Article Category: Dream Homes

Upbeat couple Atiqah and Amalie wanted a modern, monochromatic home with extensive marble and some Victorian details. They couldn’t be happier with the beautiful results that their interior design firm Cozy Ideas delivered.

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Atiqah and Amalie
House Type: BTO 4-room HDB Flat
Size of Home: 92 sq m
Cost of Renovation: $32,000
Duration of Renovation: 2 months
Interior Design Firm: Cozy Ideas
Name of Designer(s): Loy

The living area is cloaked in soothing shades of grey

Delighted homeowners Atiqah and Amalie

HomeRenoGuru: How did you come to engage Cozy Ideas to renovate your home?

Amalie: We came across Cozy Ideas online and after reading their reviews, we liked what we saw and decided to give them a call.

Atiqah: When I spoke to them, I was very comfortable and their prices were quite reasonable, so we gave it a shot.

HomeRenoGuru: What was your brief to Cozy Ideas?

The open concept kitchen and dining area

Atiqah: We wanted to have a clean-cut house to make it feel more spacious and with certain colour themes like grey, white and a little bit of black to make it modern yet classy. We also wanted to have some Victorian details and marble finishing.

HomeRenoGuru: How did you find the renovation process?

Amalie: The whole renovation was very smooth and our ID was also very responsive to our queries and questions.

Atiqah: It was hassle free and our ID helped to keep track of all the progresses.

HomeRenoGuru: What do you love most about your renovated home?

Amalie makes music in his ‘Chillax Room’

Amalie: For me, my favourite part of the house is the ‘Chillax Room’. That’s where I have a raised platform, where I can make noise with my music and continue to write music, because that’s where I feel inspired.

Atiqah: When our families come, they will hang out in that room and just spend time there.

The built-in settee is great for drinking coffee and window-gazing

Atiqah: For me, my favourite part of the house would be the settee area in the living room. That’s where we spend most of our mornings drinking coffee and having breakfast, and it also serves as an extra seating area for the living room.

The living area is distinguished by a Victorian-inspired frame

A cluster of neatly aligned framed pictures echoes the right angles of the Vicrorian-inspired frame

Atiqah: We also like the feature wall in our living room, which has a Victorian frame to tie back to the theme and this can also be found in our master bedroom.

The master bedroom is thematically linked to the living area by the Victorian detailing on the wall

Amalie: For our master bedroom, our ID cleverly planned and utilised the space to provide an additional wardrobe for us so that we don’t have to fight over space.

Atiqah: In our master bedroom, we had a funny protruding column and our ID managed to add a TV feature wall to make it neater.

The TV wall cleverly makes use of a cumbersome protruding column

The open concept kitchen allows the cook to interact with family members

Victorian detailing on the kitchen cabinets evokes a homely feel

Atiqah: Another part of the house where we spend most of our time is in the kitchen. We hacked half of the wall to give an open concept and added some details to the cabinets, like the black linings and the gold handles to tie back to the Victorian touch. Because I cook a lot, I’m very grateful for the marble designed quartz kitchen top because it’s very easy to maintain.

Marble adds a luxury touch to both the master and common bathrooms

Amalie: And we made that marble design run through both our bathrooms.

HomeRenoGuru: Do you have any advice to share with homeowners planning to embark on a home renovation?

Amalie: I would advise anyone embarking on a renovation to know your budget and stick to it.

Atiqah: As for me, my advice would be to stick to a theme so that it follows through the whole house.

HomeRenoGuru: Can you confidently recommend Cozy Ideas to family and friends?

Amalie and Atiqah: Yes definitely! Without a doubt we will recommend Cozy Ideas! We love our beautiful home. Thank you, Cozy Ideas!

Interior designer Loy of Cozy Ideas with Atiqah and Amalie

It was a chance meeting at a housewarming party that led to the homeowner’s brother, who was overseeing the renovation, to appoint interior designer Joseph Seah from Monoloft. The renovation itself left nothing to chance, as the team were commendably hands-on in managing the project from start to finish. The contemporary pinewood and grey interior not only met the brief but impressed the client enough for him to engage Monoloft for his next renovation project – his own apartment.

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Jeremy Ng (brother of homeowner)
House Type: Private Condominium
Size of Home: 800 sq/ft
Cost of Renovation: $50,000
Duration of Renovation: 2 months
Interior Design Firm: Monoloft
Name of Designer(s): Joseph Seah

The easy-on-the-eye combination of pine and grey in the living area sets the tone of the entire decor

Jeremy Ng, the brother of the homeowner, was tasked with the renovation

HomeRenoGuru: We understand you’re not the homeowner. What’s your relationship with the owner?

Jeremy: I’m the brother of the owner, why am I in this video? It’s because I’m the man in-charge because he is always overseas.

HomeRenoGuru: Got it. So how did you come to engage your ID?

Jeremy: I got to know Joseph at a housewarming party of a friend, and at that point of time, coincidentally I was looking for an ID firm for this particular house. Looking at the décor and renovation design work done for my friend, I was very confident that Monoloft would be able to help me achieve what I want. So after a few discussions, I went to his showroom to have a look at his work.

HomeRenoGuru: What was your brief to Joseph?

Jeremy: My brief to Joseph at that point of time was fairly simple. Number one was to help me optimise the space I had for the apartment. Number two was how to constantly match the colour tones across the whole space.

Open space, soft grey and light wood flow throughout the home

HomeRenoGuru: How did you find the actual renovation process?

Jeremy: The whole renovation process was smoother than I had expected, largely because Joseph and his team had actually been very, very hands-on in managing the project, from the start to the end.

The open concept kitchen and dining area

HomeRenoGuru: What were the major structural renovations involved?

