A Bold Bukit Timah Penthouse With Tropical Interiors & Vibrant Colours

As a couple, interior designer Rashi Tulshyan and her husband, Rahul Daswani, a civil servant, enjoy entertaining and spending time with their family and friends. So, when searching for a new home, they wanted one with distinct living and dining spaces. With a second child on the way, the couple also wanted the bedrooms to be close together.

Their new home, a 4-bedroom penthouse unit in Bukit Timah, fulfilled these requirements and more. The unit comes with four bathrooms, a roof terrace, and a spiral staircase. After renovating it over four months, the family moved into their home in March 2023.

Who Lives Here: A couple with their toddler and helper
Home: A 4-bedroom penthouse in Bukit Timah
Size: 3,600 sq ft (334 sqm)
Interior Designer: Home Philosophy

Tropical wallpaper in Singapore

During the interior design stage, Rashi knew she wanted a tropical wallpaper to be a starting point for this bold penthouse. With so many tropical wallpapers to choose from, how did Rashi decide on one that would anchor the interior design?

“As a designer and a homeowner, I’m very decisive. I often tell my clients to go with their gut feeling. For example, if you find yourself thinking about a particular curtain or colour at night or in the morning, that is the right decision for your home,” the founder of interior design firm Home Philosophy says.

Milton & King Wallpaper

When she saw the print from Milton & King, she knew that was the one. Reflecting that the tropical wallpaper speaks of Singapore, she shares, “I wanted something with a bit of a story. I like the element of having animals and flowers and that it looks almost like a mural with a water colour, hand-drawn effect.”

The interior design concept was built around the wallpaper. The home is also an amalgamation of her design principles and the learnings she has picked up along the way.

Arch shelf wall

With a penchant for warm and soothing interiors, she introduced textures and textiles into the home. Arches and curves soften the spaces bathed in plenty of natural light.

Dark wood flooring

She also introduced light and dark colours throughout the home to contrast. The living area sees dark wood finishes against white surfaces. The kitchen is decked out in black and white checkered flooring, adding vibrancy to the soothing green cabinets and white cabinets.

With the spiral staircase entirely in black, the walls were kept white. Notably, there is no television feature wall, a conscious decision to maintain lightness in the space.

Bold bedroom wallpaper

The master bedroom features patterned grey wallpaper that contrasts with the headboard. While shades of green and wood hues ground the home, pops of colour add to its personality.

“Finding that balance was one of the main design ideas. I didn’t want to have too many colours, but I still wanted it to have personality and a voice of its own,” Rashi says.

Her team overhauled most of the unit to achieve this balanced mix and cater the home to their needs. However, they retained the marble flooring in the living and dining areas.

Spiral staircase in Singapore

They also kept the original structure of the spiral staircase, which had “old-school railings, acrylic and silver metal parts”. Now refreshed with new stair planks and railings, the show stopping spiral staircase is the first thing seen upon entering the home.

Bold bathroom colors

Rashi reworked the layout for the kitchen, service yard and bathrooms.

For instance, she repositioned everything to accommodate a double vanity in the master bathroom. Niches and concealed fittings conveyed a luxurious setting. The shower panels also went higher than the standard practice.

Brass handles

Looking into the finer details, she introduced small details like brass handles that resemble palm trees and bits of gold through the lighting and hardware.

“Gold adds that luxurious touch to everything, which I really enjoy,” she shares.

Having studied design and management at the Parsons School of Design in New York, she saw the need for styling and personality in interior design in Singapore. Her home was where she applied her design philosophy and principles, emphasising styling and diving into the nuances of materials, colours, shapes, and textures.

She says, “As a designer, you always do people’s homes, and they get to enjoy it. So now I get to enjoy the little details I put into the house. Living in a space that encapsulates me as a designer and a person, and being able to extend that to my day-to-day life, is very rewarding.”

Photography: Veronica Tay and Phyllicia Wang
Art direction: Nonie Chn and Kristy Quah

This article was originally published on Home & Decor.