There are design-forward homes that impress you at first sight, and then there are those that invite curiosity, conversation and introspection from the moment you step inside.
The latter is the starting point for Singapore-based furniture and interior design brand Mu Home—an approach that sees furniture as part of the larger experience of living and not mere ornamentation.
“A home should be more than a collection of beautiful things,” says Celine Wong, co-founder and creative director of Mu Home. “I wanted to create and provide something more emotional and lived-in; furniture that could be beautiful and still have warmth and personality.”
Mu Home is driven by Wong’s desire to bring an emotional perspective and international lens to furniture in Singapore, with the objective of creating a form of luxury that reveals itself through the lives of the people residing within a home—their rhythms, rituals and memories.
Can a piece hold its own without demanding attention? That is one of the first questions Wong seeks to answer before considering its materiality and design.
For her, craftsmanship is not only about complexity or technical virtuosity, but “whether you can sense that somebody cared about the outcome”. Sometimes, she says, “that care reveals itself in the way two materials meet: the proportion of a curve, the feel of a surface beneath the hand or a detail that could have been omitted but wasn’t”.
The appreciation for the human touch finds expression in the elements that shape a Mu Home interior. Solid wood, natural stone and woven fibres bring texture and character; natural light and warm neutrals create a sense of calm; timeless forms allow the pieces to settle naturally into their surroundings.
Sometimes, getting to that point means going back to the drawing board. Wong recalls a dining table that was reworked because it had pushed design boundaries to the point of losing its practicality. There was also a sofa with automated mechanisms that was discontinued as she felt it lacked the character and presence that are intrinsic to the brand’s purpose.
A pursuit of a well-crafted home is something Wong addresses in her own home. From her dining table—designed as a space for her children to do their homework, where intimate family dinners take place and friends gather for meals and drinks—to the sofa she lounges in, every piece of furniture supports the life surrounding it.
“I do not see beauty, comfort and function as opposing ideas,” says Wong. “Ultimately, beauty draws you in, comfort makes you stay and function allows you to actually live with it. Together they shape the emotional experience of a space.”
Simply, a Mu Home is one that is “calm, personal and alive”.
