Vegetable oil trader Claire Wu is big on minimalism and practicality

SINGAPORE – Ms Claire Wu lives by a simple philosophy: Less is more.

The senior manager, with a sourcing and trading role in the vegetable oil industry, does not believe in hoarding possessions, be they clothes or furniture.

The only homeware piece that has followed her from her previous homes is a Tom Dixon Bash vessel that takes pride of place on the table in the dining room.

Ms Wu, who hails from Harbin, China, and has lived in Singapore for 27 years, has a sharply honed approach to her new home, wanting a spacious, calming abode that can also be used to entertain guests on the weekends and house family from overseas.

“The most important thing is to be comfortable inside. So that’s why I like the open-concept approach and simplicity. I like a bit of zen style as well, so that you feel relaxed when you come into the house,” she says.

Her 5,000 sq ft, three-storey detached home in the Holland Road area – which she bought a year ago – has been designed with this minimalist brief in mind by interior architecture and design studio Elliot James Interiors.

The renovations and decorating were completed just over six months ago, and Ms Wu lives here with her husband, their three-year-old son and a golden retriever named Mao Mao. The family used to live in Sentosa.

The interior design team played up the art gallery-like aesthetic of the home to complement its architecture.

While the couple did not do much work on the house’s exterior, Ms Wu took a very hands-on approach to styling the home, such as looking for furniture online and commissioning artwork and statement furniture.

Her dining table, for instance, was crafted from a large piece of wood sourced from China and affixed onto three concrete slabs which serve as the base.

The lights in the dining room by South Korean designer Hyungshin Hwang – resembling a popular, cone-shaped snack in South Korea – were sourced by Elliot James Interiors as they were not available for sale to private homes.

The company also picked out the accompanying sleek dining chairs from Spanish studio Mermelada Estudio.

While adhering to a minimalist palette of black, grey and white, as well as raw and natural materials like wood and cement, the design team played with texture to add details and tactility to the home.

In lieu of a television set in the sitting area, it conceptualised a large feature wall that conceals a storeroom under the stairs.

It also found an artist to handpaint the wall to create a cement-like effect inspired by Japanese architect Tadao Ando – creating a solution that was more efficient than removing and rebuilding a concrete wall.

Other organic touches add warmth to the home.

For example, the large white sofa in the sitting area – with washable covers for practicality – surrounds a torched-wood coffee table still in the form of its stump.

The natural wood flooring, installed by the home’s previous owner, was stained from its original, more orangey hue to a darker tone to modernise it and tie in with the house’s colour scheme.

Marble, another favourite material, features in the kitchen island as well as in a stunning feature wall in the master bathroom.

The open-concept effect is achieved by removing extraneous walls on the first level.

The living room segues into the dining space as well as an open kitchen. But while Ms Wu cooks regularly, citing steaks and crabs as some of her specialities, she did not see the need for a separate wet kitchen, so the space was kept clean with many items cleverly concealed with custom cabinetry.

Colour is not a key feature, but the house is brightened up by touches of greenery through plants – both outdoors and indoors.

The commissioned artworks reflect Ms Wu’s practical aesthetic.

They are not sentimental pieces, but designed to fit the space, whether it is a large almost-industrial 3D work in an oil-black hue or an abstract piece that anchors a stairway landing.

To subtly reflect her Chinese heritage, one striking piece uses fragments of blue-and-white ceramics to depict the silhouette of a horse.

The animal, she says, is not related to her Chinese zodiac, but rather to her heritage. “I’m a Manchurian. We like horses,” she says.

Ms Wu, who will not take along a piece if it does not fit into her next house, extends the same practical mindset to her clothes collection.  

In her heavily curated wardrobe, she has several little black dresses, Hermes sweaters as well as a much-loved beaded blouse from Zara.

But she has very little attachment to her belongings, and takes an almost brutal approach to throwing out whatever is not serving her.

If she does have a material weakness, it may be bags. Her husband has gifted her most of the Hermes bags in her collection. Her favourite is a Birkin that accompanies her to work and anywhere else she needs to be.

Black, practical and chic, it could very well be a reflection of Ms Wu’s minimalist personal style and spare design aesthetic that whispers quiet luxury.