Through the Keyhole with… Michael Ma

Mar 15, 2011 - By: Samantha Loveridge

 

 

iProperty.com Singapore is taking you 'Through the Keyhole' of Singapore's most beautiful and unique homes. Samantha Loveridge talks to the celebrities and stars that live in them and gets their thoughts on art, design, and, of course, the latest gossip.


(Michael’s bedroom is enfused with Venetian elegance.)

Michael Ma, owner of the IndoChine restaurant and bar chain, talks to us about the self-designed interior of his shophouse, discusses his commitment to eco-living and suggests the top places in Asia for décor items.

Michael always has a unique Asian vision whenever it comes to interior design, and its evident as soon as you step into his three-story shophouse. His living space matches dark woods with blood reds, with the main feature – apart from his huge projection screen – being three pop art Buddha paintings, which he commissioned from a Balinese artist.


(Left) Michael enjoys his antique day bed in his living area, complete with pop art buddhas.)

(right) His Buddhist shrine rests on a plate of glass on the second floor.)

Each room has a different theme. Michael laughs, saying “I know it sounds like the simplest suggestion, but it’s best to choose a single colour theme as accents, or pick an entire theme”. His bedroom is lavish with ornate golden frames and renaissance paintings creating what he calls his “Venetian theme”, whilst the guest rooms are Chinese and Thai/IndoChine themed respectively, with beautiful furniture that he has been collecting for over 25 years.

“My passion has always been for antiques. Their craftsmanship and beauty makes them built to last. Not like the cheap and disposable flat pack furniture that just ends up clogging up landfills”.  His prize pieces are three made from the extinct Chinese tree Huanghuali (meaning “Yellow Flowering Pear”). The two dining chairs are a rich dark wood, and so heavy I struggle to lift them.


(His Chinese guest room including a cheeky self-portrait.)

Michael sees buying antiques as a way to protect our environment, a commitment he adheres to in every element of his house. His favourite space, the kitchen of course, is an unusual mix of modern building materials and towering greenery, thriving due to the amount of light in his house. When I ask him about his devotion to eco-living, his manner changes, beginning to speak fervently about the way he tries to make a difference.


(Left) His red accenting flows throughout the home.)
(Right) Michael’s favourite room is the kitchen, where greenery juxtaposes the modern building materials.)

In his own home he has installed a heat exchange system that creates hot water for his home every time he turns on the air con. The ingenious system was created and installed by Australian company Big Red Energy, who Michael highly recommends. Plus, he avoids using lights, where possible, as when he designed the interior he optimised the amount of glass in his home to allow light to flow freely. As I wandered around his house I, tentatively I might add, stood atop the glass panel in the floor of his bedroom and looked down past his Shan Buddha shrine on the second floor, to where he sat smiling up at me from his dining room table on the ground floor. Through the use of glass he has created a feeling of connectivity through his home that is quite startling.

(Left) Glass and mirrors help Michael’s home to be full of light.)(Right) The glass column begins here from the roof right down to the bottom floor.)

If I had to describe his home in five words? Glass, mirrors, greenery, Buddhism and artwork. The F&B master is obsessed with Asian artwork, most of which he sources from a gallery in Hong Kong called Schoeni , which has been dealing the top Asian artists for a quarter of a century. He also recommends Vanilla Homes for usual pieces with antique-like craftsmanship for beautiful furniture and lighting.