Jeremy: When I first saw the unit, it was actually a dual key apartment and space was the biggest concern I had. Hence, I threw the challenge to Joseph and team to help me solve it. He suggested to hack away the wall behind to create an open concept kitchen. On top of hacking the wall, Joseph and team also suggested solutions to declutter the apartment. By concealing our refrigerator as well as washing machine inside the kitchen cabinets.

Extensive built-in cabinets conceal appliances and drawers

HomeRenoGuru: Were there any changes of plan along the way?

Jeremy: As I had requested for a consistent tonality in colour, focusing on grey and pine wood, Joseph convinced me that due to Singapore’s environment, solid wood was not a wise choice. He suggested we go with Kompacplus, which has a wood finish feel and yet it’s water-resistant and scratch-resistant.

A pop of sunshiny-bright yellow deviates from the pine and grey colour scheme in the master bedroom, which adjoins a walk-in wardrobe

HomeRenoGuru: What are your favourite parts of the renovated apartment?

Jeremy: To be very, very honest, I like the whole house. Because, not just the optimised space, but the whole colour tone from the moment you step inside the house, from the settee area all the way across the living room even to the master bedroom and washroom, the colour of grey and pine is constantly and cleverly matched.

A convenient and considerate seating area in the entrance hall, flanked by a built-in shoe cabinet

HomeRenoGuru: Do you have any advice you would like to share with homeowners embarking on a renovation?

Jeremy: My advice to new homeowners embarking on a renovation is to have something in mind, and be very proactive to co-work with your ID firm to come up with an ideal outcome.

The master bathroom is sleek and functional

HomeRenoGuru: Would you recommend Monoloft and your interior designer to other homeowners?

Jeremy: If you ask me whether I’ll recommend Monoloft to others, honestly… I won’t.

HomeRenoGuru: Oh! Why is that?

Jeremy: The reason is because I’m a very selfish person. I want this unique design to be all mine and mine alone. But… as a gracious Singaporean, I will set aside my selfishness and definitely recommend Monoloft to you. Then you too can own a place as nice as this!

HomeRenoGuru: We get it. Do you have anything to add?

Jeremy: I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Joseph and the Monoloft team for making this happen. And the best way to show my gratitude is to assure you, Joseph, that my own apartment will be renovated by you as well.

Tricky spaces did not daunt Nitty Gritty Interior. Designer Qistine brainstormed with homeowners Aydan and Beishan to develop creative solutions to challenging spaces, including enlarging a poky kitchen, hacking a wall to the study room to admit more light, and creating two distinct areas in the master bedroom. The result is a home that is totally loved by its owners – every clever corner of it!

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Aydan and Beishan
Type of Home: 5-room Resale HDB Flat
Size of Home: 113 sq/m
Cost of Renovation: $50,000
Duration of Renovation: 2 months
Interior Design Firm: Nitty Gritty Interior Pte Ltd
Name(s) of Designer(s): Qistine Toong

The clean and uncluttered living area adopts a neutral palette

Beishan and Aydan with their fur-kids

HomeRenoGuru: How did you come to engage Nitty Gritty Interior?

Beishan: We first came to know about Nitty Gritty Interior through Lawrence, who is the founder. Throughout the years, as we are his friends, he has been showing us his works. And we thought they are very pretty and very functional at the same time.

Track and pendant lighting draws the eye upwards and enhances the impression of space in the open concept dining and living area

HomeRenoGuru: What was your design brief?

Aydan: The brief to Qistine was to actually make our kitchen bigger, because in the original layout of our home, the kitchen was very small. And also for our bedroom, the space is in an oblong shape, so we had difficulty placing our bed while having our wardrobe. So she came up with a very smart idea, to actually segregate the space into two areas, with one walk-in wardrobe and one cosy corner for us.

Expansive counter-space is a boon for the couple, who both enjoy cooking

A snug niche for the fridge and overhead cabinets optimise space and storage

HomeRenoGuru: How did you find the renovation process?

Beishan: So the whole renovation process was pretty smooth. We actually came down to the house daily, and Qistine was always here to answer any of our queries. So whenever we had a problem, we felt very assured that they are always here to help us any time.

The major part of the renovation, where we hacked a lot, would be the study room. So as you can see, this whole part was actually a concrete wall, which created a lighting issue when we bought this house. Qistine actually suggested that we hack off these walls and those over the other side to allow more light to pass through. And it worked perfectly for us.

Light flows freely though the study room, enclosed by glass doors and connected to the living area by a large window

HomeRenoGuru: What do you like most about your renovated home?

Aydan: My favourite spot of the house is actually my kitchen and the living room. For the kitchen, I like the pull-out drawer and the cabinet. We cook a lot, so having more space and more work-stations is actually beneficial for us.

And for the living room, I actually like the openness and the space that we actually have. How about you?

Beishan: Also the living room as well as the dining table area, because it’s where our family congregate together, and it’s a place that we spend most of our time.

The kitchen is a luminous glass cube that visually extends the space of the entrance hall, dining and living areas

The cook is always in view of her guests – and the open kitchen is a strong incentive to keep things clean and tidy!

Aydan: So for our walk-in wardrobe, we actually made use of empty spaces, which are usually wasted. We fully utilised all the space we have in our room, and created two different areas – one for our sleeping, and one for the changing.

Closet space in the walk-in wardrobe is sleek and devoid of handles

Floor-to-ceiling storage space with well-thought-out racks for hanging and shelves for folded garments helps keep everything in its place

The entrance to the walk-in wardrobe is neatly concealed by a sliding wood-panelled door

The door, fully opened

Bare yet elegant, the master bedroom is a serene, restful sanctuary

And for the toilet, we have something different. We have a darker tone, a darker feel to it, to make it more homely and cosy.

