Affective Asymmetry

INFO
NORTHMOS SDN BHD
ADD: 44, Jalan Kelab Golf, 30350 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
TEL: 05 547 8668
EMAIL: northmosreno@gmail.com

Through a combination of just the right colours, materials and shapes, a spacious house is transformed into a cosy home with just the right amount of understated character.

Tucked away in the remarkable Ipoh Premier City township, Genesis delivers on its promise to make green living part of its residents’ lifestyles by having all of its houses directly connected to green spaces. However, an urbanite homeowner here wanted their abode to have a more modern feel instead of one that was heavily influenced by nature. In response to this request, Keith Chan and Jane Phuah chose a modern contemporary concept that relied on subtle details to express its personality.

A primarily neutral palette sets the mood for the entire residence, giving it a neat yet warm ambience that welcomes everyone who steps inside. Giving depth and character to each part of the house are geometric shapes which help differentiate them from one another. For the living area, it is the irregular rhombi with protruding outlines decorating the wall behind the television that capture the attention of those in the space. No less eye-catching is the cabinet in the far corner which is covered in mirrors and stretches from the floor to the ceiling save for a small shelf slot in the middle.

Meanwhile, the defining shape for the dining area nearby is the rectangle which is most easily observed in the black outline of the recessed ceiling. Mirroring it almost perfectly is a similar black outline on the tiled floor which visually separates the space from its neighbours without cluttering the home with dividers. The sole partition wall in the vicinity which hides the back of the prayer altar facing the entrance doubles as a very unique shelf with its unconventional shape.

Departing from the pattern is the kitchen which prioritises practicality in its design and as such is also dominated by rectangles. Where it gets its own personality from is small touches such as reflective kitchen cabinet doors and the pendant lights hanging overhead. Perhaps the most outstanding element here is the kitchen island top which is primarily comprised of brown quartz except for a section that blends in with the base. Also keeping things functionally simple is the study which uses minute amounts of wood to add some light patterning to the room without disrupting the established colour scheme.

Appropriately enough, the bedrooms take the home’s theme in unexpected directions mainly by using different geometric shapes in wildly different ways. The master bedroom has a stretch of wall covered with grey wood strips that gives off an art gallery-like impression. However, its most attention-grabbing detail is the section covered with geometric shapes which disguises a hidden door that leads to the en suite study. Not to be outshone so easily, the other bedrooms are impressive in their own way with one bedroom sporting a light-up headboard and the other a stretch of geometric-patterned panels covering the wall behind the bed.