Based on tradition, inspired by nature

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo ,  The Jakarta Post   |  Sun, 03/23/2008 3:56 PM  |  Home & Family

Every room tells a story about the owner. The Jakarta Post’s Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo talks to house owner Yfke Carter about her inspiration and ideas.

    Please briefly describe yourself to readers?
    I’m Indonesian; my
husband is from New Zealand. I have three children. I’m a homemaker but sometimes I help people plan parties. I’ve dressed windows in Plaza Senayan and also
an import shop in Chinatown. I can also do flower arrangements.
    What I’m really doing is selling my ideas. Things start off as hobbies and then become part of my professional life. Actually it all began with this house. Everyone wanted to know the name of my interior designer. It became a “word of mouth” type of thing.
    Femina magazine, Indosiar, Asri magazine, RCTI and SCTV have also done segments on this house.
    My other hobby, which is painting, has helped. When you paint, you move an object into the canvas. I’m a naturalist, I move what I see into my canvas. It’s the same thing as moving a piece of furniture into a room.

    Apartment vs. house?
    House. I’m claustrophobic, so I like to be close to nature. As you can see, my concept of living is to bring the outside in. The outside is part of the inside. I don’t like wall-to-wall living, so I don’t feel comfortable about living in an apartment. I know that living in a house requires more work, but that’s no problem for me.

    Can you give a brief description of the house layout?
    Our house layout is actually like an L shape. To make it practical, one part of the house is just the bedrooms. There are four bedrooms and two are built on top of another two. This is deliberate in order to minimize the piping and thus the cost. On the other side is the living room, dining room and kitchen. I like my kitchen to be close to my dining room. It’s practical.
When we designed the house, we thought that one day we would no longer be dependent on domestic staff.
    Some people have nice-looking kitchens that don’t really function as kitchens. The pantry is there. I can work without any help from the staff. Even when I have guests here, everything is  easy, I can do it all myself.  

    What changes did you make from the original layout, and why?
    Actually we demolished the original house back in 1992. But still we followed the layout from the old house. I was born in the 1950s in Kampung Ketapang. At the time there were no air-conditioners and the houses were always open. Everything faced the garden. I don’t want to be dependent on air-conditioning because it’s unhealthy. My eldest daughter has multiple sclerosis. Actually the disease started among people who lived near the equator.
    People could get multiple sclerosis because of their lifestyle, and the air con, among other things, could play a part in that. The air doesn’t circulate properly, so viruses and bacteria may stay inside. People should build their houses in such a way that they avoid the use of air-conditioners.
    Our ceiling is fitted with a glass wall that stops the heat from coming inside the house. Although we have air-conditioners, we really try to avoid turning them on.

    Did you have a theme in mind when deciding upon changes?
    My theme is to bring the outside in. It’s a rumah kebun (garden house). From any location in the house you can be in touch with the garden.
    Normally, if I get the chance to design a living space, I like to get the husband and the wife to jot down their ideas. What are their habits? What is their lifestyle like? What does the husband want? What does
the wife want?
    Sometimes the husband wants more flowers and a nice garden but the wife cares more about the dog.

    Are there any aspects of your design that you are particularly proud of?
    I like the open garden inside the living room. The key is that you have to spend more time with it. It has to be really clean. I have to add Abate to the water and clean the pool once a month so we don’t all get dengue fever. It’s also a matter of being diligent. The house is a mirror of the owner.

    Renovating bathrooms can often pose particular problems. What were some of the issues for you?
    The water here contains a lot of iron. I have a house in New Zealand and the climate there is friendlier for houses. Because of the weather and climate in Indonesia, we
have to carry out constant renovations due to leakages. My husband is a civil engineer, we planned the house
so well. However, we cannot fight nature.
    We have people coming to clean the swimming pool three times a week. Maintenance is very important. One thing I think the  nation needs to learn is the importance of maintenance. Many people still think it’s trivial.

    Another difficult area is often the kitchen. What changes did you make here?
    I always keep my kitchen clean. I don’t believe in dapur bersih (neat, occasionally used kitchen) or dapur kotor (dirty, constantly used kitchen). They just have to be clean.
    I make sure rubbish is always thrown out. We live in a tropical country so it is important to keep our living space clean.
    Where did you get the inspiration for these changes?
    From nature. But not in the sense that it should be like the jungle. I don’t like artificial things or just moving
nice things from the shop
into my house. I like being more creative.
    I also consider the way in which people move through the house. There should be no obstacles or tight squeezes.  
    Also, you need to know when to stop. If you are resting, you don’t want to see a very busy wall in front of you.
    Colors also have a great effect on the house. Some color give you peace and some colors inspire you. But the most important thing is the composition, to create balance.
    Could you describe some of the problems you encountered when physically undertaking the renovation?
    Termites. The major problem is termites. We have done a lot of things to avoid termites. It’s a tropical country so it’s just hard to get rid of them.

    Would you do it again?
Do you think you will make any more changes?
    Oh yes. I love doing renovations, I love doing houses. Maybe because I inherited this part from my grandfather, who was a very famous architect. He did the Bappenas building and the Megaria theater, which used to be called the Metropol. It’s in the family. 

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