Photos by Bagus Tri Laksono
Understanding a client’s preferences and needs is crucial for interior designers in doing home renovation. But no less important is finding a solution to sudden requests by the client when the designing phase is in progress. That’s what interior designers Yandi Prayudhi and Ariesta Anastasia from Ilcasa Studio had to do when renovating a white American Classic three-story house located in Pantai Mutiara, North Jakarta.
Originally the white American Classic house only had two bedrooms, which was insufficient for the family of four that the young couple has: parents and two children. At first, the couple only wanted to add two more rooms on the existing floors and eliminate the basement due to the flood history. Over time, when was still in designing process, the couple changed their minds and decided to add one more bedroom, which meant they needed to add another level and install an elevator, on top of a number of interior changes. “The project grows and it is a bigger architectural work than initially planned, so I need help from my long- time architect partner, Suman Lie,” Yandi said.
Then the architectural layout was designed by Suman, Yandi and Ariesta. Aside from the aforementioned changes, a lot of the layout stays the same. However, the clients wanted the interior to have a younger feel. “Even though the house has American Classic style, they want the interior to be simple and contemporary, which they feel more suitable for them,” Yandi said. And that’s exactly how they design it: lighter and fresher in Contemporary American style. There are still some profile details but not as intricate as before.
Style definition aside, Ariesta explained that a house should be comfortable for the occupants. Other than that, it also has a social function, in which they might have friends over, so it would be nice to have a luxury house that can impress. “That being said, the luxury I’m talking about is still in the corridor of functional and homy for people with a taste for simplicity and contemporary, not the kind with all the gold blings,” she added. ‘Homy and comfortable’ are the feelings that the designers aimed for the clients to feel when they step into every part of the house.
The Pantai Mutiara House Tour
Once you enter the house through the black and impressive main doors, you’ll be welcomed by a spacious foyer in earth tone with some golden accents. The rhombus-patterned marble floor, the organic- shaped crystal chandelier and the monochromatic painting with golden accent add liveliness and luxury to it. Straight from the entrance you can see the soothing aquamarine swimming pool in the courtyard. The grey wall panels make the painting and sofa pop without making the room to be dark. “They want something other than the usual white walls in American Classic homes, so we recommended this colour and they agree,” Ariesta said.
Going further into the house, you pass a hallway that connects the foyer to a multifunctional lounge area. A black round marble table with four armless chairs sit by the window that looks to the pool. The area sometimes functions as a room for the kids to study with a tutor, or it can also be used to receive guests.
Behind the door in the corner is the guest bedroom, which is one of the additional rooms from the renovation. A series of three abstract paintings adorning the wall is in matching colours with the rest of the room and a little contrast with the ivory marble floor. “The marble floor in this room and the living room is the only maintained floor from the old house. The previous owner, who is the father of the current owner, asked specifically not to change this floor because he still loves it so much,” Yandi said.
A white profiled doorway leads to the stairs and elevator area, and further back is the dining room, pantry and living room. The large window in the back of this area looks to the sea, where parking yachts and neighbours’ houses are in sight. “The concept of this room is sea breeze. It is predominated with earth tone furniture, but we also bring the sea into the room by adding some blue accents on the single sofa, cushion covers, the carpet and the paintings,” Ariesta explained. The pool and the vertical garden that’s visible from the side window also adds a natural feel to the area. All the fixed furniture is designed from scratch, while some of the loose ones are customised in size. The floating credenza and the pantry are some of the ones designed from scratch by Ilcasa, while the sofa, dining table and chairs are chosen by them and the clients from Melandas. The piano is a sentimental piece, owned and often played by the husband since he was very young. Now the piano adds a sense of fun and nostalgia to the room.
Next to the living room is the lounge, sandwiched between the pool area and the back patio. Initially, the clients wanted a room with Balinese resort feel and they sent reference photos to the designers. “Some of the references are leaning too much towards traditional Balinese style. We think it suits the whole concept better if we tone it down, make it simple,” Ariesta said. Finally, they meet in the middle with the client’s ideas by putting up a wicker wall panel as the focal point, combined with wooden walls finished with satin textured white duco paint. The sofa with solid wood frame and the chaise adds a tropical and relaxing vibe which you would get in many resorts in Bali. The second floor is dedicated to the couple; it’s where the master bedroom is located. The whole area is all about comfort. Upon entrance, you will step into a lounge room complete with a sofa set and a TV. The whole floor of the master bedroom area, except the bathroom, used to be marble but now it’s replaced with parquet, which makes the room feel cosier.
Consistent to the sea breeze concept, a bluish wallpaper is applied above the bedhead. Two doors are camouflaged on the left and right side of the bed. Behind the left door is a video game room and behind the right door is a toilet. “Both of these rooms are added in the renovation. The architect came up with the idea of having a toilet because walking to the bathroom across the room when you just woke up in the morning or in the middle of the night might feel inconvenient,” Yandi explained the reason behind the idea for the camouflaged toilet. Meanwhile, the video game room is to balance the room program.
For the bathroom, the clients want it to feel like in a resort or a luxury hotel. The designers translate it into a spacious bathroom with a big free- standing bathtub, a wall with texture inspired by Balinese decorative carving, dual basins, and a separate shower and toilet. Just outside the bathroom, at the end of the corridor, is the wardrobe for the husband, while the wife has the much bigger walk-in closet to herself, complete with a vanity. Both the master bathroom and the walk-in closet are in earth tone and lit with warm light, just like the rest of the house.
The next floor is dedicated to the children’s rooms and another extra room. The clients have yet to decide the function of the extra room, but most likely they will turn it into a study room. Meanwhile, the children’s rooms are equipped with desks, playing corner and en-suite bathrooms.
The whole renovation process took almost four years. From a simple request turned into a more complicated one, which process got a little held up by the pandemic. But all the changes and back-and-forth discussions are finally paid off. The old house is now a home rich with newness that provides comfort and warmth to a young family with long hopeful years ahead of them.