The neutral-toned master bedroom is cloaked in soft, layered lighting

The common bathroom follows the materials and palette of the master bathroom, with subtle variations like a change of basin

HomeRenoGuru: Can you recommend Nitty Gritty Interior other homeowners looking for a company to renovate their home?

Aydan: For future homeowners, I would strongly recommend Nitty Gritty interior for their good workmanship and also for the quality the service that we enjoyed.

We love our home. Thank you, Nitty Gritty Interior.

Beishan: Thank you!

Nitty Gritty Interior owner, Lawrence, with his happy customers

Sharon’s spacious, mature property was a gem waiting to be polished. Her first time renovating a home turned out to be an overwhelmingly positive experience, thanks to the great attitudes and quality workmanship of her interior designers, Sophia and Dennis of D’Esprit Interiors. In her own words, it turned out to be perfect. Read the happy story here.

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Sharon Wang
House Type: 4-bedroom Private Condominium Apartment
Size of Home: 100 sq m
Cost of Renovation: $120,000
Duration of Renovation: 3 months
Interior Design Firm: D’Esprit Interiors Pte Ltd
Name of Designer(s): Sophia Ng and Dennis Chong

Sharon’s luxuriously large living area

Happy mum and homeowner with son Lucas

HomeRenoGuru: When you approached D’Esprit Interiors, did you have a clear idea of what you wanted from your renovation?

The warm golden-brown flooring was the first ‘piece’ that fell into place, after which all design elements followed

A casual dining area cum play area adjoins the living area

Sharon: Yes, I pretty much had an idea of what I wanted. I wanted a lot of light coming into the home, as well as good ventilation and airflow. I didn’t really want to be tied down to a theme per se, but rather I wanted a timeless, cosy family home. And once the flooring was done, everything just pretty much fell into place, because the flooring alone is just beautiful – I just love the colour!

HomeRenoGuru: How did you find the actual renovation process?

Sharon: The whole renovation took about three months. Halfway through, I gave birth to Charlotte, so we had quite a comfortable schedule in terms of meeting Dennis and Sophia to discuss the renovation. It was a very smooth process throughout. I was very appreciative of Dennis and Sophia, who were very responsive and very responsible. Especially Dennis, when we encountered some problem or certain issues that needed to be resolved, he was the perfect problem-solver. He never tried to influence me or pressure me into accepting what had been done, and he always respected our decision.

HomeRenoGuru: What do you love most about your home?

The tiled entrance foyer houses a spacious shoe cabinet which doubles as a display cabinet for beloved family memorabilia

Sharon: Now that everything has been done up, I love every part of it. I love the foyer, the tiles – Sophia helped me build a very nice shoe cabinet in which I can comfortably store all my shoes.

The open concept kitchen flows into the living area

A built-in breakfast bar visually separates the kitchen and living areas

One of my favourite places is the open concept kitchen together with the living room. It’s a big space, and my children and my family members can spend quality time together in this area. I think it’s perfect.

Black and white flooring and a white tiled backsplash add a little bit of ‘country’ to the kitchen

For the wet kitchen, I especially like the white tiled backsplash and also the black and white flooring. It gives the kitchen a more modern country feel, while adding on a lot more character to it.

Lucas: I love my bedroom!

The bright and cheerful junior suite

Sharon: The junior bathroom original had two points of entry, but we decided to close off one door and turn the bedroom into a junior suite. I was initially a little bit apprehensive about the tiles I’d chosen, because I felt the colour may be a little bit too strong. But Sophia was very helpful. She did a 3D drawing for me, which gave me a very good idea of how the tiles would turn out in the junior bathroom.

Sharon’s choice of tiles in the junior suite bathroom was confirmed with the help of a 3D drawing by obliging designer Sophia

I love my master bedroom. It’s really such a luxury of space. It’s a combination of two bedrooms, and I have actually used one bedroom as my master walk-in wardrobe as well as the master bathroom. It is really such a joy to use it very day.

Full-height sliding glass doors admit a soft wash of filtered into the master bedroom

The expansive verandah outside the master bedroom

The wide verandah outside the master bedroom doubles as a safely enclosed play area for Lucas

The spacious walk-in wardrobe

The master bathroom breaks with convention and adjoins the walk-in wardrobe rather than the master bedroom

Light colours and a full-height mirror in the master bathroom enlarge the space

My master bedroom leads out to the open balcony. The view is beautiful, so we wanted to bring nature back into the room, and what we did was remove the fixed glass panels and replace them with sliding glass doors.

The powder room, though small, was a big headache – and ultimately, a big success!

Ironically, the room that gave me the most headaches is actually the smallest room, and it is the powder room. It was important to me because my guests are going to use it, so I wanted it to look beautiful. Sophia helped me a lot by giving me me a lot of ideas and eventually, when I chose the tiles and she did the 3D drawing – and it just turned out great!

HomeRenoGuru: From your first-hand experience, do you have any advice that you would like to share with homeowners contemplating a renovation?

Sharon: From the renovation experience that I had, I would like to share with other homeowners that it is very important to find an ID who listens, who empathises with you, and who can understand what you really want and try to work things out within the budget.

HomeRenoGuru: Would you recommend D’Esprit Interiors to other homeowners looking for an interior design company to renovate their homes?

Sharon: I would definitely recommend D’Esprit Interiors. They have been great. Thank you so much, Sophia and Dennis, for helping me build this beautiful home. This is the very first time I’m renovating my own home, and I’m really so glad I’ve chosen you. Thank you.

