Home Tour: $80,000 Renovation for a 60-year-old decorator's 2-bedroom condo in Bayshore Park
This bachelor’s home is a canvas for his collection of artworks, styling pieces and travel mementoes.
By Lynn Tan -
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Homeowner of this Bayshore Park condo, Mike Tan, is the owner of Eggthree, a lifestyle concept store that focuses on Korean and Hong Kong fashion. Besides fashion, Egg3 also curates home décor items for retail and its home styling department, whose portfolio includes residential homes, developer show flats and retail concepts for malls and brand owners.
Being in the business of fashion retail and home decorating, homeowner Mike has honed an aesthetic sensibility that he put to good use in designing his own home two years ago. The 60-year-old decided to take on the project personally rather than leave it to an interior designer. “I felt that I needed to design the home myself as I know my needs and wants best.
Who lives here: A 60-year-old home decorator
Home: A 2-bedroom condominium in Bayshore Park
Size: 1,080 sq ft
Interior designer: Homeowner
Living room in a 1,080 sq ft 2-bedroom Bayshore Park condo.
Irregular floor plan
With an irregular-shaped floor plan that results in numerous odd corners, coupled with a smaller unit size as the unit is a two-bedroom condo unit, space planning was not as straightforward. Apart from identifying his own requirements in terms of lifestyle and preferences, homeowner Mike also had to have a thorough understanding of the existing layout in order to figure out how best to optimise the space.
He combined the two original bathrooms into one larger bathroom that can be accessed from the living room and master bedroom, effectively serving as both an attached and a common bathroom. One of the existing bedrooms has been reduced in size and converted into a storeroom since the bachelor only requires one bedroom. Doing so not only provided him with more storage space, but also widened the corridor.
A collection of the homeowner's travel souvenirs displayed on an open shelf in this 1,080 sq ft 2-bedroom Bayshore Park condo.
Travel inspired home
As an avid shopper and traveller, Mike sought inspiration from his travels when designing his home, which sports a modern rustic style with resort vibes. “The home reflects my signature design style. However, style aside, the home must also be cosy and comfortable,” he emphasises.
A console with decor in this 1,080 sq ft 2-bedroom Bayshore Park condo.
Monochrome interior design
Dotted around the home are pieces that he has collected from his trips abroad, which evoke fond memories of treasured moments overseas. This is the reason why he opted for a colour scheme comprising whites, greys and blacks - to allow the travel mementoes and styling products to stand out against a monochromatic backdrop.
He also tried to minimise built-in carpentry and gravitated more towards loose furniture and fixtures so that he can re-arrange the pieces and re-style the interior as and when he pleases. These comprise a mix of pieces from his existing collection, as well as new ones that he acquired from Marquis, Xtra and Grafunkt among others.
Framed artwork hanging on the wall in this 1,080 sq ft 2-bedroom Bayshore Park condo.
Displaying artwork at home
Greeting visitors in the entrance foyer is the first of many artworks displayed around the home. The artist is a friend of Mike’s from Chiang Mai, and the art has taken centrestage in Mike’s past few homes. Its size and bold black background creates a strong visual focus the moment you cross the threshold.
Living and dining space in a 1,080 sq ft 2-bedroom Bayshore Park condo.
Living room
The living room is where Mike’s friends gather when they come over, so he deliberated at length as to the appropriate furniture pieces for this space to achieve a cosy ambience. “I tried to create a timeless and eclectic style that is modern, chic and with a touch of resort essence,” he points out.
An open-concept design works best for the odd-shaped kitchen. A peninsula kitchen island serves multiple purposes - as a dining counter, a bar, for baking and as a spatial divider between the kitchen and the living room.
The design focus for the master bedroom was to keep things simple and clean, cosy and comfortable. He managed to carve out space for a walk-in wardrobe to accommodate his sizeable and prized fashion collection. The enlarged bathroom also incorporates storage that keeps clutter at bay.
Outdoor patio in this 1,080 sq ft 2-bedroom Bayshore Park condo.
$80,000 Renovation budget
Designing his own Bayshore park condo and personal sanctuary has been a “therapeutic and inspiring experience” for Mike. The renovation took about two months and cost him about $80,000, including furniture and furnishings. However, it was not without its challenges.
“I sometimes found myself overthinking things, which hindered my decision-making. It is important to stay focused,” he shares. The difference between working on his own home versus a client’s home is that with clients, he can only try to influence and convince them, but he cannot decide for them, unlike in his own home. “This is why I only take on projects with like-minded clients who appreciate my style,” he says.
His take on interior design is that there are no hard and fast rules: “Logical space planning is key. Adopt a less is more approach to the colour palette and furnishing. Accentuate the space with artifacts and greenery that personify your own style and preferences.”