Singapore’s Sentosa Cove is known as a millionaire’s neighborhood, where residents of custom-built mansions are just a stroll away from the yachts and celebrity-chef restaurants that dot the district.
For Pakistani financier Salman Shoaib and his wife, Sara Taseer, a jeweler, their home at the southern tip of this island just off mainland Singapore is a sanctuary after decades on the road.
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For Pakistani financier Salman Shoaib and his wife, Sara Taseer, a jeweler, their home at the southern tip Singapore’s Sentosa Cove, just off mainland Singapore, is a sanctuary after decades on the road.
Ms. Taseer, who comes from a prominent family in Pakistan, spent time in Singapore as a teenager and studied at the London School of Economics before returning to Pakistan to help her father manage his businesses. In 1997, she married Mr. Shoaib, now 46 years old, a Brown University graduate. They spent the ensuing years in London, Hong Kong and New York, where she founded her own jewelry line, Sara Taseer Fine Jewellery.
Eventually, they settled on Singapore, deciding they wanted to raise their three children in its English-speaking Asian environment. In 2007, they purchased about 8,058 square feet—under a quarter of an acre—of undeveloped land in Sentosa Cove for 8 million Singapore dollars, or US$6.3 million.
At the time, Mr. Shoaib says, the area was a mix of kitschy theme parks and what he called swampland. But Sentosa Cove, where property is sold on 99-year leaseholds, was (and still is) the only place in Singapore where foreigners could buy land. The Shoaibs, who also own residences in New York and in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan, decided to take what Mr. Shoaib calls “a leap of faith.”
After moving to Singapore in 2010, the Shoaibs hired K2Ld, a local architecture firm whose trademark angular wood-and-glass facade now fronts their three-story home. Construction cost $4.3 million and ran 17 months from June 2010.
Throughout construction, the Shoaibs were beset by family tragedies. In early 2011, Ms. Taseer’s father, the governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province, was assassinated by a bodyguard. Several months later, her brother was abducted by armed militants.
Despite security considerations, the Shoaibs kept to the plan they had given K2Ld: build a tropical, ultramodern home that “brings the outdoors in.” To that end, the back of their property is separated from the lush greenery of a tropical golf course only by a hedge and swimming pool, with a covered seating area nearby.
“We feel extra safe here, so there was no need to build a house that keeps everyone out,” said Ms. Taseer, 43.
Many of the family’s activities revolve around the pool, which is right next to the residence, separated by a floor-to-ceiling sliding glass partition. “We sit here in the evening and eat breakfast outside,” said Ms. Taseer, gesturing toward the outdoor sofas and pool chair by the water’s edge.
Inside, the home is an open-plan living room decorated in hues of white and beige across a stained white floor made of imported Greek marble. The Shoaibs liked the softness of the marble, but didn’t account for how challenging installation might be. The placing of each slab had to be digitally mapped to ensure the stained accents were aesthetically aligned. Some 30% of the slabs were broken during transport.
Most of the ornaments scattered about the home were collected from the Shoaibs’ peripatetic life. The regular moves mean Ms. Taseer is selective about what comes under her roof. “Before I buy, I always ask myself if I want to carry it around from continent to continent,” she said.
Their home reflects a mix of cultures. Six waist-high Burmese monk statues are lined up by the stairwell, while the living-room table is strewn with tea boxes from a recent jaunt to Hanoi. Nearby, a portrait of John Lennon looks over the living room. “There are few people whose faces you can live with, but Lennon is gentle and his song ‘Imagine’ reminds me of why we are in Singapore, for the peace and quiet,” Ms. Taseer said.
For most of the furnishings, Ms. Taseer made use of modern furniture, such as a low glass table and curved chairs, much of which were procured from BoConcept, a Danish furniture retailer. In keeping to the informal vibe, half-egg lamps overlook one of two dining tables, while half a dozen George Nelson bubble lamps hang over the adjacent stairwell. Furnishing the home cost about $390,000.
On the home’s first level is a bedroom occupied by the Shoaibs’ 10-year-old son, just opposite a bathroom with Bissazza glass-mosaic tiles—a feature in all the bathrooms. “The idea was to give the bathrooms a resort feel,” said Mr. Shoaib. The bedroom, and the rest of the home, has flooring of American walnut timber.
On the residence’s second floor are four bedrooms: two occupied by the Shoaibs’ daughters, one used as an extra sitting room and the master bedroom, which was built to maximize views of a golf course next door. “When you wake up in the morning, it’s like heaven,” Ms. Taseer said.
A passageway leading from the master bedroom to an indoor garden has a walk-in closet on one side and a bathroom on the other. Several timber slits next to the tub can be opened for views of the patio. In the garden, a single tree, which was lifted to the second story by a crane, is sometimes occupied by a parrot, which croaks frantic farewells whenever Mr. Shoaib leaves home.
Beyond the second story is a study with a slanted ceiling and a family sitting room with a stand-alone bar. The family room opens onto an outdoor deck with a ping-pong table, put to use when the younger Shoaibs’ friends sleep over.
Though they have lived in the residence for more than a year, the Shoaibs remain in regular contact with their architects about improvements.
One pet peeve of Mr. Shoaib: There is no door between the stairwell and family room, which means the space can get noisy. “My architect is having a fit about installing it, but I’m not giving him a choice,” said Mr. Shoaib.
“One way to put roots down is to build your own house, which we never did elsewhere,” said Mr. Shoaib. “But we moved to Singapore to settle down and we fully intend to grow old here.”
Corrections Amplifications
Shahbaz Taseer is still being held by his abductors in Pakistan, according to his sister Sara Taseer. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he had been released.
A version of this article appeared September 6, 2013, on page M4 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: A Singapore Sanctuary.
A Pakistani Couple Find a Homey Sanctuary in Singapore
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