Sumathi and Aravindan knew they wanted granite flooring, and Sumathi was particularly concerned about the space constraints of her kitchen. Other than that, they were open to the excellent suggestions of their interior designer, Ben Koh from Darwin Interior. Their openness paid off, and they love their newly renovated home.

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Aravindan and Sumathi
House Type: 5-room HDB BTO Flat
Size of Home: 113 sq/m
Cost of Renovation: $60,000
Duration of Renovation: 2 months
Interior Design Firm: Darwin Interior
Name of Designer(s): Ben Koh

Black granite flooring set the tone for the monochromatic colour scheme of this gracious family home

Happy homeowners Aravinda, Sumathi and their daughter Subashini

HomeRenoGuru: How did you come to engage Darwin Interior to renovate your home?

Sumathi: Our ex-buyer recommended Mr Ben Koh from Darwin Interior. Once we met him, we liked his ideas, his approach and the timeline he gave to us, so we decided to choose Darwin Interior as our ID.

HomeRenoGuru: Did you have a clear vision of what you wanted from your renovation?

Elegant white furnishings and walls enlarge the open concept living area

Sumathi: We gave our brief to Ben when he came here to the new house one day. While looking at our house, I shared some ideas with him. In particular, when I saw the the kitchen, I thought that it was very small, so I wouldn’t be able to keep a lot of things. When I told Ben I wanted a lot of shelves, he had some excellent ideas

The living area flows into the dining area, which flows into the study area

The marbled laminate used throughout the house visually connects the study and dining areas

Aravindan: When we briefed Ben, we had already chosen black granite for our flooring. From there onwards, we decided to go for a black and white theme. For the study room, we didn’t want the separation because it makes the living room smaller, so we went for an open concept.

HomeRenoGuru: How did you find the actual renovation process?

Sumathi: The whole renovation process, Ben updated us by using the Whatsapp group. If we messaged him anything regarding the renovation, he will reply immediately. The maximum time he took is five minutes; minimum is within one minute he will reply.

Reflective surfaces and layered lighting add a luxury feel

Sumathi: Small issue during the renovation process – we overlooked the power points we needed. Later after painting, we moved in, we realised that we need a lot of power points. Once we told Ben about that, he was very accommodating and helped us to solve the problem.

HomeRenoGuru: What do you love most about your renovated home?

The compact kitchen utilises every available inch of space for storage

Sumathi: My favourite place in the house is kitchen, because I thought at first the kitchen was very small, and we coudn’t put a lot of shelving. But Ben gave us a lot of ideas that allowed us to have a lot of shelving, which I was very happy about. We also requested more drawers in the kitchen, and Ben gave us a lot of drawers which are easier to access.

Interior designer Ben optimised the workspace in the study area and neatly concealed the wiring

Aravindan: The study area was planned very well. We can keep two desktops, as well as two laptops, and Ben concealed all the wirings. But still we have some workspace to do writing or reading in the study area.

The master bedroom features a built-in dressing table and mirror

The long wardrobe creates a clear walkway in the master bedroom

Sumathi: During our colour selections, we gave some suggestions to Ben, but he actually recommended two-tone colours on the wall and the wardrobes, which was a very good contrast with the living room’s black and white theme.

Aravindan: My kids also like the two-tone colours for their bedrooms.

Sumathi: And also for the wardrobe, we thought of having an L-shaped wardrobe, but Ben recommended the longer one, which is very good for the walkway in the master room.

At the interior designer’s suggestion, the boy’s bedroom features two tones of blue

Likewise, the girl’s bedroom features two tones of pink

HomeRenoGuru: Do you have any advice you would like to share with homeowners who are considering a home renovation?

Sumathi: My advice to future homeowners – you really need to choose one of the best IDs, someone like Ben.

HomeRenoGuru: Would you recommend Ben Koh and Darwin Interior to other homeowners?

Aravindan: Definitely I would recommend Mr Ben Koh from Darwin Interior, to anyone who’s looking for an interior designer.

Sumathi: In fact, he has already recommended Ben to his colleague during our renovation. A big thank you to Ben and Darwin Interior. We love our home.

Local actress Sheila Sim and her husband Deon Woo reconciled their differing tastes with the help of their interior designer and ‘mediator’ Vincent Li of Starry Homestead. Their house is a brilliant blend of ‘his’ and ‘hers’, with a light, bright living area and a darker, cosier master bedroom. It just goes to show that opposites really do attract.

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Deon Woo and Sheila Sim
House Type: 5-room HDB Resale Flat
Size of Home: 1,400 sq ft
Cost of Renovation: $120,000
Duration of Renovation: 3 months
Interior Design Firm: Starry Homestead Pte Ltd
Name(s) of Designer: Vincent Li

The bright and breezy kitchen, living and dining area

Blissed-out newlyweds and happy homeowners Deon and Sheila

HomeRenoGuru: How did you come to engage Starry Homestead to renovate your home?

Sheila: We found Starry Homestead through HomeRenoGuru. When we were planning for our renovation, we were looking high and low, so we were very happy when we found the HomeRenoGuru portal. It’s very informative, it has a lot of different ID firms, and many, many photos. So as we were going through the different IDs, we found Starry Homestead. We found a lot of other inspiration for the design of our house, as well.

When we met with Starry Homestead, we immediately felt comfortable working with them, as they were very happy with our ideas for the house. The entire working relationship for the three months, I would say, was a very pleasant one. We’d actually heard a lot of scary stories, how people actually fought with their contractors, or with their IDs, and even got into lawsuits. Thankfully, that did not happen to us.

HomeRenoGuru: What was your brief to Vincent?

