By Annie Ooi | Jan 24, 2010

Show house show-stopper

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The living area of the penthouse has a wide and expansive look.

Maymont Development Sdn Bhd’s Matahari luxury condos will only be completed two years from now, but already, the moneyed “bees” have been drawn to the honey.

Consisting of 158 units (129 superior, 12 duplex and 17 penthouse units) housed in nine residential blocks, the development covers 2 hectares (5.2 acres). Prices start from RM3.1mil and already, 43% have been sold.

Maymont Development Sdn Bhd marketing head Chelvi Ananthan says, “The condo units have been furnished in a way which makes the visitor feel at home.”

“Desa” actually means “kampung” in Bahasa Malaysia, but there is nothing close to a kampung feel in the show apartment (superior condo) I visited.

As if having 402sq m (4,476sq ft) is not enough, the condo owner has the personal use of a lobby outside the lift. A grille separates this area from the foyer, and an access card is needed here, as it is the actual entrance, for security reasons.

The pleasant and “easy” feel of the condo is already apparent here, with beige marble flooring and cream coloured walls. Here, one door leads to a self-contained apartment, while another is the main door to the condo.

The guest room in the superior unit has strips of teak for the floor, and light grey walls.

Self-contained
This self-contained apartment has been variously called an annexe, guest apartment, granny’s room, mother-in-law’s room, office and study, but suffice to say that one shouldn’t be too unhappy staying in this area. It can also be rented out.

The main door made of teak is at an impressive height of 2.4m (8ft), and this grand appearance is carried throughout the condo. “The doors have a uniform width of 0.9m (3ft) and a height of 2.4m (8ft),” points out the company’s general manager, Steven Ng.

The main door opens into a hallway, which leads to the 5+1 bedrooms. Not quite the red carpet treatment here, but definitely good enough with marble flooring bordered by timber.

Chelvi has had a major hand in the decor. “I am not keen on too modern a decor as it is too stiff. Too modern a decor makes the place look like a hotel, so I have improved on the original decor to give it a softer feel, the feel of a home,” she says.

Buyers get the built-in cupboards with sliding doors, and the bathrooms come fully equipped and furnished, but soft furnishings are not provided. If the buyer is stumped for ideas, an in-house interior decorator can come to the rescue.

An interesting feature is the “biggish” wet kitchen area. The maid’s room is still the usual cubby-hole, but with an attached bathroom and ample walkway in front, she should not feel too restrained.

The open plan dry kitchen and dining area helps in family bonding, as mum prepares breakfast while the kids and hubby sit at the marble dining table.

Chairs upholstered in black and white animal hide (it has the Friesian cow look) complement the streaked marble dining table.

Luxurious yet practical design features can be found in the superior condo.

Soft-close drawers
The dry kitchen island is roomy and big enough when it comes to entertaining, and with soft-close drawers and a wine chiller, it is hard to find fault with it.

The master bedroom opens off this area, and is furnished in off-white to give it a soft and pleasant look. The bathroom has a double-seater jacuzzi and a marble feature on one of the walls adds that extra something to bath time.

Sliding doors divide the dining and dry kitchen area from the sitting room. Both areas have decorative double-layer ceilings, which allow the owner to put in recessed lights.

The sitting room leads to a spacious balcony with slates tiles for the floor and for a comfortable time, there are seats from a balcony set which can be stacked into a pyramid when more space is needed.

And why was the name “Matahari” chosen? According to Chelvi, all the balconies face east, to welcome the rising sun. Many houses also face east, but then, few owners can have the good fortune to look at the same sun from a multi-million dollar condo.