Home Tour: $190,000 Renovation for a 70s lady’s penthouse condo in Telok Kurau
By Melody Bay -
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This condo penthouse apartment, lovingly redesigned by four children for their mother in her 70s, is a tribute to living well at every age. What had initially started out as a modest plan to swap out a bathtub for a safer and more accessible shower quickly evolved into a top-to-toe transformation of the space, helmed by interior designer Don Wong at SqM2.
Designed to support graceful aging without sacrificing sophistication, this rejuvenated apartment in Telok Kurau is a study in considered living, balancing form and function. Every decision — whether aesthetic or structural — was made with the homeowner’s lifestyle in mind, attesting to her love of cooking, routine family lunches, and evenings enjoying good wine with friends.
The result is more than just a renovation: it’s a loving gesture made tangible, an elegant, enduring home shaped by the people who know her best.
Who Lives Here: Mrs Young, a mother of four in her 70s
House: Penthouse condominium in Telok Kurau
Size: 1,743 sq ft
Interior Designer: Don Wong from SqM2
The living room is anchored by a recliner sofa and a textured feature wall, blending comfort with understated elegance.
Living Room Design
Central to the home’s charm is the living room, tailored for comfort and ease. For Mrs Young, the homeowner, having a comfortable recliner sofa was of paramount importance — ideal for evenings spent watching TV or relaxing with family.
Glass Sliding Doors
To enhance spatial flow, the original wooden panels flanking the room were replaced with checkered glass sliding doors that let light through without sacrificing privacy. “When the sliding doors are open, you really see the depth of the apartment — it looks bigger,” her son Richard shares.
Frosted glass sliding doors create a visual boundary while still allowing natural light to brighten the living room.
Demarcating the boundary is a console table that doubles as both an elegant visual anchor and practical drop-off spot for keys and other everyday items. It also serves as a nook to tuck away extra seating for when Mrs Young entertains her family and friends.
Expansive, hotel-inspired interiors give the master suite a sense of luxury, while remaining deeply personal.
Hotel Bedroom Design
Since the master bedroom is where Mrs Young spends most of her time, her son Richard wanted to elevate it into an upscale, stylish space that resembled a hotel suite.
Interior designer Don created this by knocking through the wall between the master bedroom and guest bedroom to create a larger space, with a walk-in wardrobe in between. When not hosting overnight guests on the sofa bed, the guest bedroom now serves as a sitting room where Mrs Young can relax and enjoy some downtime, with a wine chiller within easy reach. “She wakes up with space to walk around, just like a hotel,” says Richard.
The reimagined guest bedroom now doubles as a sitting room, with shelving and a wine chiller close at hand for relaxed downtime.
The centrepiece Tempur bed supports restful sleep and graceful aging, making everyday comfort a priority.
A Tempur adjustable bed is framed by a padded, curved headboard that cocoons the homeowner in comfort and style.
Tempur Adjustable Bed
In pride of place in the master bedroom is a Tempur adjustable bed, which supports both restful sleep and aging-in-place sensibilities. It’s anchored by a curved and padded custom headboard, which makes a visual statement while providing a sense of cocooned comfort.
The bathroom pairs a Cosentino stone slab countertop with warm wood cabinetry, balancing luxury with practicality. Slip-resistant flooring and sliding doors make the space future-proof.
Elderly Bathroom Design
The adjoining bathroom has been carefully future-proofed: a walk-in shower replaces the former bathtub, with slip-resistant flooring and plenty of room. Sliding doors ensure unimpeded movement throughout, especially if mobility aids are ever needed.
To give the bathroom a hotel-like feel, interior designer Don sourced the single-slab countertop from Cosentino and paired it with wooden cabinetry. Although it didn’t come cheap — the bedrooms and bathrooms alone cost over $60,000 — accents like these were worth it for the elevated luxury they lent to the space. “For certain things we didn’t go overboard, but we did spend a bit more where it mattered,” Richard says.
An intimate dining space centred on a wood table and pendant light, perfect for family meals and cosy gatherings.
Dining Room Design
Having a space for family meals was key, as Mrs Young loves to cook when people come over. Her specialty is comfort food, which her family enjoys.
To host more people, the dining area features a custom-made dining settee upholstered in dusty blue, its L-shape helping to maximise space and create a cosy nook for family meals. Beneath the settee is hidden storage where the homeowner can put away items that are less frequently used, keeping things tidy. Above the dining table, a soft pendant light adds to the ambience, making this family-friendly corner feel both elegant and intimate.
A custom-built L-shaped settee in dusty blue anchors the dining nook, maximising space and offering hidden storage beneath.
The overall colour palette, featuring warm neutrals and earthy tones offset by pops of sienna and dusty blue, creates a luxurious and modern feel. To add texture, interior designer Don used natural wood grain laminates and a limewash effect for some of the walls.
Streamlined and functional, the kitchen caters to Mrs Young’s love of cooking and hosting family lunches.
“I love creating spaces that truly feel like home where people can build memories and live comfortably,” he shares. “Beyond style or trends, my focus is on designing environments that support real life, reflect the people who live there, and offer lasting comfort and warmth.”
Concealed storage blends into wallpapered panels, while a checkered glass sliding door leads to the kitchen — keeping spaces bright yet private.
Styled by Arete Culture, the rooftop feels more like an upscale restaurant than a private home, with seating for twenty and a festive, mismatched mix of chairs.
Alfresco Rooftop
Styled by Arete Culture, the rooftop space upstairs is Mrs Young’s private entertaining haven, and looks more like an upscale restaurant than someone’s home. The firm had also worked on the master and guest bedrooms downstairs, selecting soft furnishings and wallpaper to bring a sense of warmth and refinement.
While those spaces feature soothing neutrals, the rooftop takes a bolder turn. Outfitted for casual gatherings, it’s where Mrs Young shines most as a hostess, with a bar and enough seating options to host at least twenty. Bright hues and deliberately mismatched chairs set a festive tone, creating a vibrant atmosphere that encourages mingling and conversation. It’s where she hosts gatherings from weekend drinks to wine parties — all in an elegant yet relaxed setting where guests feel instantly at home.
“She’s a sprightly elderly lady, loves to cook, loves to entertain,” son Richard says. “This home lets her do all of that.”