Designing and cooking

Over the years, several have commented that our portfolio is diverse.

I take that as a compliment. Much like how a chef creates tasty dishes with different ingredients, we too create nice houses for our clients using different design elements. I also take it as blessing because we enjoy creating. I understand some firms only focus on narrow segments such as luxury or minimalist so they can build expertise. I also empathise with those who focus only on whichever is trendy and ride the zeitgeist towards sustainability. I recall a not-so-distant past when many liked wabi-sabi.

However, I believe human beings are born creative, and to be able to use it and jointly create with clients is a meaningful endeavor.

It is admittedly more effort. Imagine your chef quizzing you on the ingredients you like before he turns on the stove. Also, it requires more chemistry. A collaboration only works if all parties are in sync. For homeowners’, this means they must be skilled in providing constructive feedback, so we can digest, analyse, propose, refine, propose again and finally build.

Overall though, since home is where we spend most of our time, I believe it is a worthwhile effort, despite the harder path.