Inspired by our client's minimalistic lifestyle and love for the darkness, this apartment boasts layers of black materials, subtle textures, clean lines, and an array of atmospheric lighting.
“Some might find it odd or somewhat fiendish, but we drew inspiration from the popular science-fiction TV series, Westworld, specifically the diagnostic lab where the automatons were built and tested, when we were curating each lighting scene," says Cher, lead designer.
We're not primarily interested in the colour black, but the silence it brings. With absolutely no white walls nor ceiling, for most, this might not feel like such a dark interior could be a comfortable home but for homeowner, Ben, an introvert who enjoys moments of stillness, this is exactly his idea of tranquillity.
When interior designers, Jessica and Cher, first met homeowner and bachelor, Ben, he’d been wearing a fresh white shirt, a pair of black trousers, a pair of dark-brown Ferragamo leather shoes, and accessorised simply with a sharp Swiss-made watch.
Later, the team noticed on a few occasions that he’d be wearing the same outfit – simple, clean, yet discerning of quality. When asked about his outfit choice, he explained that he has several of the same clothing on rotation - 6 pieces of the same white shirts in fact. For Ben, it makes for one less thing to think about in the morning allowing him more time and energy to what really matters to him. It was aligned with what he’d told the team during the first briefing – that he did not have much personal belongings and had little storage requirements. Later when he’d moved in, all of his belongings fit into only 5 carton boxes sized 60x40cm each, and 2 of them contained items for his 4-year old Scottish Fold Munchkin.
We quickly understood that his lifestyle would be suited to a minimalist concept characterised by simplicity, clean lines.
We'd purposefully eliminated high contrast textures such as wood grains and stone so that visually the elements looked consistently linear, achieving a clean and minimalistic aesthetic. The focus was on meticulous attention to detail across the space rather than an isolated feature that screams for attention. The creative direction deeply reflects Ben as an individual – someone who is minimalistic, consistent, meticulous, prefers to move under-the-radar, and has a great depth of character.
Team:
Design, styling, build: Studio Metanoia
Photographer: Marcus Lim
