Home Showcase:
This American-british couple tells us how they curated their cool décor pieces, and why they love coming home to their Novena condo.
Peek around this couple’s Novena pad
It’s Friday evening, and Andrea and Ben, a young couple from New York City, have happily agreed to let me into their home for a chat and a nose around. Settling in to tea served in their delicate Limoges wedding set, and sniffing the delicious-smelling focaccia bread that Andrea has baked (unfortunately, a sniff was all I could enjoy as I’m currently on a low-carb diet!), we start chatting about their expat experiences, beginning with their move to London in 2007.
Living for most of their stint in the Regent’s Canal and Angel areas, Andrea and Ben loved London life. “We sort of ‘grew up’ there,” says Ben. So much so, they even naturalised as British citizens. With almost nine years under their belts in the capital, they also developed an interest in Asia, specifically Singapore. “We’d been out here for work, and we felt it was a really interesting place to be. When a Singaporebased role came up within Linkedin, the company Andrea already worked for, she put her hand up for a transfer,” explains Ben. “It was a joint, deliberate choice,” adds Andrea. “Technically we moved with my job, but we were definitely ready for a change after almost a decade.”
London to Singapore
Making the move from London to Singapore on New Year’s Eve 2016, Andrea and Ben first stayed in a corporate apartment in Clarke Quay. “I hit the ground running with my new job, so it was great that Ben had a little window before he started his new job to find our apartment. It was just enough time for him to find us somewhere.”
Having lived in smaller apartments in London, the couple were keen for a slightly older apartment on a high floor – one that would afford them some more space, as well as a closed kitchen. “I would send Andrea photos of the shortlisted condos, and this one really hit the spot,” says Ben. As they’re both city people, the area was convenient for work and socialising. “But for us it was really apartment first, neighbourhood second,” says Andrea. They were drawn to the high finishes throughout, the architectural merit and the design features; in fact, the building won the President’s Design Award in 2007. They decided to take the apartment.
Waiting for their shipment of furniture from London, they spent their first two weeks in their new apartment with nothing but an IKEA bed and yoga mat as “furniture”. As this apartment had more space than they had in London, they knew they needed more furniture to fill it; “it was a wonderful problem to have though,” adds Andrea.
“While living in London we had explored Lots Road and its auction houses, buying a few pieces here and there,” says Ben. “We wanted to find something similar in Singapore, particularly as new furniture can be pretty expensive, but we couldn’t find anything that really hit the mark at first.” They then chanced upon a business card for auction house Hotlotz while in a coffee shop in Tiong Bahru, picking up owner Matt Elton’s details from the counter. “We went to his very first auction, and we just loved his stylistic pieces. Matt has a great eye and a knack for wonderful curation.”
Vintage Style
The couple have a definite leaning towards mid-century pieces, and Ben in particular has a keen eye for incorporating this décor into their home. “Ben studied the history of art and architecture, and I’m always happy for him to pick the pieces for our home,” says Andrea. However, a walk through the apartment quickly determines that they’ve both had a hand in the interior choices. “The unifying style is early to midcentury modern, but we also like to collect Asian pieces from the 19th century, so the result is a bit eclectic,” explains Andrea.
The aim has been to create a warm, inviting space for entertaining. “Somewhere you could have 10 for dinner or 20 for a cocktail party. To that point, you really want pieces that grab people’s attention and create conversations,” says Ben. And there are plenty of pieces that do that, from the grumpy man sculptures from Papua New Guinea and the North Korean painting above the buffet, to the 17th-century clothes trunk picked up from Hotlotz. Andrea and Ben have also enjoyed hunting down other second-hand and vintage dealers, including Lorgan’s The Retro Store. Then there’s East Inspirations, a father-andson team that deals in Chinese antiques.
Both Ben and Andrea travel for work, a lot – Ben in his position at Fitch, and Andrea with her global role at Linkedin. With their apartment, they wanted to create a space they were excited and happy to come home to. “Coming back to somewhere that’s homey and not transient, it just feels right. We’ve been together for 17 years, so we have plenty of stuff that’s part of our history, and having it integrated with our pieces acquired here makes this place ours,” says Andrea.