The view from the entrance, flooded with sunlight

Deon: The starting point for both of us was quite different. She liked the very eclectic kind of design. I started out liking dark tones and an industrial type theme for the house. So it came together – it was a matter of bridging the gap and coming to a middle ground.

Sheila: When it comes to design, it can be so subjective. And men and women, I think most of the time, are just worlds apart. He likes the very manly, bachelor pad kind of design, and when he first showed me a photo reference, I was shocked, because that was hardly how I imagined my house would look.

Deon: Likewise for me.

Sheila: Yeah, likewise for him. When I showed him my design, it was actually a lot of Jonathan Adler inspiration…

Deon: Like – pop, pop, pop!

Sheila: … which was too much for him. He thought, omigod, I’m going to come home to a house and I’ll be dizzy all the time. So in the end, when we had come to a common ground, we decided that we wanted somewhere that was ultimately very homely and cosy, somewhere we can be in all day long and feel comfortable, as well as for the next ten or twenty years of our lives. We decided that the living area is where we’ll be hosting our friends and family, and it should be bright and cheerful and fun.

HomeRenoGuru: Can you share some of the highlights of your renovation?

The recessed area beneath the windows conceals an enormous shoe cabinet

Sheila: Let’s start with our shoe cabinet. As Tiong Bahru has got a lot of recessed areas under the window, we decided to utilise it by turning it into a shoe cabinet.

Deon: Mostly her shoes… 80 percent! Yeah!

Sheila’s pull-out mirror, a must-have for last-minute beauty checks before leaving the house

Sheila’s pull-out mirror, fully extended

Sheila: And now, I will show you my mirror. This is a must-have! I always had a problem with checking my entire outfit before I leave the house, so I knew this is something that I had to have.

Deon: As we wanted to have a proper airflow throughout the house and connect the living space to the dining room, so we knocked out a wall. When we open the windows, the airflow is actually quite windy, so it was perfect.

Sheila: What I really wanted was a walk-in wardrobe, what he really wanted was…

Deon: An open kitchen!

The semi-open adjoins the living and dining area

Concertina-folding panels can be open and closed at will

The functional kitchen has ample cabinets, deep drawers and overhead storage

LED lighting illuminates the workspace

Sheila: But we couldn’t have an open kitchen because we cook quite often, and we wanted to still be able to have a functional, fully closed-up kitchen when we cook, so we installed these concertina-folding glass panels.

The grey wall at the end of the hallway is adorned with an iconic shot of Sheila from her modelling days

Sheila: This grey wall at the end of the hallway segregates the living area and the bedroom, so come on in… If you take a good look, the master bedroom is three rooms combined into one. It is two bedrooms and one storeroom.

The master bedroom is three rooms combined into one

The double basin enables both Sheila and Deon to concurrently claim their own mirror space

And also, you can see here, we have a double basin. That was also something that we knew we wanted to have right from the beginning because initially, when we were dating, we would always share a basin, and he would always be standing behind me, brushing his teeth and fighting for a little space to look at himself in the mirror… This is our dream basin!

Now, let me show you our walk-in wardrobe… Ta-dah!

The walk-in wardrobe doubles as Sheila’s aerial yoga studio

The aerial yoga harness is installed smack-bang in the middle of the walk-in wardrobe

Now this, this is my aerial yoga.

Deon: We kind of like the LED lights, because it gives us the hotel feel. We installed a door here instead of a typical walk-in wardrobe because we were talking to some friends and they told us that if you don’t have a wall, the air-con will really just run and you will use a lot of energy to cool the room, so this is the functional part of it. And we have a glass panel so that the space extends from the master bedroom into the wardrobe.

The common bathroom is compact and functional

Recessed shelving provides handy space for toiletries

The shower alcove includes a niche for body wash, shampoo and conditioner

Every spare inch of wall space has been turned into storage and display space

HomeRenoGuru: How did you find the actual renovation process?

Deon: Vincent was very engaged in the whole design process. And we had different ideas, so Vincent came in as sort of like the mediator. He gave us professional advice, told us what would work and what wouldn’t, and constantly updated us on timelines.

Sheila: And actually I was very impressed with the fact that he was here almost all the time. Because we were both very busy during that time, planning for our wedding, he was always here, taking pictures to reassure us that this was being done, or this is according to timeline, when we were a little behind time or ahead of time, and he would always keep us in the loop. In the beginning, we weren’t very sure how this was going to work, as it’s our first time renovating a house, but after like two weeks, we were very at ease and confident of the progress. It was all really good.

Deon: I would say that the whole process was smooth.

HomeRenoGuru: Do you have any general advice that you would like to share with other homeowners contemplating embarking on a renovation?

Deon: My advice would be, first and foremost, to have a general idea and know what you want. Find the problems, know what are the problems to be solved in the house. That’s what we had – we had problems, and we went to meet IDs for them to propose solutions.

Sheila: And I think it’s also important to be practical about the design, because sometimes when renovating a house you can get over-ambitious about the designs that you want, which may not last in the long run. So I think at the end of the day, it’s still a house. It should still be a very practical and functional thing, above everything else, and I think, always – extra storage, extra storage, extra storage! That would never never ever not be helpful.

HomeRenoGuru: Any parting words?

Sheila: At the end of it, I just wanted to say a big thanks to HomeRenoGuru for introducing Starry Homestead to us. We love our house!

Sheila and Deon together with Starry Homestead’s owner Vincent Li and chief designer Jayne

Though initially Adrian and Felicia thought they wanted a lot of dark colours, their confidence-inspiring designer, Patrick of Promax Design, coaxed them over to ‘the light side’ and persuaded them to embrace lighting to create a cosy ambience. They are delighted with the outcome of their well-lit, modern Victorian renovation. Here is their story.

