Curious Corner

Marketing maverick Yun Wen Lai’s three-bedroom apartment is filled with cool treasures that spark more than just joy.

- Emmilyn Yeoh

“Taking down my Christmas decorations, only for Harper’s BAZAAR!” assures Yun Wen Lai, general manager of marketing at Pavilion KL, as I make one last tick on my pre-shoot checklist. We meet on the Friday before Christmas, and as promised, the elaborate holiday furnishings are shoved to a corner, revealing an obsessively clean space. Yun is already dressed for the occasion, his choice of clothes echoing the simplicity of his home: perfectly fitted Thom Browne shirt, matching trousers, and of course, his best accessory and signature, his million-dollar smile. “To be honest, when you first texted me, I thought you had gotten in touch with the wrong person!” he laughs, as we joke about my previous attempts at convincing him to open up his beautiful home to BAZAAR.

With its sleek surfaces, clean aesthetic, and muted palette accented with modern art, Yun’s apartment at Dua Residency, right smack in the city centre, is the perfect backdrop for our tribute to cool Asians this month. His philosophy when it comes to interior decorating goes beyond the aesthetic. “There has to be a balance between a real home and a showroom,” he muses. “While beautiful things are great to look at, it also has to interact with you on a personal level.”