Home Tour: A Young Family’s First Home is a Dreamy Escape Inspired by Santorini

There are quite a number of homes in Singapore whose interiors are modelled off the Greek island Santorini. It shouldn’t come as a surprise; the place whose very name conjures images of brilliant white homes with their curved domes set against a picturesque backdrop of shimmering blue waters and clear blue skies is clearly dreamy. So much so that it became an inspiration for Kai Wei’s first family home. [gallery columns="2" link="none" size="full" ids="97432,97431"]   [gallery columns="2" link="none" size="full" ids="97434,97433"]

Before: Kai Wei wanted his first family home to have serious vacation vibes so that every day could feel like a holiday.

The 36-year-old civil engineer shares his 5-room BTO flat at Bukit Batok with his wife and their 2-year-old daughter. From the onset, even before they got the keys, it was clear that Santorini was going to be their main inspiration. “We very much wanted a holiday themed home so that every day can feel like a holiday. Santorini was an obvious choice, because it’s incredibly serene, laidback and dreamy,” says Kai Wei. With that in mind, the couple went on a search for an interior designer who could bring their vision into reality. They ultimately decided on KrisDion from First Dot Design. Kai Wei explains their choice: “We went with her in the end because she was witty and also attentive to our requests. She made sure she understood our requirements by constantly clarifying, while also discussing with us at length about our vision for our home. Another major plus was that the firm allowed us to see the 3D drawings beforehand, even before we decide to engage them. Being able to see how our home could eventually look like sealed the deal for us.” The couple liked KrisDion’s 3D drawings of their home so much that they didn’t change a single thing. On the designer’s part, even though she had no prior experience on working with the Santorini style, she spared no effort to familiarise herself with the design’s colour scheme, décor and representative features.

Sheer day curtains in the living room lend an airy, laidback vibe to the space, truly bringing out the essence of being on a holiday.

One characteristic of the Santorini style was an all-white aesthetic, which the designer adopted for the home. The true white shade that KrisDion went for lends a crisp and clean vibe to the space, brightening up the home considerably. To prevent it from looking sterile, she brought in sky blue accents, which paid homage to Santorini’s blue skies and seas. This colour scheme is seen throughout the home, from the living room and kitchen to the bathrooms and bedrooms.

A tempered blue glass backsplash serves as a focal point against the white flat-fronted cabinets.

The master bedroom is in the similar soothing hues featured in the rest of the home.

The bathroom feels just like a resort, with the pebbled tile shower wall and the floating white vanity cabinet.

The most notable feature in the home however is the living room’s ceiling, which was inspired by Santorini’s distinctive architecture characterised by arches, vaults and gentle curves that sit alongside straight lines. Not only does the ceiling feature serve as a focal point for the apartment, it also helps to visually demarcate the living room from the workstation. The study area, defined by a custom-built long table with drawers, was placed in the living room at Kai Wei’s request, as he wanted to share the space with his family while also being near them whenever he had to work from home.

The living room's curved ceiling in full glory.

The little details: Notice the ceramic knobs on the drawers of the study desk, which were hand-painted with blue stripes to match the theme of the home.

Save for a couple of built-ins, the home is otherwise free from carpentry work. And that’s because the Santorini style is also very much based on minimalism and simplicity. There are however full-height cabinets in the living room, which blend seamlessly with the whitewashed walls and are used to house Kai Wei’s massive collection of books as well as to hide the rest of the clutter, which comes from living with a young toddler.

Floor-to-ceiling cabinets blend with the whitewashed walls, creating a clean, seamless appearance.

Renovations went well and wrapped up in two months. The only issue that came up had to do with the hiding of the air-conditioning pipes. At KrisDion’s suggestion, it was eventually resolved by building simple wall features to hide them. Kai Wei knows that the smooth process of their renovations cannot be attributed to just luck; he believes it should be largely attributed to having a capable interior designer. He stresses the importance of finding the right designer to other homeowners: “Having an interior designer who truly understands your needs and is able to produce your dream home is so important. If you have not found the right interior designer, keep searching and don’t settle. The effort spent will be rewarded by returns many times over.” With this dreamy family home as his reward, we think his effort was definitely worth it. Makeful, a lifestyle channel from Blue Ant Media on Starhub TV was launched last year. Following this debut, the channel introduced their inaugural Inspirational Home Awards to find the most inspiring homes in Singapore. Kai Wei’s home was one of the Top 10 Homes. 'Before' images courtesy of KrisDion from First Dot Design. 'After' images courtesy of First Dot Design.  

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