By Willy Wilson | May 10, 2011
Photographs courtesy of Genervie Kam
There’s music in the house
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Musically inclined: Genervie Kam
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Genervie Kam is a musician who wears many hats. She launched her musical career after winning a prestigious award at an International piano competition in Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic, in 1995. A number of performances in Budapest and Copenhagen soon followed, establishing the young lady’s musical career.
It is no wonder then that Hong Kong superstar Jackie Cheung chose her to be his keyboardist and violinist in his 2002 world tour.
She further built her credentials as a musician by arranging, composing and directing music for industry heavyweights such as Siti Nurhaliza, Misha Omar, Anwar Zain and Ning Baizura. At home, Genervie is perhaps best known for her role as vocal and music instructor in Akademi Fantasia season 6.
Admittedly, music talent runs in the family. Both her parents are music teachers, and her brothers are accomplished musicians. In 2006, the Kams turned their passion for music into a bona fide corporation aptly entitled The Music Kampany. While its core business includes live performances, music arranging and sound engineering, The Music Kampany also deals with event management and digital entertainment.
Their journey began at a quaint house located in the older part of Petaling Jaya. The house was built two decades ago, around the time when residential architecture took a critical turn that started the evolution of modernist principles and practices.
Like many residential houses built during this era, the Kam’s 6,000 sq ft house has a boxy exterior with structural and symmetrical lines that forges a strong definition in each corner.
The Kams have resuscitated the house many times with admirable energy and dedication. When they bought it in 1987, the house was ripe for restoration. With help from a trusty contractor, the Kams mixed up their own paints, restored the lath and plaster, and waxed the floor on their hands and knees.
“This house is special because each of the family members were involved in the renovation process,” says Genervie Kam.
The real charm of the house, however, lies on its handmade wooden furniture, which has been single-handedly carved by Genervie’s father. StarProperty.my visited the Kam’s house and caught up with the artistic father-and-daughter duo.
Family project
Located on a slope, the entrance to the house is on the middle level. Here, an office, three bedrooms and a family room exist next to each other. Off a hallway to the left is a flight of staircases cascading down to the living room, kitchen, music studio and outdoor area.
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Handmade with love: Mr.Kam personally designs, measures, carves and polishes most of the wooden furniture in the house.
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Due to its unusual location, the buildable area for the property is rather limited. This constraint dictated a layering and overlapping of spaces within an airy floor plan.
The ground floor is a case in point. Hosting a spacious living room and outdoor area, this floor has many concealed areas as a result of the multiple layering of spaces.
Take, for instance, the music studio. Located behind the living room, the music studio occupies a significant portion of the ground floor. The unassuming façade of the music studio, which sees a wall featuring homemade woodworks, gives the impression that it’s the end of the built-up area.
On the other side of the ground floor, the living room is extended to the outdoor area, where a number of beautifully carved wooden furniture and a hammock create a laidback mood.
Elsewhere in the house, old school decorative items such as deer heads and guitar are hung on the walls. Meanwhile, crisp wooden kitchen set offers a tone of sophistication. But as Genervie explains, it took a lot of effort and commitment to achieve this look.
“Renovating a 6,000 sq ft house doesn’t come cheap. But we worked within a budget and tried to get the best result possible,” says Genervie.
She shares that wiring, plumbing and roof maintenance took up a bulk of the budget that has been allocated. To ensure that the renovation wouldn’t exceed the allocated budget, Genervie and her mother decided to take matters into their own hands.
“We went from shop to shop to source the materials. That way, we only paid the labour fee to the contractor. Normally, contractors do make profit from sourcing the materials,” Genervie says.
And thanks to Genervie’s father, who is a self-trained furniture maker of great rarity and skill, the Kams managed to further minimise the makeover budget.
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All within the budget: The Kams managed to further minimise the makeover budget by taking matters into their own hands.
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For the love of timber
Genervie shares that her father has always been a big fan of timber. Mr. Kam is no carpenter, but his woodworks are par excellence.
“I have personally designed, measured, carved and polished most of the wooden furniture in this house – from arm chairs in the living room to the dining table in the patio,” says Mr. Kam.
But where did he acquire the raw materials? And what type of wood did he use?
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Durable and long: According to Mr.Kam, timber furniture is not only long-lasting, it's also beautiful
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“When a friend of mine was going to build a house on a piece of land he had bought years ago, he told me he was going to chop off the existing trees. Instead of throwing the wood, I told him he could pass them to me so that I could make furniture. They are Casuarina wood, which make great, solid furniture,” Mr. Kam shares.
He argues that minimising renovation budget wasn’t his only motivation in taking the trouble to make his own furniture. Most importantly, Mr. Kam says, he wanted to make one-of-a-kind pieces with sentimental value for his family.
“I figured timber furniture is long-lasting, lean and beautiful. Its imperfection, which is often found on its surface, makes the furniture even more beautiful,” he enthuses.
The result isn’t bad at all. Lean and polished, the timber furniture sees an asymmetrical outline, which gives a modern flavour to what would otherwise be old-fashioned pieces. His most favourite piece of work is a guitar, which is hung on the wall in the living room.
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