Garden On Every Level | Waterfall Sauna | Tropical Luxury Home | Interior Design Ideas
From the street this house feels like a towering block of concrete that makes you pause. Yet the wooden slats hint at something softer and inviting. Today, we’re exploring a 11,000 sq ft home with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms where scale meets intention and curated gardens at every level.
The ground floor sets a relaxing tone with a poolside entertainment and wellness retreat complete with two suites and a private home office. Above that, the first floor becomes the social heart with living, dining and kitchen flowing as public spaces. The second floor retreats into privacy housing the family’s bedrooms. And at the very top, the rooftop transforms into yet another scenic spot designed for gathering.
With an intentional arrival, a side entrance slips into the private home office while the main door reveals the home, a deliberate split between work and personal family life. Designed by the same architects behind the Kami House, this is another study in light and greenery by Winston from Paperspace.
“People would think a big house is dark but there’s always an attraction point. There’s always the light that sort of catches your attention and then makes you want to explore,” Winston explains.
The entrance doesn’t reveal the house all at once. Instead, you’re greeted by a series of stairs and subtle teasers of the spaces within. As you look deeper into the home, a glimpse of a swimming pool appears on the lower level, quietly drawing you in.
Winston explains, “So from the main door directly, you are given two choices. The top option is more a private area basically. So for the ground level it is mainly for hosting and entertainment. So when we throw a party, the guests will just directly go down without bothering the upstairs. So there is a division of space and we clearly identify what is public and what is private.”
This space takes on the character of a man’s cave with personal collectibles proudly on display, anchored by a bar and lounge that overlooks the swimming pool. This space embraces a relaxed atmosphere designed for unwinding and entertaining.
“When you step down here, the ceiling design gives it a very tropical feeling,” commented Alex.
“Yes, it’s true. That is our intention, because we are on the garden level so we have a lot of trees. So we want to bring a bit more wood into the interior to sort of blur the boundary. It kind of feels outdoors as well,” said Winston.
With this intention from the architect, the swimming pool feels like a private jungle retreat nestled within the lush greenery.
On the same floor, a personal gym and sauna are thoughtfully curated for wellness.
“We want to be a bit dramatic with it so the water feature above actually flows down. So the sauna actually has a window where it sort of gives you a feel where you are enjoying a sauna session in a cave,” explained Winston.
“This project is called Jiran, a Malay word for neighbour. It’s a name that’s basically represents the whole concept around the house. So the client’s brief when they approached me, they had a huge family but they wanted to build a house that’s multi generational. The whole point is creating houses within a plot of land so that they are able to be neighbours. They still have their own privacy but at the same time they also are close to each other,” said Winston.
“The concept also aligns with the way the site works. The site has a 6 meter drop from the front to the back, so with that in mind, we actually created a staggered platform to reduce the amount of retaining wall required. This makes it a bit more cost effective.”
Winston continued, “If you look at the overall layout, once the building is staggered, there’s a bridge connection that links all three blocks together. Essentially that creates a loop around the house. It’s kind of like a fun element where the kids are still young and they are able to play hide and seek and all that. But at the same time, we have to take consideration that the house is also catering for older folks. To do that, each level is basically half level instead of a full level. So you’re only walking half of the steps, compared to a conventional house.”
Just half a level up, sits the grandparents’ room quietly tucked away for privacy and comfort.
“For the grandparents in particular, the grandfather loves outdoor areas. He loves the trees and all that so we allocated this. We carved out a little space where we introduced a garden for him so that is an interesting aspect. And even in the toilet area we actually built in a bathtub that has a skylight as well. You’re able to look up to the sun and just soak in it.”
Taking the first flight of stairs up, you arrive at a spacious dining and kitchen area. When the windows are open fully, the space visually connects to the living area, creating a sense of openness and spatial continuity throughout the home.
In between these spaces, a koi pond and vertical green wall create calm scenery. As you move through this part of the house, the staircase becomes a framed journey with greenery on both sides.
