With over a decade of experience across luxury fashion retail and hospitality—spanning the COMO Group, Club 21, and Dover Street Market—Fiona Tan’s idea of home is informed by a rich visual catalogue. As Director of Product Development and Sales at COMO Shambhala, her approach to design balances practical living with an otherworldly calm. A quiet luxury built around wellbeing, light, and everyday rituals.
Pictured Above: Isa V3® Mini, Circuit.11 Ambient and COB LED Strip
Tell us about your home
This home is the convergence of all those experiences. I wasn't trying to recreate a hotel or follow a particular design style. I simply wanted to create a home that feels considered, restorative and deeply personal—one that evolves throughout the day through light, nature and the everyday rituals of living.
Working at COMO and being surrounded"Looking back, I realise every chapter of my career quietly shaped the way I think about design." by beautiful properties, did that influence how you wanted to design your home? "Looking back, I realise every chapter of my career quietly shaped the way I think about design."
Absolutely. Looking back, I realise every chapter of my career quietly shaped the way I think about design.
Advertising trained my eye for composition and storytelling. Fashion taught me curation. Dover Street Market reinforced the idea that spaces should have personality and individuality. COMO Hotels and COMO Shambhala taught me that true luxury isn't about having more, but about how a space makes you feel and how it supports your wellbeing.
How do the lights feel at home? Is there a specific corner of the home where the lighting completely transformed how you feel when you sit there?
What I love most is that each space takes on its own personality. The living room becomes a warm cocoon for winding down. The indoor balcony feels calm and contemplative. Even the guest room takes on a different character as the light changes throughout the day.
The lighting doesn't simply illuminate the home—it changes how I experience it, allowing me to choose a different space depending on my mood.
Pictured Above: Boba Table Lamp, COB LED Strip
Brutalism is often associated with raw concrete and heavy materials. How did you balance that industrial weight to ensure your space still feels like a warm, inviting home?
I was drawn to brutalism because of its honesty. Materials are celebrated for what they are, without pretending to be something else. But I never wanted the apartment to feel heavy or austere.
Warmth comes from the dialogue between architecture and nature. Throughout the apartment, there are framed moments where greenery, sky and glimpses of Berlayer Creek become part of the experience. Those views are constantly changing, so the home never feels static.
Light also plays an important role. During the day, natural light reveals the textures of the limewash walls and honest material palette. In the evening, layered cove lighting and spotlights soften the architecture, creating a quieter and more intimate atmosphere.
Ultimately, I wanted the apartment to feel grounded rather than imposing—a place that balances the honesty of brutalism with the comfort and calm of everyday living.
How do the lights feel at home? Is there a specific corner of the home where the lighting completely transformed how you feel when you sit there?
What I love most is that each space takes on its own personality. The living room becomes a warm cocoon for winding down. The indoor balcony feels calm and contemplative. Even the guest room takes on a different character as the light changes throughout the day.
The lighting doesn't simpl"What struck me wasn't just the design of the fixtures, but the quality of light itself."y illuminate the home—it changes how I experience it, allowing me to choose a different space depending on my mood. "What struck me wasn't just the design of the fixtures, but the quality of light itself."
Pictured Above: COB LED Strip
How do the lights feel at home? Is there a specific corner of the home where the lighting completely transformed how you feel when you sit there?
What I love most is that each space takes on its own personality. The living room becomes a warm cocoon for winding down. The indoor balcony feels calm and contemplative. Even the guest room takes on a different character as the light changes throughout the day.
The lighting doesn't simply illuminate the home—it changes how I experience it, allowing me to choose a different space depending on my mood.
What's your first impression of Sol Luminaire® ?
Visiting Sol Luminaire® showroom was a wonderful experience because it felt more like walking through an art gallery than a traditional lighting boutique. It immediately reflected a shared appreciation for design, craftsmanship and atmosphere.
What struck me wasn't just the design of the fixtures, but the quality of light itself. Great lighting isn't something you immediately notice, but you instinctively feel how comfortable, calm and inviting a space becomes because of it.
I've always believed that good lighting shouldn't dominate a space. It should quietly elevate it. It reveals the beauty of the materials, frames the views and shapes the atmosphere without demanding attention. That's exactly what the Sol Luminaire lighting has achieved in my home.
Pictured Above: Isa V3® Mini, and COB LED Strip
Any particular light that's your favourite?
If I had to choose, it would be the continuous cove lighting that begins at the entrance, gently separates the living room from the open kitchen, and continues along the corridor towards the bedrooms. It is concealed within a purposefully angled ceiling, so the source of the light disappears and what remains is simply the atmosphere it creates. It quietly guides you through the home, creating a beautiful sense of continuity from one space to the next.
In the evenings, that soft, indirect light transforms the apartment into a warm cocoon. It's subtle, calming and never overpowering—exactly how I believe good lighting should feel. I've always been more interested in how light makes you feel than how the fixture itself looks.
If your home had a signature scent, what would it be?
If I had to describe its scent, it would be fresh, grounding and quietly restorative. The gentle fragrance of fresh flowers, clean air and the greenery beyond my windows than a perfume.
Pictured Above: Isa V3® Mini, Circuit.11 Ambient and COB LED Strip
Was there an interesting moment during the renovation that caught you by surprise? Or an unexpected challenge or design detail that made it in?
I was genuinely surprised by how much lighting influenced the final experience of the home. We spend so much time choosing materials, finishes and furniture, but once the lighting was introduced, the textures, shadows and atmosphere came alive in completely different ways. It completely changed how I experienced the spaces.
That was probably my biggest takeaway from the renovation. Lighting isn't simply something that helps us see—it shapes how we feel. It quietly guides how we move through a home, where we choose to pause and how we connect with a space. I think lighting deserves to be considered much earlier in the design process because it doesn't just illuminate architecture; it brings it to life.
Three words to describe your home?
Curated, restorative, timeless.
