THE late 19th and early 20th shophouse continues to fascinate expatriates, and Craig Snyder, who was posted to Singapore by his US-based information technology services company two years ago is no exception.

'I must have seen about 20 apartments in highrises when I first came, and they were all nice, with modern facilities but nothing really grabbed me. Having come from Tokyo, I wanted to stay in something different,' he recalls.

Eventually his agent suggested a shophouse. 'I didn't even know what it meant at that time,' he says. But when he was taken to one at Everton Road, he got pretty excited. 'It still needed a bit of work but I could see the potential,' he says of the long and narrow, four-storey residence which has a pond at the basement level and a skyroof over the stairwell.

This particular shophouse - like many others at the Everton and Blair Road area - is one that had been adapted for contemporary living, with architectural awards to boot. What has become Mr Snyder's residence of choice here has in turn seemed to 'unlock' his creative side by providing the inspiration and impetus for him to set up a furniture and home decor business, Tao Lifestyle Store.

'I see shophouses as one of Singapore's most significant building types in her architectural heritage, as it reflects much of the island's history and development,' observes Mr Snyder. 'They're functional, beautiful and provide a large, open space that is perfect for displaying art and furniture.'

The fact that you could create a whole new energy for the shophouse - when one has been smartly renovated, so that it reflects a convergence of technology and cultural heritage - fascinates him, he explains.

So what happened is that the 34-year-old 'tech geek' threw himself into furnishing and decorating his place. What he brought with him from Tokyo, where he had lived for five years with just your regular modern furniture, was a comfy couch and his 'chiwocks', a chihuahua and dockson mix.

Looking at the 4,000 sq ft space split over four levels he had to furnish, which included four bedrooms and a maid's room, he knew he had an immense task ahead of him. 'I knew I wanted an Asian inspired design, but I wasn't sure whether to go for traditional Chinese or modern Asian flair or a hint of Japanese ...'

In the end he went for a blend of different styles from the region, like an experiment. The end result certainly looks successful - from the modern Chinese dining table with Ming style chairs to an original art deco Chinese wedding bed; from a colonial-style Indonesian lounge chair to two black Bourgie table lamps - Kartell's classic baroque-style lamp in glossy polycarbonate - all mixed together. 'Somehow if you display them well, it works,' he says.

Upon entering the house, you step into the living room with its home entertainment system, and then it's on to the formal dining space with square dining table which seats eight taking up the centre portion of the shophouse space, which then leads into the sunlit kitchen. Stairs hug the side of the stairwell, leading up to the bedrooms.

The wooden bed, with modern carvings of a dragon and phoenix on its back, was originally intended to be the living room 'couch' but it's now taking up a sizeable corner next to the TV console more as a feature piece. Meanwhile a large, customised modern-Italian sofa (think of two L-shaped sofas joined together to form a square U) provides a more comfortable sitting proposition in front of the TV.

A wooden four-poster bed was one of the first pieces of furniture Mr Snyder got when he was first posted here - since he needed to sleep - while he eventually accumulated the rest over time. And that proved to be a rather arduous task of running here and there to check out all the different home decor stores - from Robinson's to antique shops in Chinatown.

'I went to every place imaginable. And I found it to be extremely exasperating. It was a lot of work, and extremely time-consuming, and hot. I was waiting in the taxi line with heavy bags. It was fun and I enjoyed it, but also a lot more complex than I thought it would be.'

That turned out to be the genesis of the idea of his business, Tao Lifestyle Store - a one-stop shop with Asian-inspired furniture and home decor - to alleviate this painful experience. So he put together a business plan, and had a colleague back him in it as well.

Since he had been to Bali, China, India, Vietnam and such places for business, he thought he would look for suppliers for his furniture. With that effortlessly done, serendipitously, it was just a matter of getting the right venue for the business - which turned out to be another shophouse in Chinatown. Tao carries everything from soft furnishings and paintings to beds and couches, besides also being a space to host gatherings and events.

Mr Snyder's own pad now carries a fair number of items which were sourced for Tao the store as well. 'I added a lot of decor pieces to give it more of Tao flavour, as a showcase for the business as well,' he says - most notably, customised furnishings such as the living room couch and a huge ottoman, as well as paintings reproduced from either famous paintings or from posters.

A 13-foot high painting of a well-known Salvador Dali piece, Christ of Saint John of the Cross: Nuclear Mysticism, has been reproduced and covering almost the whole side of the stairwell, which you admire while going up the airy cantilevered stairs. The size of the original painting is only 205cm by 116cm.

And then a couple of Russian propaganda art paintings line the wall of the other staircase leading to another room on the fourth storey. He's a big fan of propaganda art, he reveals.

'When I commissioned items for my own home, I wanted items which were interesting and unique,' he says. Commissioning and design advice are services offered at Tao Lifestyle Store as well.

For someone who had been initially apprehensive about his Singapore posting, Mr Snyder's certainly found his comfort zone here. 'I'd heard about it from other expatriates ... that Singapore was too small, too hot, too sterile, that it doesn't have a lot of culture ... but to my pleasant surprise, I actually enjoy living here a lot more than I thought I would.'

So it helped to have rather low expectations about the country? 'Correct, when you don't expect a lot then everything seems great!' He has since embraced Singapore and plans to live here for at least five or six more years. 'I really don't have anything negative to say about the country,' he remarks.

And by all accounts, a business providing home furnishing in the city should do well. Asian chic is very hot right now in the US, says the bachelor. 'They love the Asian influence on furniture and design, the minimalist feel of Japan, the rich heritage of a Chinese antique piece, and the Buddha imagery resonates quite well with people, so I think that everywhere I go in the world, I see it everywhere. It has become more and more prevalent, from interior design to fashion to even hairstyles,' he says.

So if you like it, why not become a proponent of it as well - the 'tao' that Mr Snyder seems to have embraced, since coming to Singapore.

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