This psychedelically colourful house in Singapore is constructed in 1900 by a local businessman named Tan Teng Niah. At the time, Tan’s candy and rubber factories were located nearby.

100 years later, this neighbourhood has become Little India. Luckily, the Tan Teng Niah house survived, and during the 1980s, it underwent a full restoration to what people see today.

This house is a popular Instagram site and there were artists painting it when we were there.

5 Things to take note before going to House of Tan Teng Niah

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🌈The house is now used as a commercial space hence may be out-of-bounds on certain parts. I saw that tours are available though.

🌈 This is a Singapore-eclectic architectural style, which is a mix of south Chinese and European.

🌈 It was not so colourful before. Of course, when it was first built, it was a plain white building. It seems more colours were added gradually probably due to its popularity. In earlier photos, it seems that there were colours but not so vivid. Another reason could be to reflect the candy trade which Tan Teng Niah was in.

🌈 Go on weekdays so it’s not so crowded, especially now since Deepavali is coming.

🌈 The house was on sale in 2019 for more than 70 million Singapore dollars.

There are a lot of interesting wall murals around so do explore!

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To occupy the kids while you take your Instagram photos, here is an amateurish produced colouring sheet of Tan Teng Niah house, created yours truly. Colour away!

Address: 37 Kerbau Road

Nearest MRT: Little India MRT Station – Just a 5min walk from there.