<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published April 17, 2010
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Personal space
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Lightness of being
Bright, spacious and serene, the Choys' home is the place to see and be seen. By Geoffrey Eu
NATURE, natural light and abundant space play primary roles in Francis and Elizabeth Choy's new residence, at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac on an elevated piece of land in the Holland Road area. These were the elements at the top of their list when they looked for a new home, and the piece of land they eventually found - part of a much larger plot that had been divided up and also included several conservation homes - was ideal in almost every respect.
<TABLE class=picBoxL cellSpacing=2 width=100 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD>WINE AND UNWIND
The wine cellar is stocked with an impressive collection of brand name wines</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The Choy house is a place to see and be seen - on one side there is wide frontage to the road, plentiful views across the neighbourhood on another, and the interior living area is designed in a way that allows for a clear line of sight from the kitchen right across to the living room, with a garden courtyard in between. The result is a soothing sense of space, light and calm.
The luxury of space is evident from the moment you enter the two-storey house, which has a built-up area of about 10,500 square feet. The distinctive exterior walls of the house are made from a variety of materials, including black granite from South America and blue stainless steel tiles that shimmer in the bright morning sun, but take on different hues at other times of the day.
Visitors first have to negotiate a water feature at the front door. Beyond, the ground floor comprises a large living room, kitchen and dining room, which is connected to the living area by a glass-roofed corridor.
In the day, electric shades protect it from the sun, while at night, the shades retract to provide unobstructed views of the sky. Since several of the interior walls are also made of glass, the overall effect is somewhat akin to being inside a glass box.
There is a ground floor bedroom on one side of the house and another in the basement, which was built to take advantage of the site's sloping contours so that it opens up to the swimming pool and deck area, giving a sense that there are actually two ground floors. There is a wine cellar, stocked with an impressive collection of brand name wines, and also an audio-visual room and separate terrace for Francis and his friends to enjoy the wines and smoke cigars. Next to the pool, there is a sauna room, while the large pool area is used for barbecue parties and outdoor entertaining.
'I like entertaining, and the place was built in such a way that the large living area was linked to my dining room,' says Francis, a consultant in the oil trading industry. 'We spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and the focal point is the tree in the courtyard between the kitchen and living room.'
He adds: 'I used to collect watches, but unlike wines, you can't share them.'
Now, the Choys spend some of their time travelling to wine auctions in search of what he calls 'good value' buys. The house is also decorated with a variety of artwork, mainly contemporary pieces acquired in recent years. A favourite piece - a sculpture of three cartoon-like people bowing and smiling, by Chinese artist Gao Xiao Wu - greets visitors upon entering the house.
Other art pieces include table sculptures by the Taiwanese artist Ju Ming, a number of colourful Marilyn prints by Andy Warhol and a LOVE wall tapestry print by Robert Indiana. Upstairs, along a wide corridor that leads to the family bedrooms, several more Asian-accented pieces adorn the walls.
At one end of the corridor, the master bedroom suite includes a walk-in closet and a study room, and at the other end are a family room and bedrooms for the Choy's two teenage children.
From a distance, the house is complemented by a massive raintree by the roadside, while on closer inspection, the metallic blue tiles on the front wall become prominent. The architecture was done by SAA Architects, while the interior look was largely the handiwork of well-known design consultant Peter Tay, who played an extensive part in the project.
'The architect was involved in the hardware, but a lot of the house is the result of Peter's touch,' says Francis. 'We gave him a free hand to do almost anything he wanted. Even though it's very modern, we wanted a warm, livable place.'
Elizabeth adds: 'We all have similar tastes so there wasn't that much conflict, but we needed someone with a discerning eye to put it all together.'
The design concept, says Tay, was to have a number of quality open spaces and not to overly dress them up. 'We wanted an unfilled space where you could feel the simplicity,' he says. 'The site already has natural beauty and serenity - it's really all about spatial quality.'
He adds: 'We kept the bedrooms simple, clean and functional. The clients understand lifestyle - this is a house where you have good quality pieces of furniture and artwork that they like. We didn't want it to look like a furniture showroom, and a house without art is a very bare house - the art we have in the house is colourful and shows the personality of the owners.'
