Natural Dialogue

With Neutral Colours And A Refined Palette, This Family Home By Metaphor Studio Is A Stylish, Welcoming Abode That Makes The Best Of Its Tropical Context.

- Michele Koh Morollo

For the owners of this expansive three-storey house with an attic in Jalan Suasa in the Bukit Timah area, it was important that their new home meet three criteria. First, the property should have enough rooms to comfortably accommodate all of its occupants—a Singaporean professional athlete and his wife, an Australian horse trainer, as well as their two teenage sons and toddler daughter. Second, the home should complement Singapore’s warm tropical climate with a resort-like feel. Third, it should be homely, rather than ostentatious.

“The owners aren’t impressed by design gimmicks and aren’t fans of fanciful, over the-top architecture,” says Angela Tantry, founder and principal designer of Singapore firm Metaphor Studio, who worked with her design partner Stephen Goh on the architecture and interiors for the project.

SUNNY PERSPECTIVE

Elevated from the street level, the house seems to rise from a platform, which sets it apart from other abodes on the same street, giving it additional height. To take full advantage of Singapore’s year-round sunshine, the blueprint began with a west facing facade that would greet the morning sun. This frontal structure of the house is clad with quartz stone from the ground to the roof, giving the exterior a distinctive textured appearance.