Urban Retreat

This apartment on the fringe of Orchard Road looks and feels like a luxurious sanctuary but with plenty of personal and bespoke touches

- Sasha Gonzales

Stepping into this elegant and uncluttered duplex unit known as EJ Residence, you would not think you were in the heart of the city, just on the edge of Singapore’s bustling Orchard Road. Instead, with its surrounding lush greenery, spacious outdoor terrace, high ceilings and bright and airy interior, you get the feeling of being in a tropical retreat.

And that was the exact experience that interior designers Jay Liu and Alex Liu were going for; the brothers are co-founders of the Singapore-based interior design firm Right Angle Studio.

a sanctuary-like home

The occupants of the 223 sqm home – a family of three – wanted a space with a timeless interior style, that was visually soothing and that they could look forward to returning to at the end of a long day. Their only special request was to connect the study to the master bedroom, but apart from this, Jay and Alex were given creative license to execute their own design strategy.

“When designing this duplex apartment, we sought to achieve a perpetual essentialism, working in tandem with its architectural qualities,” says Jay. “The house was minimally composed to ‘flow’ with its leafy surroundings, eliminating all forms of clutter and distraction. An open-plan configuration blurs the barrier between indoor and outdoor, conveying a continuous experience for the homeowners and their guests.”

EJ Residence is located on the ground level in a quiet estate. From the terrace, one gets a close-up view of the tranquil pool and landscaped outdoors, which only enhances the feeling of being in a private villa, miles away from civilisation.