akiHAUS Design Studio

Lawrence’s portfolio caught our eyes, and his reviews provided the impetus for us to embark on our renovation journey. Although we were initially only looking to find additional storage solutions, we completed a gut-renovation after consulting Lawrence. Such a drastic change in plans was motivated by Lawrence’s working style. Lawrence always took the time to explain his design choices; his attention to detail meant that every aspect was well-considered. We are not simply referring to the layout of the apartment or build-ups that contribute to the ambiance - every single choice he made for us (e.g., the tiles, the lighting, the sliding vs folding doors, the towel rack) took into consideration both form and function. Throughout the entire renovation process (from 3D renderings, to selecting materials, to the actual renovation), Lawrence provided options (of varying budgets), and he was indescribably patient with our questions. We took a while to write the review because we wanted to reflect on our experience from *living* in our new space. The atmosphere we wished to create in our home was the desire for a sanctuary for respite at the end of the workday, with ample space for our children to play, learn, and grow and through his design, Lawrence helped make this a reality for us. One of Lawrence's skills that we most appreciate is his ability to balance style and substance. Our home is not only gorgeous, it is immensely practical. To use just one example to highlight Lawrence's acumen in design: We had some doubts about the depth/height of some of the cabinets and drawers. Lawrence patiently explained how his designs were most appropriate for the specific items that he envisioned us storing in these places. Daily, we are reminded of these thoughtful considerations. Last but certainly not least, to create our space, Lawrence and his team worked closely with Rob and his team throughout the renovation process. Rob's team displayed outstanding carpentry skills to realize Lawrence's vision, and the attention to detail was pervasive in all the execution work as well. Rob and his team were extremely responsive throughout the renovation and provided outstanding "after sales" assistance. We could not ask for a better contractor. We always hear stories of renovation nightmare, and we smile because our experience was a dream. Thank you to Lawrence and his team at akiHAUS, and Rob and his team for creating a wonderful home for our family.

From the first time we met Lawrence and team, we knew we were in good hands. Firstly, Lawrence took care to understand our family’s needs, respected our preferences and gave us options. The outcome has been nothing short of magical – our living spaces are as functional as they are aesthetically pleasing! Lawrence works with an incredible team from PM Image Builders. William and his team are trustworthy, exceedingly competent and delivered what they said they would. The quality of work and attention to detail, as well as the level of communication and professionalism is simply outstanding. We were updated at every stage, and we felt assured even through the month that we were out of the country and in a different time zone. If you are looking for an ID who is exceptionally skilled and passionate about creating spaces that are both functional and beautiful, I wholeheartedly recommend Lawrence and team.

Getting renovation for your new home done is no easy feat to say the least and it can become quite stressful at times. We consider ourselves lucky for having Lawrence and akiHAUS for our home. We saw some of his works from magazines before and paid his studio a visit. The deco of the studio itself is pretty convincing already, considering it was renovated more than 10 years ago, the structure, material and layout made it work in a tasteful and timeless way. The most impressive part has been the focus on understanding our needs. The print and 3D has incorporated our preference and rationalise things professionally in terms of spacing, lighting, aesthetics and functionality. We accepted like 80% of the ideas instantly, for the remaining 20% the differences are narrowed through some patient rounds and we are happy to say that 10% of the final plan went our way like we were able to convince Lawrence. There is definitely some feel good effect and in hindsight the result was perfect. The execution part was relatively no stress as Lawrence is extremely resourceful with contractors and suppliers for various things. We spotted some pedant light designs from some magazines in Europe and were surprised with the final products sourced by Lawrence, with the designer look without burning a hole in the pocket. And this is just one example. As for the rest, we got either hand held on site help or timely consultative views for picking out furniture, paintings, wall mirrors, carpets, plants or even size of TV from Lawrence. All and all, it was a pretty enjoyable experience working with Lawrence for our home, a big contrast to how daunting it seemed five months ago. Hope to work with him again before too long.

Very good and unique designs that cater to the our needs. Very helpful in managing the reno project as a whole as well. The whole experience was relatively seamless and their professionalism showed as well.

We are glad to have chosen akiHAUS to lead us on our renovation journey which ended off with a beautiful dream home for our family. From the first meeting, we can clearly felt the professionalism and enthusiasm displayed by Lawrence, Ash and his team, which lasted throughout the project. Every discussion with them was insightful and filled with detailed explanations, so as to ensure that every decision made by us was a informed one. At times, meetings became lengthy due to overwhelming questions from first-timer, like us, but Lawrence has never failed to go the extra-mile to bring his ideas and reasons across the table for us, and we really appreciate these efforts. Especially when faced with difficult decisions in building materials and design vs functionality aspects, Lawrence always balance the cost, time, and needs, and clearly present them to us so as to steer us towards a clear direction. In addition, the vendors and contractors recommended by Lawrence were good in their respective trades and delivered quality products. Of note, the main contractor, CS21, who has managed to complete the project in a tight timeline with almost perfect workmanship in accordance to Lawrence's drawings. Special thanks to Danny, who always address to our concerns and issues in a timely and responsible manner. Overall, we had no regrets entrusting our home to akiHAUS. Although they might be slightly costly compared to mass market IDs, but if budget allows they definitely worth every penny, if not more. If we are ever going to move house again, will definitely go back to Lawrence and his team once more. Well done and thank you akiHAUS!

