Home Tour: $65,000 Mid-century modern renovation for fashion content creator’s 3-room flat in Clementi Avenue 4
Fashion content creator and Levi’s digital specialist Stanley Lui transforms his resale flat into a mid-century modern home of warm textures, quiet geometry, and thoughtful, cost-savvy details.
By Gwyneth Goh -
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When fashion content creator and digital specialist Stanley Lui collected the keys to his first home— a 721-sq-ft three-room resale flat in Clementi Avenue 4—he saw more than an empty HDB shell. He saw a canvas. Explaining his penchant for design, Stanley shares that attending art school was the foundation for his design background. “Actually, I started as a writer, writing for Tatler, HGW, writing about food and fashion, lifestyle…” So when he turned 35 and qualified to purchase his own flat, Stanley knew he wanted to shape every inch of it himself—from the floor plan to the furniture.
“I wanted to stay on the green line,” he says. “I used to stay in Bukit Batok and always wanted to be nearer to the city, but not too near that I couldn’t afford it. I also wanted to get the enhanced grant and the close proximity grant—thankfully my block was the last one still within range of my parents’ place. It was really the best decision ever. I’m quite thankful that I managed to get it.”
Situated on the top floor, the Clementi resale flat offered rare advantages: a higher ceiling, good cross-ventilation, and a corridor wide enough to house his growing collection of plants. Its condition was sound, with original terrazzo floors still intact. Instead of hacking them away, Stanley polished and preserved the inlaid terrazzo—a decision that would later anchor his design palette. “I kept the original terrazzo flooring and just polished it,” he explains, “and reworked my palette around the floor.”
Who Lives Here: Stanley Lui, 37, a fashion content creator and digital specialist at Levi’s, and his tenant
Home: A 3-room HDB resale flat at Clementi Avenue 4
Size: 721 sq ft
Interior Designer: Dennis Lim, Reznos Design
Stanley Lui’s self-designed resale flat pairs mid-century warmth with modern restraint, reflecting his eye for proportion, texture, and timeless detail.
Designing his own way
Stanley spent months researching and mapping out the space before bringing in Dennis Lim of Reznos Design for technical coordination and execution. “I had a rough mood board,” he says. “I did my own research based on the layout and my lifestyle, based on what I like, and figured out how to modify the layout to suit me.”
He estimates that “50 to 70 per cent” of the concept was already decided when he started meeting designers. “Some IDs said my concept was not executable—that you can’t knock down the wall into the kitchen,” he recalls. “Some had even crazier ideas, like doing the whole house in glass brick.”
Dennis’s openness convinced him to proceed. “Dennis told me my ideas were possible,” says Stanley. “He was open to them and able to execute reasonably.” Together they realised Stanley’s vision for a glass-brick wall that separates the kitchen, wardrobe and bathroom zones while filtering daylight through the interior.
The statement glass brick wall filters light into the living spaces while maintaining privacy.
Glass brick wall
The glass brick wall that now defines Stanley’s home was both a creative risk and a design triumph. “It brings in more light to my bedroom and toilet area,” Stanley says, explaining how the glass brick wall makes the entire flat feel brighter.
This wall has also become the project’s signature and its biggest splurge. “Each glass brick costs about eight dollars,” Stanley explains. “I couldn’t source all the pieces in Singapore, so I had to order some from China... There weren’t enough of that corner piece.” The whole wall came up to about $5,000 just for the materials.
The construction, however, was anything but straightforward. Dennis recalls it as the most technically demanding detail. “The wall had to let in light while staying structurally sound and not cracking,” he says. “I spent a lot of time fine-tuning the details on site, making adjustments several times to get it right.” Achieving the balance between transparency and stability required careful layering and precise grouting, all while ensuring the bricks aligned evenly against the adjoining fluted-glass sliding door.
Fluted-glass doors and rounded brick corners complete the wall’s sculptural edge.
The curved corner bricks were crucial to rounding off the junctions neatly, and differences in tint between batches had to be accepted as part of the design’s handmade character. “On hindsight, if I had ordered earlier, I could have gotten everything from Taobao,” Stanley reflects. Yet even with the variations, it turned out quite well.
Extending into the kitchen, the glass brick wall unites the space with light and texture while complementing the terracotta floor tiles.
The finished result ties together multiple visual threads within the home—the terrazzo flooring, the terracotta flooring, various fluted glass iterations, and polished chrome details—all working in quiet harmony. It’s a statement piece that connects the flat’s modern mid-century spirit with an old-school material Stanley remembers from his childhood, now reinterpreted with a softer, contemporary edge.
The dining and living zones share a warm, cohesive palette of wood, glass, and terrazzo.
A palette of texture and tone
Stanley’s mid-century modern concept evolved from a desire for something “timeless” and light-filled. “In the past, I always wanted a dark-themed, Batman-style home,” he admits. “But as I grew older, I realised that’s not very practical.”
“So, my style changed from dark and modern to timeless.”
He combined wood, glass, and metal with a measured sense of restraint—rounding off corners, echoing geometric shapes, and layering materials to soften the lines. This play on material textures and shapes is most apparent in the living room. “I played with contrast with different shapes—the squares in the glass brick wall versus round dining plastic chairs, a round IKEA black clock versus a black rectangular TV… metal Bearbrick round and curved versus rectangular mirror…” he says.
Polished metal accents, from the silver Bearbrick to sculptural lighting, contrast against the warmth of wood and leather for a balanced play of textures.
The material palette was meticulously coordinated. Stanley compared photos of his terrazzo floor, paint samples, and laminates to ensure everything matched in tone and texture. “In a small flat, you can’t have too many concepts,” he says. “It’s better to stick to the same theme... The palette needs to be repeated throughout your house to make it look cohesive.”
