Interior Design TTDI: What the Last Renovation Left Behind

Most of the time it involves working out what the last renovation left behind. Taman Tun Dr Ismail was built through the 1970s and 1980s, and many of its terraces have since been altered. It is common to find a rear extension, a covered air well, a relocated kitchen or a roof changed by an earlier owner. The first task is working out what was changed, what was submitted and what is worth keeping, because that decides how much of the new design is actually possible.

Because the neighbourhood has been desirable for a long time and many owners stay. Houses change hands slowly and get improved in stages rather than replaced, so it is common to find a rear extension from one decade sitting under a roof from another, with wiring from a third running through both. That layering is not a problem in itself. It just means we need to understand the existing house before choosing finishes.

A standard terrace here gives a fairly predictable range once the scope is clear, because the lot sizes and floor plates repeat across the neighbourhood. What moves the figure is how much of the previous work has to be undone, whether the extension needs structural correction, whether the house is being rewired and replumbed, and how much built-in carpentry the design calls for. A newer condominium unit near the MRT station is a different and usually tighter exercise. Every figure follows a site measurement.

Usually, yes — but how far depends on the existing structure. Terraces of this generation have party walls either side and a spine of structure through the middle, so an open plan depends on identifying which elements carry load and dealing with them properly. Any structural change needs an engineer and, in most cases, a submission. The bigger constraint is often ventilation: once the air well is covered and the back is extended to the boundary, the middle of the house has no easy source of light or air.

It is worth finding out before you plan around it. Extensions in older neighbourhoods were sometimes built without a submission, and that can complicate a new application, a sale or a refinancing later. In practice the options are to leave the existing structure untouched and design within it, or to regularise the work as part of the new project. Either way it is a decision to make deliberately at the planning stage rather than one to be surprised by once drawings are lodged.

For purely internal, non-structural work, usually not. Extensions and structural alterations are different and generally require approval from Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, with drawings submitted by the relevant professional. Party walls make this more sensitive than on a detached lot, since work on one side is felt on the other. For the newer high-rise stock near the station, building management approval applies as well.

The main difference is how much control you have over the building itself. A landed terrace usually has no lift booking or management submission, but it comes with party walls, an inherited renovation history and structure you can only change with proper approval. A newer condominium near the MRT has a fixed layout, a relatively straightforward existing unit and a management office with a submission process, a deposit, lift booking and set working hours. The design priorities are different too: a terrace may need structural, ventilation and services work, while a condominium often concentrates on storage, lighting and finishes.

A cosmetic refresh with a defined carpentry scope moves quickly. A house being rewired, replumbed and structurally altered across three floors takes considerably longer, and the submission stage is the part most often left out of a schedule. Where an earlier extension has to be corrected or regularised, add time for that before the visible work starts. Design and drawings run ahead of everything else.

Owners here tend to stay, and the design usually reflects that. Households that expect to be in the house for another ten or fifteen years are generally better served by planning around how they actually live — where people cook, where children work, how ageing parents will manage the stairs — than by a neutral specification aimed at a future buyer. If letting is the plan instead, the layout may barely change but the specification should: durable finishes, replaceable hardware, storage built in rather than bought loose.

Ask how they handle an inherited renovation. A designer who works here often should have a clear method for surveying earlier alterations, checking what was submitted, involving an engineer where structure changes and dealing with the ventilation problem a covered air well creates. Beyond that, ask what the drawing set includes, how carpentry is measured and priced, and who coordinates site when conditions differ from the drawing.

The road name, the property type and approximate size, the floor plan if you have it, and photos of every floor including the rear extension, the air well area, the electrical board and the kitchen. Tell us what previous owners changed if you know, whether the house is for your own stay or for letting, and whether you intend to live in it during the works. A rough budget band and a target start date help us tell you what is realistic before a visit.