Interior Designer Home – Savage Style

ANDREA SAVAGE’s home oozes luxe style; unsurprisingly, since she’s partner and project director at award-winning interior design house Design Intervention. She tells us how her home reflects her international background, and how she managed to create an apartment that is vibrant and eclectic downstairs, and contemporary and calming upstairs.

Who lives here: Andrea Savage, husband Cameron and son Julian.
Country of origin: Andrea was born in Kenya and grew up in Australia.
How long in Singapore: 16 years. Size of home: 2,500 sq. ft, three bedrooms.
Andrea’s personal style: Vibrant, eclectic, understated luxury.
Style of home: A reflection of the family’s international background, the space is harmonious and uncluttered. Andrea’s connections with both Africa and Australia are recurring motifs.

From fashion model to interior designer and project director, to resident judge on the hit reality television show The Apartment, Andrea Savage is clearly a lady who can turn her hand to many a task. Her home in Mount Faber is one such project – having bought the property in 2013, she has since transformed it into a family home that combines their heritage with her own innate sense of style and design.

Explaining why she picked the three-bedroom, two-storey condo on the West Coast, she points to the proportions of older buildings as a big draw.

“Older properties can be graceful and spacious, and the interior architecture is often interesting, featuring attractive creative design elements – I love the French doors and arched windows upstairs, for example. Older buildings are also structurally sound and maintain their quality despite their age.”

With the bones of the property in good condition, Andrea set about gutting every single room – the plan was to use motifs from her background to link the two very differently designed floors. “We love cooking and entertaining, so the kitchen had to be open-plan to facilitate conversation when needed, but also to be able to allow for privacy for more formal occasions.”

In contrast to the dramatic and glossy elements of the downstairs living area, the bedrooms and study have a softer, calmer palette, sharing neutral tones, textured materials and lacquered finishes. “The clean lines have a more contemporary Art Deco vibe, elegant and chic yet still with great visual appeal.”

Glamour on the ground

As soon as you enter Andrea’s home you’re hit with the luxurious playfulness of the place, from the marble herringbone flooring to the Fornasetti umbrella wallpaper. The wallpaper’s palette of pink, mustard, purple and cobalt reinforces the key accent colours. From the hallway you enter the open plan living, dining and bar area.

Most of the furniture and furnishings are bespoke, apart from a few items such as the zebra dining chairs, the Platner coffee table and the art. Using a wide mix of textiles, including silk and velvet, in a variety of rich colours that contrast against the natural backdrop of the tree canopy outside, Andrea has created a unique living space.

“My favourite spot is the breakfast table here – it’s a small table for two; and when we fling open the French doors, it’s heaven!”

Although the bar area integrates with the living and dining areas, its colour palette marks it apart from the other areas with dramatic effect. Gold, black and animal print mixes with sun motifs – just the right combination of warmth and glamour.

The space under the stairs houses the wine fridge, ice machine and integrated bar fridge. The marble herringbone flooring unifies the living areas with the kitchen, a relatively small space with no natural light. To overcome this, Andrea added a special-effect blue Venetian plaster ceiling and mirrored cabinetry to increase the light and space.

“I love our home! It’s different, vibrant yet calm, fun yet sophisticated, and serious yet quirky.”

Recommendations

• PS.Cafe (“I love their continual diversity and new establishments, and their service is still undeniably good”) pscafe.com
• Spago (“lovely – like sitting on a mountain top, but a sophisticated one! The décor is great too”) Tower 2 Marina Bay Sands, Level 57 6688 9955
• Vedure Face, Body & Nail Spa (“I’ve been going to this spa for years and every service is amazing – their pedicures and manicures last the longest”) #04-06 Wheelock Place, 501 Orchard Road 6732 6448 | vedure.com
• Huue Gallery Crystal (“wonderful selection of art”) 188 Bukit Timah Road 6334 2805 galleryhuue.com
• Africa (“this has to be a top bucket-list destination”)
• ION Orchard (“still is a one-stop shop”) 2 Orchard Turn 6238 8228 ionorchard.com
• Design Intervention 75e Loewen Road, Tanglin Village 6506 0920 designintervention.com.sg

This is an extract of an article that first appeared in the July 2016 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy for the full story, and subscribe so you never miss an issue!

Where should you live? Look at our neighborhood guides

Like this? We have plenty more stories just like it inside reader homes