Christmas in Mount Faber

We get festive at the Mount Faber home of ELIZABETH HAY and find out what plans she has for her son Arthur’s first Christmas in Singapore.

- Amy Brook-Partridge

The last time we showcased Elizabeth Hay’s home, just over two-and-a-half years ago, she was living in an Emerald Hill shophouse, had recently got engaged, and the business she set up with Chloe Elkerton, E&A Interiors, was just moving into its first premises in River Valley. Now she’s married to Tim, they have a one-year old son, Arthur, and two “Singapore special” adopted dogs, and they’ve moved from their shophouse to a black-and-white house in the green surrounds of Mount Faber.

“We loved the shophouse and the location was amazing, but it only had two bedrooms, and we wanted at least one more, as well as some outside space for our dogs,” explains Elizabeth. She and Tim loved the old feel of their place at Emerald Hill, and couldn’t see themselves in something ultra-modern, so they started to look for a black-and-white house to rent.  

They bid on a handful of houses but lost out, then found this spot through an agent, so they didn’t have to go through the bidding process again. “It had been empty for a few years and was completely derelict, but we saw the potential.” The move-in date was set for August 2015, when Elizabeth was eight months pregnant, so it was imperative that all necessary works to the house were completed by then.

“It was pretty stressful,” she admits. “Basic maintenance such as painting walls and polishing floors were the agent’s responsibility. Working alongside their contractors I had my own people renovating the bathrooms, which I don’t think had been touched since the 1970s, as well as adding standard things such as water heaters, fans and air-conditioning, and building the at tap outside.”