Over the Raya week I dropped by the home of a friend in Bangsar. Seeing how some of the other houses near my friends place were undergoing renovation awoke my curiosity of the varying renovation styles and the extensiveness of renovations done being undertaken by owners in this prestigious township. A short drive around was definitely called for as the renovations projects that can generally be seen within the Bangsar area are usually quite unique.
House undergoing renovation with a Cube facade.
Cube facade up close from the front definitely looks interesting.
After a short 15 minute drive around, I must say that i was not disappointed at all. The number of houses either currently undergoing renovation or seem to have been recently renovated was astonishing. Adding on the variety of designs and designs styles chosen by the owners of these homes also presented a plethora of look & feels created around the area and reminded me of looking through an architect’s portfolio of work. Inspiring to say the least, some of the home designs i saw while on my leisurely drive definitely gave me a reason to pause and wonder… “Why the hell didn’t i think of this earlier!?!?”.
Cube design in this home has been made to blend in harmoniously with the plants.
Cube design appearing more prominently on this home with an commercial look to it.
Terrace houses, semi-d’s and even bungalows with a variety of interesting and fascinating design cues were literally everywhere. Hard to imagine since a lot of people are saying cost of living has risen substantially in the country and its time to tighten our belts, but doesn’t affect the wealthy much it seems the same as it does for the rest of us it seems.
CUBE DESIGN
Cube designed home frontage seem to be the design of our current times. The Cube look is definitely in with some designers utilizing it in as a more hard element to the overall facade while others soften it into the background. While allowing for large windows to be used at the front of the house to let light into the home, the Cube design gives the home a more contemporary feel to it. So very unlike the normal everyday look and feel that most of us grew up with and are accustomed to. This design style also gives the opportunity to create wide room spaces for the primary room of the home (usually the master bedroom as its located at the front of the house).
There seems to be different methods of using the cube design with residential homes and this differs even as we look at the different types of houses (example: terrace and bungalows) in which available space plays an important role. Even as we note how many people are utilizing this Cube design in their homes its easy to make an educated assumption that this design is the current thing in trend. Funny how at one point in time in the past, houses with a rounded facade was considered the “IN” thing. Makes you wonder how fast do home design elements like this Cube design change. When will the next popular design make it our homes here in Malaysia. It really makes you stop and wonder… so exactly whats next?
Raw finish on this bungalow gives the house a rustic look. Too bad the plants have not grown completely yet.
Raw finishing of this home does not look quite complete and still gives the feeling that somethings lacking.
RAW FINISHING
Another interesting design element noted is the raw unpolished finish of raw cement/concrete, etc… Seems like more houses are opting for this raw finish and marrying it with the colour and texture provided by the greenery & colour of plants or even the dark shade of wood. It really seems like an interesting way of finishing up a house because for one, you’d never have to worry again about painting your outside walls and moss is no longer considered an enemy but more of a design element as it grows on your homes facade.
Raw finishes definitely give the home a more industrial feel on the outside and also give your imagination a good workout trying to imagine the comfort and coziness of what the home offers within. I’ve been to a few houses where the raw exterior of the houses hide a usually comfortable and modern setting within the homes interior and gives off the impression that you’re stepping away from the harsh world and into your quiet soothing corner of the world.
I personally love this simplistic look that’s given by the use of raw finished concrete on home facades. Besides never having to paint the outside of the house, i like how this finishing gives the home its own individualistic character and this is a feel that is unique to only you. But like with any selection of material, this must be done with an overall goal in mind. It’s easy to go off tangent when deciding on the general design of your home, but the small features must also blend in with your overall look, for example the colour of your window frames, the design and colour of your gate all play an important role in ultimately being your finished home. A wrong selection can easily make your house from being the most unique on your street to just plain looking weird, and nobody wants to see their hard earned money go that way.
Looking at all the interesting houses I’ve seen on my leisurely drive around Bangsar, I must say that home renovations in Klang Valley seem to be getting more and more interesting as people try to stand out more from their neighbours. Really must take more drives around other neighbourhoods and see what else are people doing with their homes. If you see a guy standing in the middle of the street in broad daylight taking pictures of your house, well it’s most likely me going on one of my drives around town. =)
love love love the raw finish