Be Inspired

The urban home is increasingly seen as a multifaceted space for various activities, and one that caters to the ebb and flow of needs and desires that change with the hour and day. Interior designer and President's Design Award winner Peter Tay understands these urban living needs — particularly that of work-life integration and work-life separation.

Peter Tay is well-known for his ability to capture the architectural essence of a space while also combining it with a sleek and luxurious aesthetic. Taking cues from Midtown Bay’s vision of vibrant and social city living, his approach to the show flat interiors is to provide flexibility for all aspects of living while maintaining the units’ architectural quality.

Within the luxury one- and two-bedroom homes, the designer has created ample room for both labour and leisure, showing us how a home can accommodate various functions of living, working, entertaining and relaxing. Here are some key ideas that demonstrate his approach to a more flexible living space.

“This is not just a home for living, but a space that is designed to allow for a plethora of activities to happen.”

— Peter Tay

Starting with a ‘neutral canvas’ provides an elegant foundation for the space to be programmed based on personal tastes and lifestyle preferences. The use of marble flooring in a soft and neutral grey tone also creates a clean canvas that allows key aesthetic elements to stand out without amounting to clutter.

Doubling up the functions of the rooms creates a dynamic home. During the day, the living area can be easily converted into a conducive work environment or a waiting area, and the dining area can be used as a meeting space.

Creating ‘spaciousness’ makes a home more adaptable to the social aspects of city living. The wide balcony of Midtown Bay, for example, accommodates a large communal table and can be used as a dining area, an extension of the living room, or a meeting space. Utilising sliding doors to open up or divide spaces as needed also helps enable more room for play.

“For me, design is really about the spatial quality. Interior design starts from first understanding the architecture in terms of its materiality, tactility and colour.”

Intentional ‘thresholds’ define the boundaries of different rooms and can be physical or psychological. A small sculpture at the entrance of the bedroom, for example, creates a more poetic in-between zone. Thresholds help us recognise the process of leaving one space to enter another, effectively shifting moods and mental space as we shuffle between work, rest and play.

Using materials that enhance the spatial quality is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the interior. Inspired by the beautiful monolithic architecture of Midtown Bay, Peter Tay used polished stainless steel and reflective surfaces to extend the sense of openness in the interior, while keeping everything else minimal so that residents can enjoy the architectural quality of the space.