Inside an Art-Lover’s Studio in Singapore

This Singapore apartment, designed by multidisciplinary studio Sujonohun, was crafted around some of the owner’s favourite art pieces, pulling colours and thematic inspiration into the surrounding architecture and furniture to create a cohesive and sumptuous home

While the design of some homes may start with a mood board, this compact 90-square-metre apartment in central Singapore was crafted around art. At the core of the homeowner’s collection is French painter Jerome Lagarrigue’s 2014 piece Onye, which features a woman’s face surrounded by glowing embers. In the same way that the owner was drawn to the intensity of the protagonist’s eyes, Molina Hun and Xin Fang Koh from Singapore-based multidisciplinary design studio Sujonohun were instinctively taken by the painting’s warmth and energy, which they used as inspiration when conceiving the living room.

‘We went with autumn-inspired shades, as they not only mirrored the work but also reminded us of fine wine, which expresses the client’s love for hosting,’ says Hun. Fitted out with a red marble-backed bar, burgundy B&B Italia Button tables and a low-slung Kartell sofa, the living room feels closer to a convivial lounge. The designers also decided to remove the built-in wardrobe meant for one bedroom to make way for a sumptuous bar nook, complete with display shelves and a wine cellar.

There’s more to the bar than initially meets the eye. ‘Most wine cellars would come with an unsightly ventilation grille,’ says Hun. ‘Instead, we’ve thought through all the different needs and uses of this area and created an inconspicuous ventilation section just in front of the backsplash.’ Leather inserts for the countertop tray elevate the material interplay and minimise the clanging of glasses. Subtle metal ‘staple’ detailing on the wooden panels creates intentional texture.

Extending the homeowner’s passion for hospitality is a sculptural Cassina Sengu dining table by Patricia Urquiola, which anchors the entire apartment. With asymmetrical legs made of wood and stone and a coloured ceramic top, it’s an eye-catching piece that was not only inspired by material dialogue but would also itself inspire conversations around the table. ‘We could’ve gone for a safe table featuring a simple silhouette, but we wanted to show off the client’s personality while still having restraint,’ says Hun, who added the 905 dining chairs by Vico Magistretti and a constellation-inspired pendant by Lee Broom to synthesise the space.

Two vintage bird prints, made by Swedish publisher A Börtzells TR AB, were the main reference points for the master bedroom. Only after these pieces were framed and placed did the designers work out the positioning, proportions and panelling for the rest of the furnishings. ‘These prints determined the panel divisions, which were also neatly aligned with the bedside switches,’ says Hun. Expanding on the idea of petite birds in flight, the custom bed frame features concave curves and gentle under-lighting to bestow a sense of weightlessness to the room. Subtle greens in the illustrations of the sparrow and blue tit also set the tone for the colour palette, reflected in the lacquered side table and matched with brown bedding and russet woven panelling.

Sujonohun’s art of detailing has tied everything into one cohesive home, setting the stage for the owner’s artworks to shine. The studio’s masterstroke lies in finding the right moments to colour outside the lines, whether through bold furniture choices or interesting material interplay, in turn creating a sumptuous home.

Text by Joseph Koh
Images by Jovian Lim