Zen Living | How Thoughtful Space Planning Transformed This Home| Interior Design
“When I walk down the living room, the first thing usually I would do is open up all the windows and listen to all the bird chirping sounds and the water flowing sounds, and it will make me feel comfortable and relaxed. It will calm down my mind,” shares the homeowner.
Surrounded by curated green landscaping, this family home offers tranquility with city convenience. My name is Alex Lee and I am from Nu Infinity. In this episode, we explore this house transformation to a family home curated for comfort and functionality through thoughtful space planning.
“When I travelled to One and Only at Desaru about four years ago, I was inspired by the natural concept of the villa, and that’s why I decided to transform this house design into a villa concept that stresses on the combination of the modern and also natural concept into the house, into the design,” said the homeowner.
The exterior of the home gives a spacious impression, but the interior feels surprisingly narrow. This makes clever space planning even more essential to creating open, functional and comfortable living areas.
With the staircase in the middle of the house, the layout is divided into two sides. And here is the first space planning tip: think about how you can design around the existing elements in a room. Most rooms have a natural focal point that you can plan around.
In this case, we decided to make the staircase one of the focal points. We created the backdrop of a Zen rock garden and a cave-textured wall, adding the touch of nature. By pairing the floating staircase with full height windows that bring more light in, we create a lighter impression.
In this home, the ground floor is dedicated to personal wellness with a home gym and a private office. The first floor is a social space with a living room and an open plan dining and kitchen. On the second floor are the private spaces of a master bedroom and two children’s rooms.
On the first floor is a spacious living room with full height glass windows overlooking the swimming pool and garden. The previous folding doors were substituted with sliding doors as a space-saving solution.
Embracing the soft curves, we customised a curved TV wall made of travertine stone as the feature of the living room. The living area and the balcony are designed with soft visuals to highlight the surrounding green, creating a calming atmosphere for the family to relax in.
“The house actually designed into the open concept living to encourage us to spend more quality time together between me, myself, and my kids, while enjoying the personal space when needed. So when the kids come back from the school, they will enjoy their time in the swimming pool,” explained the houseowner.
“Mornings here feel calm and refreshing. The natural light flood the house. Me, my wife, and my kids will enjoy breakfast together in the kitchen, while the kids will get ready to school.”
The open plan dining and kitchen area is the perfect curation of a curved Zen atmosphere. For open concept floor plans, the relationship between several rooms is important to ensure a natural flow.
In this case, there was an unsightly arch overhead separating the dining room from the rest of the spaces. By removing it, the spaces became bright and open. Soft forms of the statement light and recessed lighting staged the kitchen island as the stunning centerpiece.
Custom made with sintered stone, it was sculpted as one piece to ensure seamless lines and corners. In the kitchen area, we wanted to achieve a texturing glow with the lighting.
At Nu Infinity, we always work with the philosophy of altering the ego of practicality, and in this case, we decided to break through the usual wall lighting norms with custom-designed cabinet lighting. A glowing atmosphere is curated as the backdrop to the kitchen island.
Previously, the dry and wet kitchen were separated by glass walls. We opted instead to separate the spaces, hiding the clutter of a working kitchen behind a brick wall. Other than aesthetics, the workflow of the kitchen should also be given careful thought. Regardless of your kitchen layout’s orientation, don’t forget the kitchen work triangle concept. This creates a smooth workflow within the space, like how we mentioned in our previous Top Kitchen Tips video.
In this case, the dishwasher is strategically placed next to the sink to make rinsing plates off easier, and sufficient preparation areas are placed between the stove and the sink for convenience. All the cabinets are fitted with utility peanut trays to fully optimize hard-to-reach corners. That’s how you integrate small details of a daily lifestyle into thoughtful design.
The bedroom was thoughtfully designed to combine comfort, functionality, and a touch of luxury. And we divide the bedroom into three different areas, which is a bedroom area, a walk-in wardrobe, and also a bathroom.
So the main bedroom area is designed into a neutral tone and allowed for relaxation and quality rest. For the ensuite bathroom, so it come up with the clean lines and also premium finishes, and designed to offer a spa-like experience to both me and my wife. Of all the rooms, the master bedroom layout saw the most significant transformation. What were once two rooms and a bathroom were merged to create a luxurious bedroom.
Reimagining the flow, we removed the dividing walls and brightened up the space. The master bathroom was moved to the opposite side. The new layout welcomes us with a walk-in closet, designed as both an elegant display space and a foyer.
Details take on the calming form of curves, which create an inviting sense of flow and comfort. The curved glass wall showcases the bathtub as a feature, a creative design choice that replaces a site of a plain wall upon entry.
A useful space planning tip is to ensure a balanced space. Don’t overcrowd each room because you feel you have to. Considering this, we decided to place the bed in the middle rather than the usual placement against the wall.
This creates more open usable spaces and adds a modern luxurious touch. Instead of using a partition wall to divide the room, a headboard ensures an open and pleasing visual. The space behind the bed was maximized with built-in storage, offering practical solutions for the couple. Sleek sliding doors offer the option to visually separate the master bedroom and the walk-in closet.
Opposite, a study or play area bridges the two children’s rooms together. What used to be a separate room has been opened up to create an inviting space.
When space planning, always keep natural light and ventilation in mind. For a playful and comforting look, the children’s rooms are decorated with vibrant wallpapers, upholstered wall panels, and round mirrors.
The ground floor has been drastically transformed from darker entertainment spaces to bright wellness spaces instead. The curved ceiling adds a sleek touch to the white interior, while mirror walls create an impression of a bigger space. Alongside it sits a personal office that enjoys the calming sounds of water. The curves create a pleasing, organic space that maintains a connection to the nature just outside.
The landscaping of the home has been dramatically transformed from a tropical jungle to a minimalist and calming garden. This complements the entire atmosphere of the swimming pool, creating the perfect setting for relaxing family weekends.
Through clever space planning and a design philosophy that balances practicality with aesthetics, this home has been transformed into a serene family retreat tailored to the owner’s lifestyle.
Reimagining the spaces with earthy materials and neutral colours, the home invites moments of warmth and simplicity with loved ones.
If you enjoyed this article, don’t miss this small but cosy condominium design by Nu Infinity called House of Curves.
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