A key feature in the living room is the cabinet with faux fireplace, bookshelves, drop zone and mudroom. Photos: @hihome.my
Two things stand out at Mohamad Helmi Abdul Rahman and Nurul Syafrinaz Ramlee’s home – the unique view of a waterway in front and a pleasant outdoor backyard.
What first attracted the couple to the double-storey superlink home – located in a gated community in Cyberjaya – was the English-themed garden close to their front door, the man-made island with its water features and the amenities provided.
“We were keen on purchasing the ones facing the lake but those units were selling like hot cakes. The next available units were either facing the garden or the waterway. For privacy reasons, we decided on this unit, with the spacious greenery and waterway,” shared homemaker Nurul Syafrinaz, 34.
The intermediate, originally 2,118sq ft (197sq m) three-bedroom unit has since undergone some renovations to accommodate the couple’s needs and lifestyle.
These included a kitchen extension and the addition of a top floor loft. The new build-up now stands at around 2,600sq ft (241sq m).
The outdoor backyard with patterned tiles and customised furniture is a relaxing spot for the family to hang out and hold gatherings.
The couple, who has four children aged between one and 10, moved into their home at the end of August 2020.
Their outdoor backyard was selected by @ighometourmalaysia – a local home tour group on Instagram hosted by home decor enthusiasts to inspire one another and share ideas on home design and decor – under the theme #ightmoutdoor for its pleasant setting.
“Basically, what we wanted before designing the backyard was based on our experience of taking care of real gardens for the past two years. We had had enough of weeding and mowing so we knew we wanted a low-maintenance garden.
“Hence we decided to tile the whole area and only grow plants in pretty pots. We needed to incorporate the colours of the house façade (since this is a strata house) so we set black, white and grey as our main colours there.
“We love how we found pretty patterned tiles that matched our criteria on our first hunt! My husband then searched for outdoor sofa sets and ended up customising them – plus a matching swing – from Indonesia for a fraction of the price of those sold locally.
The customised swing from Indonesia complements the outdoor sofa in the backyard.
“We used water-grey stain finishing for the wood and dark grey for all the fabric, including the cover of our swing. And as I love green gardens, I chose all-green plants but with different shades of green (to be planted on black pots) and only one or two flowers for a bolder look when they bloom,” added Nurul Syafrinaz, who shares her home decor journey on Instagram.
The space is well-utilised by the family for meals and gatherings.
“We love eating here, usually during tea time in the afternoon. We have celebrated a few birthdays here, as well as held BBQs. I sometimes take five here after doing my housechores, reading books and drinking my coffee. We play here with the kids quite a lot too.”
Their home also features a rooftop garden, accessible via the loft.
“For now we only have low-maintenance houseplants like snakeplants and aloe vera up there. Our loft, which leads to the rooftop garden, is still a work in progress so once the loft is done (at which we plan to set up a home office soon), I will start some gardening work over there,” she said.
The underlying interior decor theme is modern contemporary, with their love for wood evident in the house.
Fluted panels add warmth to the dining area.
“Initially I just wanted a clean and sleek design but along the way, we both decided to change the theme a bit in accordance to our taste,” said Nurul Syafrinaz.
The right priorities
A key design feature in the living room is a cabinet with a faux fireplace, bookshelves, drop zone and mudroom.
“My husband only wanted more storage but I made them aesthetically pleasing. That space is the only cabinet once one enters the main door so I listed down all our needs.
“My husband is a (motorbike) rider with full set riding gear and helmets, kids with their school bags and all, and me with my car keys and handbag.
“I started designing by referencing my all-time favourite living hall focal point – the fireplace. But my only problem is the storeroom door. I always wanted a hidden door but that would reduce the space for storage hence we came out with a functional hidden door that acts as our storeroom door and also one side of the bookshelf cabinet,” she added.
The mihrab area that the couple designed with leftover fluted panels.
The faux fireplace is in the middle while the bookshelf cabinets are at the sides, all for storage purposes.
“Helmets are kept on the very top cabinet, riding gear and my tudung/shawl are hung on the cabinet above the fireplace, and lastly, kids’ bags are now shoved on the bottom parts of the whole cabinets.”
One of the spaces that the couple creatively DIY-ed is the mihrab area, designed with leftover fluted panels. (A mihrab is a niche in the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca.)
“The mihrab area acts as a storage space for our first floor and family area.
“We used a white door and when we were almost done DIY-ing the mihrab area, we realised that it needed some bold colours to complete the project. We used leftover fluted panels from our master bedroom, a composite-type panel. It’s very easy to do.”
Nurul Syafrinaz’s favourite part of the house is the kitchen.
The dry kitchen has a two-toned kitchen cabinet with an open corner unit that comes with a slider, and glass doors with a lift system.
“I love my kitchen because I love to cook. For the kitchen cabinet, we wanted a clean and sleek design for the cabinets hence we went for no-handle door cabinets and some open shelves/corners for contrast.
“We separated our kitchen into wet and dry, unlike the trendy open-concept kitchen with half glass half aluminium door, because I need to minimise the cleaning work after cooking.”
The wet kitchen features a concrete top with travertine-marble porcelain tiles as backsplash for easy clean up as well.
“As for my dry kitchen, it has a two-toned kitchen cabinet with an open corner unit that comes with a slider, and glass doors with a lift system. For the backsplash, we matched it with our dining feature wall.
“Back in 2020, only wide porcelain tiles were available at the market so we chose 4ft x 2ft (122cm x 61cm) porcelain tiles with marble design for this purpose.
Wood features strongly in Nurul Syafrinaz's home in Cyberjaya.
“Lastly, we opted for semi-matte quartz stone finishing with minimal veins for our countertop. We just wanted good quality, easy-to-care stone.”
Nurul Syafrinaz believes in staying true to their personal preferences when it comes to deciding on their home interior style.
“My husband and I prefer practicality over aesthetics. So whenever we need to spend money on decorating a space, we will consider their functional and practical values above all.
“Then only we match them with our budget and overall design to make them aesthetically pleasing,” she shared.
A key feature in the living room is the cabinet with faux fireplace, bookshelves, drop zone and mudroom. Photos: @hihome.my
Fluted panels add warmth to the dining area.
The outdoor backyard's customised sofa set and matching swing from Indonesia.
The outdoor backyard with patterned tiles and customised furniture is a relaxing spot for the family to hang out and hold gatherings.
The dry kitchen has a two-toned kitchen cabinet with an open corner unit that comes with a slider, and glass doors with a lift system.
The mihrab area that the couple designed with leftover fluted panels.
Wood features strongly in Nurul Syafrinaz's home in Cyberjaya.
The customised swing from Indonesia complements the outdoor sofa in the backyard.
