Home Tour: A 30s finance couple’s $100,000 Modern Victorian renovation for their 4-room BTO on Bishan Street
“We enjoy calm spaces, good design, and spending time at home. We appreciate craftsmanship, details, and homes that feel warm rather than overly styled.”
By Shannon Osztonits -
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Three words: Contemporary Victorian Elegance.
Inspired by times past as well as elements to transport you to the English countryside, homeowners Leon Bosco and Trisha Hogan sought a home renovation paying ode to such, but with a modern upgrade. We’re certainly no longer in the Victorian Era (1837-1901). Hello, 2026!
Common features of Victorian-inspired interior design/homes, evident throughout this bright, airy and warm abode, include wainscoting with rose-finished corners, botanical prints and patterns, and grandiose chandelier-like pendant lights.
“Our needs were driven by achieving a modern Victorian-inspired style within the constraints of a standard 4-room BTO layout,” explain Leon and Trisha. “With limited flexibility in structural changes, the focus was on thoughtful space planning, layered details, and custom elements rather than reconfiguration.”
As a couple who enjoys quality family-time, they really wanted their home to reflect a haven for them to simply unwind and recharge. The choice of a lighter colour palette allows for this essence to flourish, and we love how they achieved a sense of openness throughout their 4-room BTO without any hacking works done.
Key focus areas for this home renovation included the master bedroom, dining area, living room and bathrooms.
Who Lives Here: A couple in their early 30s, who both work in Financial Services
Home: 4-room HDB
Size: 1,004 sq ft
Interior designer: RENOSTUD.IO
The home comprises three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and an open-flow setup between the dining area and the kitchen. For this partial renovation, the homeowners requested that the floors be redone, as well as ceiling and electrical works, carpentry, and other custom details throughout the spaces.
For this, they employed the help of the interior design studio, RENOSTUD.IO.
“We decided on RENOSTUD.IO after reviewing their previous works and speaking to the team,” the homeowners say. “What stood out was their ability to blend classic design language with modern living needs, and their attention to proportion, detailing and craftsmanship rather than just trends.”
Requesting furniture to match the home’s timeless feel, Trisha and Leon decided on furniture that would complement the overall design, instead of the home’s design integrity and furniture fighting for a place in the spotlight. Most pieces are newly-sourced–a combination of recommendations from the interior designers and their own selections.
English Countryside-Inspired Master Bedroom
Ever thought of customising an island for your master bedroom? Typically, this design element is savoured for kitchens and dining spaces. However, it just goes to show how a touch of genius design can serve other areas of the home.
In this case, the “island” doubles as a chest-of-drawers room divider between the modern Victorian master bedroom and the couple’s exquisite closet area.
Cream tones and textures add a real softness, transporting you to a home in the English countryside. This ambience is further enhanced by lightwood herringbone floor (used throughout the home), draped curtains and wall sconces (from Taobao). Their queen-sized platform storage bed is from Castlery.
“A key priority was creating a larger and more comfortable master bedroom,” details Leon and Trisha. “We allocated more space to the master to accommodate a dedicated wardrobe and vanity area that would feel spacious and functional.”
Grand Closet
Instead of the typical walk-in closets, which many Singaporean homeowners favour when they imagine creating an impressive closet area, the couple opted to keep the area open for a spacious yet functional aesthetic.
Custom-designed by the interior designers, an island-meets-drawer set was built and placed as a divider between the primary sleeping area, the wardrobe and vanity. Not only does it look pretty, but it’s also functional with its additional storage drawers. The divider’s fluted panel bottom matches the wardrobe door’s glass fluted panelling opposite. The pendant light above this is from Taobao.
The vanity is strategically positioned near the window, allowing for plenty of natural sunlight. The vanity chair is a Taobao purchase.
One standout feature you can’t help but be drawn to is the dream shelf of designer handbags.
“My favourites rotate depending on the use. I love them all the same,” Trisha says.
Victorian-style Primary En Suite
From the closet area, a set of matching fluted glass doors leads the way and opens up to the primary en suite.
Giving a very Victorian-esque vibe, the upper floral botanical tiles are from Hafary, paired with white Hafary subway tiles for the bottom half of the bathroom wall.
Featuring a shower, toilet and vanity, the scalloped freestanding sink is from a UBI bathroom showroom, and the countertop features sintered stone with wooden laminate-finished cabinets. Cream-coloured floor tiles are also from Hafary.
Dining Area
The dining area (which flows into the kitchen) was a focal point for the homeowners.
“Our favourite space would be the living room and dining area as a whole,” tell the couple. “It sets the tone for the home and brings together many of the design elements we love, from the wainscoting details to the light, airy feel.”
Not just a dining area, it also doubles as a dry pantry marked by an archway of green block tiles (from Hafary) and shaker cabinets below. Shelving and ceiling lights warm up the space.
In front of this is a dark wood dining table from Como Decor, and dining table chairs from Castlery. The chandelier statement light (from Taobao) adds the finishing touch.
Modern Kitchen Design
“We enjoy cooking, though the kitchen was designed more for practicality and cleanliness rather than heavy daily cooking,” Trisha and Leon explain.
Shaker-style cabinets are used for top and bottom cabinets, tying in nicely with the home’s wainscoting features. The contrast of round handles paired with horizontal ones is a thoughtful design touch, along with the green tiles above the hood.
The RENOSTUD.IO interior designers proposed the idea. Using the same green tiles as in the dry pantry, flow and harmony are created between the spaces. It’s also a great way to add a pop of colour against the kitchen’s primary neutral palette. The backsplash and countertops are sintered stone.
Soft & Contemporary Living Room
Introducing the living room is a curved structural pillar, integrated with wainscoting details, which are further displayed across the living room walls. This custom structure also doubles as extra hidden storage.
Just like the rest of the home, the living room boasts a light, airy and warm feeling. This brings in the house’s contemporary-ness, compared to how the Victorians favoured a darker room setting. The same can be said for the cream L-shaped Castlery sofa, as opposed to any dark and heavy choices.
An extra wainscoting partition uses a 3D-like effect, where the TV is placed. An IKEA TV console sits below the flat screen. The couple specifically opted for light-filtering curtains so as to allow the natural light to enter the space. Marble and gold wall sconces add an English-like feel.
Second Bathroom Design
With its gold trims and checkered Hafary floor tiles, the second bathroom mimics the home’s Victorian-like design. Yet again, there are contemporary elements that provide a perfect balance between the two styles, such as the vanity (constructed from wood laminates and a sintered stone countertop).
The bathroom features a vanity, a toilet, and a shower. The shower’s deep maroon-coloured Hafary subway tiles pair beautifully with the bathroom’s black and white floors.
This was the couple’s first home renovation.
“We came across this unit through the standard BTO process. What drew us to it was primarily the location, the layout potential and the unblocked views,” Leon and Trisha say. “While the floor plan was a standard plug-and-play 4-room BTO, we saw strong potential in how the space could be thoughtfully reworked through design rather than major structural changes.”
The design team began the general structural preparation works and carpentry planning first, before tackling the living areas, followed by the master bedroom.
“One of our favourite outcomes was how bespoke elements elevated the home,” detail the couple, “such as the arched dry pantry niches, the wainscoting throughout the hall, the concealed bomb shelter storage, and the bold floral tiles in the guest bathroom, which added a whimsical and memorable contrast to the rest of the home.”
For these homeowners, they reiterate the importance of early storage-planning, understanding how lighting can be layered and the role it plays, and then finally, “trusting the process when it comes to custom details.”
Can’t get enough of this home? We spoke with the homeowner to understand more about their design thinking and favourite home pieces here: