Location: Melaka, Malaysia · Scope: Full interior design, custom cabinetry & furniture, locally-sourced tiles
The Brief
Our client is a home resale and sales team based in Malaysia. They came to us with a single-storey house that had grown tired — dated finishes, a closed-off layout, and flooring that didn’t match from one room to the next. The goal wasn’t only to make it livable again. It was to make it sellable: a full renovation designed to lift the property’s market appeal before it goes back on the market in Melaka.
The Starting Point
Before touching a single wall, we documented what wasn’t working: a cramped, compartmentalized floor plan with no sense of openness; small, poorly oriented windows that left rooms dim even at midday; and a patchwork of tile sizes and finishes that made the home feel disjointed room to room.
Designing for the Tropics, Not Around Them
Melaka sits close to the equator — hot and humid year-round, with heavy monsoon rain. Every design decision had to answer to that first:
- 2,000–2,500mm rainfall/year — frequent, heavy tropical downpours
- 2 monsoon seasons — shifting NE and SW winds drive airflow planning
- 26–30°C constant heat, year-round, with no distinct seasons
- 80%+ relative humidity — an ongoing risk of damp and mould
Design response: moisture control · cross-ventilation · heat reduction · daylighting.
The Renovation Plan
The fix started with the plan itself: we widened the main entrance, added new doors and windows to pull light and air through the home, opened a partition to connect the kitchen and living zones, and replaced the old stair with a new steel staircase to free up an awkward stair void.
On Site Now
New tiling going down room by room, sliding glass doors already hung, and the cove-lit ceiling detail from the design taking shape overhead. Fixtures for the bathrooms staged on site, ready for install. This is the mid-construction reality behind the renderings — the same plan, being built.
What WUMEI Supplied
WUMEI led the interior design and supplied all custom cabinetry and movable furniture for this project — kitchen units, wardrobes, sideboard and bookshelf, all built to spec. Tiles were sourced locally in Malaysia to meet a tight construction timeline, and the client was especially pleased with the pricing secured on that local sourcing, on top of the overall project value.
Where Things Stand
Construction is underway and the project isn’t finished yet — but the client is already sold on the results. Renovated with resale in mind, the home is being rebuilt to command a stronger price when it goes back on the market. The client now has three more renovation projects in discussion with WUMEI, using the same model: renovate, then resell at a stronger price.
Have a similar project — renovating a property to sell or rent it better? Talk to us about a similar project, from design through material supply and delivery, wherever you’re building.
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More projects → Detached House Renovation, Malaysia · 40-Unit Townhouse Fit-Out, Malaysia