A Heritage House

ANNA LAYARD's dream to live in a piece of Singaporean history came true with a move to a black-and-white house in Medway Park.

Tell us a little about yourself!

I’m originally from the UK, but moved to Sydney with my husband Jim, in 1997. We had 11 happy years there, became citizens and moved to Singapore in early 2009. We have three children: Harry (21) at Sydney University, Grace (19) at Manchester University, and our Singapore baby Evie (13), along with Scruff, a Labradoodle, who turns 12 this month!

I’m an art historian by training but fell into home and interiors and set up Layard Interiors in 2019, combining my love of travel, art and design.

Where did you first live when you came to Singapore and why?

When we arrived, we moved into One Chatsworth, off Grange Road. We loved the proximity to Orchard, the size, the fact that it was an older building, and the split-level apartment that allowed us to still go upstairs to bed! As an art lover I also enjoyed having lots of wall space to display our growing collection of Asian art.

After three years, we moved to the townhouses at Ridgewood Condominium. It was a lovely community with great facilities on site and a playground outside for our then 18-month-old. It gave the kids great freedom, and we created lifelong friendships. Sadly, that house was sold, and we moved around the corner to Holland Grove View.

Whilst we loved the location and being close to UWCSEA Dover, a friend, Louise Hill, was moving to Medway Park and let us know that quite a few houses were up for rent. We saw 16 Maidstone Road and instantly fell in love. The kids loved it too. Not only was it a short walk to school, but, at that stage, it had a zip-line from one end of the garden to the other!