranged in a planter’s box. "I can just come out from the kitchen, grab my herbs and continue cooking. I got this idea from a restaurant in Peppermint Bay in Tasmania," says the house owner, who is an avid cook.
The stairwell proved a challenge, with the high windows. Taking into account the fact that curtains would be difficult to change, the couple finally decided on movable shutters, an idea from the Four Seasons hotel in Bali.
The wife, a practical, science-based person has the last word. "I consider my house to be a small house with a garden (she calls it a cosy cottage), and not phenomenal."
The house owners may seem like quite different people, coming from the different worlds of creativity and science, but together, they have created a lovely home which reflects their personalities, something with quite a nice feel to it.
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