Summary 

House of Parts is a renovation project for a couple and their two young children, where function meets art, injecting bursts of delight into everyday functions with nature-flled corners and nostalgic references. It is always the little things, the tiny minutiae of detail, that ultimately make spaces beautiful and memorable.

Description

Quotidian elements such as steps, windows, tables, and lamps have been deliberately elevated into art pieces. It begins with a miniature loose-pebble garden at the entrance of the corner terrace house. The design intent was to bring nature closer into the interiors, incorporating a curvy bench in the corner threshold, with loose pebbles and a Cyperus plant. 

The living and dining are on different levels, and the transition between them is marked with layered travertine steps with a timber bench embedded into the raised section. There are many other details that question both the function and emotive quality of furniture and joinery. For example, a bespoke limestone dining table has a curved cut-out at one corner with a lithe plant peeping out to literally bring a touch of nature to mealtimes. The client wanted a kitchen island, but due to spatial constraints, we designed an equally interesting, curved kitchen counter with its form emphasized with a round sink. 

Following the artistic spirit, the frst-storey fooring has a crafted quality. We cut the large-format tile into organic shapes, laying them with different grout spacing to give a tactile feel. The treatment was inspired by a personal memory of the architect's childhood home, where she had crinkled dark-brown foor tiles with a lot of grout lines. We wanted to give the client something unique. Having a strong memory of your frst home is very comforting and precious. 

A gridded timber window softens the light fltering into the living, a large sedimentary rock adds a sense of ceremony to the shower in the master bathroom, and the miniature zinc roof on the custom desk lamp is a nod to Southeast Asian traditional houses. These are but some of the other soulful and elemental components that bring so much joy to the quotidian domestic environment.