Bukit Gambir, Penang | A Modern Classic Residence

The house sits high on Bukit Gambir, and almost every main room borrows the view — the strait from the living and dining rooms, the hills from the kitchen. The brief asked for something formal without being stiff: a home that could host properly and still absorb an ordinary school night.

The plan splits along that line. The formal side runs from a domed entrance foyer through a coffered black living room and a ten-seat dining room, all of it in lacquered black panelling with gilt beading, black Marquina floors and crystal light. The family side is deliberately lighter — a bright marble-floored living room open to its own dining table, and a lounge where a spiral slide drops out of the joinery for the children.

Above the everyday rooms sits the part of the house built for staying in: a fibre-optic star-ceiling cinema, a games room with racing rigs and arcade cabinets, a study lined in velvet-backed shelving, and a rooftop terrace with an outdoor kitchen pointed at the sunset. The master suite gets the full treatment — black and gold walls, a boutique-style wardrobe and a marble jacuzzi bath.