The resort aesthetic has made its rounds in interior design circles for as long as one can remember. It’s an appealing proposition: walk through the front door, and the troubles of the outside world instantly melt away — no packing, no flights, no bookings. With all that promised, we aren’t at all surprised the look has been the subject of many a Pinterest board and design blog.

Boiled down to its fundamentals, the resort aesthetic focuses on natural materials, a neutral colour palette, and strong ties to the great outdoors. Some might prescribe references to renowned holiday destinations, such as the Maldives or Bora Bora, but really, the idea is to create a place that oozes relaxation at every turn, so having a specific location in mind is tangential to the process. 

In fact, keeping things more personal can get you more mileage out of that relaxing vibe. After all, there’s nothing more comforting than something you can understand and relate to. 

For one homeowner, the vision was exactly this: to have a house that offers serenity while paying homage to her family’s roots. Stepping up to her terrace home in eastern Singapore, we’re greeted by a stunning display of greenery that gently contrasts against an understated yet bold concrete facade. Touches of wood add warmth to the slate of greys and blacks, creating a look that’s both inviting and modern. We already begin to feel a tad more at ease.

The owner and her husband bought the house about a decade ago. They opted not to renovate at the time, as it was just fine for their family’s needs. It was only about five years ago that they decided to spruce up the place with a rebuild. “The old house had two floors and only three rooms,” she says. “Our children needed more space; we also wanted to future-proof the house, in case our parents decide to move in.”

Interior designer and stylist Weng Fong of Weng Designs was engaged to work on the house; landscape architect and horticulturist Kenneth Lim was brought in for the landscaping. The duo worked together with architect Quck Zhong Yi of Asolidplan. Lim is actually a neighbour of the owner, and has worked on several houses in the area. “I’ve known him since we moved here,” she says, adding that he had introduced them to Fong over tea one day, after finding out she was looking to update the house. “They came, and we were just completely sold by their vision.”

Something old, something new

Today, the house is 2½ floors high, with five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The main inspiration, the owner says, was to bring her family’s heritage into a contemporary-looking space. “My husband’s and my grandparents are all from India,” she says. “We wanted to find a good balance between the modern touches that we like, and the parts of south Indian culture that we wanted to bring in.”

Fong incorporated several motifs throughout the house as nods to India. Most notably, off-form concrete was used on the outside facade, drawing from the brutalist look of the South Asian nation’s post-independence architecture. For a modern twist, stepped facets were added to the facade; Fong says that he took inspiration from Italian architect and designer Carlo Scarpa. “That was the starting point of the house,” he adds, “and you can see on the facade how this played out.” 

A row of vines was added across the front of the house, draping down from the second floor. “There was a little bit of a battle with the landscaper about how much we wanted to cover with the landscaping, and how much we wanted to expose,” Fong quips. Over time, the plants have come to form a sheer curtain, with the stepped concrete behind peeking through. 

Lim notes that selecting the right species was key to ensuring that the details of the house would still be seen behind the vines, and that they “would not completely cover the identity of the architecture”. More greenery was added to the second- and third-floor balconies, embedding layers of nature throughout the facade. 

Fong says the landscaping “really works”, because it mutes and mellows the architecture’s otherwise hard lines. “As an architect or designer, you like the hard edges, but it really works when that’s softened.” The overall effect, looking at the house from the outside, is a sense of modern serenity, where hard and soft combine to form an easy vibe. 

On the inside

Past the gate is a small garden and porch. Lim, who was in Goa at the outset of the project, says that in a typical south Indian home, “there will always be a patio in front, to filter off the sun and also as a place of entry”. During his trip, he adds, he took photographs of architecture he saw in cafes, homes and other places, compiling a set of references that would come to be used in the final build. 

A concrete wall with niches — a nod to Indo-Islamic architecture, often referred to as taakh or aala — leads one to the main door, an intricate wooden creation made in Bali. (Most of the woodwork seen throughout the house was crafted in the Indonesian city, the owner says.)

From here, one enters a vestibule, conceived by interior designer Veshali Visvanaath of Prakalyam Gallery. It’s here that the Indian motifs are most apparent; anchoring the space is a swing, a common feature in south Indian homes that’s known as an oonjal. The owner notes that, ceiling-bound swing notwithstanding, the furniture here is all easily movable, so it can be adapted to whatever the family needs. 

Also on the first floor are a bathroom and two guest bedrooms; one has, for now, been converted into a study room for the owner’s children. She says that she wanted these rooms on the first floor, because this is where her and her husband’s parents will stay if they move in. “We wanted to make sure we would have enough space if they choose to.”

