ANAITA THAKKAR, founder of Lustre Jewellery, talks about her journey, work and her home in one of old iconic condominiums – The Arcadia condo in Singapore.
zAbout the Home
Name of property: The Arcadia in Bukit Timah`
Type of home: Condo apartment
Occupants: Anaita and her husband, their two sons, their helper and their dog (“an anxious cockerpoo”)
Tell us a little about yourself, Anaita.
I was born in India and moved to Hong Kong when I was 20. My background is in hospitality, though over the years I’ve worn quite a few hats. I’m a trained Montessori teacher, I’ve worked in relocation, and at one point ran a business creating custom digital pop art portraits from people’s favourite objects, places and photographs. This was long before filters and apps made that sort of thing instant.
I met my husband in Hong Kong, and we did the usual Singapore-Hong Kong dating shuffle after his job moved him here. I eventually moved to Singapore after we got married, and it’s been home ever since.
We have two grown-up boys who are very much Singaporean. Both have completed National Service, one is currently in college, and the other is about to leave for college, so I’m now entering a completely new phase of life as an almost empty nester.
Where did you first live when you came to Singapore and why?
We lived just off Orchard Boulevard in what was then Singapore’s very first condominium development, though the building has since been demolished. After that, we moved to a couple of apartments around Farrer Road.
Interestingly, The Arcadia was the second apartment I ever saw when I first arrived in Singapore, and I completely fell in love with it. I still remember joking to my husband that if we ever ended up staying in Singapore permanently and buying a home here, this was where I wanted to live. At that point, nearly 24 years ago, I honestly never imagined we actually would.
Having grown up in Bombay and then moving to Hong Kong before here, apartment living was always what I knew. Even in Singapore, before moving to The Arcadia, we lived just off Orchard Boulevard and later around Farrer Road, so high rise living felt very natural to me.
That said, I’ve always had a deep love for heritage homes, especially colonial houses and black-and-whites. I’m very drawn to spaces with history, character, proportions and a sense of permanence. In fact, we came very close to moving into a black-and-white in 2018, but the deal fell through at the last minute and we ended up staying on at Arcadia.
Looking back now, I think life probably worked out the way it was meant to. As I’m entering this next phase of life and becoming an almost empty nester, apartment living may ultimately be where I feel most at home after all.
What have been your best furniture or home décor buys?
I’ve always felt that furniture can be relatively transient in a home. Pieces come and go; layouts evolve and needs change over time. In fact, our home has evolved quite a bit in the 20 years we’ve lived here.
The things I’m most attached to are the smaller objects and collected pieces we’ve gathered through our travels over the years.
One of the most meaningful collections in our home is our collection of Ganesh statues and objects, which my husband started long before he met me. Over the years, it’s become something we actively seek out whenever we travel. We’ve found pieces in antique stores, tiny roadside shops, little hidden boutiques and unexpected corners of the world. Every piece carries a memory. I can look at that wall and remember exactly where we found something and the story behind it, so it feels more personal than any single piece of furniture ever could.
How would you define your home style?
Layered, collected and very personal. I’m drawn to spaces that feel lived in and evolved over time rather than overly designed or trend driven. I love natural textures, dark wood, art, books, and pieces collected through travel that carry memory or meaning.
There’s definitely a slightly colonial and well-travelled influence on the home, shaped by having lived in Bombay, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Favourite area in your condo and why?
This is an easy one for me. My balcony and my studio are probably my two favourite spaces in the home. I spend every morning on the balcony drinking coffee, watching the squirrels, and listening to the birds. In a city like Singapore, that daily connection to greenery and nature feels incredibly grounding.
My studio is the other space I’m deeply attached to. It’s where I design for Lustre, meet clients and work on almost every creative project I take on. It’s probably the room in the house that feels the most “me”.
What do you enjoy about living in Singapore?
Honestly, almost everything. Singapore has been home for such a large part of my life now. I love how efficient, safe, green and easy it is to live here. I love the incredible mix of cultures, the food, the travel connectivity and the fact that you can still be in nature despite living in a city.
The only thing I truly struggle with is the lack of seasons. I really miss that sense of the passage of time that that brings. Time feels more structured somehow when the world around you changes with it.
Tell us a bit about your work.
I’m the founder and owner of Lustre, an independent jewellery brand based in Singapore specialising in handcrafted natural gemstone jewellery made in small batches by artisans around the world. I design the collections myself and oversee everything from sourcing gemstones to working with artisans. What started as a passion project has slowly grown into a full-fledged business and a huge part of my life.
One of the things I love most is that I work from a studio space within my home. It functions as both my creative workspace and a private showroom where clients can come in and experience the pieces in a much more personal and relaxed setting. It’s a very intimate way of working, and I think that connection between home, creativity and the brand naturally shapes the way Lustre feels.
Any advice for newcomers?
Singapore is a very transient city, and I think it helps to accept that early on. Over the years, you’ll probably make some of the deepest friendships of your life here, but you’ll also inevitably lose people to relocations, career moves, family changes, or simply life taking them elsewhere.
I went through a long period where it felt like I was losing one really close friend every year, and it took me time to come to terms with that constant cycle of people arriving and leaving. Once you accept its transient nature, I think it becomes much easier to appreciate the friendships and experiences for what they are, without feeling devastated every time someone moves away.
This article first appeared in The July 2026 Expat Living magazine. You can buy the latest issue or an annual subscription or read the digital version free now.
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