Light Tunnel House | Terrace Transformation | House Tour | Sustainable Architecture

This part of the house, it reminds us that life is like a blank canvas when you look at the wall. It's up to you how you want to live it. My name is Alex Lee and I am from Design Seeds. This time we bring you to another stunning terrace transformation episode. This old terrace house that used to be an office has been transformed into a green and rustic low-maintenance home. The blank canvas of this home has been shaped by history, sustainability and creativity, embracing minimal waste and repurposing materials. The homeowners created this green home. A perfect example of this is their kitchen countertop made of repurposed roof tiles, transformed into a statement of their conscious living philosophy. Before we begin, a friendly reminder to subscribe to us and stay in the loop of more design and architecture related content. The tall wooden doors open into a house embracing nature. On the ground floor, the foyer leads directly into an open-plan dining and kitchen space. Natural lighting streams in from a skylight running the length of the house. The living room is in fact situated beside the foyer and dining, divided by glass doors. With the porch just outside, using similar red brick floorings creates the impression that the landscape is part of the interior spaces. We like outdoors, we like nature, we don't like to be cooped up even though we're at home. So we want to have an outside-in, so bring the outdoor-indoor kind of concept. So when the client breathed from this house, when the client first approached us, they wanted to renovate this very old house. I think it's around 30-40 years. We're sort of like inspired by the client's lifestyles. So client in love with nature and then they do a lot of like recycling stuff. The first impression when I first visited the house was actually quite dark. I think that's very typical for the terrace house. And also we found that the floor-to-floor height is kind of low. We took out the floor slab and let the light to actually penetrate into the house, especially at the core of the house. The internal air flow is actually much better because it circulates through the ceilings. We want a house that actually will kind of self-maintain in the long run. If you look at this house, there's very minimal amount of surfaces that are actually painted. So in old houses, after a while you need to repaint. That's actually quite toxic and you need to use a lot of resources to paint, a lot of manpower to paint. Walls like this, zero painting. With exposed red bricks, beams and pillars, a rustic industrial feel is created. This is a balanced interior design with wood adding warmth and concrete adding functions. Combining man-made and natural materials makes the space feel durable yet serene. With all the material debris, then we upcycled it. For example, the old marble floor, we remove it and we crack it and we make it a terrazzo floor. So a handmade terrazzo floor. The handmade terrazzo and marble floor in the open dining area brings a unique vintage yet modern spin. The kitchen countertop made of the house roof tiles creates a statement of the owner's lifestyle and personal philosophy. We wanted to keep parts of the history of this house. If you remember the history, it will also help us to be more grateful that the fact that we have a roof over our head every day. This house responds well to Malaysia's tropical climate by including a lot of plants indoors. They not only increase humidity levels, but also enhance the visual atmosphere. The addition of the skylight creates spaces to enjoy both natural light and pockets of greenery simultaneously. Adding a small pond under the staircase creates a calming focal point with the soothing sounds of water. I also like the wood of the staircase. So in old houses, the staircase has come with very solid wood. We kept parts of the house like a tribute to how the house was or what were the original materials used in the house. The first floor is divided into two rooms with the master bedroom occupying the deeper half of the house and the guest room at the front with its own private balcony. There's only two of them, the couple, so they don't need so many rooms. So instead of like breaking into three rooms, so we combine three rooms into one big master bedroom with the flexible wall that can open and close anytime they want. Instead of like maximising it, so we minus it and allow much more spacious and double volume ceilings and to allow the lights to penetrate every single corner of the house. Using a different interior style of Muji in the master bedroom creates a different atmosphere entirely. The clean lines and wooden textures create a simple yet warm space, perfect for rest and relaxation. Every morning, natural light floods the bedroom through the open sliding panels of a window nook, emphasising the skylight's importance of bringing light in. One of my favourite places, I sit here because of the natural sunlight and you can read here, you can actually just put a mini table, you can just work here, so it's multi-purpose. The exposed ceiling for the guest room adds character and rustic charm in a nod to the home's industrial style. Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. We actually left the balcony, you know, it's kind of empty. We were trying to figure out together, like, how to actually close off the very open space. When we looked at it and then the different ways and ideas that we had were going to cost us a lot of money. So we thought that, you know, the money could be put to better use. From my travels, I have seen different things. So, and there was one particular place that I stayed in, is a house in somewhere in Croatia. They have cripple vines. So I said that, why not? We do cripple vines. Other than adding aesthetic value, the cripple vines also grant another layer of privacy from the busy main road. When the spaces are opened up, you can even gaze across the master bedroom to the green-filled balcony. The spatial choreography of the first floor revolves around the natural light and pockets of greenery. It really depends on what you want. If you have the tenacity and the patience to do it, the old house, old houses are very well built. You get to create something that, you know, you can enjoy. I think this is a much more sustainable way when it comes to constructions. So instead of, like, keep building new ones, so we should alter the old ones to fit the modern lifestyles. In this home, history is reclaimed and proudly celebrated. By embracing sustainability and nature, the homeowners have created a unique sanctuary that reflects their values and lifestyle. Every thoughtful design detail reminds us that design isn't just about aesthetics. It's about living with intention. If this home has inspired you, please click on that subscribe button and stay tuned for more compelling design episodes. My name is Alex Lee and I am from DesignSea. Thank you for watching. I'll see you guys next week.