A Spacious Jakarta Penthouse
Yuni Jie of Jie Design speaks with our editor-in-chief about a recent penthouse project in the Indonesian capital
Design Anthology: What was the project brief?
Yuni Jie: To create a space that speaks quiet luxury, where everything is understated and feels timeless. Also to make the space feel homey despite the size, which was a bit challenging as that kind of space can feel intimidating. And we hade to maximise the view from the 88th floor, which is gorgeous.
How did you approach the project? What design references or personal touches did you try to incorporate?
Firstly, of course, we designed according to the function, the wants and needs, and the space requirements. From there, we designed the bare 1,100 square metres into layouts according to the purpose each one serves. As the scale is so large, we needed to make it more human through the correct sizes and proportions of room to human scale. We built the space from zero, so it was fun to see everything finally coming together and being shaped into a warm family home.
Tell us about the material choices.
Easily maintained materials were the key. The colour scheme is neutral — nothing shouts and everything is very subtle. We wanted to make a quiet, elegant ambience — a casual luxury that’s not intimidating despite the size.
How long did was the fit-out process?
Around two years, as we built everything from scratch. The client was very happy with the result.
Are there any other details you’d like to share?
The most challenging part was room organisation and getting the layout right, as the space is so large. So what we did was divide the public area and private area into different wings; this means when they entertain, which they do a lot, they can just close off the private area. We created four bedrooms, formal and informal living rooms, formal and informal dining rooms, a kitchen, gym, library, service area and private swimming pool.
As told to / Suzy Annetta
Images / Merwin Adenan & Lindung Soemarhadi
