Sometimes just getting help with where to place furniture, how to coordinate colours or place artwork is all you need – whether it’s a new home or you’re just revamping your old one. Three interior designers waved their magical, stylish wands over these Singapore homes and created three very happy homes.
Poonam Jeswani-Minhas, Singaporean
My husband and I were looking for an interior design team that could provide a styling experience and a full suite of services, including helping us choose accessories and look at colours and spatial layouts. We’d been through interior designing before for a previous home and had found it a fairly standard experience. We struggled to find someone who could help figure out things like what sofa to buy in what colour, and where to place it.
I came across Arete Culture through some online research and looked at their portfolio. We were impressed, and even more so after our initial conversation with one of their stylists, Nirvi.
Arete Culture helped us make over our living and dining rooms, bathrooms and kitchen. They assisted with everything from choosing tiles and looking at colour schemes to fixture selection. Later on, we worked on selecting furniture and curtains, and lastly the team came in for the makeover day and gave our place the finishing touches in terms of accessories.
We absolutely loved their work, and I’d encourage being very upfront with them about your overall budget. Arete are conscious of that and will be certain to work within your specifications. We would love to work with them again!
Arete Culture
#06-01 Tan Boon Liat Building 315 Outram Road
9640 3829 | areteculture.com
Ivy Li, Singaporean
My husband and I were looking for something romantic and classic, yet homely and comfortable. Most Singapore flats go for the Scandinavian and modern style, which did not really appeal to us, so we took a while to look for an interior designer.
I found E&A Interiors through an online search, and it was a pleasant surprise to see that the office is very close to our house, so we set up an appointment with Chlöe. When I first met her, I found her to be very professional and easy to talk to; she showed us her past projects, and we really liked them. I really do feel that she can work wonders in creating a lovely colour scheme and make the best use of different fabrics.
The scope of the project saw Chlöe redo the majority of the flat, including the living room, the kitchen, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. We showed Chlöe some samples of the features that we liked, and she delivered a beautiful design. The project took longer than expected to complete, as the team needed to redo some parts of the furniture to make it more functional, such as putting the wine cabinet on the other side of the bar counter.
We are very happy with the outcome. E&A Interiors is an excellent company, and I would engage them again if I ever needed to refurbish another home in Singapore. All of our houseguests have complimented the interior design and remarked on how pretty it is.
E&A Interiors
#04-24 The Herencia, 46 Kim Yam Road
6702 4850 | eandainteriors.com
Sarah Cole, British, and Praveen Vijay, Indian
We were looking for someone who would listen to our ideas and give guidance, not someone to tell us to do this or do that. When Praveen first moved to Singapore, someone at work recommended Gallery 278. He met with principal designer Felicia, and she gave him suggestions and guidance to help him settle into his first apartment.
When we moved into our new space, we loved the couch Praveen had, but it was too small. Felicia gave us the option to upsize and the opportunity to decide how deep and long we wanted it to be, while maintaining the style and fabric. The dining table and chairs from the old apartment didn’t suit our shared style so we were able to trade them in, with Felicia creating a new unique set for us.
In the new master bedroom, we needed a new bed frame and chests of drawers. Through Felicia’s contacts we were able to get some showpieces, which was very cost-effective. Also, reusing the television stand and taking the old light stands from the living room and placing them in the bedroom meant we only needed to buy light stands and shades for the new living/dining area.
I already had my shophouse artwork from my friend Tatyana Kildisheva, and Felicia encouraged us to create our own artwork alongside it as our wall was big enough. It’s a work in progress but it feels good to have something of our own on the walls.
We were able to trial a chair or loan a bed frame to see if it suited our needs and styles before we committed to purchasing. When we did confirm all the pieces, they put together a payment plan so we didn’t need to fork out thousands of dollars up front.
Even though our space is now a home, we still ask for advice from Felicia and her team. It’s not just about design and business; it’s more like a friendship. She spent her Saturday morning with us when we wanted to get started with our horticultural setup, giving advice on herbs that would work best in our specific setting. Felicia goes above and beyond.
Gallery 278 by Esco Leasing
278 River Valley Road
6737 2322 | gallery278.com
Want more home inspiration? See our home decor section!
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This article first appeared in the November 2018 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy or subscribe so you never miss an issue!