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Adrian Ang and Felicia Boon
House Type: 3-bedroom + Study Private Condominium
Size of Home: 1,141 sq/ft
Cost of Renovation: $40,000
Duration of Renovation: 1 month
Interior Design Firm: Promax Design Pte Ltd
Name(s) of Designer: Patrick Seeto

Natural light and layered lighting contribute to the uplifting ambience of the living area

Adrian, Felicia, Ace and Arisa

HomeRenoGuru: How did you come to engage Promax Design to renovate your home?

Adrian: I get to know Promax Design and Patrick through a family member’s introduction a number of years ago. He renovated our first home and also my office, and both were very good. This time round, when we got our new home, without hesitation we engaged him again.

HomeRenoGuru: Did you have a clear vision for your new home?

Textured wallpaper and trimmed panelling on the TV feature wall provide a modern Victorian touch

Recessed spotlights lead the eye from the living area down into the hallway

Adrian: When we got our keys to this new home, in fact we were not sure what we actually wanted. In the course of discussions with Patrick, he showed us different themes of designs and styles. We eventually came upon this Victorian style that both of us kind of liked.

Soft, warm light and textured wallpaper continue throughout the hallway

Felicia: Initially we wanted lot of dark colours, like dark brown, dark blue, but Patrick advised that because of the area limitation, the area might look a bit dark and small.

What a difference an extra couple of layers of light make!

Adrian: In order to still keep the cosy feeling but without adopting a very dark theme, he actually suggested to use lightings to create the cosiness. So if you look around the house, you’ll see that we have many different light permutations.

HomeRenoGuru: How did you find the actual renovation process?

Adrian: The renovation process was actually very challenging. By the time we decided on the design to the time when we need it to be completed, it was actually two weeks, because that was when the Chinese New Year started. So a lot of times we had to meet up with Patrick at 10 o’clock at night, and he was so accommodating throughout those two weeks, and he was able to rush out all the necessary things and even minor customisation whenever we needed it.

HomeRenoGuru: How happy were you with the renovation?

Adrian: I’m very satisfied with the entire outcome of this renovation.

HomeRenoGuru: What do you consider the highlights?

The customised Victorian mirror adds a touch of splendor to the dining area and enhances the impression of spaciousness

Adrian: The living room has always been the place where my entire family gather together and I really appreciate what Patrick did to custom-make a classic Victorian mirror. It really gives the Victorian feel.

As we always invite guests to come over to our house, we actually requested Patrick to design and custom-make a settee area where we can actually host more people sitting at the dining area. And this settee area also provides additional storage space for us.

LED strip lighting illuminates the charging station for guests

Felicia: We have this little charging station for our guests and it’s very convenient for them, they can charge as and when they like it.

Ace and Arisa: We love our room!

LED lighting illuminates the short flight of stairs to the upper bunk in the kids’ room

Felicia: For the children’s room, we wanted the kids to be together but at the same time to have their own privacy. So Patrick suggested to have this bunk bed so we can also save space.

Adrian: One of the requests that we had for Patrick is to add LED lights on every single step, so even if it’s at night it’ll be safe for Arisa to go to the toilet and it also doubles up as storage space where the kids can put their clothes and their toys.

The study room features an eye-catching barn door

It does double duty as kids’ play space and Adrian’s man cave

Adrian: But my favourite part of my house is no doubt the study room, for which Patrick designed a very nice barn door, which is very unique. And at the same time, whenever I need my ‘me-time’ I can actually dim the lights and create the atmosphere I need for my personal space.

HomeRenoGuru: Do you have any advice you would like to share with homeowners embarking on a renovation?

Simplicity rules in the restful master bedroom, cloaked in soothing neutrals

A mirrored panel on the wardrobe optically enhances the space

Adrian: I think one of the very important pieces of advice that I can give to homeowners is that the attitude of the ID is very important and how accommodating the ID is will definitely affect the entire outcome of the renovation.

Felicia: The chemistry between the ID and the homeowner is very important so that whatever you say, they’ll know what you’re talking about.

HomeRenoGuru: Would you recommend Patrick and Promax Design to other homeowners?

Relaxing on the balcony, enjoying their home

Adrian: I think it’s really fortunate for us to be able to get to know Patrick and Promax Design. They were so accommodating and, at the end of the day, they gave us the home we wanted. So definitely we recommend them to any homeowners who want to design their home. We would like to say a very big thank you to Promax Design and Patrick in making our dream home come true.

Felicia: And we are looking forward to welcoming our third baby into this beautiful home. Thank you Patrick!

Adrian: And thank you Promax Design!

For international couple Philip and Maria, home is a wonderful collection of memories. The brick-lined walls remind them of previous residences in the United Kingdom, while their grassy, tree-lined garden triggers fond memories of time spent in Australia. After their designers from Meter Square delivered every item on their wish list, they are happily making new memories with their gorgeous little boy Gabriel.

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Philip and Maria Sudbury
House Type: 3-bedroom Private Condominium
Size of Home: 2,500 sq ft
Cost of Renovation: $180,000
Duration of Renovation: 10 weeks
Interior Design Firm: Meter Square Pte Ltd
Name(s) of Designer: May Chang and Lvin Cheok

The split-level, brick-walled living area

Maria, son Gabriel and Philip

HomeRenoGuru: What was the state of your home prior to the renovation?

Philip: While we loved the size of it, and the outdoor space, it did need a lot of work doing to it.

The original living area

Based on the condition of the existing apartment, it was immediately apparent that a major renovation was required

HomeRenoGuru: How did you come to engage Meter Square to renovate your home?

