Dutch expat LOTTE HERMSEN shares her Singapore story and recommendations, plus shows us her home, a Sommerville Park Townhouse, where she lives with her Swedish husband and two young daughters.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m originally from the Netherlands. I studied in Amsterdam but also spent some time in Barcelona and Washington DC during my university years. I moved to Singapore when I had just turned 27. A year later, I met my Swedish husband, and very soon after, our two daughters –m now almost three and one – were born.
I spent about a decade in banking. Earlier this year I made the leap and launched my own cushion brand, AnnaFilippa.com.
Where did you first live when you came to Singapore and why?
When I first moved here, my employer had arranged a serviced apartment in Geylang. There weren’t many expats in that neighbourhood at the time, but it was close to the green MRT line, so it was easy to commute to the CBD.
After living in Geylang, I lived at Orchard Road, Robertson Quay and for the last five years at Sommerville Park Condo, which is between Holland Village and Tanglin. We first lived in a maisonette. When I was pregnant with our second daughter, we moved to a townhouse for extra space.
What do you love about Somerville Park and surrounding area?
I absolutely love the greenery here. Somerville Park is an old condo, so there’s lots of grass and trees. There are also two playgrounds, two tennis courts, squash courts and a massive swimming pool. The units, a mix of apartments and townhouses, are also relatively big, which is great for a growing family like ours. The location is super central: it’s close to Dempsey Hill, Cluny Court and Orchard – so I can easily cycle everywhere (I am Dutch, after all!). The community is very close knit, and my daughter has lots of friends here, so that’s a huge plus.
What are your favourite aspects of the townhouse?
I love that we have a house with three floors, each with its own purpose and feeling. Downstairs is where we spend most of our time, including having meals and hosting guests. The second floor is more private – it’s where we have our living room area, and we spend most of our evenings here. The top floor is where we sleep and work.
It’s an older development, so all the rooms are relatively big. We have three balconies, two of them overlooking the greenery. The doors are always open to bring the outside in. The glass brick walls that run from the top to the bottom also bring in a lot of natural light.
What was it like when you moved in?
The townhouse we currently live in had been vacant for nine months when we first moved in, so the first couple of weeks we had a lot of issues – for example, with drainage; a huge monitor lizard had even moved into one of the kitchen cupboards! The agent was helpful though, so most of the issues were resolved pretty quickly.
How did you find doing it up and decorating?
We have always rented in Singapore, which means there’s only so much you can change in the unit. However, we realised that it’s the small and personal objects – like paintings, table linen and cushions – that make a place feel like home, so we have put a lot of effort into collecting those items. Also, in every apartment or house we have lived in, we always paint the walls in the exact same colours. That helps to build that familiarity and lets us settle in quickly.
One challenge we always face is the lighting. We love warm light, but amber light bulbs are really hard to find here in Singapore. When friends and family are visiting, they always ask if they can bring anything from the Netherlands or Sweden. Our answer is usually food and light bulbs, ha!
What have been your best furniture or home décor buys?
Our furniture is a mix of old and new. I love buying second-hand furniture on Carousell, Facebook groups and IKEA and giving it a lick of paint or changing the knobs. For example, my daughter’s play kitchen is from IKEA. I painted it pink and bought new wooden knobs and accessories on Etsy. Now you barely recognise it as IKEA. It’s a fun and creative process to make items more personal at a reasonable price.
Anything you could have done differently when it comes to buying home décor?
Next time, I’ll try to not buy everything at the same time. In my view, a home needs to grow organically. Buy something, see how it fits with the rest of the interior and then move on to the next piece.
How would you define your home style?
Textured, warm and colourful. In Scandinavia, the winters are very long and dark, so I started using more colour in our interior to brighten up the house, and I kind of carried that style with me to Singapore. I enjoy buying from small businesses and artisans from here and overseas. Our suitcases always come home heavier than they left – ceramics from Spain, knives from Japan, and trinkets from Swedish flea markets.
In Scandinavia, winters are long and dark, so I use colourful interiors to brighten up our spaces.
Favourite area in the house and why?
I love my daughters’ rooms. I love the colour on the wall and the DIY bookshelves, with books in three different languages. There’s also a small painting of a mother and her child that I got from my husband when my eldest was born. It was made by a Dutch artist named Joëlle Wehkamp.
Every time I am in my daughters’ rooms and see their books, I feel grateful for the special life we live and for the fact I can put my healthy kids to sleep in a warm bed. No matter how hectic and tiring life can get with two young children, that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
What are your three favourite items in the home?
- A framed poster by Swedish artist Hilma af Klint we have at our dining table. It’s a real statement piece. I first saw it in a store in Sweden, but it was too big to buy. I later found an online retailer who could ship it to Singapore. It’s not just big but a very unusual size, so I had the frame custom made.
- Table linen from Covered. I have a few different sets for different occasions. Their table linen is made from 100 percent linen, so the fabric just gets softer the more you use and wash it.
- And, of course, cushions from my own brand AnnaFilippa.com. They are comfortable, colourful and textured. We use them in almost every room!
You’ve been in Singapore a long time; what do you like most about living here? Anything you would change?
I love the diversity in Singapore. For example, my daughters’ school celebrates different holidays such as Chinese New Year, Diwali and Christmas, and our neighbours are British, French, Australian and Chinese. I come from a small town in the Netherlands where all people looked the same and celebrated the same holidays, so getting exposed to so many different cultures and nationalities is something I don’t take for granted.
If I could change one thing, it would be the humidity. Although I love the amount of daylight here, the humidity sometimes gets to me! I’d love to be able to take a walk longer than 10 minutes without having to shower afterwards.
Any advice for newcomers?
When I first moved here, I just said yes to every invite or even invited myself to all kinds of events. I came here on my own, and for me connecting with people is what makes me happy, so I invested a lot of time in building a network. Sports are also a good way to meet new people – I have been playing field hockey with the Hollandse Club for almost seven years and met many of my friends there.
Tell us a bit more about your work
I just launched AnnaFilippa.com this year. We work together with independent female and family-owned businesses in Bali. The idea came from believing you don’t need expensive designer kitchens or fancy bathrooms to feel at home. It’s the small, personal objects, like cushions, that actually turn a house into a home.
The shift from corporate to entrepreneurship has been fun and at times challenging. While I wouldn’t say it’s been less hours, I love that it gives me more flexibility to pick my oldest daughter up from school or join her on her field trips.
Lotte’s Recommendations
Furniture & Décor
Smallable | smallable.com
Anna Filippa | annafilippa.com | IG @annafilippacom
Covered | yourtablecovered.com
Schools
EtonHouse International Pre-School Claymore
etonhouse.edu.sg/school/claymore
Doctors & Dentists
A Company for Women (Dr Lai Fon-Min, Gynaecologist) | acompanyforwomen.com.sg
International Medical Clinic (Dr Leo Hamilton, Paediatrician) | imc-healthcare.com
Brí Health (Jill Burns, Physiotherapist) | brihealth.sg
Smilepoint Dental Centre at Chip Bee Gardens | smilepoint.com.sg
Hair & Beauty
Blonde Boudoir for highlights | blondeboudoir.sg
The Nailist at Holland Village | IG @thenailistsg
Clothes
Rue Madame at Cluny Court | ruemadame.com
Restaurants, Cafés & Bars
NOX Dine in the Dark (“for a special experience”) | noxdineinthedark.com
Simply Bread | simplybread.com.sg
This article first appeared in The August 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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