After nine years in Singapore, Australians Alexandra and Jeremy Cooper moved to San Francisco, where they lived for two years. They had always dreamed of living in the States, but as is so often the case, they didn’t appreciate what they’d had in Singapore until they lost it.

Jeremy is from Sydney, Alexandra is from Queensland, and they met at the Bond University, Gold Coast in Queensland 17 years ago. Three children and a few international moves later, they are very happy to call Singapore home again.

Did your move back here go well?

Knowing something about a place before you move there is a great help. We found this house online through our previous agents, Expat Realtor, while we were still in San Francisco. Jeremy came to have a quick look at it while he was here on a business trip, and the rest of the process was seamlessly efficient. I like ER because you know you are not going to get carted around to houses that don’t meet your specs.

Our landlord is great, and has a fabulous maintenance crew. Because I knew how things worked here, and I knew they would be repainting the house, I sent my swatches ahead of me and it was all done before we moved in!

Having the right house is important, because we spend so much time here. My husband loves barbecuing and we enjoy having people around. It’s a real family home, with little nooks that you can hang out in, and it’s lovely having a pool. We often enjoy a sundowner out there.

Have you bought much furniture here?

Some of our furniture is from the States, but most of it is from here. We bought quite a few pieces from John Erdos last time round, and again just recently. The patio furniture is from Design Intervention; it’s a quality product that will last outdoors and continue to look good.

Woody Antique was fantastic – that’s where I found these armoires. They can look a bit heavy and dark, but Woody’s stained them just the colour I wanted to fit in perfectly with the rest of the kids’ bedroom furniture.

Our outdoor table, bookcases and couch are from Pasadena on Dempsey.

So, would you say that coming back to Singapore was a smart move?

View all photos of this Design Inspiration in our Expat Living gallery.