Home Tour: $65,000 Renovation for young 20s Singaporean couple’s Mid-Century Modern 4-room BTO in Toa Payoh
“I gravitate towards things that feel warm and inviting.”
By Shannon Osztonits -
Share this article
Is Mid-Century Modern making a serious comeback? Over the past year, we’ve noticed that more and more millennial couples are swaying back to the Mid-Century modern trend; however, they are putting a distinctly Singapore spin to it: pops of colour, quirky decor, funky furniture, and plants, plants, plants!
Cue the fish-shaped doormat, mushroom sidetable, tomato lampshade, fun scatter cushions, Lego flowers, illustrations collected from travels abroad, and interesting alternatives to the standard boring brown grouting works in this playful Mid-Century Modern-inspired 4-room HDB BTO.
Both husband and wife, Vanessa, work in industries where they get to flex their creativity. Naturally, their home is a space that reflects their appreciation for art and design, although the pops of colour can be credited to Vanessa.
“If my husband had his way and decided what our house is going to be, it would look like a mental hospital, all white,” jokes Vanessa. This graphic designer is full of humour, which emphasises her appreciation for the quirkier side of life.
Describing her personal style, Vanessa especially loves anything bright and cheerful, and things that have a nostalgic retro feel.
Who Lives Here: A Chinese-Singaporean husband (content producer) and wife (graphic designer) in their late 20s, and their 7-month old baby son.
Home: 4-room HDB BTO
Size: 1,001 sq ft
Interior designer: Ovon Design
Their home comprises three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, an open living and dining room, and a hallway.
Undergoing the BTO programme - “my husband and I are very typical Chinese Singaporean with our BTO flat” - they didn’t get to choose their exact unit, but they did purposefully apply for an HDB in this specific location as it was close to Vanessa’s parents’ home. The 4-room BTO option also suited the amount of space they needed.
They worked with Simon from Ovon Design, and it was ultimately the synergy they felt between them and their interior designer that captured their design-loving hearts.
“Ovon Design has expertise in small apartments and small spaces. We really liked their openness, and they had a very clear sense of taste in what makes a cosy space,” explains Vanessa. “I had a lot of confidence that they could adapt to what we wanted. It was a good creative collaboration.”
Although they had the idea of a Mid-Century Modern-esque home, Vanessa and her husband weren’t too rigid about sticking to the design style. Favouring the simplicity and shapes of the trend, the one thing they appreciated about the theme is that it’s a good foundational canvas for building on other styles.
A lot of their furniture is thrifted, featuring some major quality brand names, and much of the little weird-and-wonderful decor elements were purchased from Taobao.
Retro Living Room
The retro-inspired living room will instantly brighten up any day.
An olive green L-shaped sofa (from Ikea) is the focal point, and all of the decor and vibrant colour elements complement the couch. The checkered carpet works so well in this space. The orange standing lamp is from HipVan - you can always spot a HipVan design a mile away - and the industrial orange cabinet side table is from Ikea, along with the round double-level coffee table.
Art illustrations are collected from their travels, like Bali, Japan and Thailand.
Although the solid wood Castlery side table can be used as an entry bench, Vanessa chose it for their TV console, as its size is the perfect dimension for the small wall. Next to this is an ultra cute mushroom table with a Spider plant on top (the only real plant you will spot in their home, the rest are fake).
One feature everyone comments on is the tin green dustbin, from Taobao, and it really stands its own ground in the space. Flooring is vinyl, which the husband and wife chose to continually use throughout the house.
Japanese-Style Kitchen
Vanessa’s favourite space in their home is her kitchen, as this is where they stylistically put most effort.
It’s giving Japanese vibes — which the graphic designer says they were perhaps subconsciously inspired by throughout all of their travels to Japan, a country they often frequent. Checkered block tiles are used across the backsplash, filled in with an orange grout.
“I fell in love with the idea of coloured grout tiling, as a subtle way to introduce colour and match the kitchen handles,” says the wife.
All of the cabinets (top and bottom) are a wood-effect laminate, in dark and light tones. The countertops are quartz. Forgoing the ordinary, they opted for red cabinet handles (purchased from Shopee).
Opposite the built-in stove, they added a super cute, custom-built set of three pull-out drawers, done in a similar colour that matches the living room sofa. At one end of the kitchen is a separate utility area, home to their washing machine, etc.
Surprisingly, the kitchen is really soundproof, and Vanessa loves how functional it is, retaining all cooking smells from the rest of their home.
Open-Style Dining Area
A blue fish mat signals the entryway into the home, and to the left-hand side is the dining area.
The very Mid-Century Modern dark dining table and chair-set are from Scanteak Singapore, and the double set of orange hanging pendant lights above the table are from Taobao. A wildflower bouquet of Lego flowers decorates the table in a funky green vase.
“I love the idea of plants, and I love looking at them, but I can’t seem to keep them alive,” the homeowners say. “Most of our plants are fake.”
Opposite the dining table is a floor-to-ceiling cabinet, concealing the bomb shelter. A full-length mirror decorates a quarter of the cabinet, which is primarily used for storage.
“The mirror has become my son’s favourite thing in the house; he plays peek-a-boo here daily,” smiles Vanessa. “Babies, they LOVE mirrors.”
From this section, a corridor, with a funky train station-inspired triangle clock, leads to the bedroom.
Master Bedroom Design
Vinyl flooring matches the cupboards in the master bedroom for a seamless look.
The king-sized wooden bedframe is from Muji, complemented by wooden bedside tables from HipVan. Adding a playful touch is a tomato lamp from Taobao.
Bathroom Design
The bathroom comprises a large shower, vanity and toilet.
Matching Hafary tiles are used for both the floor and walls, and a pop of colour is brought in with green subway tiles in the shower (also from Hafary).
The custom vanity is built using laminates with a quartz countertop.
The design process was quite fast, finalising the design within one month. Renovation works took eight weeks.
Heavily pregnant at the time, Vanessa was very much about surrendering to the process, but also trying to get the design things finalised and tied up as quickly as possible, so they would be able to move in on time before their son was born. From the get-go, she had a very clean design brief.
Any learning curves to share?
“Being creatives ourselves, a lot was about being able to trust our designer, because we tended to overthink things by trying to solve the problem ourselves - especially when making certain design decisions,” Vanessa explains.
“We realised when we tried to become the interior designer, it wouldn’t have the best results as we didn’t know what we were doing. Then we would ask our interior designer, who would come up with a solution very quickly. Because we are creative people, we would want to take control. We had to just let go.”