A Tuscan-inspired home on Mount Faber

Some homes are built for efficiency. Others, like this 1,172-square-foot Mount Faber apartment, are designed for atmosphere. For a couple whose lives are defined by travel, art, and ritual, Studio Metanoia crafted a home that slips easily between old-world reverie and contemporary ease — less a condo, more a Tuscan villa reframed for city living.

The couple’s inspiration came not from a specific look but a memory: a stay at Borgo Pignano, an art-led retreat in the Tuscan countryside, where the languid pace of mornings, the texture of stone, and the quiet power of art left an indelible mark. They carried that sensibility into their brief: a soulful, gallery-like home, enriched by French elegance, brownstone gravitas, and Parisian flair — a space alive with depth, character, and atmosphere.

The old layout had none of that magic. The study carved into the living room made the space feel pinched, while the kitchen was boxed up and dreary. Studio Metanoia responded with decisive edits. The study was demolished, making way for a generous living room anchored by herringbone oak floors and linen drapes. The kitchen opened up into a sociable heart of the home, complete with a green marble island that doubles as sculpture and stage. A separate dining restores the ritual of lingering meals.

Materiality does the heavy lifting here. A Calacatta Viola Black marble console reinvents the European fireplace as art object, its veining as dramatic as a painted canvas. The island, clad in Verde St Dennis marble, is a counterpoint: deep, moody, tactile. These are not surfaces chosen to impress, but to resonate. They embody the couple’s belief that a home should be felt, not just seen.

Light is equally considered. Overhead fixtures are minimal, replaced by vintage lamps, sconces, and candlelight — the kind of warm, atmospheric glow that makes a glass of wine at dusk feel like a ritual. On the balcony (a first for the couple), mornings stretch into coffee above the treetops, while evenings soften into twilight against the hum of cicadas.

The final layer is art. Bold canvases by Madeleine McKinlay infuse dreamlike colour into the living room, a counterbalance to the quiet palette of stone, wood, and linen. These pieces, like the home itself, are not decoration but memory made visible.

In the end, this is not a showpiece apartment but a place where travel, art, and atmosphere converge — a Tuscan dream made tangible, right in the heart of Singapore.

Studio Metanoia
www.metanoia-studio.com
www.instagram.com/studiometanoia_

Photography by Marcus L Photography

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