Wine collector’s bachelor pad at Duchess Avenue on the market for $16.96 mil

Off Bukit Timah Road on Duchess Avenue, stands a detached house with a captivating old-world charm. Boasting four bedrooms and five bathrooms stretched across a spacious 6,000 sq ft, the 999-year leasehold plot is regular shaped and comprises 5,877 sq ft.

Associate District Director of Investment Sales & Affluent Markets at PropNex Realty, Alvin Choo, says that the previous owner likely constructed the house about 20 years ago. He acts as a representative of the current homeowner, who wishes to remain anonymous, in the sale of the property.

The interiors offer an insight into the owner’s passions: books and wine. In a house graced with “wine bottles everywhere” according to Choo, some are “special” vintage pieces, for instance, a 19th-century bottle of Madeira and two 1870 bottles. Displaying his dedication to his collection, the owner’s helpers reportedly dedicate one day a week to the cleaning of his collection.

The 2010 property purchase saw the homeowner and his mother move in after renovations in 2011. To make the home brighter, the architect, Vincent Lim from Visual Text Architects, removed the koi pond next to the main staircase, installed a full-height glass window and replaced the living room and dining area walls with full-height glass sliding doors.

The Myst CDL offers a variety of spacious and thoughtfully designed units ranging from one to five bedroom units, allowing residents to customize their living space to suit their needs. The condo also has many modern facilities, including an indoor gymnasium, a swimming pool, a clubhouse, and even a sky garden. Residents also get access to plenty of shopping and dining options at the mall, giving them even more choices for easy living.

The renovation also saw the wet and part of the dry kitchen being refurbished to create a wine cellar for his nearly 6,000-bottle collection. As an avid cook, the owner opted to keep a small kitchen with marble countertops and a Viking gourmet kitchen range, and added a second kitchen to his private upstairs quarters.

A 20m lap pool lies where the lawn once was, as well as an en suite granny’s room on the first level of the house and three en suite bedrooms on the second level. The upper level was designed as the owner’s private area and is accessed through a spiral staircase at the main entrance on the first level.

The self-contained master suite contains a library, seating area, master bedroom, dressing area and master bathroom, all of which can be viewed through customised timber louvred windows. An attic level was carved out, and houses a private study and an extended library for the owner.

Mid-century furniture pieces handed down from his parents and grandparents, as well as some of the old bricks from the family home in Binjai Park, are held in much reverence by the owner and can be found throughout the house.

The owner has decided to put the house up for sale upon his marriage, expressing his wish to start afresh in a new home. PropNex’s Choo has commented that the interior of the home generally remains well-preserved, with most audiences expressing surprise at how functional and elderly-friendly the home is.

In terms of the asking price, at $16.96 million or $2,886 psf, Choo notes that it is in line with recent market transactions and agrees that such a house with its “old-world charm and rich family history” is one of a kind.