Design details
Those older architectural details actually made designing the main room a bit challenging. Sarah worked on it with designer Isabelle Walsh.
“It was really hard; I couldn’t get my head around the pole right in the middle. My husband Shaun and I gave Isabelle very different briefs – I said cool blues; he said the room had to feel warm. So Isabelle designed the Air Force blue seats (my favourite items in the house) and married them with the bronzetopped console and the use of teak.”
Isabelle sectioned the room into four distinct areas: a dining area; a seating area for entertaining; a family spot for watching television; and a table where the chessboard can always stay out.
“One of my favourite travel memories is watching Quillan learning to play chess with Shaun in Sri Lanka. He’s loved it ever since, so we wanted to leave it out to encourage him to continue playing.”
Sarah added her own bits and pieces, including a playful copper light from HipVan and a beautiful blue textile they picked up in Yangon on a trip to celebrate her 40th birthday. Other bits, such as the vintage wood pieces, were purchased years ago from Originals. The coffee table is from Crate and Barrel, and the circular wall art from Soul & Tables, one of Sarah’s favourite stores.
“My dad made the sideboard in our entrance and I brought it with us when we came to Singapore. I love having something special from him in the house. Also, the white display cabinet was my parents from the 70s; it was dark wood, so it didn’t go with
the décor. Isabelle arranged for it to be painted, and added new handles and a cornice on top. It’s completely transformed. We love it now.”
The master bedroom is also structurally different than most rooms, with a wall at an angle and wooden floorboards that go in different directions, meeting at an odd V-shaped angle. This actually made it easy for Sarah to figure out how to lay out the room, with the bed against one wall and a sofa on another. Some things came from back home in the UK, such as the squiggly tall chest. The end tables were a wedding present from Shaun’s uncle and aunt. The bed is from Courts, the leather chair from Crate & Barrel, and the sofa from Ikea.
New perspective
Sarah loves Ikea; if you juxtapose the pieces with other pricier items, she says they can not only look great but also keep your budget down. She has a lot of Ikea items as well as rugs from iRugs interspersed throughout the house. She appreciates them now more than ever.
“It’s funny, really. We’ve had this sofa in here for a long time now, but we never really used it. During the Circuit Breaker, I found I just needed a quiet place to myself and a place to play my guitar sometimes. This sofa served that purpose.
“In fact, we used every space in the house more fully during the lockdown. Shaun used the guest room as an office. Phoebe used the dining table. And Quillan used the hallway landing as his spot for eLearning; this was an area that before lockdown I’d just thought of us a place to get from Point A to Point B. During the Circuit Breaker, though, it became the heart of the home. And now I see my home in a whole new light. I’m really so thankful we lived here during the pandemic.”
The landing is decorated with photos and art done by the children – 12-year-old Phoebe is quite the artist. Some of the items are framed by Daniel’s Frame Shop on the East Coast, one of Sarah’s favourites.
“Using photos and children’s art makes this rental house feel more like our home. It personalises the space. And it also shows the children how proud we are of what they make.”
The furniture in both children’s rooms came from Piccolo House on the East Coast; smaller pieces such as the nightstands are from Ikea; Sarah dressed up the nightstands with hand-painted knobs. The bedding is from Pottery Barn, which has fantastic stuff for tweens such as the fun, furry bean bag chair covers.