The Chic Home: Arches and curves outline couple’s breezy East Coast condo

SINGAPORE – When moving out of their previous home – a 60-year-old walk-up unit in Telok Kurau Road – husband and wife Dennis Lim and Stacy Chai chose this 1,800 sq ft, three-bedroom condominium apartment still in the East Coast area.

The couple, who are in their 40s and work in the financial sector, engaged Space Sense Studio’s founder and designer Kelvin Teo to work on the new unit.

They moved into the home in July 2022. The project took about seven months – with some delays due to festive periods – and cost around $300,000.

“The biggest challenge in the project was reconfiguring the kitchen and bathroom areas,” says Mr Teo. He took out one of the three bathrooms, and removed a bedroom to re-allocate space for the master bathroom and storeroom.

These changes resulted not only in roomier bathrooms, but also an expansive blue kitchen with a counterweighted sash window. This visually connects the dry and wet kitchen areas, while preventing cooking fumes from leaking into the living area.

The dry kitchen, living and dining areas share an airy open space that spills into a generous balcony – which means there is plenty of room for Twofus, the couple’s golden retriever from New Zealand, to wander.

Inspired by the building’s architecture, Mr Teo designed the 3.3m-tall ceiling with curving ribs for ambient lights. The curves appear elsewhere throughout the home, including the wall niche, the windows to Mr Lim’s home office and the furniture.

The couple are fans of bold colours, and their chosen furnishings, materials and colours give off a mid-century modern vibe.   

The custom-made sofa is upholstered with scratch- and stain-resistant upholstery.

The maroon dining table is surrounded by chairs from Italian brand Mattiazzi and Spanish brand Andreu World, while the Spokes 2 pendant light from Italian brand Foscarini creates a mesmerising play of light.

The coffee table can be unfolded into a second dining table.

As the couple, who mostly work from home, needed separate workspaces, Mr Teo converted two common bedrooms into home offices with a connecting door. Each has a balcony with a view, and Mr Lim’s even has a gym corner.

The master bedroom’s former balcony area is now an indoor nook that houses a massage chair, and the en-suite bathroom features floating cabinetry and a curved shower nook finished in glazed tiles.