The living room, kitchen and dining area were therefore moved to the second floor. Fong notes that having these common spaces upstairs gives a better view of the surrounding areas, as well as better breeze throughout the day.

It’s at this point, as we walk up the stairs, that we realise how well-lit and cool the house is, even on a particularly scorching morning. Fong says that terrace houses tend to be dark and poorly ventilated because of the lack of windows, so an air well and skylight were introduced to “bring light and ventilation from the outside to the inside”. This lightness and airiness, he adds, are his favourite aspects of the house. 

Small touches

As we walk through the second-floor landing, the owner points out a window screen in the bathroom that leads out to the air well. Known as a jali, such screens are a common feature of Indian architecture. “That’s something I have always loved,” she says, adding that she had found it difficult to find a place for such an ornate piece. “I’m glad they incorporated it; I knew I wanted it, but I didn’t know where.”

Taking up half of this level in the house is the living room, with plenty of seating and a large television. It’s a decidedly sleeker-looking space than the vestibule, decked out mostly in white, grey and black. “We love hosting,” says the owner. “It’s a big thing for us, [and] we wanted a space where our friends could come and we could entertain — so this is where it happens.” Even when guests don’t come around, she adds, this is where the family likes to kick back and relax.

Right outside the living room is a balcony, which provides more space to entertain. Despite the multitude of plants here, Lim says the focus for him in designing the landscape — throughout the house — was to create green spaces that would be easy for the owner to maintain. “The owner wanted something manageable, and that’s reflected in the plant selections and simplicity of the design,” he shares.

On the other end of the second floor are the kitchen and dining area. This is the owner’s favourite part of the house for its extensive use of grey, her favourite colour. “I think it drove them a little crazy because I kept insisting that I wanted grey for everything,” she says with a laugh. “I love that [Fong] brought in the colours that I like for the kitchen, and I love the way he’s done it as well.”

Contrasting against the monochromatic cabinetry of the kitchen is a wooden slab dining table, flanked by benches and dining chairs. Lim, who also picks this as his favourite spot in the house, points out the view, which overlooks a row of plants that leads the eye further out to the surrounding greenery. “With the landscape being blended, you don’t really see a clear divide between the house and the outdoors.”

On the top floor are the master bedroom and the children’s bedrooms. The master bedroom brings together the elements seen in other sections of the house: monochromatic cabinetry and warm wood accents. Bookmatched grey marble walls in the en-suite Jack-and-Jill bathroom add a touch of luxe. Meanwhile, in the children’s bedrooms, loft beds were added to “make use of the high ceilings”, the owner says. The two bedrooms are connected by a small, shared balcony.

Tying things together

Choosing to rebuild at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic meant a longer-than-expected home makeover; in total, everything took about two years. The owner jokes that, on some days, it may have even just been one person working on the house, thanks to restrictions in force at the time.

Some things did change as things went along, though certainly all for the better. The living room floor, the owner says, was originally meant to be terrazzo. “Initially, we were okay with it, but as time went on, we didn’t quite like the look.” So, they visited wholesalers to look for a suitable marble instead. The end result, she says, is much better.

Working with long-time collaborators Fong and Lim made things a lot easier, she adds. “I suppose it’s their openness to listening to ideas. They also went back and researched … Everything that you see is their idea; we were just amazed that they were able to take just an idea and give us so much back.”

Much as the house gives off those iconic resort vibes, Fong notes that it’s far from being a trend-adherent home. “From the beginning we had a clear plan to incorporate [the owner’s] Indian heritage,” he says. “So If you drive past, it would not seem like every other house.”

And on the inside, pops of visual interest are injected with eye-catching decor. In the living room, for instance, is a cushion with a print of Indian film star Kamal Haasan. Houseplants also add a touch of colour to the interiors, tying the outdoors and indoors more closely together while furthering the integration with nature.

Even when the pieces don’t go bold with hues, their unique silhouettes add a touch of personality to the spaces they’re placed in. Mirrors, in particular, were added to great effect. The downstairs bathroom features a circular one framed in thick, textured black; up in the living room, a long rectangular one has a burnished brass frame; and the one in the dining area is surrounded by neutral-toned tiles in a zigzag configuration.

“Some of the more interesting pieces were sourced from auction houses and secondhand antique shops,” says Fong. He adds that incorporating these special pieces, as well as furniture and decor from the owner’s existing collection, helped make the place feel more alive and personal. “It’s the one-of-a-kind pieces that make this house.”

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