Interior designer at Desa Damansara
Twelve blocks among the trees, since 1988.
An older home, made right for your household.
Thoughtfully designed around the way you live, and what you’d like to spend.
What does a 2,200 sq ft home from 1988 or 2003 ask of its designer?
Mostly low-rise blocks in a landscaped estate, finished in two phases 15 years apart, most often three-bedrooms of about 2,200 sq ft. So the work is renewing a roomy, lived-in home, starting with what’s behind the walls.
Sundays in Bed is a Kuala Lumpur interior design studio for homes. Desa Damansara would be new ground for us, so we’d begin as we always do: with your rooms, each one priced and agreed in writing.
Tan & Tan built the estate at No. 99 Jalan Setiakasih in two phases.
- Desa DamansaraCompleted 1988Blocks 1 to 9 · mostly low-rise · freehold
- Desa Damansara 2Completed 2003Blocks 10 to 12 · 132 homes · freehold
Across both phases, Desa Damansara’s 262 units range from about 1,200 to 5,000 sq ft built-up; the most common is a 2,200 sq ft three-bedroom.
- 1,184–1,216 sq ftTwo bedrooms, some with an extra room
- About 2,200 sq ftThree bedrooms, the most common layout here
- 2,800 sq ftFour bedrooms, four bathrooms
- 3,595–5,048 sq ftPenthouses of four bedrooms and up, one listed across three floors
These are big homes by today’s standard. A 2,200 sq ft three-bedroom has room to spare, so the brief is rarely about squeezing in storage. It’s about scale: furniture that holds a large room, and a job for every corner.
Age matters as much as size. A Phase 1 home is nearly 40 years old, a Desa Damansara 2 home more than 20, and many have changed hands since. Earlier owners may have left good work, or wiring never meant for today’s air-conditioners.
And the estate itself is green, with walkways through planted grounds, a waterfall pool, tennis courts, a gym and a sauna. Lower floors sit close to the trees, which brings shade and calm, and sometimes damp and less privacy.
Dry kitchen, wet kitchen, decades-old wiring: what gets decided first?
The parts you can’t see, then the two kitchens, then how a large room should feel. The cushions come last.
Behind the plaster. Homes finished in 1988 and 2003 were wired and plumbed for their first owners. We have the electrical board, pipes and bathroom waterproofing checked before choosing a single tile, so no new wall is opened twice.
Two kitchens, two jobs. Listings here describe separate dry and wet kitchens. If the wok goes on most nights, the wet kitchen deserves real ventilation and storage; the dry one can open towards the dining and become the room guests see.
Rooms with room to spare. A 2,200 sq ft three-bedroom can make a small sofa look lost. We plan furniture at the right scale, a rug that anchors it, and give any spare corner a purpose: reading, homework, a desk.
The trees outside. In a mostly low-rise estate, many windows look into planting. That’s lovely by day and exposed at night, so layered curtains, warm lamps and finishes that cope with humidity matter more here than in a tower.
What earlier owners got right. A resale home often holds a recent bathroom, solid timber doors or a sound kitchen carcass. We keep what is in good order and spend only where it falls short.
What does it cost to design and furnish a Desa Damansara three-bedroom or penthouse?
For the common 2,200 sq ft three-bedroom here, the Sundays in Bed design fee is estimated at RM30,440–37,570; for a penthouse of about 5,000 sq ft, RM44,700–51,830. Your final fee depends on the rooms you choose, and is agreed in writing before we begin.
With our fee and Curated finishes (Commune, Cellini, Poet Living), a three-bedroom here comes to about RM285k–487k in all.
Spend where it matters. Skip what doesn’t. In a home this age, it means the wiring, the wet kitchen and the bathroom you use daily, not a guest bathroom someone redid. Pick a size, then switch on the rooms to design; every figure is an estimate until contractors quote.
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and the dry and wet kitchens: 7 rooms at RM3,565, plus the open-plan living and dining at RM5,485. The foyer and utility yard are designed free.
Within each level, the low end is the essentials; the high end adds extras such as a feature wall, LED strips and a kitchen island.
What the two levels mean
Curated. Melamine and laminate, sintered stone, a plaster ceiling. Furniture from Commune, Cellini, Fella Design, Dezign District, Poet Living, Big Brain, Gudang, Crown Livin and Dadswood.