Maria: We did some online research and found a few interior designers. Out of all of them, we felt that Meter Square was the best. They showed us some designs and photos and talked to us about their visions, and we actually loved them.

HomeRenoGuru: What was your design brief to your designers May and Lvin of Meter Square?

The open concept kitchen and living area still allows for a dedicated dining area, defined by a trio o pendant lights

Stairs down to the basement are turned into a feature with an industrial-inspired light fitting

Philip: What we were looking for was a little bit industrial, a little bit retro. We love the brick walls, which remind us of our time in the UK and some of the old properties that we’ve stayed in.

HomeRenoGuru: What was the scope of the structural work undertaken?

Bathrooms are kept minimal and functional, with frameless mirrors and a neutral palette accentuated by black trim

Philip: All the ceilings, flooring and bathrooms were replaced, and the original kitchen wall was hacked to create an open concept feel.

HomeRenoGuru: What do you love most about your renovated home?

Philip: My favourite piece is the kitchen. I really, really like the kitchen. I wouldn’t change anything there.

The kitchen is a cook’s dream, with ample storage and work space, and a large illuminated liquor cabinet

Thoughtful space planning puts everything at arm’s reach, with the fridge and oven at left and the sink at right

Philip: My second favourite place is probably the living area, opening up through the garden. It’s just a great place to chill out on the weekend.

Maria: It’s the same with me, I love the kitchen the most, and the next is the living room because I love the brick walls. So when we open the door, it feels like we’re back in our house in Australia.

The full wall of floor-to-ceiling glass doors allows sunlight to bathe the living area and provides a garden view

Philip: It’s also really breezy. That’s the thing, we’ve been really surprised. We were used to living in places where you have the air-con on all the time. Here, we don’t have the air-con on at all now. You get a really nice breeze through the house – and it’s great.

The master bedroom was original two rooms

The second room became a walk-in wardrobe and study area

Smoked glass sliding doors lead into the master bathroom

Maria: One of my requirements for the master bedroom was to have a walk-in wardrobe. I had a vision in mind when I spoke to May, and she showed me some designs which I loved. One of the things we wanted was to have a full-height glass door in the walk-in wardrobe, which was technically challenging to make. At the end of the day, May managed to customise the sliding door to the height we wanted.

HomeRenoGuru: Do you have any advice you would like to share with homeowners contemplating a renovation?

The spare room is relatively simple, with track lighting and built-in wardrobes

Philip: My recommendations for other homeowners would be take some time upfront, go through magazines, cut out the articles and pictures that you like, put it all together, listen to your interior designer and trust your interior designer.

Brightly coloured artwork and a floor rug add pops of colour to Gabriel’s room, which features a striking dark blue feature wall

HomeRenoGuru: Would you recommend Meter Square and your designers May and Lvin to other homeowners?

Maria: We highly recommend Meter Square. It was great working with them and they were very open to our ideas and to our vision. We faced some issues but they were able to solve the problems really well, and they went way beyond our requests. It was great working with them.

Designers Lvin and May from Meter Square with the happy homeowners

Newlyweds Nigel and Grace shopped around for an ID, gathering and comparing several recommendations from friends. They invested their money and trust in Eight Design, and were thrilled with the results. Here is how their contemporary yet timeless home came to be.

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Nigel Goh and Grace Ler
House Type: 5-room HDB Resale Flat
Size of Home: 1,300 sq/ft
Cost of Renovation: $95,000
Duration of Renovation: 3 months
Interior Design Firm: Eight Design
Name(s) of Designer: Ivan Lau

White, bright and filled with light – the welcoming living area

Happy homeowners Grace and Nigel

HomeRenoGuru: How did you come to engage Eight Design to renovate your home?

Nigel: We consulted our friends and we got five or six recommendations from them. And eventually we settled on Eight Design, and in particular Ivan, who was a recommendation from a colleague. We went to see him and we felt that the process was very good, he was very meticulous. And we liked the way that he knew what we wanted in the design. I was impressed that Ivan used a ruler to measure the floor plan even in our first meeting.

Grace: And he also gave importance to our project, because he would reply to us very promptly, faster than the rest of the IDs.

HomeRenoGuru: Did you have a clear picture of how you wanted your home to be renovated?

Loose wooden furniture adds warmth to the coolness of marble and marble-like laminates

Nigel: We wanted something that was classic and timeless, something that would be evergreen and incorporated marble and wood finishings. We weren’t sure what it was called when we first met Ivan, and we learnt from him subsequently that the theme was called modern contemporary.

HomeRenoGuru: How was the actual renovation process?

Grace: During the renovation period, we were actually supposed to go for a three and a half week honeymoon, so Ivan actually ensured that we chose everything before we left. So he set up a WhatsApp group chat and then we were kept updated of the progress regularly.

Nigel: And then when we came back from our honeymoon, the house was 50 – 60% completed, so we were very happy with the progress.

HomeRenoGuru: What are your favourite parts of your renovated home?

The pristine study is Nigel’s favourite room in the house

When the sliding doors are opened, the study merges with the living area

Nigel: The place I like most in this house is the study room. Ivan made sure that it’s very conducive for us to work in, because we work a lot at home. And he designed it in such a way that, by using sliding doors, it gives a very open feel to it and it makes it look a lot more spacious.

A small bar counter provides seating for two outside the kitchen

A cosy corner for chilling

An interplay of vertical and diagonal angles adds visual interest to a simple colour scheme

Grace: The part I like the most is the island and the bar counter. It’s a very cosy corner to chill when my friends come over. And because it’s so close to the bar, it’s very easy to get a refill.

The simplicity of the master bedroom creates a restful haven

A padded bedhead evokes a hotel-like feel

Nigel: We both like our master bedroom but we felt that the original location of it was not very good because the windows were too small. And we wanted to combine two bedrooms together and include a walk-in wardrobe.

