Bringing up the past

When Manchester-native Timothy Oulton was looking for a site to open his eponymous premium home furnishing brand’s showroom here (his first in Southeast Asia), he came across the shophouses sitting on quiet Kim Yam Road and was immediately attracted by the historical charm. “They are full of character,” says Oulton, who entered his family’s antique business in 1985, and counts Demi Moore and Robert Downey Jr as his clients. “I appreciate the beauty of them being a pocket of heritage retained in this modernised neighbourhood.” His Timothy Oulton showroom occupies two shophouses, covering 5,000 sq ft over two storeys.

Once you step inside, you’d find yourself in an abode trapped in time; a house filled with memories of its inhabitants from a bygone era. Oulton underscores that nostalgia is the “main running theme” in the showroom: leather-clad antique trunks, a nod to the old days of romanticised travel, are stacked in a neat pile in one corner, while vintage books on England’s history, including one on George V and Edward VIII, rest on the rustic Axel Coffee Table made from recycled wood from old fishing boats

Excerpt from the May issue of epicure.