A cafe, floating netted hammock, and riot of colour make this a fun family house

When the two children living in this house return from school, they walk into a ‘cafe’, and choose from banquettes or high stools by the 3.8-metre-long kitchen island counter to take their lunch. Through the day, they might bounce on the netted hammock hung in the stairwell, rearrange the play area’s modular sofa seating for pretend play or enjoy a game of Scrabble on a custom-designed cabinet.
When the weather turns unbearable, a rooftop pool surrounded by pink walls and lit by petal-shaped skylights beckon. At night, stepping into a curved portal at the study room transports them into a reading space, made snug with beanbags. Above, a slanted glass roof brings close the night sky.
Clearly, this house was designed for children – entirely. Play is not tucked away in another room so that the main areas can remain neat and mild for guests. It is the driver for everything in the home – from the layout to the colour and patterns, down to the choice of furniture.
“The homeowners wanted a home centred around family life. They desired spaces that encourage togetherness and quality time. Their goal was to create enriching environments for their children to play, explore and grow,” said Iskandar Idris, founder of architecture firm Super Assembly.
To do that, Iskandar aimed for a visually stimulating and engaging home using manifold colours, shapes and forms to inspire curiosity and creativity. He explained that the spaces were intended to be anything but typical, nurturing the children’s development within an imaginative and dynamic environment.
Naturally, the three children, ranging from two to nine years of age, were overjoyed when the semi-detached house was completed. They had moved from an apartment into this giant ‘playground’. “It was fantastic,” said the man of the family.
He had found Iskandar through an article on a house the latter had designed in collaboration with Formwerkz Architects. “We thought it was unconventional. If you build a house for yourself, why would you want one that is cookie cutter and plain? When you come into your own home, it should excite you. In this home, you walk through a narrow entrance and then wow, the interior suddenly opens up!” the homeowner enthused.
The opening up refers to a voluminous atrium at the opposite end of the entrance. The house sits on land that slopes toward the rear, so this void stretches two floors, starting from the play area below the road level. The play area is also the living room, except that there are no stiff sofas. Rather, the decision was for cushion-like Mahjong modular sofas from French furniture brand Roche Bobois. “These sofas can be rearranged, providing a versatile and functional living area,” Iskandar highlighted.
Many conventions are turned on their head in this home, including the dining room. “Instead of a typical house layout, the owners wanted a unique design, especially at the entry. They envisioned a space similar to a cafe, with different seating options such as lounge chairs, bar seats, dining chairs and banquette seating, in order to promote community and interaction,” shared Iskandar. “It can sit 29 people,” added the owner.
Also promoting community and interaction are the stepped arrangement of the spaces in the home. The master bedroom, dining area and study, stacked at the front of the house, are staggered in relation to the living area and pool at the rear.
“Organising the communal areas in this terraced fashion ensures that there is always a visual link to other parts of the house,” Iskandar explained. It also makes the spaces more dynamic and interesting for the children.
“This aligns perfectly with the owner’s brief to create a home where family communal life takes centre stage.”
The wife works odd hours, so she wanted to be able to see what the children in the other parts of the house are doing when she is at the study. Glass walls at the study allow for this. Likewise, looking up from the play area, one can look into the dining area and study. This staggered arrangement also amplifies light across the house’s section.
Around the home, eclectic and vibrant design elements as well as the rich colours create an atmosphere of fun. This is true even of functional pieces like the dry kitchen counter. It is cladded in funky burl wood veneer and paired with a conjoined bar top table made from semi circles to create a visually captivating centrepiece, described Iskandar. Surrounding this, playfully designed cabinetry and console units not only provide interesting visuals, but they also hide clutter.
The children have their own bedrooms but most days, they love to congregate in their parents’ bedroom. In fact, Iskandar even customised a master bed with a pull-out mattress to accommodate such nights. The master bedroom sits at the end of the play area. Slide-and-fold panels allow for privacy when necessary but they are usually opened up, extending the playing space into a foyer before the master bedroom.
Throughout, the abundant use of blond timber balances out the multifarious colours. Iskandar also thought about the transition spaces as opportunities to inject a dose of fun and colour. This translates to baby blue balustrades and custom lemon-coloured child-gates that look great even when they are not needed in future.
“The pathways within the house are designed to be more than just ways to move between floors; they are intended to be interesting and engaging spaces that offer opportunities to overlook other parts of the house, providing a multi-layered experience as you move through the home,” said Iskandar.
Abundant windows enable connection with the outdoors. The largest is at the atrium, where plants at an outdoor planter add a refreshing wall of green. Iskandar intended for this feature to block the unattractive rear view of tall apartments in the distance.
This sense of openness contrasts with the house’s windowless exterior facing the road. A group of angular chunks covered with white paint that glimmers in the sun, it is like a large abstract sculpture dropped into the typical domestic fabric of terracotta-capped houses.
While there are many interesting points in the house, the layout is straightforward. Iskandar tucked the communal spaces nearer to the party wall of the semi-detached house and placed bedrooms on the open side so that they can be well illuminated and ventilated from the windows. “Also, by positioning the communal areas towards the interior, we created spacious family spaces that maintain privacy from the neighbouring houses,” he commented.
Providing delight as one wanders through the house are plentiful custom details, including curved niches in the study room cabinetry doubling as handles and a powder pink pool table at the attic with round legs. At the foyer, steps incorporate a low seat for wearing and taking out of shoes, while a pastel pink bulge in the corner of the ceiling is a witty way to hide unsightly water pipes.
The owner pointed out the curved, upturned edges of the kitchen island counter are designed so that “things don’t fall.” The subtle detail is also helpful for baking sessions. “We do a lot of baking directly on this counter; we don’t need a baking sheet,” he said regarding the terrazzo composite surface.
In the play area, the aforementioned magnetic Scrabble board is well used. “This multipurpose feature not only provides storage, but also promotes family bonding through their favourite game,” said Iskandar. Accompanying it are quirky custom mobile storage units for toys and other playtime essentials that can be easily moved and rearranged, making it simple to organise and adapt the spaces according to the children’s daily play sessions.
The house is not monumental, but it does feel bigger than its actual footprint due to the staggered section that extends lines of sight, the ample large windows and the connected spaces. And perhaps the colour does brighten the character of the house to some degree.
“Colour makes one happier. We wanted to make the house more energetic,” said the homeowner. He appreciates that Iskandar managed to turn his thoughts and ideas into reality. “Iskandar had many ideas that I would never think of, such as a small window to pass food through the dry to wet kitchen; even the swing doors to the wet kitchen are like a restaurant’s,” the owner remarked, clearly proud of his ‘cafe’.
Iskandar has created a home that mimics the unpredictability, playfulness, curiosity and joy of childhood. In here, there are ample opportunities to dream and grow.