Stanley paired a vintage fish-legged table from Carousell with a glass top and clear plastic fin-shaped chairs to highlight its sculptural base.
Fish-legged dining table
The centrepiece is his fish-legged dining table, a whimsical find that perfectly captures his appreciation for texture and nostalgia. “I got the fish legs from Carousell and the glass top from Taobao,” Stanley says. He also chose fin-shaped transparent plastic chairs so that the carved fish below would not be obscured, noting that the glass top even creates a subtle “water effect”.
The fish-legged dining table embodies the Chinese blessing nian nian you yu—a symbol of abundance—while adding a playful, sculptural focal point to Stanley’s self-designed home.
The piece carries deeper meaning too. The fish motif references nian nian you yu—a Chinese blessing of abundance and prosperity—and reflects Stanley’s pride in his cultural roots. “I’m quite proud of my Chinese heritage, so I had a bit of a Chinese element at home,” he says.
Around the flat, he’s added more understated nods to this heritage: Chinese decorations gifted by a friend, a tea urn, and a vintage green vase from Carousell that echoes the speckles of green in the terrazzo floor. “Not full-on Chinese,” he clarifies, “just a little touch of Chinese in terms of the décor.”
A full-grain leather sofa anchors the living area with warmth and texture, complemented by soft textiles and subtle hints of Chinese décor.
Stanley’s approach to materials reflects both intuition and practicality. This philosophy also extended to how he managed his budget. By reusing the existing terrazzo, keeping the bedroom doors, and sourcing furniture and lighting online resourcefully, he was able to channel funds toward statement pieces that define the home’s character—like the glass brick wall and his full-grain leather sofa.
Stanley’s careful planning extended to his custom-built shaker kitchen, where warm wood tones and terracotta tiles balance modern practicality with timeless appeal.
Savvy spending, smart design
Stanley managed to complete his renovation for $65,000, balancing careful spending with thoughtful investment. “I saved on flooring—I didn’t hack the bedroom floors, just revarnished and polished them,” he says. “The main spending was on knocking down the walls, the glass brick wall, and furnishings.”
His shaker-style kitchen cabinetry was custom-built and required several rounds of adjustment. “The hinges needed to be wider because of the shaker frame,” he says. “It took a few tries, but it turned out well.” A custom pull-out gas tank tray sourced from Malaysia further adds practical ease.
Every detail was considered, from widened cabinet hinges to a pull-out gas tank tray sourced from Malaysia for everyday ease.
He also exercised financial creativity—timing furniture purchases before the GST hike and using instalment plans to spread out payments. “I bought things from Carousell, Taobao, and vintage shops,” he says. “Not everything needs to be new — there’s some charm in vintage items like my dining table, and old pieces collected over the years.”
The Hermès scarf above the bed, collected years ago, adds an elegant focal point against soft green bedding.
Personal pieces and private spaces
In the bedroom, one of Stanley’s treasured possessions takes pride of place above the headboard—a framed Hermès scarf depicting a fountain in France. “I couldn’t display it in my parents’ home because there was no space,” he says. “It’s one of the things that I’ve collected over the years.” The artwork’s gold tones glow softly against sage-green bedding and a curved teak headboard, lending the room a quiet, layered richness.
A mix of vintage furniture and warm wood tones continues the mid-century sensibility in the bedroom.
Stanley converted part of the kitchen into a wardrobe, separated by sliding wood panels and the glass brick wall that diffuses natural light.
Stanley’s sense of resourcefulness continued into the private areas. Instead of keeping the original kitchen proportions, he reconfigured the layout to carve out space for a spacious wardrobe alongside the bedroom—just behind the glass brick wall.
“The kitchen was too big for me,” he says. “I don’t need such a big kitchen.” The wardrobe sits behind sliding wooden panels, which he designed with light control in mind. “There’s a reason why I had wood doors for the closet,” he explains, “so someone turning on the lights in the kitchen won’t interrupt my sleep.”
The bathroom continues the theme of glass bricks and warm wood tones, keeping the space bright yet private.
Tailored for texture and practicality
Similarly, natural light flows through the glass brick wall into the adjoining bathroom, tying both spaces visually together. The continuation of the glass blocks maintains privacy while keeping the compact bathroom airy. “It lets in the light but you can’t see me when I’m showering,” says Stanley, who also conscientiously considered materials for longevity. The vanity, built with aluminium to resist moisture, is wrapped in a wood-look laminate that complements the rest of the flat—a customised construction Stanley had to personally source for himself.
The connection between these spaces—both literally and visually—reflects the same design instinct that defines the rest of Stanley’s home: a careful balance of practicality, personal meaning, and timeless texture.
A customised fluted-glass gate ensures privacy and airflow while echoing the textured glass theme that runs throughout the home.
Another well-considered touch: the customised fluted-glass metal gate at the entrance ties together the same ideas of texture and practicality. Designed for privacy, yet allowing in light and ventilation, it features a three-quarter glass panel and a small hatch at the top for collecting deliveries—a thoughtful detail that shows how Stanley balances form with everyday function. “I didn’t like the neighbours always walking by and peeping into my house,” he laughed. “After I installed the gate, the problem was solved.”
$65,000 Renovation Cost
The entire renovation took roughly three to four months to complete, prolonged by the Christmas and New year breaks. The result, as Stanley describes it, feels “like one big jigsaw puzzle.” He adds with a smile, “It was scary but rewarding, being a first-time homeowner—but it worked out quite well.” “Having that sense of control… being able to express your style and personality through design. It was a very rewarding experience”