Bespoke. Bespoke laminate, detailed joinery, a ceiling with cornice. Furniture from Space Furniture, Tekni, BoConcept, King Living, Ambient Living, Stanzo, Forest Furniture, Roche Bobois, XTRA, Urban Edge, Molteni&C, Nostaloft, Flexform, Janine and Chesters Collection.
| Home | Curated | Bespoke |
|---|---|---|
| 3-bed About 2,200 sq ft · the most common layout Estimated fee RM30,440–37,570 | RM255k–457k | RM480k–959k |
| 2-bed About 1,200 sq ft Estimated fee RM19,745–26,875 | RM188k–324k | RM368k–714k |
| 4-bed About 2,800 sq ft Estimated fee RM37,570–44,700 | RM300k–537k | RM558k–1,108k |
| Penthouse About 5,000 sq ft · the largest homes Estimated fee RM44,700–51,830 | RM351k–684k | RM643k–1,393k |
The lower figure is a usual brief here: living and dining, both kitchens where there are two, every bedroom and all but one bathroom. The higher one allows two more rooms, such as that last bathroom or, in a larger home, a family room.
At Curated, furniture comes from Commune, Cellini and Poet Living; at Bespoke, from Space Furniture, BoConcept and Molteni&C.
Every Desa Damansara home is now a resale, so each is priced as an older home. We’ve assumed not every bathroom needs designing: each type counts one fewer than it has. Count only the ones you’d change.
Listings show a dry and a wet kitchen in three- and four-bedroom homes here, so both are priced, as two rooms, in those and the penthouses. No plan for the 1,200 sq ft homes was found, so we’ve priced a single closed kitchen there and check yours on the visit.
The ranges also assume new air-conditioners, appliances, kitchen cabinets and wardrobes. Keep a previous owner’s that still work and you’ll spend less. These are October 2026 guides; only your contractors can quote.
Furnishing to let? Some owners here let, asking from RM2,800 a month in 2022. A lighter, hard-wearing fit-out at our Essential level, quicker to finish and easy to keep tenant-ready, is one possibility, with furniture from Ikea, SSF Home and Harvey Norman. The design fee is the same at every level.
Renovation and furniture at Essential, before our fee: 3-bed RM144k–234k · 2-bed RM105k–162k · 4-bed RM171k–277k · Penthouse RM200k–353k.
How the fee adds up. RM3,565 for every bedroom, bathroom, study or kitchen we design, and RM5,485 for the living and dining when they are one open room. A spare bedroom you’re happy with simply isn’t counted.
We agree the total in writing before drawing anything, then you pay it in stages. It never rises with the contractors’ bills, so relaying the wet kitchen floor in better tile costs you nothing extra in fee.
Start from your figure. Whether it’s a two-bedroom in the 1988 blocks or a penthouse in Desa Damansara 2, tell us what you’d like to spend. Fitting the design to it is our side of the work.
How does a renovation run in a low-rise block that families have lived in since 1988?
Quietly, and with your neighbours in mind. One designer stays with you from the first call to the dressed rooms. We draw the home and manage the works; licensed contractors build it, and you pick them from quotes we collect and compare.
- The discovery call FreeWhich phase and block, the size of your home, who lives there, what the previous owner left, and roughly what you’d like to spend.
- The site visit RM200, waived if you go ahead with usWe measure, open the electrical board, look for damp at the lower walls and around older windows, check both kitchens and note what’s worth keeping.
- The scope, then the designRooms, budget and our fee are written down first. Then layouts, lighting and materials, with furniture sized to large rooms and a clear role for the wet kitchen.
- Drawings and quotesContractors price the same drawings, so their quotes can be compared fairly. We go through each one with you; choosing the builder stays with you.
- On site, then moving inWe agree working days with management, keep the noisy work to the hours allowed, inspect each stage against the drawings, then bring in the furniture and lamps.
An older home tends to reveal a thing or two once the tiles come up, and a renovation here passes through management and DBKL along the way. You needn’t keep the sequence in your head; that’s what we’re for. How a project runs
Renovating at Desa Damansara. The estate is in Kuala Lumpur, so any permit your works need comes from DBKL, and your licensed contractor applies for it.
