A Place For Everything

Precisely executed and delightfully articulated, this home shows how radical ideas like a red dining room, curving interior walls and a bathroom behind an altar can address the owners’ lifestyle. ASIH JENIE takes a tour.

The story of how homeowners find their dream home is like a romance. Some are a torrid, love at first sight affair, while others are a slow burn, multivolume series where love is cultivated through the process of getting to know one another and uncovering each other’s potential. Well, it wasn’t love at first sight when Francis Dorai and Michele Minjoot saw this 22-year-old condominium apartment unit in the East Coast area.

“The size was right, but the layout was just bizarre,” shares Michele. It had four bedrooms and five bathrooms, one of which cut into the living space. “And the kitchen was this small, sad triangular space, which was a let-down since we both cook and I had a massive kitchen in our previous home,” adds Francis.

They lived in a landed house for over 20 years before deciding to sell it and downsize to an apartment that would be easier to upkeep as a retirement home. The unit was on their KIV list for three months before they made a bid for it. This was mostly because they were pressed for time after selling their house.

Of course, they got the place. However, as it had been leased out, they had to wait till the tenant’s contract, which had a year left on it, ran out. “It wasn’t the smoothest transition, but we were glad it happened that way as it gave us time to consider the design,” says Michele.