“So every time you walk through the stairs, it is almost like a glass cage where you are able to just look out to the facility.”
“And with this little courtyard, we call it a little courtyard, that separates the two blocks. So it brings more light and at the same time, because the neighbours are on both left and right of a three story building, we limit the amount of windows. Instead, we introduce openings towards the courtyard so we still get a lot of sunlight in by not compromising on privacy as well.”
Winston explained, “And the vertical garden actually frames up the staircase exactly. So it’s almost like a photo frame, especially when you walk in.”
Alex commented, “I like how the staircase is designed transparent and you use solid wood.”
Winston replied, “Correct, so that’s why the top and bottom as you’re going up the stairs, becomes sort of like transparent and yet you see the actual material.”
Next to the dining, the living area feels refreshingly open, overlooking a calm pond on the side and greenery on the other. In contrast to the darker dining, a white palette creates a serene understated atmosphere. This shifts the focus outwards to the outdoor views.
“I like how this space feels like it’s floating in the air with all the greenery,” commented Alex.
“Yeah and at the same time you will feel grounded because there’s this water level just at your feet. So while on one hand, you feel that you’re living elevated, on the other hand you still feel like you’re on the ground so it’s a very unique aspect of the house,” explained Winston.
“Because the house is oriented towards the view the green belt so to speak, so we try to keep everything very light. So even though this is for safety reasons but while you’re sitting on the sofa, you’ll still be able to look through the glass. So that’s why we introduced this concept where it’s inspired by French windows. Traditionally we will have a normal height window sill over here. But that will just destroy the view. We wanted to really soak in the view, maximizing it and use the window to frame the view.”
Hidden wooden panels lead to a karaoke room finished in warm timber and green tones. The carpeting underfoot enhances the acoustic creating a cinematic experience right at home.
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The master bedroom opens into a spacious layout starting with a stylish walk-in closet and ample storage. Positioned at a tree level, the master bedroom immerses its occupants in greenery. From the space, you can see how the house has been reoriented to face these lush green views on both sides, instead of facing the clubhouse and neighbouring houses.
“We utilise every inch that we can, so there’s a little stairs that goes towards the second floor of the master bedroom. So the master bedroom actually is a duplex. What we did is we even incorporated storages under the staircase itself.”
As the bedrooms along this side face the street, they are fitted with operable louvers. When open, they animate the facade with different patterns adding dimensions to the structure. Each bathroom throughout the home is defined by colourful tiles that create a playful yet aesthetic impression.
“Right in the centre of the house, in between all the bedrooms, there’s a little playful room where the father collects bear bricks and shoes. But in terms of the space itself, it’s just a display space. As you walk up to the hallway, it’s not an empty wall. It’s actually a gallery space where you’re able to look through the glass box and see these collections that form the personality of the house. This creates some playful elements in the house,” explained Winston.
“Since there are three blocks, we wanted to create three different rooftop concepts. And since they are staggered, we find the opportunity to give different features to each one. The first one is a lookout point because it’s the highest block. But for the middle area that’s slightly bigger, we allocated a barbecue space. So there’s a little bar just inside the house, and then again you have a sliding door that can open and spill out over to the barbecue area. And then lastly on the last block which is the biggest one is basically an area to just relax and play. The kids can play football there.”
“So on the lower level of the building, we have also a massive stone wall that becomes the signature of the house. It’s essentially giving you the impression that it has a good solid base that’s supporting the building that is floating on top. So that also represents the values of the family where the parents wanted to be a good foundation for the kids. So they created this look where they have a family name sort of engraved into the stone wall as well. The children’s bedrooms are on top so it’s kind of like an abstract expression of that overall concept as well.”
A home like this shows how design can surprise, delight and nurture. Every staircase, every pocket of greenery, every sunlit room is designed to connect the occupants with one another, with nature and with moments of quiet and reflection.
If you enjoyed this home, check out this story on how this 48 year old terrace house was transformed to this uniquely personal home.
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