A Mauritian who is based in Singapore, Patrice Lo, a commercial director in the finance industry wanted his Singapore home to feel like the beach resorts in Mauritius. “It is our happy place. We wanted a relaxed, beach resort style that is bright and open, simple, but also a bit luxe at the same time,” he says. Whenever he and his wife, Josie Law, head of marketing in e-commerce, visit Mauritius, they will spend some time at the beach resorts. She considers the beaches in Mauritius “the most beautiful that I have ever seen”.
This was how the Hamptons style came to be. Based on their brief and preferences, Carmen Tang, design director of Wolf Woof proposed a Hamptonsesque concept with an elegant, airy, coastal feel that is not overly casual.
AT A GLANCE
Who lives here: A couple and their three children
Home: A four-bedroom condominium in the West
Size: 1,636 sq ft
ID: Wolf Woof
The living room is surrounded on three sides by the kitchen, study and patio. The neutral colour palette comprising primarily white complemented by shades of black and grey, along with the use of glass, give the space a bright and airy quality. The simulated shiplap panels on the feature wall and the wall outside the kitchen are on theme, but constructed using a less labour-intensive method that still adds to the rustic and cosy feel.
![home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_living_1-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_living_1-1.jpg)
“Instead of using individual planks, we created a similar effect using wood-grained textured laminate over a timber panel that was clad over the existing wall,” Carmen explains. U-profile groove lines mimic the tongue-and-groove joints found in actual shiplap panels.
![home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_living_3](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_living_3.jpg)
The generously-sized patio also serves as the family’s semi-outdoor dining area with a bar counter overlooking the condominium pool. It is reminiscent of the semi alfresco verandahs that can be found in the beach houses in the Hamptons and emulates a lifestyle where the boundaries between indoors and outdoors are blurred.
![home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_balcony_1-757x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_balcony_1-757x1024-1.jpg)
Theme and ambience aside, the patio also has a functional brief. Storage was something that the couple, both 39, needed, especially with three young children in the house. With the removal of existing floor-to-ceiling built-in cabinets in various areas around the home so as to free up the spaces and make them more “breathable”, it was important to locate alternative storage areas.
New weather-resistant cabinets have been added to one side of the patio behind the bar counter. The white, shaker-style cabinet doors are synonymous with the Hamptons style because Carmen believes that at the end of the day, whatever the storage solution, they also need to work in the aesthetics department. “Form and function always have to go hand in hand. Always,” she emphasises.
![home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_living_2-820x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_living_2-820x1024-1.jpg)
Existing sliding glass doors separating the kitchen and the living room have been replaced with a half-height wall and glass to provide more storage space. These take the form of more shaker-style cabinets and drawers complete with EDL Compact counter tops and backsplash.
![home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_kitchen_1-976x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_kitchen_1-976x1024-1.jpg)
The study (one of the four bedrooms) and its original design was an enclosed room that was visually and spatially cut off from the rest of the apartment. To make things worse, it was crammed with built-in cabinets and drawers. “Even though my clients needed more storage, drowning the space with cabinets was not an option,” Carmen says. She proposed opening up the room using a glass door and fixed glass panels, and introducing just the right amount of built-in storage without filling up every wall.
![home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_closeupstudyroom_1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_closeupstudyroom_1.jpg)
Apart from being Carmen’s maiden attempt at the Hamptons style, this $120,000 project (including furniture) is also her first time working with soft-look wallpaper. In the master bedroom, the monochromatic wallpaper with a nature theme psychologically connects with the outdoor landscape just beyond the balcony. It can also be conceived as an extension of the Hamptons concept that revolves around nature and the outdoors.
![home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_bedroom_1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_bedroom_1.jpg)
The family moved into their new home in June 2021, after two months of design and planning that preceded another two months of actual renovation works. Along the way, the team encountered some issues with the buckling of the existing flooring. The solution provided the opportunity for yet another first for Carmen – herringbone-patterned vinyl flooring that was laid over the existing floor.
“We really gave Carmen a challenge as we knew that this was not a style that she had done before in the past,” say the homeowners, but she has managed to pull it off. Carmen jokes that this home showcases her “Dr. Jekyll side” because it is more no-nonsense compared to some of her other projects. “There are no life-sized, half-horse dining tables or horses prancing out of bedroom walls, but it still incorporates some quirky touches,” she says with a grin.
![home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_wardrobe_1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-_-decor-house-tour-wolf-woof-condo-4-room-beach-vibe_wardrobe_1.jpg)