Kampong cool where it's at for one family

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Architect Denny G. and his wife Joke sought the peace and quiet of the kampong in designing their family home.

"We always wanted to own a kampong-style but cleanly designed tropical house. I think it better fits our taste and lifestyle as well," Joke, also an architect, said.

The tropical kampong feel is everywhere, from the use of wooden materials, tropical plants throughout its garden and the little details that stir a sense of nostalgia in the home in a real estate complex in Serpong, Tangerang.

After two renovations, the couple's 210-square-meter house standing on a 500-square-meter plot of land is twice as big as the other standard houses in its neighborhood.

The first renovation project was carried out to transform and modernize the then standard home, but two years later the couple had the opportunity to buy the house next door. Further renovation connected the two houses into one integrated structure.

No significant changes were made to the first house -- the couple just enlarged the living room and set up another bedroom to the first house on the new plot of land for their second child.

"We had to demolish the kitchen and the garage in the old house to make way for a fish pond and a corridor, which were added to harmoniously connect our old house with a newly built section," said Joke, referring to a section which houses a smaller living room, guest bedroom and a kitchen.

The pond provides an esthetic element in the home, embellished with a huge terra cotta pot in the middle.

The service area was moved to the second story of the new section, providing privacy for the family on the ground floor.

Joke said they selected simple materials like terrazzo to line the floor in the corridor, and camphor wood for window and door frames. Marble was used for the kitchen area simply because the material requires low maintenance.

Both architects enjoy experimenting with materials to come up with unique finishing that acts as a lovely accent in different corners of the house.

"We try out different materials for our own house and if it works well, we adopt them for our clients' houses," Joke said.

Among the experiments was the specially designed spring bed- sofa in the living room, which Joke created to do away with the bother of cleaning a regular sofa from the inevitable spills in a household of youngsters.

"Cleaning can be difficult and time consuming, like when the children wet themselves on a sofa. So I created a sofa with a slip cover, layered with a baby mat underneath it. Cleaning becomes easy since I only need to remove and wash the slip cover," said the mother of two, who also creates the sofa for her clients.

The couple also experimented with motifs, using terrazzo material for the floor along with the corridor. The result is a batik Karawang motif that adds an ethnic nuance to the area as well as being pleasing to the eyes.

The couple has been collecting timeless designed antique furniture to adorn their house, but the designer dining chairs, created by Philippe Starck, were a wedding present.

"We cannot afford to follow trends in interior design that change every few years. And since we like antiques, especially ones with a long-lasting appearance, we avoid heavy, complicated looking ones -- unless for accents -- because they aren't flexible to mix and match with other stuff."

For the lighting, the couple decided to choose yellow toned lights; indirect lighting is used in most areas. Direct ones are set up only on spots that require functional, bright illuminations.

"Kampong-style houses usually use yellow-toned light which give a warm feeling. We wanted to have a similar ambience for our own home," Joke said.

To complete the tropical atmosphere, the couple planted tropical plants. In the back garden, for instance, the walls are covered with bamboo and dollar plants, while the serene fish pond area is embellished with frangipani and thunbergia. For the front garden, ketapang kencana (a type of nut-bearing tree) and kelapa gading (a coconut tree with yellow-colored hull) are arranged neatly.

The two have succeeded in creating their tropical kampong, even if it's the lone oasis amid the encroaching urban sprawl.

"The idea is to create a resort like appearance but it is difficult, because the other houses in the neighborhood don't support (the theme) since there is too little greenery around here," Joke said.