Condo / Apartments
Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: An Almost-Minimalist Apartment With Hidden Storage
Five adults and their belongings make the move from landed house to condo living without sacrificing on style or comfort
Moving from a landed house to an apartment in anticipation of their grown-up children leaving the nest, this family had a lot of things that needed proper storage. They called on Artistroom‘s Katy Chong and Mark Chen to customise the three-bedroom resale condominium they had bought. Chen says, “Storage was essential in designing this place”. In fact, he says that the design brief was “about allocating and categorising storage space around the place”.
Artistroom reconfigured the apartment’s layout to create this sleek, sophisticated space, and to house plenty of new, concealed storage. Chen says that numerous walls were knocked down, and the balcony doors changed to open up the view.
Reconfiguring the layout created an open-plan living and dining area, and allowed the team to design multi-functional built-ins in the living area. The TV console, for example, stretches the length of the living area, and provides adequate storage for personal knick-knacks. On the wall behind the sofa, they cantilevered a multi-purpose ledge. Chen says, “We built the ledge behind the sofa to be as user-friendly as possible. The owners like art and pictures, and they enjoy entertaining. What this ledge does is that it allows the homeowners to place artwork or ornaments on the ledge; at the same time, it is a sitting area for guests or for themselves.”
Reconfiguring the layout created an open-plan living and dining area, and allowed the team to design multi-functional built-ins in the living area. The TV console, for example, stretches the length of the living area, and provides adequate storage for personal knick-knacks. On the wall behind the sofa, they cantilevered a multi-purpose ledge. Chen says, “We built the ledge behind the sofa to be as user-friendly as possible. The owners like art and pictures, and they enjoy entertaining. What this ledge does is that it allows the homeowners to place artwork or ornaments on the ledge; at the same time, it is a sitting area for guests or for themselves.”
The dining area is the first thing you now see when you enter the apartment; a logical change to bring it closer to the kitchen. Timber slats resembling a trellis help to demarcate the space and make it feel cosier.
The tall rectangle beside the main door, on the right side of this photo, is a full-height shoe cabinet for the homeowners’ large collection.
The tall rectangle beside the main door, on the right side of this photo, is a full-height shoe cabinet for the homeowners’ large collection.
The kitchen was completely refurbished, following the clean lines and neutral palette that highlight the view outside. Chen says that pre-renovation, the apartment had a “back to the eighties kind of look.”
At the moment, three grown-up children still live with the homeowners. The youngest, 22, is a product design student, so her shared bedroom has to accommodate her drafting table. Keeping the tight space clean-lined and uncluttered, bookshelves were built above the wardrobe, with a movable ladder built for access.
The other bedroom was designed with a convertible built-in bed that goes from a single bed to a queen.
To maintain the clean look and maximise the tight space efficiently, the cabinet doors sit on Italian hardware that allow the doors to slide smoothly and close flushed in a straight line.
To maintain the clean look and maximise the tight space efficiently, the cabinet doors sit on Italian hardware that allow the doors to slide smoothly and close flushed in a straight line.
The master bedroom enjoys an equally uncluttered look with pocket sliding doors for the walk-in wardrobe and ensuite bathroom, and built-in storage under the customised bed and bedside tables.
The design team chose light hues for the homogeneous tiles and all the laminate and veneer for the cabinetry.
The design team chose light hues for the homogeneous tiles and all the laminate and veneer for the cabinetry.
These wood-grained tiles in the master ensuite make the transition from bedroom to bathroom seamless, and yet are easy to care for.
TELL US
What do you like most about this home? Let us know in the Comments section below.
TELL US
What do you like most about this home? Let us know in the Comments section below.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of five adults
Location: Telok Blangah
Size: Approximately 160-167 square metres (1,722-1,800 square feet)
With a knack for ingenious space planning, the design team started by identifying what the homeowners wanted to bring from their old home, and into which rooms these would go. A clean-lined, almost-minimalist look was in order, to play up the million-dollar harbour view, so storage was to be as hidden as possible.