Houzz Tour: Country Style Goes Modern in This Flat's Radical Reno
A kitschy 5-room resale flat is transformed by a carefully considered modern-country theme
Chiquit Brammall
1 September 2017
Design journalist and freelance editor. Dollhouse architect. Serial renter.
If this five-room flat could talk, it would be effusive in gratitude to its new homeowner – her vision of a modern country home that’s “bright, airy, cosy and with plenty of space and storage” was just the extreme makeover it needed.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A school teacher and her pet
Location: Choa Chu Kang
Size: Approx. 1,399 square feet (130 square metres)
Project duration: over 2 months
Who lives here: A school teacher and her pet
Location: Choa Chu Kang
Size: Approx. 1,399 square feet (130 square metres)
Project duration: over 2 months
Previously the flat wore a melange of neo-classic false columns atop classic plaster balusters, pastel eight-point star-patterned tiles, glass blocks and mismatched furniture.
“The homeowner was very specific about the colour scheme and the flow she wanted for the home,” says DB Studio representative Ifa Indra. “Our designer Jason Quek consulted with her to determine the feasibility of her ideas, then proposed his ideas and gave her alternative options when there were certain things that she wanted but couldn’t be done.”
“The homeowner was very specific about the colour scheme and the flow she wanted for the home,” says DB Studio representative Ifa Indra. “Our designer Jason Quek consulted with her to determine the feasibility of her ideas, then proposed his ideas and gave her alternative options when there were certain things that she wanted but couldn’t be done.”
Reconfiguring the layout so that it fulfilled the homeowner’s brief for spaciousness and storage was the first step for this extreme makeover.
To create a semi-open-concept common space, the false column-wall was discarded. The dining area was repositioned next to the kitchen for a more logical flow and can now be opened up or closed off via its folding windows and doors. The living area is easily accessed through the dining area, but enjoys a bit of privacy from the foyer due to a divider of ventilation blocks. The master bedroom reclaimed space from a smaller bedroom so that it now has a luxurious seven-door wardrobe.
To create a semi-open-concept common space, the false column-wall was discarded. The dining area was repositioned next to the kitchen for a more logical flow and can now be opened up or closed off via its folding windows and doors. The living area is easily accessed through the dining area, but enjoys a bit of privacy from the foyer due to a divider of ventilation blocks. The master bedroom reclaimed space from a smaller bedroom so that it now has a luxurious seven-door wardrobe.
To demarcate the foyer from the dining area, wood-accent tiles were laid in a herringbone pattern like a runway. Shoe cabinets line one wall of the foyer, while the ventilation block wall serves as a divider between it and the living room.
Indra says, “This was requested by the client as this wall cannot be totally removed as a third of the wall is load-bearing, and cannot be hacked. This meant it is not possible to fully open living space. To have a full cement wall is not ideal, as it would make the space feel closed in. And having one part open with the wide column in the middle of the living area would make the layout awkward. Our solution adds an interesting element to an otherwise straightforward layout.” True to their name, the ventilation blocks also help keep the common space airier, as the homeowner requested.
Tiles: Hafary; Vinyl flooring: Europe Unique; Ventilation tiles: Khiang Hor
Indra says, “This was requested by the client as this wall cannot be totally removed as a third of the wall is load-bearing, and cannot be hacked. This meant it is not possible to fully open living space. To have a full cement wall is not ideal, as it would make the space feel closed in. And having one part open with the wide column in the middle of the living area would make the layout awkward. Our solution adds an interesting element to an otherwise straightforward layout.” True to their name, the ventilation blocks also help keep the common space airier, as the homeowner requested.
Tiles: Hafary; Vinyl flooring: Europe Unique; Ventilation tiles: Khiang Hor
The homeowner selected her own furniture, as well as set the colour palette for her modern-country-themed home. “She has good taste when it comes to choosing the items she wants to showcase in her home,” says Indra.
In addition to the folding kitchen doors, the peninsula counter also has a bank of folding windows to give the homeowner the option of opening up the kitchen to the dining area or closing it off to contain cooking aromas.
Kitchen windows and door: Astro Glass
In addition to the folding kitchen doors, the peninsula counter also has a bank of folding windows to give the homeowner the option of opening up the kitchen to the dining area or closing it off to contain cooking aromas.
Kitchen windows and door: Astro Glass
A frosted glass door and glass blocks kept the old kitchen depressingly dark. DB Studio demolished all that and made the service yard part of the kitchen.
“The kitchen is truly the star of this home”, designer Jason Quek says. As the homeowner wanted to keep the original L-shaped layout, he repeated the folding glass doors as folding black-framed windows. “The kitchen wall was hacked slightly higher than the kitchen cabinets, a counter-ledge was also extended onto the wall so that when the glass doors and windows are fully open, there is the option of having a small breakfast bar, extra kitchen countertop space or extra space for guests to sit when they crowd around the dining area.”
White quartz countertops were used with white subway tiles, contrasted by the homeowner’s choice of blue Shaker-style cabinets.
Hood and hob: La Germania & Bertazzoni; Mixer: Otto; Tiles: Hafary; Vinyl flooring: Europe Unique; Countertop: IQuartz; Cabinet handles: Lavavella
White quartz countertops were used with white subway tiles, contrasted by the homeowner’s choice of blue Shaker-style cabinets.
Hood and hob: La Germania & Bertazzoni; Mixer: Otto; Tiles: Hafary; Vinyl flooring: Europe Unique; Countertop: IQuartz; Cabinet handles: Lavavella
By opening up the kitchen to the service yard, both areas enjoy ample daylight and natural ventilation.
The living area feels extra-spacious and restful because the corridor to the bedrooms is left spare and simple, and the homeowner eschewed a built-in entertainment feature wall for a no-frills console and wall-mounted TV.
This odd-shaped bedroom was reclaimed for the master bedroom’s seven-door wardrobe.
A darker shade of the kitchen cabinet blue adds colour to the master bedroom, and contrasts the wardrobe’s grey finish.
Cabinet handles: Lavavella
Cabinet handles: Lavavella
Both bathrooms were given a fresh infusion of tiles and shower enclosures and fixtures that matched the homeowner’s modern-country blues style.
Bathroom accessories: Hupfarri Hardware; Shower screen: Astro Glass; Tiles: Hafary; Carpenter: Teo Brothers
TELL US
What did you find most striking about this home? Share in the Comments below.
Bathroom accessories: Hupfarri Hardware; Shower screen: Astro Glass; Tiles: Hafary; Carpenter: Teo Brothers
TELL US
What did you find most striking about this home? Share in the Comments below.
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Hi Chiquit, nice color scheme on the kitchen! Grey and blue is what I like most. May I know if you have any idea what are the exact two names of the colours of the kitchen cabinet? The grey and blue. I assume it is laminate. Thanks, daniel