Moving away from sunny Singapore, this home feature instead looks at an open-concept landed home in Vietnam by A91 Architect, one that has plenty of fun details to explore.
Simply designed and unassuming, this home’s elongated design makes it look like a single-storey shophouse. But past the off-white walls, you will find that its humble exterior belies a tropical resort-style design brimming with nifty design features. For owners of shophouses and landed properties, this home serves as a treasure trove of ideas, perfect for those plotting their next big renovation.
1. Bali resort-style front yard & garden
Image credit: A91 Architect
The arched black double doors as the home’s main entrance are a fun quirky choice, one that exudes an understated grandeur that certainly is going to make quite the first impression on the guests. The ventilation blocks here are a good way to maintain privacy whilst facilitating a natural flow of air and light into the home.
The smattering of plants at just the right places give the place pops of green for that tropical holiday vibe.
You’ll see certain design features around the home’s exterior walls that imbue the home with an air of curiosity.
Image credit: A91 Architect
2. Red terracotta “roof” feature wall
Image credit: A91 Architect
Using red terracotta clay tiles as a feature wall is a really nice touch, giving you the fun illusory effect of staring at the roof of the building at ground level. The long corridor beside it providing a contrast in depth simply enhances that illusion.
Image credit: A91 Architect
3. Tonnes of natural lighting & ventilation
Image credit: A91 Architect
One of the big design features in this home combats an issue that would similarly plague the homeowners of many a shophouse: good natural lighting and ventilation. With the rectangular layout of such homes, you’ll usually have a lack of traditional windows to bring in sunlight and the natural breeze. This results in less-than-ideal living conditions defined by dim rooms and stale air.
The homeowners here have cleverly addressed this issue by incorporating patterned grills around their home, particularly around the front door. This isn’t just a practical solution—it’s a stylish one too. These grills are more than mere functional elements; they’re a design statement. They allow sunlight to filter through and the breeze to sweep across the rooms, bringing the space to life and keeping it fresh and airy.
But what really makes this solution stand out is the way it adds a layer of visual intrigue. The patterns on the grills cast ever-changing shadows that dance around the home as the day goes by, creating a lively, dynamic environment.
More ventilation grids on the roof of the backyard, drenching the garden with sunlight.
Image credit: A91 Architect
A diagram showing the ventilation channels and airflow in the home.
Image credit: A91 Architect
Image credit: A91 Architect
In this creatively designed home, the ceilings aren’t just ceilings—they’re a canvas for daylight to paint its patterns. Glass bricks set into the ceiling that work like magic during the day, casting a playful checkerboard pattern of light across the floor.
The home also leans heavily into a lush, tropical theme, which really brings it to life. This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill houseplant setup; here, the plants line the home’s walkways, enveloping the space in lush, vibrant life. This strategic placement not only adds visual interest but also brings a breath of fresh air indoors, creating a serene, nature-infused walkway.
Image credit: A91 Architect
Image credit: A91 Architect
4. Alfresco-style kitchen & dining zone
Image credit: A91 Architect
The kitchen itself is similarly simple, with a sleek minimalist layout that has a dedicated nook for all the homeowner’s appliances. The beams of natural light that line the side of this area provide the illusion of being under a beachside veranda, which must give a fun outdoorsy spin to the cooking and dining experience here.
The kitchen island helps to demarcate the spaces between the dining area and the kitchen itself, zoning the two areas without preventing folks from interacting between them. Adding a window by the sink that looks out into the garden is also a small detail that does a lot to liven up the place.
Image credit: A91 Architect
5. Surreal Alice in Wonderland-style design features
Image credit: A91 Architect
Whilst nowhere near the insane colours and geometry of Mr. Rabbit’s residence in the 1951 Disney movie, this home does capture the fairytale’s fun whimsicality with its design. There is a playfulness in how the rooms in this home feature curved walls, with some even having fanciful arches and rounded pillars to make the spaces look relaxed, yet visually interesting.
The quirky cloud sofa especially is a very nice touch that helps soften the look of the room.
Image credit: A91 Architect
The interiors are also reminiscent of the wabi-sabi aesthetic, with a gentle earthy palette and organic, irregular shapes for the furniture.
Image credit: A91 Architect
The TV console area deviates dramatically from the overall colour scheme of this area though, with a glossy varnished black wood feature wall similar to the shade found at the entrance for a sophisticated touch.
Image credit: A91 Architect
The curved geometry is even more pronounced in the bedroom, with a rounded false ceiling to conceal cove lighting. There is also a bevelled section on the right of the pillar, presumably functioning as a plumbing chase of sorts.
Image credit: A91 Architect
Image credit: A91 Architect
Image credit: A91 Architect
6. Ultra whimsical kids bedroom
Image credit: A91 Architect
A calming home doesn’t mean that your kids will also have to contend with an understimulating off-white room. The homeowners here definitely saw to it that their kids are growing up in an adorable bedroom with cute patterned wallpapers and brightly-coloured furniture.There’s also a built-in cushioned headboard on the side that stylishly follows the curved wall it is built on.
Image credit: A91 Architect
Whilst you already saw a peek of the terrazzo flooring in the bedroom, the bathroom is where you really see it being used extensively, making for a fun visual look. The unique, oval-shaped doorway is adorable and evocative of sealed doors on ships.
Image credit: A91 Architect
A unique, open-concept landed home with an element of wonder
Image credit: A91 Architect
Curvy, with a clever design that blends calming vibes with fun whimsy, this open-concept landed tropical resort-style home is certainly one for the inspo boards. Not only does it manage to work with the elongated layout of the house, it marries it with appropriate features to create a home that is not only practical, but looks good doing so.
For more home inspiration:
- 5 minimalist hacks to make your home look larger
- 11 most gorgeous TikTok homes
- Inside a $75K reno designed to be a couple’s “personal art gallery”
Cover image adapted from: Image credit: A91 Architect
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