Diving Into the Design: Making the Most of a Modern Family Home

Effective interior design makes the property work for the people who will inhabit it.

A consistent purveyor of this practice is Mil Design & Construction, as exhibited in their latest project, a Provence cottage-inspired intermediate link home which simply shines.

And shine, it does. With attached walls, linked homes tend to lack natural light. To tackle this, the interior designers employed a variety of textures, lighting, and materials to masterfully distribute light throughout the home.

Cottages in Provence, Paris – think cobblestone walls, country-style aesthetics, and warm colour palettes – exude homely charms with understated elegance, a desirable combination for a modern family. This triple storey home mimics those cottages with a white stone wall in the open-plan living and dining area.

The living room’s fireplace bookshelf and family photo mantelpiece, oak timber cabinetry throughout the home, and wardrobe barn doors in the bedrooms add to the cottage theme. To update the theme, the interior designers add colour: muted, bright, and jewel-toned.

A soft blush adorns the staircase wall in the living area and in the family room, light grey and taupe shades in the bedrooms and kitchen, and bright Azure blue cabinets take centre stage in the wet kitchen. Meanwhile, jewel tones are present in accent fabrics: pouf seating, pillows, and the master bedroom’s headboard.

While these colours add modernity to the home, the clever play of textures keep the home light and bright. Tinted mirrors are used for the kitchen backsplash and feature walls by the staircase and in the family room. The mirrors distribute light and create a feeling of spaciousness while the tints add sophistication and character.

The white stone wall in the living area gives a spacious and airy feeling while the minimalist ceiling and walls further open up the space.

Furthermore, a wide variety of pendant lights, shelf lighting, overhead lighting, and floor and table lamps light up the rooms while adding a decorative touch.

While most homes dedicate an “ugly corner” for laundry, this family home’s pretty and practical laundry corner in the wet kitchen is worthy of guest tours. A table tops a front-load washer to ease laundry sorting and prep. There’s also nifty wall shelves and an open cabinet for laundry paraphernalia.

The cushioned seat at the area is a thoughtful addition – because whoever’s doing the cooking and washing is going to need a (chocolate) break. What’s more, hanging terrariums sync the indoors with the outdoors that lie just beyond the door beside it.

Since most modern family homes lack bonding spaces beyond the TV area, the interior designers turned the 3rd floor (loft) into a library and hobby area. This inviting space houses book racks with a mobile ladder to access top shelves, an L-shaped desk with chairs, an arm chair, and a coffee table.

It’s ideal for family gatherings – whether it’s reading together or having the children work on their homework while the adults chat over tea, the space is versatile. It’s a great way to encourage family activities or an excuse to spend time in the same room while working on individual interests!

A little surprise lies beyond this loft: a hanging outdoor chair at the roof terrace for catching a breath, or the sunset.

When not spending time together, the homeowners can retreat to their own bedrooms. The master bedroom houses a luxe, customised bedhead in a rich blue that pops against the neutrals in the rest of the room. A his-and-hers open wardrobe fits neatly into the corner of the room, each drawer and cabinet well-lit for ease of view.

The kids’ bedrooms are just as fun and thoughtful. The window seating in the girl’s bedroom is painted with chalkboard paint for reminders and memos. It’s also adorned with a cushion, pillows, wall shelves, and a low-hanging pendant light, it’s a perfect spot for reading and daydreaming.

The rest of the room is just as wistful, with walls of muted pink and light wood, and pops of colour from the vanity chair and purple wardrobe complete with barn doors. The latter is also a feature in the boy’s bedroom, only painted in turquoise to match the more masculine colour scheme of that bedroom.

Even the guest bedroom is carefully designed and furnished. Its muted grey palette ia accented with the blacks of the built-in cabinet-vanity table. This multi-purpose piece allows for a variety of storage, suitable for short-term guests and long-staying relatives alike.

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