Sky-high Home

When the Akerbooms moved to Singapore from the Netherlands in 2014, they were excited to be setting up home in a new country once again. They told Aimee Fordos how they created a modern, relaxed feel in their stunning four-bedroom penthouse apartment.

With Hans Akerboom’s role as Deputy Head of Mission for the Dutch Embassy and his wife Karen’s work as a flight attendant, it’s clear that travel runs in the veins of this international family. They’re old hands at uprooting themselves and starting over. In fact, they thrive on it, and their children, Alexander and Eva, are great examples of how being a third-culture kid can bring extraordinary opportunities.

I met them at their Cyan apartment, a sky-high, four-bedroom penthouse overlooking the lush greenery of Macritchie and Bukit Timah. I could immediately see why they’d fallen for it, and that’s without even seeing the fabulous rooftop.

“We arrived on the first day of August and found this place on the second,” explained Karen as we sat and chatted in the lightfilled living room. “We actually looked at a lot more properties, and saw one that totally bowled us over. But then we came back here and the other one seemed to lose its charm.” They were to be the first tenants of the brand new apartment; six weeks later, they were in.

In their previous diplomatic postings, the Akerbooms lived in Yemen, Ethiopia and Angola. “Whenever we’re looking for a home, we like to find a place that reflects the regional style,” explains Hans. “In Africa and other places, we’d lived in houses with nice gardens, and seeing as we’re in the big city here in Singapore, we thought, why not live in a condo?”

They love the apartment for its amazing views, but also for its contemporary design which complements their personal style. Modern with an ethnic twist, it’s filled with contemporary art and peppered with artefacts collected during their time in different countries.