UPON THE SHORE

Elegant furniture from Liaigre brings comfort and a sense of exclusivity to this seaside penthouse in Singapore, designed by Monocot

- Luo Jingmei

Situated within Singapore’s Corals at Keppel Bay condominium, this 5,000 sq ft penthouse is located right next to the sea, resulting in ocean views that bring a sense of tranquillity indoors. To create an equally soothing interior for the owners, who live here with their young daughter, Mikael Teh of Monocot reworked the layout and dressed it in an elegant palette comprising an assortment of woody textures, shadowed corners, and a tasteful selection of furniture and lighting fixtures.

There is a crafted ambience, with many bespoke elements. “The owners wanted the apartment to be one-of-a-kind, with mostly customised and limited pieces. They requested for the house to feel luxurious yet modern and youthful,” says Teh. “We reached out to all our suppliers and started discussions on how we could customise and create pieces just for this home.”

TAILORED TO FIT

In the living and dining spaces, Teh transformed an existing double-storey curved wall. “Inspired by the natural surroundings, we wanted to create a dramatic, cave-like feature wall,” he explains. It is an abstract fixture wrapped in timber veneer, granite and stainless steel—all clad in black. The upper level is textured with screens, while on the lower level Teh created a cavern-like bar in dark tones that present a sense of mystery.

The juxtaposition of dark and light surfaces adds a sense of theatricality to the interior and its thresholds. The television console and the air-conditioning units are neatly integrated into the feature wall. Likewise, the staircase abuts the edge, clad in the same timber veneer as the wall to read together with the wall as a single monolithic form.