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Entryway: Blending Retro Glass Bricks with Modern Contemporary Design
HomeRumah Beacon, where each object tells a story.
rumahbeacon
| 1109sqft | 3-bedroom apartment |
Rumah Beacon, where each object tells a story.
1394
- Modern Luxury
- Condo
- ~1,100 sqft
- 3 br
- Living with Friends
Resale apartment was tenanted and hence in bad condition which required a full overhaul. Took the contractor route and with benefit of advice from an architect friend, embarked on a once in a lifetime design journey developing Rumah Beacon. A general white scheme was adopted for most of the apartment to keep things simple and let the artifact and furniture collection stand out. At Rumah Beacon, every object has a story and reason why they are where they are. Detailing was an important consideration - from the minimal gap size between tiles to the requirement for shadow gap in the ceiling; giving added finesse to Rumah Beacon. Colourful Togo sofa - Ligne Roset White Adelaide chair - BoConcept Marble Infy and Nity side tables - TUF Panthella lamps - Louis Poulsen Candelabrum - Stoff Nagel Signboard - Zhen Feng Object Workshop Another view of the living room looking towards the balcony, separated by glass sliding door and floor-to-ceiling day curtains which help soften and accentuate the height of the space. Ripple fold sewing style requiring additional fabric was used to achieve a more premium look. Presiding over the space is a copper statue (Untitled - Jesus Holding Sheep II) by renowned Singaporean sculptor and arts educator - the late Brother Joseph McNally, who founded LASALLE College of the Arts and whom McNally Street is named after. Recessed downlights deliberately positioned and using 5W 2700K GU10 LED bulbs provide both task and accent lighting, coupled with use of Philips Hue lightstrip along the length of the living room help give the illusion of depth and turn the living room into a fun space with 16 million colours to choose from. There is no better place than the spacious balcony to entertain, have meals, relax or work with a view. The balcony can be converted into an indoor space by the press of a button to activate the motorized blinds. To make the indoor space appear larger, the floor level of the balcony was topped up to match the living room and the same glazed porcelain floor tiles were used. Not all beautiful things are necessarily expensive. Here, the very affordable LISABO table (~$200) from IKEA goes well with the pair of CM 131 chairs (~$1800) from Ligne Roset. Do you know that it is scientifically proven that flowers make you feel better? Here, lilies from CS Fresh (our favorite place to go for fresh cut flowers) sit in an extra large, vintage, made in England graduated cylinder obtained from the now defunct Singapore Institute of Science. 
Due to limited space, a few tough decisions had to be made: no side-by-side fridge, no ‘wok hey’ as induction hob was used to avoid having to provide additional space for LPG cylinder (the development does not have piped gas supply), and the dishwasher had to go to the yard. These other things were non-negotiable: the fridge with ice maker, the double bowl sink and pull-down spray, the built-in oven, and more power sockets spread around the kitchen to avoid the use of extension and multi plug adaptors. To achieve a clean and streamlined look for the cabinets, the doors have no handles and gap lines were minimized and aligned. Dark sintered stone backsplash lit up by LED lightstrip create contrast with the otherwise monotonous white cabinets for visual interest and provide the perfect backdrop for Chairman Mao statues. The glass wall is particularly useful as it not only allows watching of TV while doing the dishes but makes the overall space look bigger and brighter. 
Space is tight in the guest bathroom hence the curved vanity and splayed shower screen. A general dark scheme with 4 sets of lighting for different functions and moods, polished glazed porcelain tiles simulating natural stone, full height frameless shower screen, recessed shower floor with tile insert floor drain, integrated shower ledge and carefully selected chrome fixtures strengthen the modern luxury theme. Floor tiles have a light tone to interface better with the light toned tiles outside the toilet and help make the small and already dark space with limited natural light less claustrophobic. 
Books and artifacts take centre stage in the study. It is a simple room with movable furniture for flexibility to reconfigure or repurpose the space in future. For the bay window, Roman blinds from Drapes Studio replace curtains for a less fussy, sleeker look. To give the illusion of a larger guest bedroom, the mattress is placed directly on the floor. A low Componibili from Kartell serves as bedside table and the limited collection OBEGRÄNSAD LED floor lamp from IKEA add to the varied options for lighting to create different moods. Again, to give the illusion of a larger master bedroom, the mattress is placed directly on the floor. While it was tempting to go for movable wardrobes to reduce costs and retain flexibility for the bedrooms, built-in wardrobe was chosen to achieve the full height to contrast the low bed, thereby accentuating the height of the rooms. While the original design intent was for the wardrobes to have extra tall doors that almost touch the ceiling, to draw the eyes upwards to further accentuate the height of the rooms, this was not possible because of limitation in the development’s lift size. The tall doors had to be separated into 2 parts to fit the lift, thereby creating a horizontal gap which was deliberately positioned at the height of the curtain pelmet to reduce the visual impact. Other design considerations for the wardrobes include recessed handles to maintain a streamlined look, and paying more for Formica’s ColorCore laminate as the color goes all the way through the material, and it comes in dimensions of 1.22m x 3.05m; thereby eliminating ugly dark edges and the need for joints. Flanking the bed are a pair of lamps that once adorned a cashier counter in what was once Singapore’s oldest departmental store - Robinsons. The lamps stand on TUF’s Tangent side tables made of rare Statuario marble. For a good night’s rest, ripple fold black out curtains from Drapes Studio hang along two sets of glass sliding doors that lead to the master bedroom’s balcony, helping to not only block out light but also reduce noise from the surroundings. 
The master bathroom’s sunken bath and openness is one of the most attractive features of the apartment. For privacy, dragon trees are placed on the master bathroom’s balcony. A general dark scheme with 3 sets of lighting for different functions and moods, polished glazed porcelain tiles simulating natural stone, full height frameless shower screen, concealed shower mixer, wall hung toilet bowl and carefully selected chrome fixtures strengthen the modern luxury theme. The wall to wall large mirrors not only make the master bathroom appear larger, but also doubles up as very useful storage space.
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