Terrace House Style

" ARchiteCTURE for LIFE "

By Annie Ooi | Oct 23, 2009 (StarProperty)

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LIKE all house owners, this lady wants to come back to a cosy and welcoming home. Having stayed 12 years in her doublestorey intermediate terrace house in Subang Jaya, rather than move to a semidetached, corner or end-lot, she decided to renovate the 20-year-old house extensively, pushing the back wall right to the edge of the back lane.

“When I enter a home, the feeling of cosyness and homeliness is important to me,” says Elaine Seong, 44. “I like to look at houses and I have visited quite a few show houses here and in Australia,” says Elaine, who has definitely picked up quite a few workable ideas.

Her sunlight-bathed house is done up in a stylish and modern black and white mode, with beige and cream to break the starkness and make it slightly less clinical. Large modern paintings add colour to the walls.

Her love for wooden furniture also finds its place in this decor, so interspersed here and there are dark coloured tables and sideboards, and chests in a lighter shade. As she has extended the house, it would have ended up a bit dark, if not for the three tempered glass skylights over the dining area. “I was wondering how to brighten the area, and I decided on skylights, which is a common concept in Australia,” says Elaine, who is the business of supplying uniforms to factories and jumpsuits to the oil and gas industry.

The maid’s room is nicely tucked away, not right at the back, but is actually in the middle of the house. But Elaine’s clever realignment and reconstruction has the room hidden from view, with a skylight brightening up this area. Not a believer of collecting antiques or displaying possessions, the house looks spacious and very neat. “I don’t like my house to be full of things, nor am I keen on displaying too many things. “I like to have a smooth flow of air in my house; otherwise there is no ‘chi’,” she says, with a laugh.

The open concept adds to the air of spaciousness, and the occupants, a family of four, a maid and a dog, are able to move freely. The lot size is 7m x 26m (22ft x 85ft), with a built-up area of 218sq m (2,420sq ft). “I came here in 1996, and after 12 years, moved out in April 2008 when the renovations started. I returned in October 2008, after everything was done,” she says.

With the fittings and furniture, the total cost of the make-over came up to more than RM200,000. Keeping a close eye on the contractor, Elaine dropped by twice a day. Although the plans were there, there were a few last minute ideas and inspirations, which seemed to work fine. So hands-on and co-ordinated was she, that even the dog she adopted at Paws Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), somehow turned out to be white with beige patches, in keeping with the colour scheme.

A striking feature of the house is the granite topped island counter between the dining area and the dry kitchen. It is a convenient place for the house owner to prepare food or to do her baking. During parties, it is a good spot to place her plates and dishes while visitors sit at the nearby dining table. It adds to the ambience when the overhead lights pick up the glittery spots.

As she likes to be able to look out to the garden when she dines, she has placed an indoor garden on one side of the dining area, just before the back door. It is separated from the dining area by folding glass doors with aluminium frames. The flight of steps up to the first floor has been updated, with the awkward triangular steps at the turn removed and a flat landing put in its place.

Upstairs, the floor is of laminated wood. To make one of the back rooms bigger, she has re-angled the door. While the owner prefers a modern design in the interior of the house, the terrace outside has a Balinese design, with big urns and leafy plants. Two tower trees add a final touch. It seems like the quarter million ringgit is well spent as she is quite satisfied with the work done on her house. “It has turned out the way I want,” she concludes.