A world away from the chaos of community living, this waterfront apartment is all muted tones and sleek lines, a lesson in restraint right in the heart of this colourful island.
The 2153 sq ft condominium unit is part of The Light Collection III, situated on reclaimed land in Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia. Owned by a middle-aged couple who enjoy and appreciate a high-end quality living experience, they approached Vault Design Lab to create a modern, masculine and cosy home using darker colours.
“Our client is particular in the selection of materials, as they will be predominant in presenting the shades and sense of the spaces,” says Matthew Lye, director of Vault Design Lab. “We have been bold to use different grains and shades of tones to achieve a strong masculine language, further enhanced by the lighting design.”
The entrance opens up to a spacious living room and a balcony that overlooks the eye-catching cluster of villas along the waterfront. Natural marble stones take centre stage in the common area, playing off the warm tones of PVD bronze coating and wood laminate. In particular, silver travertine marble for island top at the dry kitchen.
“We selected a slab with clear horizontal grain as it would help to create a strong longitudinal dry kitchen effect that we would like to achieve,” explains Matthew.
The biggest challenge, however, was balancing the combination of these materials. To help, Vault Design Lab created a mood board over three months and selected loose furniture to go with it in the process.
“Each material we selected has its unique grain, texture and colour. We wish to integrate the uniqueness of the material to the space we design,” explains Matthew. “The only way to achieve the outcome we want it to become was sourcing for the closest grain and texture we want and do not give up any single detail we observe.”
“We wish to blend in leisure activities into the routine work. The client is very passionate about his job. His works are part of his lifestyle, so we had created a sliding glass panel in between the study and living room with the island TV console facing the study,” says Matthew.
The intent was to extend the collective living experience beyond the living room and have a seamless flow between all the rooms. The original partially furnished kitchen was hacked down rebuilt with the intention was to extend the dry kitchen horizontally all along to the entrance foyer, to create a sense of continuity for more substantial visual impact.
“We would like to create a sense that the occupants are standing at the heart of the home from the dry kitchen island - a nice “lookout” to all activities occur in common areas, at the same time, enjoy the panoramic views to the unrivalled waterfront living and neighbourhood,” adds Matthew.
Doors to the bedrooms are also concealed for wall continuity. To the homeowners, it’s like have their secret entrances to their private resting area.
The result of the 9-month long renovation process is a smartly angled home where spaces seem to sweep outward and into one another, charming visitors with a subdued splendour.
