Home Tour: A high flyer couple’s $100,000 renovation for their 3-bedroom condo in Bukit Timah
This is a home that truly reflects the homeowners- who they are, what they do, and the things that they hold dear.
By Lynn Tan -
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While interior design platforms, websites and social media are awash with minimalist styles, homeowners Sean Tan and Michelle Ngiam were leaning towards something at the opposite end of the aesthetic spectrum, something that is audacious, expressive and distinctly maximalist. Think bold colours, striking wallpaper, rich textures and rustic elements.
Beyond simply following trends and more than just how the home looks, it is important to the couple how the home makes them feel when they walk through the door and it has to tell their story. “We want our home to reflect who we are as a family- warm, adventurous, a little nostalgic and full of personality,” says Michelle.
Who Lives Here: A couple and their two children
Home: A 3-bedroom condominium at Duchess Avenue
Size: 1,582 sqf
Indeed, the home is a marriage of the couple’s character traits. 43-year-old Sean is the founder of a management consultancy firm and also a director of a company that provides business resilience and crisis management solutions. He values functionality, flow and purpose, which helped guide how the various spaces were planned to suit the family’s lifestyle and needs.
As for Michelle, who is 38 years old and an executive senior financial consultant, her belief in “living with purpose, designing with heart and creating beauty in the everyday” not only influenced the interior design of the home, but was also the driving force behind her founding of a holistic wellness platform.
“It honours both our personalities- my love for warmth, character and storytelling, and Sean’s vision for thoughtful, well- executed design. Together, it becomes a home that supports who we are and whowe are becoming, as individuals, as a couple and as a family,” she highlights.
Renostud.io Review
After visiting six to seven interior design firms, the couple eventually decided to work with Jeremy, the director of Renostud.io. He was one of only one or two interior designers whom they regarded as being able to think out of the box and incorporate their unconventional ideas into a coherent proposal, while keeping within budget.
Safari-Style Interior Design
The key inspiration behind the design comes from the family’s safari trip to South Africa a few years ago when their older daughter, now seven years old, was four. The experience of being surrounded by nature and being up close with wildlife left an indelible impression on them and they want their home to revolve around rustic, nature-inspired, safari-like elements that will serve as daily reminders of that special trip.
Every room in the home features dramatic wallpaper that sets it apart from the rest whilst also establishing a common thread through their consistent safari and nature motifs. Each wallpaper was carefully selected to complement the respective rooms while staying true to the theme. They give each room its unique character, enrich the storytelling and add visual interest.
Dining Room Design
The dining room sits against wallpaper with a repetitive rhythm of ferns against a black background on the upper section of the wall. The bottom half is kept simple, with a wainscoting feature, to balance the composition and painted in a deep green that echoes the colour of the ferns.
Paired with a rectangular timber dining table with a herringbone pattern are four mismatched dining chairs from Anthropologie. Michelle fell in love with them at first sight and had them shipped from the US. Two are in solid colours while the other two are artistic depictions of animals in a jungle setting that inject a sense of adventure and whimsy.
Living Room Design
The green wainscoting continues in the living room, but instead of having the wallpaper cover the entire upper section of the wall, it fills the centre of each wainscoting panel to create a framing effect. The monochromatic representation of jungle foliage is executed in a style that resembles etching to achieve a soft, yet highly contrasting effect within the space.
Ceiling Beams
Timber ceiling beams add a rustic touch, but also serve a practical purpose: “The beams house the recessed lighting. Together with the wainscoting that frames the wallpaper, visitors’ attention is drawn both to the eye level wallpaper and upwards to the beams to give them a sense of the generous ceiling height,” interior designer Jeremy explains.
Fake Fireplace
An idea that arose midway during the project was to have a faux fireplace integrated into the television feature wall and console.
“It is such a unique feature in a Singapore home and instantly transports us to winter holidays overseas. On movie nights, we switch on the fireplace, curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and soak in the cosy ambience, which is quite an experience in itself,” Michelle shares.
Kitchen Design
The existing kitchen walls were hacked to create an open concept kitchen with a new island across from the dining room. Here, interior designer Jeremy and the homeowners intentionally opted for a more minimal and pared-down look comprising wood and off-whites so as not to overwhelm the entire home.
Old World Master Bedroom Design
The master bedroom is full of old world charm that transports you back to the colonial era with its black-and-white bedframe with ornate bedposts, a pair of antique side tables and a jungle wallpaper backdrop.
Walk-In Wardrobe
The original walk-in wardrobe wall was relocated to enlarge the space that now incorporates a boudoir-like dressing table surrounded by a deep red wallpaper. An artificial skylight has been built into the ceiling above the walk-in wardrobe, which heightens the intimate nature of the space by giving the illusion of looking up into the open sky.
Girls’ Bedroom Design
Fun and playful vibes dominate the girls’ bedroom that features colourful wallpaper with safari animals and a double decker structure incorporating a loft bed above a play area and reading nook below.
“We even integrated IKEA Trofast shelves into the bay window area as we did not want to throw out perfectly good furniture, so we repurposed them thoughtfully. It is a room designed to grow with the girls and encourage their imagination,” Michelle points out.
Home Office Design
The third bedroom is now a home office and possibly one of the boldest rooms in the home. The walls and built-in carpentry in navy blue evoke a moody and academia atmosphere, along with the golden-yellow hues of the wallpaper and a rug that picks up on the navy blue and gold accents. Michelle reveals that the room reminds them of something straight out of Harry Potter and feels just a little bit magical.
$100,000 Renovation
The renovations took about six months to complete and cost around $100,000. The family moved into their new home in April 2024. Michelle shares: “Every corner tells a story and for us, that story is one of love and adventure, and a home that truly feels like ours.” It is also a space where the kids can grow, explore and be inspired.
“From cosy reading corners to playful details they can appreciate as they grow older, we have made sure that the home isn’t just beautiful, but also full of warmth, comfort and filled with little touches of magic for them too,” she highlights.