When building the dream home for this couple and their twin boys, Museum Homes came up with a design that will grow and evolve together with the family
24 November 2016
Home Type: Inter-terrace House
Floor Area: 3,000 sqft
Lydia and her husband Gerald are parents of 2-year-old twin boys, and they know that trying to keep a 3-storey house looking impeccable would be an almost impossible challenge for them. This is why Alex Kwan from Museum Homes approached the design of their family home with a clear objective. “I wanted the design of this home to be very honest. There isn’t a lot of closed carpentry to hide the clutter, especially on the first floor. There’s just no running away from everyday clutter. So instead of pretending, why not just display it as part of the design element?” Alex’s vision comes to life in certain aspects of the home, like the custom-built ceiling-high display shelf in the living room where toys are proudly displayed.
With a strong emphasis on interiors that are built with growing children in mind, having room to grow into was a natural priority. The boys are able to run around without fear of falling over something or knocking into a wall. Designer Alex set out an open yet cohesive space for the entire family to use, stretching from the living room to kitchen to dining hall and even to the backyard. The backyard used to be a dingy space, but now boasts a refreshing carpet of green grass and an outdoor bathroom.
When it came to picking material and colour palettes, the well-travelled family looked to industrial homes for inspiration. “We like homes that are functional, so we looked at practical spaces from New York and the Scandinavian trends.” This led to the neutral palette of the home with black, white and grey interspersed with warm wood grains. Not only does it give the home its warehouse-inspired look, it is also much easier to maintain, attests Lydia. Although the second floor remains unoccupied (“The boys will take up that space when they’re bigger”) the top floor has been converted into a spacious bedroom suite with lofty ceilings and exposed rafters. “We were just beginning to strip away the ceiling when we realised that this house has beautiful rafters. So we decided to leave them out in the open instead of replacing the ceiling as we had originally planned. Now, the rooms on the top floor have gorgeous, high ceilings,” says Alex.
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