The more interior designer Ong Jia Qi's home matures, the more playful and vibrant it becomes. The three-bedroom apartment was first decorated five years ago with "a Zen look inspired greatly by The Life Shop". Then came his two bouncing baby girls, now aged four and three. "My style matured, and I wanted to inject more colour and some gold," says the 32-year-old, who prefers to be known as JQ.

From the start, he and his wife Pearlyn favoured loose furniture over built-ins and fixtures for flexibility. "We can buy and sell pieces, or rearrange things when we need to," he says.

The home's vintage flavour is enhanced by local finds like a 1950s wardrobe from David Antiques, old wooden stools JQ found outside a flat, and brass electric switches purchased in Australia.

The house is "80 per cent done", according to JQ. All that's left is to polish the compressed marble flooring as five years of wear has worn it down. His modus operandi in his design work for clients is not to stick to one style - and it looks like this designer walks the talk.