Home Tour: A small family’s nostalgic Mid-Century Modern 4-room HDB in Bidadari
Patterned tiles, thrifted furniture, and an earthy aesthetic come together to form the design narrative for this family home.
By Home & Decor Team -
Vintage meets mid-century modern in this 4-room BTO flat at Alkaff Crescent, home to a young family of three. Designed by Rashi Tulshyan and Melissa Wan of Home Philosophy, the home radiates old-school charm, thanks to an earthy palette and carefully-chosen thrifted pieces.
The family also wanted plenty of storage and a greater focus on the communal areas since they spend most of their time there. To address this, Rashi suggested incorporating custom carpentry for the areas that needed it. "We needed to think of smart ways to create extra storage space while having them hidden to prevent the entire home from looking too "boxed-up" and bulky," he says.
Home: A 4-room HDB BTO flat in Alkaff Crescent
Size: 93 sqm
Who lives here: A couple with their young child
Interior Designer: Home Philosophy
To open up the space, interior designers Rashi and Melissa incorporated an open-concept kitchen with an island. The choice of patterned tiles adds to the vintage look, complemented by the earthy wood and deep green hues.
"This open-concept kitchen allows for the homeowners to easily entertain their guests at the dining while food prepping," the team says. " It also allows for natural sunlight to come in from all directions, making the communal area more spacious."
A tiled kitchen backsplash, reminiscent of old-school glass mosaic bricks, completes the look.
In the dining area, the Home Philosophy interior design team custom-designed this bench to maximise storage space. A thrifted table from an old-school kopitiam adds a touch of nostalgic charm.
To conceal the household shelter, the team fitted a pegboard wall next to the front door. This helps the homeowners maximise vertical space by giving them a flexible place to display their book collection and the baby's toys.
The pegboard style allows the homeowners to rearrange their display space whenever they feel like it, a sensible design choice that can accommodate the growing family. Next to it, a sliding door with a full-length mirror enhances the spaciousness of the interior.
It's the little touches that matter.
To create a welcoming and aesthetically pleasing entrance feature, interior designers Rashi and Melissa swapped out the original door concealing the electrical DB box for this one, using natural handwoven rattan that was sourced from one of the last rattan weavers in Singapore.
At the bottom are shelves for the homeowners to store their shoes.
For visual continuity, deep green tiles were used in the master bathroom, creating a soothing, earthy vibe with a touch of boutique-hotel luxe.
A custom-made settee bench in the master bedroom gives the homeowners room to sit and enjoy the view out of the window, while doubling as storage space.
To highlight the area, interior designers Rashi and Melissa chose to colour-block the wall for contrast.
This article first appeared on Home and Decor in 2022, and has been edited for formatting.