“Notable climbs I particularly enjoyed were Matterhorn in Switzerland, Mt Khuiten in Mongolia, and Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania,” he enthused, adding that his sons have all started their climbing journey with indoor rock wall climbing in Singapore, as evidenced by small rock-climbing shoes hung neatly in the equipment room.
It was on one of these climbing trips – an attempt to scale Mount Fuji in winter, later aborted due to bad weather – that the husband reconnected with Yeo, his secondary school classmate. “It was in 2015. We had bumped into each other at Narita International Airport, as I was coming to Tokyo,” said Yeo, recalling the serendipitous meeting that led to their collaboration on the house years later.
While the husband veers towards a modern contemporary style, his wife provides softer decorative touches. She bought two Hermes scarves for the home, which were framed and hung at the staircase landings. The first, titled ‘Academia Hippica’ and designed by Jan Bajtlik, is placed on the first storey. Its Trojan Horse imagery aligns with this year’s Chinese zodiac animal. The second, titled ‘Hermès Parade’ and designed by Jonathan Burton, depicts balloons in robot, rocket and other whimsical forms. It is displayed at the third-storey landing, where the boys’ bedrooms are located.
The wife also influenced the home’s champagne tones. “I like this colour theme. I also like a luxe feel because I like to stay in nice hotels on holidays,” she shared, listing Rosewood, Park Hyatt and Four Seasons among her preferred hospitality brands.