Back in 2018, interior designer Cherin Tan and her husband, Jason Tong, were almost ready to put in an offer on a HDB point block flat in the Jalan Besar neighbourhood. Then, a text message from a friend came to inform them of the availability of a walk-up apartment just a few streets away. “I was very keen on walk-ups because we wanted a bigger space,” says the founder and Creative Director of interior design and architecture design company, LAANK. “So I think it took us less than 10 minutes after viewing the unit to make an offer.”
At that time, the two-and-a-half storey penthouse apartment, which measures 2,000sqft and sits on the top floor of a low-rise 1960s building, was configured as two separate rental units in a split-level setting.
“As I am an interior designer, I quickly saw its potential and what could be done with this space. Because there were no structural columns in the middle, I could also see how to rework the existing area into many different pockets of space to suit both Jason’s and my very different personalities and interests,” she adds.
Tan shares that she loves pottery, gardening, and cooking, while her husband enjoys music, reading and skating. What they both had in common however, is their love for hosting and entertaining friends. This, Tan observes, made the design process more interesting, adding that they both wanted to “acknowledge the differences while still ensuring the design and design process were harmonious”.
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