May 2016

PROPERTY

Behind the master bed is a stacked wall feature – a six- inch-thick panel specially created for the space. It’s designed according to how you want it; for example, the thickness of its wavy, sand- dune effect lines. An ornate Korean wallpaper with metallic highlights covers the TV wall, opposite, and another layer of subtle texture is provided by leather-effect panels (actually wood) behind the TV and at the bedhead. Shades of black and dark brown are enlivened with touches of cream.

one in the entryway and the other at the entrance to our bedroom. Obviously, it’s not like office lighting; it’s tastefully done. Depending on themood youwant to create, different light sources can be used. There’s cove lighting under the living room console, behind the TV panel and in the island-style false ceiling. A double-lighting effect can be achieved by switching on the LED strips that line the glass-fronted knickknack cabinet, and the pendant lighting feature above the kitchen counter adds another dimension of illumination. What did you do in the bedrooms? Both in themaster bedroomand in the guest bedroom, we continued with the modern contemporary theme of the living area. Instead of the cool, reflective marble look that you see there, however, we have gone for a lot of contrasting textures – wallpapers, stacked walls, faux leather and so on. Again, lighting was important to us; and our built-in beds provide useful storage, too. We kept the honey-coloured wooden strip-flooring that came with the condo; and there was also no need to change the bathrooms, which came with black marble finishes.

Tell us why you changed the interior before moving in. Raj: As it came with very plain walls and floors, it was an opportunity to do some restyling to express our own taste. Although we’d been hankering to renovate our previous property, I’d had reservations about doing so much to a ten-year-old apartment. How did you go about it? Raj: Sara worked with interior design company Rezt & Relax to add more interest, texture and detail to our home. You’ll see there’s a lot of marble in the living areas, but in fact the only real marble is the original flooring and the kitchen countertops. All the “marble” on the walls, including the display cabinets, and together with the built-in dining seat, is actually cleverly painted wood. The seat also provides extra storage. Sara: We found Rezt & Relax very understanding and helpful when it came to the practicalities of transforming our ideas into reality, and it took them just two months. Lighting was an important part of what we wanted to achieve. Our previous home had warm lighting, but here we wanted bright “day cool” lighting, except for the spotlights for my artworks –

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