Home Tour: $120,000 Hotel-style renovation for 4-room resale HDB at Jalan Rumah Tinggi
After 24 years in her matrimonial home, a mother of two finds renewal and warmth in a Japandi-inspired resale HDB flat that reflects her family’s next chapter.
By Gwyneth Goh -
Share this article
Letting go of a place you’ve called home for over two decades is never easy—especially when it’s filled with memories of a loved one.
For educator Alice, the decision to move out of her Jurong East flat after her husband’s passing in 2023 was bittersweet. “It was my matrimonial home,” she reflects. “My late husband and I had wanted to shift to a bigger place but couldn’t find anywhere we liked at that time. After he got very ill, we shelved the plan to move.”
Giving themselves a year to look for a new space, Alice and her two adult children found a resale HDB flat they all liked—and with that, began a new chapter. “We believed it’s a blessing from God for us to move on to a new season in our life as a family of three instead of four.”
Who Lives Here: Alice and her two adult children
Home: 4-room HDB resale flat at Jalan Rumah Tinggi
Size: 1,076 sq ft
Interior Designer: Zach Lim, Lush Interior Design
4-Room HDB in Bukit Merah
They had seven criteria exactly, and were looking for a 4-room HDB flat larger than 90sqm, newer than their previous home, easily accessible to public transport, close to food centres and supermarkets, exposed to minimal traffic noise, above the eighth floor, and not located along the corridor.
“After viewing many areas in Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, Strathmore, and Clementi, we were close to lowering our criteria when my daughter spotted a listing on… Property Guru,” homeowner Alice recalls, “The unit that we saw fit all our criteria and the bonus is that it’s on the highest floor with beautiful, unblocked views of the night lights from the skyscrapers.”
The Jalan Rumah Tinggi HDB, tucked in a quiet neighbourhood yet close to amenities, offered everything the family was looking for: privacy, accessibility, and the potential to shape a sanctuary of calm. The living room became an anchor—and a showcase—with its custom fluted ceiling and concealed doors that lend the space a quiet luxury. “It’s something not commonly seen in most home designs I searched online,” Alice notes. “The hidden room doors with the fluted ceiling give my living area a hotel lounge feel which allows us to chill and relax at the end of a long day out.”
Fluted Ceiling
It’s this combination of design flourish and subtle luxury that makes the living space a standout. The ceiling detail, while bold, also performs a functional role by visually separating zones in the open layout. The concealed bedroom doors are smoothly camouflaged as a part of the dark wood wall, which contribute to the seamless aesthetic interior designer Zach was aiming for.
According to Zach, the ceiling feature was a design evolution. “My first intention was to have a different level false ceiling with a darker tone paint colour,” he shares, “but later I wanted it to look more loud and classy.” He then found a fluted panel colour that matched the wall laminate they had chosen and used it for the ceiling with built-in LED lights for effect.
Dry Kitchen Design
That mood of ease extends to the dry kitchen and bar counter—a part of the layout that became unexpectedly meaningful to Alice. “I can enjoy my coffee and do my work on the counter while listening to jazz from my Samsung Frame TV in the living room,” she says.
“It’s like being in a café without having to pay for the expensive coffee.” A ritual of brewing matcha or coffee together has become a daily bonding activity for the family, a quiet moment to share their lives with one another. “We have many conversations and bonding time around the bar top area,” she adds.
Interior designer Zach highlights how the kitchen island-style home bar counter became central to both function and interaction. “When the owner requested a dry kitchen, usually an open island comes to mind,” he says. It provides prep space, works for entertaining, and becomes a design focal point.
Family Dinners
For her birthday this year, homeowner Alice’s son prepared a special tomahawk steak dinner and they hosted loved ones in the new space they now call home. Alice fondly recalls, “We had an intimate and cosy dinner celebration with our loved ones at home. “
When asked if there is an especially meaningful object in the home of deep personal significance, Alice shared more, “There’s a piece of artwork that my daughter drew when she was 11 years old. She drew that as a Father’s Day gift to my late husband. We had it hung on wall at the end of my living room with a spotlight shining on the painting. That holds sentimental value.”
Mosiac Tile Kitchen Backsplash
One of interior designer Zach’s favourite design elements in the house is the mosaic tile wall framing the kitchen island top. The green mosaic tiles add a refreshing contrast to the home’s otherwise neutral palette. Its subtle texture and tonal variation catch light throughout the day, bringing a dynamic yet grounded feel to the dry kitchen area. “The backsplash colour was purposely chosen using my favourite colour,” explains homeowner Alice.
The family’s shared vision for the home’s aesthetic was “elegant chic, minimalist with dark wood.” Alice had initially considered parquet flooring, but interior designer Zach recommended large-format porcelain tiles for easier upkeep. “She told me she will probably stay there for long and retire,” he recalls. “So I brought the woody elements into the cabinetry instead.”
Japandi Interior Design
The Japandi-inspired calm that guided the interior design is most prominent in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Each room balances warm tones with clean lines, achieving a mood that feels restful and grounded.
Throughout the renovation, Alice also brought over some furniture from her previous home. Interior designer Zach found that the original light wood tone didn’t quite match the palette. “We decided to revarnish and stain the light wood furniture to black,” he says. The result: coherence without letting go of sentimental value.
Storage was another non-negotiable. Zach reconfigured the storeroom entrance and installed a long run of full-height cabinetry. “Every built-in cabinet serves its function,” he explains, having customised each for storing specific items—from shoes to vacuum cleaner to food. The house is now equipped with plenty of storage while still retaining a sense of spaciousness.
Bay Window
In the master bedroom, a bay window overlooking the skyline has become Alice’s personal retreat. “It’s meaningful as I’ve spent many hours there reading, reflecting, cloud-watching and enjoying the night view,” she says. More than a design feature, it offers her space to be still — and hold onto memories while creating new ones. The warm-toned blinds, selected to echo the Japandi palette, filter in soft light during the day.
$120,000 Renovation Cost
The entire renovation, from planning to execution, was surprisingly smooth and took only two and a half months. “The process was seamless and without major hiccups,” homeowner Alice says. “I commend Zach for this.” Ever since they moved in, the space has served not just as shelter, but as a sanctuary. “Whenever I enter my home, I feel a sense of calm like all the stress and tiredness just melt away,” she says. “I could just kick off my shoes and chill and relax in the cozy comfort of my home.”
For interior designer Zach, the project has been a milestone in his own growth. “It allowed me to put theory into practice—balancing aesthetics with functionality, and creating a space that not only looks good but feels right for the people using it,” he says. Seeing it all come together—the light fittings, the fluted ceiling, the warmth of the space—left him with a rare sense of quiet satisfaction.