Room for creativity

Interior stylist Priscilla Tan creates Pinterest-worthy homes that reflect their owners’ style and personalities

 MELISSA HENG

IT IS all in a day’s work for interior stylist Priscilla Tan to play shopping buddy to her clients as they select beautiful home ornaments or visit a marble factory  to pick out unique slabs for table tops.

Unlike an interior designer who focuses primarily on hardware aspects such as the carpentry, flooring and plumbing, an interior stylist like her dresses up spaces.

To do so, Ms Tan uses rugs, wallpaper, furniture, lighting, paintings and smaller home ornaments to achieve her intended aesthetic effect. She says it was by chance that she started her interior styling company Stylebypt, which stands for “Style by Priscilla Tan”, last July.

When she and her doctor husband moved into a four-room HDB flat in 2012, she spent a few months decorating it to achieve a modern eclectic feel. Friends and family who visited their home loved it and soon began asking her to decorate their homes as well.

Having an eye for aesthetics comes naturally to the fashion marketing graduate from the University of Huddersfield, who was a designer for local jewellery label Choo Yilin for four years. She also styled the brand’s boutiques at Mandarin Gallery and Joo Chiat Road in a palette of neutrals, golds and grey tones.

Last year, the 32-year-old left Choo Yilin and took the leap to start her own one-woman interior-styling business.

To date, she has worked on four home and two commercial projects, including local multi-label store Keepers at the National Design Centre. Each project takes her about three to four months to complete — a process that includes
conceptualisation, purchase of the necessary items and styling.

Says Ms Tan: “Being an interior stylist is about adding personality and warmth to a home. “I have the opportunity to come in and help people create their dream homes. That is a great feeling.”

BRINGING AN IDEA TO FRUITION

A typical home-styling process begins with a conceptualisation session with the client.

Many clients already have a wide variety of ideas and even big Pinterest boards that reflect their tastes. At this stage, Ms Tan helps them to focus, and curate and personalise their preferences.

She also acts as the voice of reason in instances when clients want items that are better suited for much bigger homes. “We look at the floor plan and I will make sure that the flow of the space matches the client’s lifestyle,” says Ms Tan, who declines to reveal her fees.

“We also go through their existing furniture and household items to see how those can fit into the new home. I’ll show them a mood board for each room before I finalise the styles.” Other interior stylists in Singapore — mostly expatriates — typically charge a four-figure fee for their services.

When Ms Tan first started her business, she was concerned that people would not pay for an interior styling service. But she has since realised that some homeowners are willing to pay for her expertise.

“People want to return to homes that are well put together, but sometimes they just don’t know what to buy to make that happen,” she says.

SHOP AND STYLE

Part of Ms Tan’s job includes accompanying her clients on shopping trips to purchase floor tiles, sofas, beds and dining sets, as well as “soft” furnishings such as cushions, shelf ornaments and potted plants.

Her favourite haunts for chic finds include OM Furniture at Tai Seng Street and Taylor B Fine Design at Keppel Road. She also shops online for her clients at international stores such as Urban Outfitters.

Should her clients request for customised furniture pieces, she helps them select the colour or fabric. Ms Tan also attends to requests for one-of-a-kind items. For instance, she has taken clients to marble factories to choose unique slabs for table tops.

“I make sure to bring along a measuring tape so we can check dimensions and make sure the pieces are the right size,” she says. For smaller items, Ms Tan says lifestyle labels such as kikki.K and Spotlight have great options.

For couples, the online stores of international fashion and lifestyle brands such as Zara Home and Target also offer more choices because both lines have not established brick-and-mortar stores here in Singapore. “This is the part that is the most fun,” she says. “It is when a couple really gets to build their own home.”

PUTTING THE LOOK TOGETHER

While the shopping sprees are underway, Ms Tan works with contractors to oversee certain interior design elements such as lighting, wallpapering, painting and carpentry.

Once those tasks are completed and all the furniture and decorations have been bought, she takes one to two days to bring the whole look together. With a keen eye for detail, she pairs couches with matching rugs, spruces up plain walls with quirky vases on shelves, and hangs up potted plants to give balconies fresh greenery.

Her job is not complete after her clients move into their new home, though. One last styling session is required so that the preloved belongings that her clients moved in with complement the new ones.

Adds Ms Tan: “I make sure to leave some spaces empty. I advise clients that there’s no need to fill the entire house immediately.

“Leave some breathing space, then slowly add to, and grow, your home."

 

JAZZ UP YOUR HOME

In the mood for a new look? Here are Ms Tan’s tips for a stylish space

1. Marble furniture in the dining area
An Italian marble dining table top is timeless and “super chic”. Consider purchasing a unique marble slab and cut out a piece to fit the size of your dining space. Then use spare pieces from the slab for a matching coffee table, a console table or vanity trays.

2. Fat, fluffy cushions for the living area
Pick the biggest throw cushions in the same colour and place them at both ends of the sofa for visual balance. Add medium and small cushions in different colours and textures for more variety. The colours of the cushions should match those of your rug for a cohesive look.

3. Open shelves in the kitchen
Keeping things behind closed doors or drawers is tidy, but open shelving spaces add visual interest and make it easier to reach to things when you are
in a hurry.

4. Pastel hues in the bathroom
Forget cookie-cutter white tiles. Consider adding a= pastel shade that will make the space pop. Add brass, gold or copper bathroom accessories for a touch of class.

5. Quality sheets for the bedroom
A good mattress and quality bedsheets make for a lush, inviting bed. Go for 100 per cent Egyptian cotton or Supima sheets that have a thread count of at least 800.