High ceilings instantly give any home an airy and spacious feeling. In this case, the 5-metre ceiling of this penthouse unit in Singapore opened the possibility of building a mezzanine loft from scratch.
The next step is to maximise space in this three-bedroom apartment. “They need to house their movie projector but do not want to display it out explicitly,” says Vincent. “They also prefer more space for their piano, and for activities such as playing board games during family time.”
As this is not a very spacious apartment, Vincent’s goal is to tap on the high ceiling to create wonders for the apartment, like adding a mezzanine loft for a separate study area away from their bedrooms. However, the ceiling also proved to be the biggest challenge that the team had to tackle during the construction process.
“The high ceiling is more than five metres and transporting the long I-beam metal bar is impossible as the lift only allows a limited height,” explains Vincent. “It had to be brought into the house piece-by-piece and welded on the spot – that alone took up two weeks of the renovation timeline.”
Vast creeping plants are used as the setting to style up the mezzanine to create a landscape garden. The projector was then placed in one of the cupboards on the mezzanine, concealed among the plants. On the other hand, the projector screen was hidden by a feature wall in the living room, pulled down only when needed. To install the Ziptrack blinds along the windows, the team also had to erect scaffolding with cautious safety measure due to the open balcony.
Throughout the renovation, there were several changes made to the layout as well. “The initial plan was to place the piano under the mezzanine during the initial layout planning,” says Vincent. “However, after the actual site measurement, the piano cannot be placed there due to the technicalities in constructing the mezzanine.”
They eventually found the perfect spot for the piano in the activity room, under the display shelves where a small sofa used to be.
For the master bedroom, the homeowners wanted a cosy and hotelier theme with a connecting door to their daughter’s bedroom.
To make sure that it doesn’t come off looking too much like a showroom, Vincent only chose to inject some luxe accents like using marble for the TV console and dresser table. “We also included panelling, which is currently trending in homes, for the privacy barrier and headboard,” he adds.
“We’ve worked on penthouses in the past, but given the height and technical constraints, this was the most challenging one yet,” Vincent concludes. “Considering that you could say it has been a unique learning journey for us.”
