By Annie Ooi | Jul 6, 2010
Photos by Low Lay Phon
The simple life
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| The sitting area houses a mix of Italian and English style furniture |
When the built-up area of a double-storey detached house is only 360sq m (4,000sq ft) out of a piece of land which spans 900sq m (10,000sq ft), we can expect the property to have adequate space for a great garden but in this case, in a low-key style. With enough space for a garden in front and at the sides and back of the house, the house owner has laid a jogging track around the house. When she paces the track 20 times, it is a distance of 2km.
“That’s my daily morning exercise,” she says. “I start my routine with taiqi and qigong and then take a brisk walk on the track, from 7am to 8am,” says the 52-year-old entrepreneur.
Then it is gardening time from 8am to 10am, she adds, and it is obvious she loves gardening in her corner lot. “I do everything myself. It is only on every alternate month, that a gardener comes in to help me.”
Although well-designed, the garden does not have that lush, landscaped look. Healthy plants flourish in pockets, laid out in groups featuring garden ideas from a few countries.
Out front, the European corner features a backdrop of white-washed walls and neat windows. A wrought iron table and chairs are ideal for afternoon tea. A lush bamboo grove planted seven years ago at the corner, gives way to the Japanese section, complete with a little bridge and a couple of “storks”. This Japanese stretch covers quite a portion of the side garden.
The side fence here is replete with a creeper bearing orange flowers, and pots of orchids add to the splash of colours. A wooden bench at the corner, with a path leading to the expansive rear garden is her favourite place, where she can sit and contemplate the facade of her house, designed by her husband of 30 years.
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| A corner of the sitting room with an almari from Indonesia flanked by two paintings from Indonesia |
“We have deliberately designed the built-up area of our residence in such a way as to maximise the back portion,” she explains, “so that when we have functions, it is very private.”
Indonesian inspiration
A Balinese style area, with a low wooden deck, is the main component of this back portion. The dining area of the house opens to this area, making it the al fresco extension of the dining area, especially when there are guests.
The family members are well-travelled and one of their favourites places is Indonesia. “We have lots of friends in Indonesia, such as in Puncak in West Java, Bandung and Jakarta,” she says. In fact, on a trip to a Puncak Hill resort five years ago, she was so taken with the wall of the hotel where she was staying that when she came back, she was inspired to replicate the idea on the wall of the back garden.
“I bought stones from the local nursery, and together with the help of my maid, stuck them onto the wet cement. It took me a year to do it and now, the wall has the natural weathered look and the advantage is, I do not have to paint the wall.”
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| The extensive garden around the house, down the back and leading to the side. |
At the corner of the back garden, near the neighbour’s house, is the idyllic, Malay kampung style section. A wooden platform is built next to a mango tree (great for her children to climb when they were young). Here, the house owner spreads a tikar (mat) for additional seating when she has functions. So natural and unpretentious is this corner that I can almost visualise chickens scratching the sand. To add to the air of a rural surrounding, there is a ciku tree, as well as a mock well, which never fails to get the visitor to peer down, thinking that there’s a deep hole.
Mayang Sari
Inside the house, (the couple and their two boys moved here 12 years ago) it is very cooling, as there is a void in the middle section. A corridor on the upper floor overlooks the dining table on the ground floor via this void. The stairs to the upper floor are well lit, as the windows on the landing are of stained glass, reminiscent of traditional Malaccan houses.
A surprising addition to the first floor family area is a loft. A short flight of steps leads to this area, which has floor to ceiling windows, in the style of a traditional Malay house.
“We are very happy here,” says the house owner, who lives in a close-knit community.
She operates Mayang Sari, a company that offers gifts and hampers. “I have always been interested in handicraft, and after having left my previous job three years ago, I started my own company, to keep busy.”
The Hari Raya season sees her extremely busy, as she turns her expert hands to handicraft. But as gardening is her passion, there is no danger that her plants will suffer. And this will remain a corner where the birds will continue to chirp.
Note: E-mail the writer (annieo@thestar.com.my) if you know of interesting homes to feature.
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