Gamuda Rise NewsletterGamuda Rise Newsletter
Sheena Wong
At some point in time, every house needs a makeover. Everyone has different ideas on what they prefer, whether it is to make their home more pleasant-looking or functional.
Even before the government enforced a stay-at-home order to break the chain of COVID-19 infections, many of us like to remodel our living spaces to suit lifestyle changes.
Thus the Movement Control Order (MCO) gave us even more opportunity to redesign every nook and corner of our house.
Senior General Manager of PMU, Linda Lim and Assistant Manager of Interior Architecture for PMU, Anis Syuhada Daud are the in-house interior design (ID) team for Gamuda Land.
In an interview with Rise, they shared thoughts on decorating spaces. Linda, especially loves redecorating and reviving her house with new and trendy wall colours.
“Spending more time at home during the MCO made us rethink the function of indoor spaces. It was an opportunistic time to incorporate energy-efficient and green elements within our living zones.
“After being confined indoor for so long, we now probably prefer to live in a house with at least a small outdoor space!” she said.
“More importantly, we will see future homes designed with multifunction and flexible uses in mind. Such as, transforming dedicated work stations into a gym, or creating rooms that are configurable depending on the time of day,” added Linda.
The ID team’s basic rule starts with spatial planning. It defines the occupants’ circulation patterns within a space, and from there, they develop a plan for furniture layout.
Understanding the occupants’ lifestyle needs and preferences are also crucial. The team talks to potential home buyers to learn how they make full use of their living spaces.
Once a design concept is formulated, they mesh the colours, materials and other elements together in a mood board to achieve the desired ambience.
Weaving in the core principles of arts, like balance, scale, proportion, harmony and unity in the layout is essential to creating aesthetic values for interior design.
Both Linda and Anis believe that refurbishing an old bungalow is more challenging than decorating a small space on a limited budget.
Redecorating is merely changing the look and feel of a space with new design elements. In contrast, refurbishing involves major structural changes such as knocking down or building up walls, redoing the floors, ceiling and more.
The ultimate goal is to make homes more livable and comfortable for its occupants.
“We constantly look at design books, magazines and even websites for new trend and design inspirations,” said Anis.
“For those of us who live and breathe design, Pinterest is our best friend,” she added.