6 Singapore Interior Designers Show Us Their Own Homes

When they don't have to fulfil a client's wish list, what do designers consider must-have features in a house?

Chiquit Brammall 16 July 2021

Design journalist and freelance editor. Dollhouse architect. Serial renter.

Wee Studio Pte Ltd

1.
Pro: Wee Studio‘s Yeo See Wee and JJ Yip, husband and wife team

Home: 5-room HDB flat in Sengkang

Design concept: “We wanted a sleek, sexy look for our apartment, yet maintain a cosy and homely vibe. It is important that we can unwind in our home comfortably, in an environment that is aesthetically pleasing and imbued with good design qualities,” says Yeo.

Features:

Mirror panels cover the stretch of ceiling above the sofa and coffee table and give the illusion of a much higher ceiling.
A dark colour scheme – a palette of greys, blacks and various wood tones – is neither constricting nor overwhelming because the mirrored surfaces reflect abundant daylight.
Patterned tiles break up the monochrome colour palette.
Sliding door tracks are concealed and cupboards and drawers are handle-less for a polished effect.
The kitchen is designed for entertaining (rather than daily cooking).
There is a work-from-home space.

Joey Khu Interior Design

2.
Pro: Joey Khu

Home: 1-bedroom condo in the East Coast

Design concept: A boutique hotel appeal using swish materials such as tinted mirrors, mosaic tiles, and lush woodgrain finishes sets the stage for Khu’s iconic favourites such as Frank Lloyd Wright‘s Taliesin 2 Floor Lamp. “I like to use small details like artwork or decorative objects as a talking point. With a small space like mine, you can’t afford to inject colour through bigger fixtures. It would be too overwhelming,” he says.

Joey Khu Interior Design

Features:

Walls are clad in KD veneer panels sporting beautiful woodgrain because “I’m not a fan of white walls,” says Khu.
Striped wallpaper with a subtle texture tempers the moodiness of the darker woodgrain finish.
The now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t galley kitchen features a polished monochromatic colour scheme using reflective surfaces that preserve the light in the room.
Minor yet clever reconfiguration of spaces: Rejigging the bedroom and bathroom entrances created a better configuration with more storage.

KNQ Associates

3.
Pro: Stan Tham of KNQ Associates

Home: 3-bedroom condo in Upper Serangoon

Design concept: “I wanted a place that would reflect my personality, and fit all the basic requirements and needs of my wife and myself. It should also be a place where I can store and display my collection of art, toys and books in a harmonious manner,” Tham says.

Features:

As he bought the condo unit pre-built, Tham was able to modify the layout to his spatial requirements, making circulation more efficient.
Full-height mirror panels amplify the light and create the illusion that the foyer is wider than it is.
Tham demolished the kitchen island counter and built a lower dual-purpose dining table and kitchen worktop. “The dining table was made using geometric tiles I found in a local tile shop, overlaid with a clear glass for protection,” he says.
A loft was built in the second bedroom. “I call this room my man cave,” Tham says. At the entrance, a caveman decal based on anonymous street artist Banksy’s work declares the room’s purpose.

Urban Habitat Design

4.
Pro: Alen Ng of Urban Habitat Design

Home: 5-room HDB flat in Whampoa Road

Design concept: Ng had the difficult task of renovating the five-room resale HDB he shares with his older brother and sister-in-law who own the house, and their parents. With input from the owners and his elders, he settled on a contemporary-meets-rustic theme. “I wanted to give the house a cosy, darker, rustic edge – to avoid the too-sleek look of modern contemporary spaces, without going fully industrial. With colours and materials more raw and natural, the impression is that the house looks a bit worn yet still has that ‘timeless’ look,” he says.

Features:

Wood laminate and cement-look finishes make the foyer, living and dining areas warm and cosy. Long windows ensure that daylight fills the space.
Black metal-framed glass doors were installed to demarcate the study-game room (for occasional mahjong and board game sessions), while still allowing natural light to filter into the dining area.
Pocket doors in the kitchen allow the owners to keep the space open for entertaining purposes, or closed to prevent cooking fumes from wafting into the social spaces. The layout of the new kitchen was also modified for efficiency.
Wood laminate features in the bedrooms add warmth and texture as well as highlight architectural details.

Free Space Intent

5.
Pro: Raymond Seow of Free Space Intent

Home: 998-square-foot (93-square-metre) condo in Upper Thomson Road

Design concept: “It’s not a showroom; it’s a collection of things that I enjoy. It has to make me happy; not somebody else. That’s what a home should be. And this home is a collection of colours and materials that I like. It’s my personal museum.”,” says Seow.

Features:

Geometric feature walls that Seow himself hand-crafted: in the living room aquamarine mosaic tiles form an irregular pattern that the designer describes as installation art. “The tiles are laid in an organic pattern. I allowed it speak to me and form itself naturally, instead of over-planning its eventual shape. It looks disarmingly simple, but it took an entire day to finish. All I had was an idea that the wall would be irregular. So I spent the entire day working on it.” Seow also painted a polygon of pastel shades on the facing wall.
Other unconventional wall treatments: the master bedroom has a padded geometric headboard-feature wall and the guest bedroom has an Oriental wallpaper that depicts a spring scene.
Outdoor dining in the balcony is enhanced by the hanging and potted plants, while a washbasin there makes it easy to tend to the plants and serve an impromptu alfresco meal.
Built-in storage solutions allowed Seow to incorporate his pastel designs into the details of these features.

Groundwork

6.
Pro: Zongye Lee and Yu Ying Goh, the husband-and-wife team behind Groundwork

Home: 2,100-square-foot (195-square-metre) duplex unit in Newton

Design concept: “We saw lots of potential with this property, originally built in the 1960s,” the couple says. They call their home the “Donut House” because the spaces surround a central light well, with “the floor plan looking much like an abstract donut,” around which they based the entire renovation. Simple and clutter-free decorating, with streamlined pieces in black and wood tones, indicates a modern industrial theme.

Groundwork

The owner-designers created their own art for the walls, using scans of the original house’s blueprints laid on colour.

Features:

A walled central light well with louvered windows was opened up, the walls replaced with full-height sliding glass doors to bring in more light to the surrounding spaces and make the house feel more open and inviting.
To keep both cost and demolition noise down, concrete-look floor tiles were laid in a random pattern over the existing, chipped mosaic flooring.
Hardwood timber decking was installed in the central light well – now a ‘courtyard’ outdoor space with more functionality. “We can even have al fresco dining in the comfort of our home!” says Goh. A frosted glass roof was installed to draw daylight into the unit below, while still maintaining their privacy.
The kitchen floor level was raised to match the living/dining area for continuous flow. Appliances were also built in for a neat and fuss-free look.
Bathrooms were reconfigured for convenience and to draw in more natural light.

Read more: A Major Revamp Casts New Light on This 4-Bedroom Home

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