The art is nice, but without doubt, the focus of the house is on those impressive open spaces, the large living area and the ability for the Choy family to do a lot of entertaining. Says Francis: 'The joy of having a nice house is to share with our friends a weekend barbecue, a glass of wine, a nice cigar - at the end of the day, that's what makes it quite priceless.' [email protected]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Personal space
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Lightness of being
Bright, spacious and serene, the Choys' home is the place to see and be seen. By Geoffrey Eu
NATURE, natural light and abundant space play primary roles in Francis and Elizabeth Choy's new residence, at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac on an elevated piece of land in the Holland Road area. These were the elements at the top of their list when they looked for a new home, and the piece of land they eventually found - part of a much larger plot that had been divided up and also included several conservation homes - was ideal in almost every respect.
<TABLE class=picBoxL cellSpacing=2 width=100 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD>WINE AND UNWINDThe wine cellar is stocked with an impressive collection of brand name wines</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The Choy house is a place to see and be seen - on one side there is wide frontage to the road, plentiful views across the neighbourhood on another, and the interior living area is designed in a way that allows for a clear line of sight from the kitchen right across to the living room, with a garden courtyard in between. The result is a soothing sense of space, light and calm.
The luxury of space is evident from the moment you enter the two-storey house, which has a built-up area of about 10,500 square feet. The distinctive exterior walls of the house are made from a variety of materials, including black granite from South America and blue stainless steel tiles that shimmer in the bright morning sun, but take on different hues at other times of the day.
Visitors first have to negotiate a water feature at the front door. Beyond, the ground floor comprises a large living room, kitchen and dining room, which is connected to the living area by a glass-roofed corridor.
In the day, electric shades protect it from the sun, while at night, the shades retract to provide unobstructed views of the sky. Since several of the interior walls are also made of glass, the overall effect is somewhat akin to being inside a glass box.
There is a ground floor bedroom on one side of the house and another in the basement, which was built to take advantage of the site's sloping contours so that it opens up to the swimming pool and deck area, giving a sense that there are actually two ground floors. There is a wine cellar, stocked with an impressive collection of brand name wines, and also an audio-visual room and separate terrace for Francis and his friends to enjoy the wines and smoke cigars. Next to the pool, there is a sauna room, while the large pool area is used for barbecue parties and outdoor entertaining.
'I like entertaining, and the place was built in such a way that the large living area was linked to my dining room,' says Francis, a consultant in the oil trading industry. 'We spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and the focal point is the tree in the courtyard between the kitchen and living room.'
He adds: 'I used to collect watches, but unlike wines, you can't share them.'
Now, the Choys spend some of their time travelling to wine auctions in search of what he calls 'good value' buys. The house is also decorated with a variety of artwork, mainly contemporary pieces acquired in recent years. A favourite piece - a sculpture of three cartoon-like people bowing and smiling, by Chinese artist Gao Xiao Wu - greets visitors upon entering the house.
Other art pieces include table sculptures by the Taiwanese artist Ju Ming, a number of colourful Marilyn prints by Andy Warhol and a LOVE wall tapestry print by Robert Indiana. Upstairs, along a wide corridor that leads to the family bedrooms, several more Asian-accented pieces adorn the walls.
At one end of the corridor, the master bedroom suite includes a walk-in closet and a study room, and at the other end are a family room and bedrooms for the Choy's two teenage children.
From a distance, the house is complemented by a massive raintree by the roadside, while on closer inspection, the metallic blue tiles on the front wall become prominent. The architecture was done by SAA Architects, while the interior look was largely the handiwork of well-known design consultant Peter Tay, who played an extensive part in the project.
'The architect was involved in the hardware, but a lot of the house is the result of Peter's touch,' says Francis. 'We gave him a free hand to do almost anything he wanted. Even though it's very modern, we wanted a warm, livable place.'
Elizabeth adds: 'We all have similar tastes so there wasn't that much conflict, but we needed someone with a discerning eye to put it all together.'
The design concept, says Tay, was to have a number of quality open spaces and not to overly dress them up. 'We wanted an unfilled space where you could feel the simplicity,' he says. 'The site already has natural beauty and serenity - it's really all about spatial quality.'
He adds: 'We kept the bedrooms simple, clean and functional. The clients understand lifestyle - this is a house where you have good quality pieces of furniture and artwork that they like. We didn't want it to look like a furniture showroom, and a house without art is a very bare house - the art we have in the house is colourful and shows the personality of the owners.'
The art is nice, but without doubt, the focus of the house is on those impressive open spaces, the large living area and the ability for the Choy family to do a lot of entertaining. Says Francis: 'The joy of having a nice house is to share with our friends a weekend barbecue, a glass of wine, a nice cigar - at the end of the day, that's what makes it quite priceless.' [email protected]
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