When it comes to interior design, some Malaysian clients can get a little… ambitious.
We asked interior designers in Malaysia to share some of the craziest requests they have ever received from their clients.
MIL Design and Construction, Kelana Jaya
MIL Design & Construction is a full-service boutique specialising in space planning and home styling.
The company has lent their experience to numerous projects. From transforming 30-year-old terrace houses, to remodelling old bungalows with contemporary facades and living spaces, to even transforming an abandoned carpark into a 64-room boutique hotel.
Some extreme requests they received include:
“I want a security grille covering my entire ceiling”
“We have had a few customers who requested to install grills inside their ceiling or roof to prevent burglaries. Of course that’s a big no as it is considered a fire risk. We also have one lady who actually asked us to grill the whole of her open garden deck,” said Mil of MIL Design & Construction.
“I have 10 guest bedrooms. Give me 10 different designs”
“This was an extreme request, but in a good way! This client wanted each of their 10 guest rooms to have its own distinct design, like a boutique hotel. One of the rooms ended up having a rainforest theme, another one had a beach theme. They even put a Harley Davidson motorbike in one of the rooms! It was a very unique request and technically doable. We were pretty envious with their guests,” Mil added.
“I want a greenhouse in the middle of my living room”
There were other weird requests from their customers, a particular one was a lady who asked for a greenhouse to be erected in the middle of her living room, to be made entirely of glass walls and clear glass roof. We advised against it as it would not work in our tropical country.”
“I want a bookshelf full of music books in the toilet”
We have received requests to build book stands, book shelves and even a music book stand in the toilet,” Mil shared.
Lakar Design Builder, Bandar Damansara Perdana
Lakar Design Builder are interior designers who pride themselves in developing sustainable and cost-effective designs.
To them, sustainable design is more than just purchasing “eco-products”. With careful planning and action, sustainable design should incorporate elements that reduce energy consumption, promotes a positive social environment, and uses locally sourced construction materials to ensure a symbiotic existence between people and planet.
Some interesting requests received:
“I want to move my apartment bathroom”
Adam Raman, CEO of Lakar Design Builder explains, “this client wanted to change the location of the toilet in their apartment. It’s not that outrageous a request, but in an apartment, it is totally impractical. To do would mean shutting down the plumbing for the entire apartment block, and will affect every unit below.”
Pocket Square, Shah Alam
Nick Tan from Pocket Square, a boutique design practice with offices in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, also shares his cut of odd requests from his customers:
“I want to carpet my entire house”
“One customer so wanted to invoke the feel of a hotel room, she wanted her entire place to be heavily carpeted. Unless the room is going to be air-conditioned 24/7, the idea will backfire as the room will smell funky sooner or later. Our tropical and humid weather simply doesn’t allow for such designs.”
“Another request that we get often is to install walk-in wardrobes. Again, it works if you have air-conditioning. If not, the room is going to become a huge dust trap.”
Young Concept, Petaling Jaya
Young Concept Sdn. Bhd is a dynamic and energetic young company specialising in interior design, project management and renovation services.
One of the more interesting requests they received:
“I want a Balinese-style home but don’t use any wood, ok?”
“For this request, we managed to persuade the client to apply some wood elements in the end, otherwise it simply would not have worked. To achieve the right look, we also applied lots of stone, pebble wash, Balinese sculptures and patterns, with warm lighting and neutral wall colours to create the ambience,” said Michelle Lok from Young Concept.
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