Lawrence and his team did an amazing job designing and project managing our house renovation to completion. They are detailed and take great pride in their work. Also, the vendors they recommend (eg: curtains, contractor) are all very reliable. Pleasant experience overall.

It was a great pleasure to work with Lawrence and his team at akiHAUS. They were able to help me with the renovation of my new home. Lawrence and his team did not just come out with a cookie cutter solution. Instead, they are meticulous and mindful of my needs as a home owner. In fact, the first few session with him was all about my needs as a home, my habits, how I would use the home etc and not about the design aspects. akiHAUS constantly challenged me to step out of a fixed mindset and comfort zone and look at the designs from a fresh perspective. Lawrence has a keen eye for design and details. He and his team had opened up options that I had never thought about before. The renovation went smoothly as Lawrence team had introduced a trustworthy renovation firm who had many in-house expertise. They were able to ensure the renovation was done on time and the quality of work was good. I thank Lawrence and his team for their hard work and wish them every future success.

Working with Lawrence and team to design our first Singapore home was an absolute pleasure. We had actually approached Akihaus before even making an offer on the property to see if they thought the space and layout had potential (judging from the floorplan). It was through these discussions that we felt we were in good hands. What we found most useful was that before we even started discussing design, we talked about utility and how the space was going to be used. It was not explicit but we eventually found that in knowing what a space was going to be used for, key design elements were eventually incorporated to enhance the practical aspects of our home and our lifestyle. Lawrence's architectural vision is second to none. Not everyone has the luxury to live in big landed houses in Singapore so the way that he demarcates elements of space is extremely key particularly in an open plan setting. In addition, the thoughtfulness involved in using design solutions to create symmetry where there was an odd structural beam or column was very impressive. The breadth of knowledge on materials was also amazing. It was very much beyond 'cheap/expensive' or 'nice/not nice'. We delved into textures, durability, benefits of laminate versus spray painting, quartz vs natural stones, hard wood vs parquet etc. The process was actually an extremely educational one which we were quite geeked out about! We deeply appreciated the confidence that Lawrence gave us to make certain design decisions that were a bit more on the edgy side. He would also caution us when it got a bit too adventurous or too dull. We especially placed in high regard Lawrence's willingness to challenge our pre-conceived ideas about certain things that we had initially wanted both from a design and practical aspect. It was definitely not a 'yes man' scenario and we had long conversations about certain elements. In hindsight we appreciated these exchanges immensely and are now reaping the obvious benefits. All things considered, the construction process was very smooth. Everyone has heard of nightmare contractor stories but the particular contractor that Akihaus works with was very professional and execution was of a super high quality. It was pretty much a hands off process for us as clients other than the occasional question or two. We essentially handed our keys off and collected them when it was ready! Akihaus is definitely not the cheapest shop on the street but I assure anyone who decides to go with them, you will get your money's worth many times over. The subject of how enjoyable and exciting the design process was has been a dinner conversation for us time and time again. Thank you so much Lawrence, Ash and team. U have given us more than a 'nice property' but a home that we are so so proud of!

Lawrence is really a master of his trade. I could already feel his professionalism during our first meeting. Equipped with vast experience, he could explained to me in details about how we could most efficiently utilise the space in our tiny house. The end result is just fantastic. He facilitated the whole renovation process without me having to worry about anything. My partner and I are really glad that we engaged Lawrence as our designer.

Lawrence is an amazing designer who not only looks after the aesthetics of the project, but he will also ensure the ergonomics and functionality as well. This is important because it's easy to make things look nice, but to have it well designed with strong functionality adds so much more. There are many small touches that he has considered in his designs that even though he might not have raised it, they are important functionalities. Lawrence is also super detailed oriented and his background in architecture helps in pivoting and looking at alternative solutions when unknown issues occurs. Overall very pleased with the outcome, and have enjoyed our renovation journey even more!

Exceptional experience! Lawrence gave us very good input on the design and building of our house. He was was also very thorough and detailed and followed up with us closely even after we had shifted in. Our house turned out more beautiful than we had expected! We will definitely highly recommend him!

We have been living in a landed property for more than 20 years. Recently we moved into an apartment one third the size of our previous home. Everything seemed so daunting when we received the keys to our small apartment. However, we were fortunate to have found Mr Lawrence Phuah of Akihaus, our ID. After several meetings with a patient Lawrence, our anxiety was allayed. He and his team were able to put together a design to our liking. Throughout the project, we were very pleased with his performance, he answered our queries promptly, always opened to our views and also giving his frank opinions. He was also able to clearly explain why certain of our ideas were not suitable for our house. He was careful not to overstretch the intended budget we had set. The whole journey was smooth and the new home we moved into is more than we could imagine, with the high quality finishes to boot. We are also thankful for the good workmanship done by William, who worked hand in hand with Lawrence. We would strongly recommend Lawrence to anyone who wishes to renovate their house without problems. Mr & Mrs Sidney Suen