A Three-Generation Heritage Home at Oxley Rise

Oxley Rise sits beside Fort Canning, where more than 700 years of Singapore’s history remain visible. Around it are a century-old synagogue, historic churches, museums and galleries, all within walking distance of the city. It is a neighbourhood where the past has never quite disappeared.

The same could be said of this apartment on Oxley Rise.

The View the Home Grew Around

The apartment complex was built around one heritage tree, rising 25 to 30 metres above the ground. That tree stands directly outside the apartment’s living room, its trunk and canopy framed by floor-to-ceiling windows. The greenery fills the view so completely that being here can feel a little like living in a tree house. The other trees in front of the apartment complex were subsequently planted after the apartment complex was built and they too have grown to a considerable height today – ranging from a third to half the height of the heritage tree.

The owner, Mr Lim, walks at nearby Fort Canning three times a week. But the view means more to him than being close to nature.

A living room that opens almost entirely onto the canopy of a heritage tree

“It’s very calming,” says Mr Lim. “One of my favourite things is simply sitting here and enjoying the greenery. A reminder of God’s wonderful creation.”

What Each Generation Left Behind

Over the years, the apartment passed from grandfather to father, and eventually to son. Each changed the home in his own way. Just as importantly, each left something of the earlier home intact.

In the 1970s, Mr Lim’s grandfather absorbed the original balcony into the living room and laid its brown-and-white terrazzo floor. A decade later, his father clad the living-room walls in marble. The decision may look decorative today, but it began with a much more practical concern.

Long, generous proportions give the living room an ease rarely found in newer city apartments

“My father painted the walls himself whenever they became dirty,” Mr Lim recalls. “Eventually, he decided that marble would solve the problem permanently.”

In 2018, it became Mr Lim’s turn. Mr Lim chose to preserve these earlier features put in by his grandfather and father when renovating the apartment but replaced the old balcony windows with floor-to-ceiling glass, allowing the tree outside to become part of the living room. He also reworked the layout into a dual-key apartment, a decision that would give an underused part of the home an entirely new purpose.

“They (the terrazzo floor and marble walls put in by his grandfather and father) connect the past with the present,” he says. “As someone who values art and heritage, they keep me connected to the history of the home.”

Today, a ceiling fan from the 1960s still turns above terrazzo laid in the 1970s, beside marble installed in the 1980s. Nothing was designed together. But somehow, it belongs together.

Two Homes, One Address

Not every important change begins with a grand plan. This one began with a room Mr Lim hardly used.

“The original floor plan included a service room with an entrance immediately right next to the main entrance,” he recalls. “The service room was also next to the kitchen. As I hardly cook, I realised I hardly ever went into it.”

Floor plan of the Dual Key Apartment

“It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made,” he says. “I can continue living in the home I enjoy, while receiving rental income from the studio without giving up my privacy.”

At the back of the studio, an original spiral staircase remains. This become the second feature that friends and relatives remember when they visited the apartment after the renovation, the first being the majestic treetop view.

A Slower Side of City Living

Step outside and much of the city is within walking distance. Fort Canning Park is close by, with Dhoby Ghaut and Fort Canning MRT stations connecting the neighbourhood to everywhere beyond it.

The National Museum is a short walk away

A weekend here might begin with a picnic beneath the trees of Fort Canning and end with dinner by the Singapore River. Along the way are galleries, historic churches and the century-old Chesed-El Synagogue. It is city living at a gentler pace. There is plenty around you, but little need to hurry between it.

Why Now

Mr Lim has spent years adapting the apartment without losing sight of what came before. Now retired, he feels the time has come to right-size and allow someone else to experience the home in their own way.

Even the bedroom feels connected to the trees — an unusually leafy outlook this close to the city

“You can enjoy all of this,” he says, “without feeling the hustle and bustle of living in the city.”

See It for Yourself

Photographs can show the terrazzo, the marble and the treetop view through floor-to-ceiling glass. What they cannot quite capture is the quiet, the afternoon light moving through the living room, or the feeling of being in a home that has evolved slowly without losing sight of its past.

Private viewings are held by appointment. Each visit is kept unhurried, because some homes reveal themselves only when you take the time to look. Schedule a session via WhatsApp or email.