Management will usually want to approve the works in writing first. Its deposit, permitted hours and arrangements for lorries inside the grounds aren’t published, and the two phases may be run separately, so we confirm the current terms before pricing.
How does a home someone else renovated start to feel like yours?
By deciding what to keep before deciding what to add. Many homes here have had earlier owners, so yours should end up shaped by your household’s habits, not theirs.
A large older home has room for the things that matter to you: the dining table everyone fits round, the grandparents’ cabinet, the books still boxed from the last move. We start from those, and plan the rooms to hold them.
What an older Desa Damansara home usually needs
- KeepSound work, the spaceSolid doors, a recently redone bathroom, generous room sizes
- AdaptThe two kitchensA dry kitchen opened to the dining or refitted; a wet kitchen given proper ventilation
- AddServices, lightRewiring where the board is old, fresh waterproofing, lighting for the evenings under the trees
From what homes of this age commonly need, not a published specification. We check yours on the site visit.
What homes in Damansara Heights have cost to renovate
Other firms have published eight renovation records for Damansara Heights, with a median of RM131 per sq ft. Three are listed as apartments.
A 1,200 sq ft three-bedroom at Residensi Damansara 56 took eight weeks and about RM100,000. A 5,000 sq ft home at Aira Residence took 20 weeks and RM800,000.
Applied to Desa Damansara, that median puts a full 2,200 sq ft renovation near RM290,000, and a 5,000 sq ft penthouse near RM655,000. Keep what is sound and the figure falls.
Deciding what is sound, room by room, is the first thing we do on the visit.
Our own fee, by contrast, is agreed in writing before work starts and doesn’t rise with whatever the contractors charge.
These published renovation records are gathered on our Kenny Hills and Damansara Heights renovation cost index.
Nearby, with their own pages: Damansara Heights · The Peak · Aira Residence · Regent Suites
Actually enjoyable
Along the way, iterations and last minute changes were handled with grace and positivity which made the whole design and construction process actually enjoyable.
View on Google →Great job styling our table
Thank you Angelica & Team for such a great job styling and jazzing up our table to welcome our special guests that day.
View on Google →So much styling tips to share
Had such a great time working with Angelica, had learn so much styling tips as she has so much to share and is very knowledgeable and creative!!
View on Google →FAQ
Desa Damansara, both phases: your questions
Are Desa Damansara and Desa Damansara 2 the same development?
Yes, in two phases. Tan & Tan finished Blocks 1 to 9 in 1988, and Desa Damansara 2, Blocks 10 to 12, in 2003: 262 homes in all. Portals often list them apart, and sizes differ, so we first confirm which phase yours is in.
My home dates from 1988. What gets checked before the design?
The electrical board and its capacity, water pipes, bathroom waterproofing, and windows for leaks. On lower floors near the planting, we also look for damp. Finding these early means each wall is opened once, and the budget goes to what you’ll see.
Should I keep both the dry and the wet kitchen?
Usually, yes. A wet kitchen keeps heavy cooking and smells out of the living rooms. The dry kitchen is the one to rethink: opened to the dining, or refitted as a pantry. Each kitchen we design counts as one room in our fee.
What would the design fee be for a 2,200 sq ft three-bedroom here?
Estimated at RM30,440–37,570 for living and dining, both kitchens, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It depends on the rooms you choose, and is agreed in writing before we begin. Renovation and furniture come on top: about RM255k–457k at Curated, RM480k–959k at Bespoke.
Who approves a renovation at Desa Damansara?
Management, usually in writing before work starts, and DBKL for any permit the works need, applied for by your licensed contractor. The deposit, working hours and access rules aren’t published, so we ask management for the current terms before any quotes.
Is a large three-bedroom here hard to furnish well?
It can be. Rooms of this size swallow small furniture, and a sofa bought for a newer flat can look stranded. We size pieces to the room, use rugs to make zones, and suggest a few larger pieces in place of many small ones.
Bought a Desa Damansara home with someone else’s kitchen in it?
Just collected the keys on Jalan Setiakasih, or ready to renew a home you’ve lived in for years? Send us your size, phase and a few phone photos, plus a rough budget. The first call is free, and you’ll see your estimated fee in writing before you agree to anything.
Free · your fee is agreed in writing before we start