Pastel Shophouse Shutters on a Quiet Street

A shophouse does two jobs. The family business runs on the ground floor and the family lives upstairs. Along the front runs a covered walkway called the five-foot way. Stamford Raffles's town plan for Singapore in the 1820s called for one on every shophouse, so people could walk the street out of the sun and rain. These upper floors come in mint, pale yellow and faded blue, with tall louvered shutters and panels of patterned tile under the windows. Peeling plaster and sagging wires make the shophouse jigsaw puzzle look properly lived in.