One of the features that motivated Ms Adelene Fong, owner of coding school The Lab, to purchase this two-storey penthouse is its 4.5m-high ceiling.
The entrepreneur and avid sportswoman is a climbing enthusiast and certified climb instructor, so her initial plan was to take advantage of the high ceiling by incorporating a rock wall outside the three-bedroom apartment in Haig Avenue. She moved in last year.
The design team at home-grown interior design company Bowerman Interior Planner, however, took the original brief and turned it into something just as exciting, but more meaningful, for the 1,442 sq ft space.
"Adelene bought the penthouse with the intention of living with her father. Unfortunately, he passed on during the course of the renovation and she wanted to dedicate a dark cigar room in his honour," said the design team.
To give the cigar room a peaceful ambience, the team selected an old-world blue from paint company Jotun. Against this backdrop, it gave the room a twist by incorporating an indoor rock wall within it.
To unwind, Ms Fong, a bachelorette in her 30s, enjoys a relaxing soak in a tub with a glass of wine, surrounded by the fragrance of scented candles.
The master bathroom is, therefore, one of the most important spaces to her. Hence the design team reconfigured the master bedroom space on the second storey, together with the adjacent open garden and roof garden.
"The original master bathroom and walk-in wardrobe were very tiny, so we proposed to expand it by making use of the garden areas," it said.
By relocating the walk-in wardrobe to the area occupied by the roof garden, both the wardrobe and master bedroom were enlarged. A skylight allows plenty of natural daylight into the reconfigured spaces, including the new master bath.
A new bathtub was fitted between the walk-in wardrobe and the rest of the master bathroom, so Ms Fong can luxuriate in it with a view of the sky.
The project was not without its share of challenges. The discovery of a termite infestation during the renovation as well as water leakage from the original roofing set the schedule back by 41/2 months.
The renovation cost also went up from an estimated $70,000 to $120,000 because of these issues.
Nonetheless, the team at Bowerman recognised that "the journey may not always be smooth and easy, but we will always steer this 'ship' to where it belongs - a place the home owner can call home".
• This article first appeared in the June 2019 issue of Home & Decor, which is published by SPH Magazines.
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