The Fabric Of All Things

With a nod to traditional English decorating and with references to its Asian locale, this Singaporean family home is a visual tapestry of pastels and patterns

- MARTIN JACOBS

“I always think that a project that starts with its fabrics as the foundation is going to be a great success,” says Singapore-based interior designer Elizabeth Hay. Having trained at London’s long-established decorating firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, and having worked on homes in locations as varied as Ibiza, Jackson Hole, The Hamptons and Mustique, Elizabeth should know. She’s passionate about fabrics and their backstories and stocks her fabric library mostly with those from artisanal and boutique houses. So, when approached by two doctors wanting to renovate their family home, an antique silk suzani (that now hangs with pride of place in the living room) served as a starting point. “I can really understand the look and feel a client wants by first understanding their fabric likes and dislikes,” Elizabeth explains. Loving the suzani presented to them, it became clear to her that what her clients wished for was, as she puts it, “a refuge in which to relax that offered downtime from their stressful jobs – an uplifting, light and airy home that would feel happy.”