Grace: Ivan also gave a very good suggestion – to sleep in the second bedroom instead because there are bigger windows that let in more light. Also he suggested that the walk-in wardrobe should be in the original master bedroom because it’s closer to the bathroom, so it’s more convenient for us. Ivan actually set aside a section of the wardrobe for us to put out our clothes that we plan to wear for the next day.

Two rooms were joined to create a master bedroom and spacious walk-in wardrobe

The luxurious walk-in wardrobe accommodates a dressing table and an open rack for storing the next day’s pre-selected garments

The walk-in wardrobe accommodates the entrance to the master bathroom

Nigel: Another of Ivan’s good suggestions was to hack down the original storeroom and replace it with full height storage cabinets. And because my wife and I both play golf, he made sure that it was big enough to accommodate both our golf bags.

Warm wood laminate encloses floor-to-ceiling storage

Ample space for the couple’s golf clubs

HomeRenoGuru: Do you have any advice that you would like to share with homeowners contemplating a renovation?

Nigel: I would advise homeowners to visit as many IDs as time would permits because in doing so, you’ll get an idea of how you’ll want your house to look like.

A profusion of wooden textures ‘warms up’ the kitchen

A gleaming stainless steel fridge creates a contrast of textures with the wooden and white laminates

Grace: My advice would be, not to rush through the renovation process, so that you allow the ID actually more time to do his best and also we should just enjoy the process of the renovation.

The common and master bedrooms share a common colour scheme and mix of materials

HomeRenoGuru: Would you recommend Eight Design and Ivan to other homeowners looking for an interior design company?

Nigel: Yes, of course. We are very happy with Ivan and Eight Design for the work that they have done with our house. Ivan is very meticulous and he pays a lot of attention to the very fine details. We look forward to starting a new chapter in our beautiful home!

Grace: Thank you, Ivan!

Nigel: Thank you, Eight Design!

Elsie and Alex love their bright and beautiful little nest for two. Though they knew they wanted a colourful, comfortable home, their vision was only clarified after a series of discussions with their brilliant young interior designer, Lucas of Hue Concept. They clicked, and the results speak for themselves.

Project Snapshot

Name(s) of Homeowner(s): Alex Sin and Elsie Goh
House Type: 1 + 1-bedroom Private Condominium
Size of Home: 52 sq m
Cost of Renovation: $25,000
Duration of Renovation: 6 weeks
Interior Design Firm: Hue Concept Interior Design
Name(s) of Designer: Lucas Ma

Pops of colour brighten the open concept kitchen and living area

L to R: Hue Concept’s interior designer Lucas, Elsie and Alex

Track lighting, cove lighting and natural sunlight illuminate the bright space

HomeRenoGuru: How did you come to engage Hue Concept Interior Design for the renovation of your home?

Elsie: Some time late last year we actually got our key to our new apartment and we were hunting around for interior design companies to do up our house. I would say that I considered myself lucky when, towards the tail end of our search for ID companies, I had a little chat with my colleague in the office pantry. When she learned that I was looking for an ID, she immediately introduced Hue Concept to me.

When we met up in the Hue Concept office, we were quite surprised to see that Lucas was such a young chap, but that didn’t stop us from moving forward with him. And what we like about him is his pleasant disposition.
He really put us at ease, and we felt very comfortable speaking with him. We also liked his fresh ideas and his versatility in designing.

HomeRenoGuru: Did you have a clear vision of what you wanted in your renovation?

Elsie: When we sat down with Lucas we didn’t have a crystal-clear idea. We shared with him that what we wanted is a place that is vibrant, colourful, comfortable and homely.

HomeRenoGuru: Can you single out what you love most about your renovated home?

The dressing room doubles as a passage to the master bedroom

An accessories display cabinet is flanked by two slim closets with a pull-out mirror

Elsie: I would say that I actually love every corner of my house, but if you want me to really choose a place, that corner that I really love, I would guess I would say it’s my changing room, a place I walk into and use every day.

The TV feature wall adjoins a display cabinet and liquor cabinet

Alex: For me, my favourite part of the house is the living room, sitting on my favourite couch, looking at the TV, which integrates very well with the TV feature wall.

The master bedroom accommodates a second TV for Elsie, whose viewing habits differ dramatically from her husband’s

Sliding mirrored doors on the wardrobe visually enlarge the space

Classic white walls and woodwork are warmed up by honey-toned wooden flooring

Elsie: We like to watch different programmes so usually when we get home he will be in the living room and I will move into the bedroom to watch my favourite TV programme.

Elsie loves her floor-to-ceiling shoe cabinet

She occupies the lion’s share of the space with her impressive collection

Elsie: Another area that I really love is my shoe cabinet. As you know, we ladies tend to have lots and lots of shoes and bags, so I actually shared this with Lucas and this is what he gave me!

A compact balcony adjoins and expands the living area

HomeRenoGuru: Do you have any general advice for homeowners contemplating a renovation?

Alex: My advice for homeowners is, firstly, you should have some ideas, at least a general idea of what you want, and then do some research on the IDs. You can compare their ideas, their quotations, their work and most importantly, I think you need to go to their ongoing projects, to see their workmanship. That’s very important.

HomeRenoGuru: Would you recommend Hue Concept Interior Design and your designer Lucas to other homeowners?

Alex: I would strongly recommend Lucas from Hue Concept. His team of workers are very professional and their workmanship is very good. I appreciate it, and I love my home very much. Kudos to you, Lucas.

Happy homeowners Alex and Elsie with their interior designer Lucas – in the mood for celebration!