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This creatively colorful abode holds a unique secret. No, it is not that it’s wearing every paint color known to man. Once the home of a well-to-do businessman, this house in Singapore’s Little India is the last of its kind.
📸: Kevin Siyuan
Thought to have been built by Chinese entrepreneur Tan Teng Niah for his wife in 1900, this rainbow of a home was one of many villas in the neighborhood. Built due to their proximity to the industrial corridor of Singapore (and thus an easy commute), these villas had unique detailing and woodwork to show off their owner’s wealth. In the case of this particular house, no part of the structure was spared, from its own paint to the lunettes to bamboo roof to the prominent decoration.
As Singapore grew in the late 20th century, the Niah villa’s neighbors began to transform, with an emphasis on modern skyscrapers. Recognizing the significance of this now one-of-a-kind structure, the house was preserved and put under National Landmark status.
Though it’s the only villa still standing, it’s anything but lonely—this one has embraced every color combination imaginable, carrying forward the vibrancy once shared with its sister villas.
