Quiet luxury and Thai travels transform young couple’s two-bedroom condo

SINGAPORE – Within this 1,055 sq ft apartment at Reflections at Keppel Bay, with its view of the reflecting pool, a young couple has created a home that feels at once restrained and intimate.

The inspiration sprang not from a design trend, but from their travels to Thailand, where their sanctuary of choice is the Park Hyatt Bangkok. Its location and convenience make it easy to explore the city with their young son’s stroller.

The couple – who did not disclose personal details – turned to Ms Song Sze Ming, co-founder of Singapore design firm Studio Kabi, to translate the hotel’s quiet luxury into a child-friendly home.

Ms Song says: “When they referenced Park Hyatt Bangkok, I took that as a cue to focus on making the details of the home feel cohesive: clean lines, layered textures and a palette that makes the space cosy and calm.”

The result is a tranquil, light-filled retreat that channels the understated opulence of a favourite getaway, made personal through the rhythms and rituals of everyday family life.

Built-in fixtures were designed to allow the interiors to evolve alongside the couple’s lives and collections – which include their son’s favourite sheep-shaped nursery rocker by Danish designer Povl Kjer.

They envisioned the space as a gallery, where collected objects could be seen clearly and in dialogue with one another.

“The apartment’s long and narrow layout was a real challenge,” says Ms Song. “We had to accommodate the kitchen, dining and living areas within a compact footprint while keeping the flow open.”

She repositioned the sofa to face the kitchen island. This shifted the home’s focal point to the kitchen as the heart of daily life “where cooking, eating and conversations happen”.

Lined in warm timber and anchored by a generous brushed-steel island, the kitchen is the home’s social core.

“We spent a long time searching for the perfect shade of wood – something that had warmth without heaviness,” says Ms Song. “We paired that with stainless-steel finishes that were carefully picked out for their polish level and non-directional grain.”

Nearby, what began as an awkward corner has become the soul of the home. Once a study with its walls removed by the previous owner, the space was reimagined as a dining banquette.

A large framed black-and-white image by Belgian photographer Jean Paul Brohez – a memory of the couple’s travels in India – acts as the focal point, while the upholstered seating adds subtle colour and texture. It is now their favourite feature of the apartment.

The master bedroom is an oasis of calm. Pale timber floors, soft drapery and a restrained palette create a cocoon-like atmosphere that shifts gently with the light. Morning sun filters through sheer curtains.

Every element serves a purpose: the upholstered headboard for warmth, the wall sconces for ambient glow, the view framing the start and end of each day. Nothing feels decorative for its own sake.

That same design language continues in the bathrooms, where stone, timber and light meet. Textured walls and marble surfaces lend depth, while built-in lighting introduces a soft radiance.

Completed in just two months – the couple declined to state the cost – the renovation balances clarity and warmth with remarkable precision. Within the condominium estate’s glass-and-steel geometry, this family home glows with a gentle rhythm shaped by light, texture and a timeless sense of tranquillity.