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Diving Into the Design: A Terrace Home With a Pool

Lydia Lohshini by Lydia Lohshini on Aug 2, 2017
Why you should care

See how a 10-year-old property got a face lift and a swimming pool! Tour this decade old Malaysian home that got a much needed upgrade from local interior designers Nice Style Refurbishment. The before and after pictures will make you want to renovate your own home too.

This Sri Petaling home garnered thousands of likes on social media and drew the attention of homeowners around the world. Never would we have thought that a pool would look this good with a terrace home.

We recently spoke to Mr Lim, owner of Nice Style Refurbishment, the interior designer behind the makeover of the Sri Petaling home. He cued us in on the concept of the project and why they decided to build a swimming pool.

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Q. Talk us through the client brief on the Sri Petaling Terrace project.

A. Our first meeting was on site and the clients walked us through the old terrace unit. They found that the house was too small, cramped, and run down. Their only requirement from us was to give the space a facelift to make it look big and spacious.

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Q. The biggest and most surprising feature of the project is the pool. How did the idea of having a pool in a terrace home come about?

A. When we viewed the property, we noticed that the back of the house faced a highway which made it noisy at night. Since the backyard has a lot more land, we decided to add the pool as a way to tone down the noise. As it was a family home, the pool would also be a good family gathering spot.

sri petaling project

Q. How did you go about working on the project after conceptualising the idea?

A. Before beginning on the project, we had to study the structure of the property and figure out the design and foundation of the home. We had to know which walls we could hack down and which ones we couldn’t.

sri petaling project

The entire home was designed with a modern classic theme which is why we used white as our base tone and added bright striking colours and mirrors to add dimension and depth. The main features of the home were the pool area and dining room. For the dining area, we opted for a white theme to give it a spacious feel.

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Apart from making it more spacious, we wanted to create a nook in the bedroom for the owner to retreat to. We extended the master bedroom, giving it a balcony-esque space with a view of the pool.

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Q. Did you face any challenges with this project?

A. As the house was more than a decade old, we in fact did face a few challenges with the structure. The clients wanted more spacious rooms so we decided to hack into the walls to create bigger rooms. With one of the bedrooms, we encountered a column that was disruptive to the flow of the room, so we camouflaged the column with a built-in wardrobe and TV area.

sri petaling project

Another issue was that the property was an intermediate house. With neighbours surrounding them, we had to work carefully to complete the project. It took a lot of coordination, especially when it came to digging up soil for the 4 feet pool.  We had to figure out how to move the excess soil away while not disrupting the neighbours. There was also an issue with replanting the large tree. As we were not able to move the tree from the front of the home to the back through the house, we had to bring in a crane to hoist the tree over the home and into the backyard.

But even with all these challenges, we managed to complete the home in 3 months!

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Q. What has been your favourite part of working on this project?

We enjoyed every aspect of this project. We got the chance to give a decade-old house a complete makeover. More so, this was the first 1-and-a-half storey home that I’ve worked on and I love how it turned out.

sri petaling project

Q. Since the project went viral on social media recently, has Nice Style Refurbishment gotten more request for projects like this?

A. Yes, we have! We’re in the midst of consulting new clients and working with them on their ideas.

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Q. What advice would you give homeowners who are attempting to replicate this home?

A. Many people are drawn to the idea of having a pool in their house but the decision comes with many responsibilities. The pool increases your daily water and electricity consumption. You have to be ready to manage the financial aspect of having a pool. They require monthly maintenance and have a pump that works 24 hours a day. If you aren’t going to fully utilise the pool, we suggest a water feature instead.

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For homeowners who want to replicate this project, it’s best to engage with an interior designer as it takes a lot of professional work. Tell the interior designer what you hope to achieve with the space and what your expectations are. It’s best to work with someone you feel you can trust, and at the end of the day you’ll have your dream home.

Take a look at other Nice Style Refurbishment’s design projects. If you’d like to view the works of Malaysian interior designers on Atap.

Why you should care

See how a 10-year-old property got a face lift and a swimming pool! Tour this decade old Malaysian home that got a much needed upgrade from local interior designers Nice Style Refurbishment. The before and after pictures will make you want to renovate your own home too.

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