BREATHING NEW LIFE

Thoughtful nips and tucks turn a 40-year-old dwelling into a cosy, cohesive and personalised home for chef Lennard Yeong and lawyer Ann Louise Yeong

- Luo Jingmei

Photography by Studio Periphery rench-based artist Jordan Tran, also known as Kean, paints luminous art, turning canvases into ombre atmospheres using acrylic. These are deeply emotive and meditative, affecting the larger environments they are placed in. There is one such tangerine-pink work in the living room of Lennard Yeong, who lives with his wife, Ann Louise Yeong.

The former plies his trade as an in-house chef for Miele Singapore, who also whets the appetites of Instagram followers with tantalising cooking videos—remaking Chef Kenichiro Nishi’s papery kuzukiri dessert or sharing a pasta version of mee soto ayam, for instance. Ann is a corporate lawyer whose aesthetic leanings are embodied in the house's cohesive palette and artful elements.

"Lennard has been following Tran’s work for a while, and admires it. When we were in Paris, we went to see his pieces in person and were instantly drawn to this painting for its deep hues," says Ann. “Its rich yet gentle colours inspired by a sunset create a very calm and relaxing feeling, while still making a striking statement in the living room.” The painting guided the living room’s muted natural tones. Grey stone and walnut timber laminate go with a rust-and-beige carpet, upon which a pair of deep-cobalt Utrecht armchairs from Cassina stand. The overall mood is serene and tasteful—a contrast to the way the house was before a six-month renovation by design studio Monocot.

SHIFTING SPACES