2. STYLE: BLANK CANVAS

Even off-white walls can be made intriguing with a clever mix of textures and materials, as evident in Canvas House, a shophouse with refreshed interiors by Ministry of Design (MOD). Crafted as a co-living space for leasing firm Figment, the four-storey structure was imagined as a “proverbial blank canvas” with its deliberate lack of colour. Yet its white walls are anything but boring; the firm created various installations and wall features to add tactile details to the abode.

One of its most distinctive elements is a neon artwork encased in an aluminium box, featuring a quote by Thomas Jefferson, the third American president, which encapsulates the concept of this shophouse. “We love wall features that actually communicate an idea or convey a concept,” says

Colin Seah, creative director of MOD.

“The quote, ‘I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past’ summarises the attitude of the house—it is a neutral white canvas for the future to be dreamt upon, rather than a wholesale homage to the past.”