COOL & CAT-FRIENDLY

Designed to meet the owners’ aesthetic preferences and their pets’ needs, DOMENICA TAN learns more about how this modern industrial apartment was conceptualised.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel
My Reading Room
THOUGHTFUL CURATION
Customised cat-friendly features, like climbing platforms constructed with materials such as suspended iron cables and pipes, were chosen to fit the theme of thehome.
 
My Reading Room
VISUAL ILLUSION
Lighting strips across the ceiling create a lightsaber effect while visually lengthening the width of the living room, so it appears more spacious.
 

The design of this 3Gen flat showcases the perfect balance between an industrial aesthetic and splashes of colours.

For Irwan Bin Abu Satamin, the raw, “cold” vibe of an industrial interior was something he’d always wanted in his home. His wife Noraini Binte Misnawi preferred a less sterile look with colours for a calming, cosyambience.

With these requests in mind, Landren Lim, founder and creative director of Mesh Werk Studio, designed a home with industrial-style elements, as well as light blue and minthued walls, and some wood-tone finishes.

“We wanted our home to feel spacious,” shares the couple. Many walls, including the one separating the kitchen from the dining room, and that between the living room and what is now the cats’ room, were hacked to achieve a bright and airy feel in the home.

With six cats, Landren also needed to factor in sufficient space and pet-friendly features such as overhead climbing platforms lined with scratching mats to ensure they had various spots for exploration and rest.

To keep within the $50,000 budget, the couple purchased many of their unique furniture and furnishings from Taobao via Ezbuy.
 
My Reading Room
WHO LIVES HERE
A couple in their 30s, his elderly mum and a family of six cats HOME Three-generation HDB BTO flat in Boon Lay SIZE 1,300 sq ft
 
My Reading Room

FORM MEETS FUNCTION

Covering the backsplash with diamond aluminium sheets killed two birds with one stone. It not only fits the industrial style, but is also easy to clean and maintain.

"MANY WALLS, INCLUDING THE ONE SEPARATING THE KITCHEN FROM THE DINING ROOM, WERE HACKED TO ACHIEVE A BRIGHT AND AIRY FEEL IN THE HOME."
 
My Reading Room
FUN FIXTURES
The couple got their digital wall clock, trunk-turned coffee table and armchair from Ezbuy. They had the built-in concrete settee customised.
 
My Reading Room
ONE FOR ALL
Converting one bedroom into the cat room also meant more space adjacent to the living room for the owners to lounge and entertain.
 
My Reading Room

RESTFUL ROOM

The bedroom is Noraini’s favourite place in the home, thanks to the platform bed she requested, and the refreshing Tiffany blue wall.

photography ANGELA GUO art direction KAFFY TAN