Home Tour: $70,000 Renovation for an interior designer & software developer’s 3-room resale HDB in Marine Parade

Built more than 40 years ago, this 3 room flat at Marine Parade was one of the older units homeowner Chun Peng and his wife viewed. The 1990s HDB louver windows and terrazzo flooring were still present along with visible structural beams and wiring trunking all around the house before the couple did the major overhaul.

Chun Peng took on the design work by himself and the whole process from conceptualisation to completion took him more than a year. “We actually stayed in the unit for about a year before starting on the full renovation. It allowed us to better understand the area so we can be more aware of our actual needs and requirements,” Chun Peng shared. 

Who Lives Here: A couple in their 30s and a 4 year old cat
Home: 3 room resale HDB at Marine Parade
Size: 700 sqft 
Interior Designer: Low Chun Peng, Forge Studio 

Wabi Sabi Interior Design

Wabi Sabi, modern minimalistic are common keywords in today’s interior design, but Chun Peng and his wife shared that they did not start off with a specific style or theme in mind. In fact, the colour palette and design came naturally as they pushed through various constraints and fulfilled practical requirements. 

The first spark of inspiration was the original terrazzo flooring that Chun Peng’s wife found unique and charming. The couple decided to keep a portion of the flooring and worked the rest of the design around it. The second inspiration came from the couple’s love for hosting. Having ample space to host guests at home became another priority in the design process.

Repositioned Living Room

When you first step into Chun Peng’s home, you enter a home office and dining space instead of a living room. The living room is now positioned where the original master bedroom was. This switch was a deliberate design to move the living room away from the common corridor and provide additional privacy. It also connects the dining area, kitchen and living room together to entertain guests in a seamless and bigger space.

In order to maximise the limited space, the cabinets serve as room dividers between the living room and master bedroom, and have multi functions. The TV console and feature wall in the living room are, in fact, the back of the wardrobe of the bedroom. A foldable table that Chun Peng’s wife uses while working in the living room is also carved out from the wardrobe. 

Top storage spaces of the wardrobe that were blocked by the structural beam and inaccessible from the bedroom can be opened from the living room, ensuring no wastage in storage space.

Granite Dining Table

The most outstanding feature would be the 2.4 metres by 1 metre granite dining table which you will see the moment you enter Chun Peng’s home. Besides easily seating 12 people, the table serves as a space for Chun Peng to host meetings with his clients while he works from home.

It is not an ordinary table bought off the furniture store, but one that took the couple almost a month and multiple trips to more than 10 stone suppliers in search for the most suitable material. The selected stone was cut to size and attached onto legs that were made in mild steel finish. This mild steel was then incorporated into other parts of the house such as the making of the doors. 

All the doors were specially designed and fabricated. The front gate was created with an additional door made of acrylic with a magnetic closure. “As our unit has a sea view from the main door, we wanted something to allow us to enjoy this view even if the aircon is turned on,” Chun Peng explained. 

Instead of using a regular wooden laminated door and door frame, the bedroom has a mild steel door with a recessed handle. The material and the additional sound proofing membrane within the door help to cancel out noises from outside. The kitchen is also equipped with a mild steel framed telescopic sliding door to close up the kitchen during heavy cooking.

Hacked Bathrooms

The original bathroom was split into a shower room and water closet (WC) room. The wall that was in between was hacked down, combining the two separate spaces into one fully functional bathroom. 

Kitchen Design

The original length of the kitchen was shortened to create a pantry area for the water dispenser and coffee machine. The kitchen is enclosed with glass walls and doors to allow for the house to look bigger and more integrated. 

Chun Peng shared that if he had another chance, he would have opted for a different flooring for the kitchen. The couple had chosen epoxy grout for the bathroom for easy maintenance but did not extend the same tiles to the kitchen. Cleaning got a little more tedious and the texture of the regular grout kitchen tiles was apparent in comparison to the smooth marble and parquet flooring of the rest of the house.

The complete makeover was put together not only by Chun Peng and his wife, but also his interior designer and architect friends who gave their input and suggestions. The couple’s heavy involvement in every step of the process did not lead to a “wow” feeling when they saw the house come together, but the 360 transformation shocked many of their friends and family. The couple loved how their home turned out and the months of hard work was worth it.