Versatile spaces
create a visual sense of depth.”
The multi-dimensional dining area was a concept that Teo has always wanted to create. On the one end, next to the dry kitchen, is a counter-height dining table and chairs, designed in cherry wood and burnt orange leather upholstery. “It’s like a French culinary experience, where you sit upright and enjoy the food, but in the relaxed ambience of your home,” he adds.
At the dining alcove, it is a more casual, “Mediterranean style” experience, where Teo’s Donghia chairs were turned into low chairs, inspired by ottomans, and reupholstered in expensive leather of burnt orange, similar to the banquette around a low height dining table on caster wheels designed by Philippe Starck. A countertop nearby doubles as a buffet or drinks counter, with storage space below.
Multifunctional luxury
The furniture and spaces within the house were designed to be versatile and multifunctional. For instance, a room on the first level of the house has been designed as a yoga or meditation area, with sliding glass doors opening out to the pool. A swing has been installed so that even a grown man can swing right into the pool, says Teo.
The room can be easily converted into a guest bedroom by installing a Murphy bed. The room has an en suite bathroom, which is designed to be “spa-like”, and also doubles as the common bathroom. Adjacent to the bathroom is an al fresco spa area with a view of the garden. “The idea is that you could have your own home spa,” he adds.
The dry kitchen was recently refurbished and can be used as a bar in the evenings, a breakfast juice bar or buffet counter when entertaining. “It forms the heart of the house,” says Teo. A hole was hacked in the wall between the wet and dry kitchens to create a glass window with a sliding panel that acts as a servery; and floating glass shelves. “The glass window creates a visual connection between the dry and wet kitchens,” he explains.
The wet kitchen is newly equipped with a full suite of Gaggenau kitchen appliances, including a built-in coffee machine and a steamer “for a semi-professional culinary experience”, says Teo. The kitchen has a connecting door to the helper’s room and en suite bathroom. Glass sliding doors near the kitchen open out to the garden and the spa.
Besides experimenting with space and design, Teo has also been experimenting with materials used. For instance, the flooring on the first level is of engineered timber. It is more durable, and owners will not have to worry about dragging a heavy piece of furniture across the floor, he adds.
The staircases, flooring and built-in wardrobes on the upper floors, on the other hand, are of real teak wood. There are three bedrooms on the second level: two en suite bedrooms and a junior master suite. All the bedrooms come with an en suite private balcony as well. The balconies are large enough for morning exercise like tai chi or yoga.
The junior master bedroom has a generous wardrobe area and a secret vault. The bedroom is big enough to comfortably fit in a four-poster bed and it has its own private balcony. The junior master bathroom comes with separate shower and water closet as well as a vanity top with double sinks. The junior master bedroom is sizeable enough to be used as the master suite, says Teo.
The master bedroom on the attic level comes with a pitched ceiling and wraparound balcony. It has a luxurious en suite master bathroom with a standalone bathtub, separate shower enclosure and full-length vanity top with double sinks. The master bathroom is connected to another room,
which can be used as a walk-in wardrobe and dressing room, says Teo.
Alternatively, the homeowner could turn the entire attic level into a home office and hobby room or home entertainment area. That is why Teo deliberately left the third level unfurnished to allow homeowners to reimagine the use of the space according to their lifestyle needs. “It can even be turned into a studio apartment for a multi-generational family,” he adds.
When Teo was based in the UK three years ago, he had originally designed the property at Coronation Road West as a tropical resort home for his family when they came back to Singapore for holidays.
Having made over the bungalow recently, Teo says: “If there’s another lockdown, you wouldn’t mind staying here for another two months. It’s like your own resort.”
For Teo, it marks the maiden project under XXII Century.
He intends to actively look for old properties in Singapore and around the world, which can be restored or repurposed for alternative uses. These include not just residential properties, but also disused industrial warehouses and even office buildings.
“I’m really excited about this, and I’ve spent the last two weeks looking for properties around the world,” he says. “I’m looking at one in Lake Como [in Italy’s Lombardy resort area] which could certainly benefit from a makeover to make it relevant again, either for an end-user or to be resold. This is our contribution in terms of property development — impact design.”
The bungalow at Coronation Road West is now on the market with a price tag of $12.8 million. Alvin Choo, division director for investment sales & affluent markets, ERA Realty, has been appointed the exclusive marketing agent. The house has a built-up area of about 6,000 sq ft.
The property sits on a freehold site, and occupies a land area of about 6,290 sq ft, which includes a strip of state land of about 1,000 sq ft in front of the property. For the use of the land, the annual rent is about $3,000, which translates to about $250 a month, says Choo.
Located in prime District 10, the property is situated right in the middle of Coronation Road West and Coronation Road. It is accessible via both Holland Road and Bukit Timah Road. It is near Orchard Road, Holland Village and the Dempsey Hill F&B enclave, as well as top schools such as Hwa Chong International School, Middleton International School, Nanyang Girls’ High School and Raffles Girls Primary School. This makes it a sought-after neighbourhood for families with children of school-going age.
“The property is a beautifully designed, ready-built home sitting on a site with triple frontage, which is rarely available,” says Choo.
With a 17m frontage, the house has the potential to be redeveloped into a pair of semidetached houses. This presents several possible future scenarios. “You can subdivide the land, move into one of the semi-detached houses, while your grown-up child can move into the other,” says Choo. “You can create a separate entrance or a central entrance to both houses, much like a dual-key landed property.”
Another scenario would be to develop a pair of semi-detached houses, sell one of them, and retain the other for one’s own use, adds Choo.
A unique attribute of the existing property is that it is 2½ storeys in height, but has the potential to be redeveloped into a 3½-storey detached house or a pair of 3½-storey semidetached houses, excluding basement. “For buyers, this property is ideal for wealth preservation, coupled with future exciting redevelopment potential and hence future capital gain,” says Choo.
EE