East Coast Eclectic

She may not live in the black-andwhite she yearned for years ago, but CLAIRE SALARIA’s East Coast house is the next best thing for her, oozing eclectic, creative style.

- Amy Brook-Partridge

There’s a theory that, in Singapore, there are Easties and there are Westies, and once you decide on an area to live in, it’s rare for anyone to cross over. This is true of Claire Salaria and her family, who first moved to Joo Chiat in the East 11 years ago. Living initially in a shop house, and benefitting from shared facilities, they stayed there for four years until their family outgrew the space and they were on the hunt again, for something bigger, but still in the East.

“We loved the house we had – it was beautiful, but it only had three bedrooms. We wanted more space, and we wanted to pay less, and these properties would only let you renew once a year so we had to negotiate each time. The community thing also just got a little too much sometimes – I’d end up with ten kids in the house and there’s no getting away!”

The family loved the area, and with Lila already attending UWC Tampines, Claire did initially look at colonial houses in Changi and Seletar. “My dream was to live in a black-and white but it just wouldn’t work with Tariq’s commute into Marina Bay. Here at least it’s just four stops for him to get into the city.”