“A common obsession through all our projects is that inner desire to integrate the exteriors into the way the interiors are designed,” Tan commented. “Be it just a simple framing of views to an extensive gesture to curate the lifestyle functions, materiality, and delicate layering, we have always embraced nature in our design wholeheartedly. A perspective from the top view as one descends from the elliptical stairs led us to decide on the ideal sofa and table pieces to place in the living room below as the pieces mimic the abstract form of pebbles.”
For a project as exclusive as this, Tan went all out to ensure that every detail was perfect. She paid meticulous attention to the detailing of the joinery, feature elements and material palette. She challenged her team of craftsmen by designing custom marble handles for drawers, curved end-panels covered in special suede, and bronze bar counters overlayed with a special coating technique.
Even after designing homes in some of the world’s most awe-inspiring settings, Tan felt that there was something very alluring, almost surreal about this “villa in the sky”.
“This project showed us that spatial volume is an element of luxury that is hard to beat for the sense of grandeur it provides in its simplest form,” she declared. “No amount of money spent on materials or details can replace the awe and stimulation that spatial volumes bring to our senses.”
The thing that Tan derives the greatest pleasure from? Knowing that the space she designed fit the family’s needs like a glove. “This unit was sold shortly after its launch. No changes needed to be made to our layouts at all. [The family was] constantly hanging out at the tea lounge that we created in the middle of the communal space.” A sign of appreciation and contentment, no doubt.
Source: CNA
