Home Tour: $60,000 Renovation for a bachelor’s 3-room HDB flat

Who Lives Here: A bachelor in his late 30s
Size: 818 sq ft
Home: 3-Room HDB

As a former leading steward with Singapore Airlines, 38-year-old Michael Yang has travelled the world. These days, the relationship manager at YourAuthenticSeller, an online consignment platform for luxury bags, timepieces and jewellery can chill out in his holiday home on his days off without boarding a plane or leaving the country.

Michael’s pied-à-terre is the second home that he has self-designed. As a perfectionist, he also candidly confesses to possessing a bit of obsessive-compulsive behaviour. He decided to DIY his own homes, so that he can design them to the high standard that he sets himself. “The most challenging and time-consuming aspect of designing my own home was wanting to get every detail perfect,” he admits.

Self-Designed Home

He managed to pull it off despite not having any design background or formal training. “The internet is a great resource, especially platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, and websites such as Home and Décor. I read up a lot, drawing inspiration from projects by different studios and forming ideas of my own,” he shares. Things that he picked up along the way include how to fit the Philips Hue Gradient lightstrip, where the air-conditioning ducts and pipes run, and how to reinforce shelving. He even learnt AutoCAD to render 3D images. “The interior design is based on how I imagined it to be. I pictured every piece of furniture and appliance to ensure that they would all blend in nicely together,” he says.

Another reason for designing his own home is because Michael understands his own lifestyle, needs and wants best. This allowed him to make certain unconventional moves. He dispensed with a metal gate and just went with a main door out of convenience. Instead of the usual floor and unit numbers outside, he decided to have just the unit number because “people would already know what floor they are on when they press the lift button”.

Open Concept Living

The existing dining area, kitchen and one of the bedrooms have been opened up and incorporated into one big living space, part of Michael’s strategy to making the 3-room flat look and feel more spacious, along with the use of large format 1200x600 mm floor tiles. The living area showcases Michael’s collection of mid-century modern furniture, including a Define sofa and Half & Half lounge chair from Wendelbo, a Florence Knoll low coffee table, and to the side, a pair of Vitra Panton chairs and a Relate side table from Muuto.

Another bold move was to do away with a hob and hood in the kitchen, which may be more aptly referred to as a bar and pantry, since he does not cook. There is also no dining table simply because he has no need for one. Even the walls of the one remaining bedroom have been hacked and replaced with extra deep wardrobes to accommodate Michael’s clothes, as well as for storage. The wardrobes also act as a divider between the bedroom and living room.

Smart Home System

This truly is a home designed for a minimalist lifestyle and as an escape from the daily grind. Michael spared no expense on audio and entertainment products from Bang & Olufsen. Speakers, which are part of the Smart Home system, have been installed almost everywhere in the house because to the audiophile, “music is life, music is everywhere”. As a considerate neighbour, he has also soundproofed his main door and windows.

Lighting was another aspect that Michael paid a lot of attention to. “The effect of lights and how they illuminate a space is important. I can vary the colours of the lights to create different ambience to suit my mood,” he points out. His home is filled with lights carefully selected from brands such as Artemide, Fritz Hansen and Gregg. One piece in particular holds special meaning as it was designed in 1986, Michael’s birth year.

“The Artemide Shogun Tavolo lamp creates a strong presence with its contrasting black and white stripes. Its steel diffuser emits a soft light through the perforations to create an interesting pattern of light and shadow,” he elaborates. There are no visible light switches in the home because almost everything in the Smart Home is Google-controlled. Michael comments: “I wanted a Smart Home that makes daily life convenient. I want to be able to say, ‘Hey Google, goodnight,’ and go off to bed.”

$60,000 Renovation

Michael spent about $60,000 on the project, excluding furniture and furnishings, which was completed sometime in March 2023 after a three-month renovation. He has some tips for homeowners without design experience, but who are considering designing their own homes: “Browse a lot of projects online and pick out aspects that you like from them. Picture yourself already living in the home and ask yourself, ‘Is it functional, practical and easy to maintain?’ For things that you touch and use daily, go for the best that you can afford.”