Home Tour: Early 40s collectable couple’s $100k Industrial-Modern renovation for their 4-room HDB in Bendemeer
“We didn’t have a set theme; instead, it was more around the collectables as the centre piece.”
By Shannon Osztonits -
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Welcome to the ultimate homage to the world of manga, comic books, famous world landmarks, and iconic television series and movies.
As you begin to explore the ins and outs, corners and spaces of this modern industrial abode in the Bendemeer district, one thing becomes glaringly obvious – in the most fun and quirky way.
These homeowners are mega fans of collectables.
There’s a mountain of pride that should (rightfully so) stand behind the figurines and models that you see on display, as much of the memorabilia in this home was built by the husband himself.
So much so, a lot of the custom carpentry you spot was designed to accommodate the couple’s ever-growing collections!
Leaning on Kelvin Teo from Space Sense Studio to bring their vision to life, most rooms feature custom display units, whether in the shape of a shelf, glass unit, or customised cabinet.
The wife explains that the couple wanted a modern industrial feel. Done up in grey tones, this allows the collections to stand out and shine.
“We wanted a modern industrial feel, but not the rustic industrial look,” she says.
Who Lives Here: A Singaporean couple in their early 40s, and their Japanese spitz, Yuna
Home: 4-room HDB
Size: 990 sq ft
Interior designer: Kelvin Teo from Space Sense Studio
4-Room HDB in Bendemeer
The property comprises three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and open-plan dining area, a living room, and a work-from-home office.
Ultimately, it was the below-river views which sold the homeowners on this unit!
It was a complete gutting, with the interior design studio tearing up the floors (all of which were replaced throughout the home with dog-friendly vinyl), hacking works, and even converting one of the rooms, knocking it down to allow for a bigger master bedroom.
The homeowners chose to work with Kelvin of Space Sense Studio as they really appreciated two things: the quality of his work and his style!
“We appreciated that he designs a place as if he is living in it; he can visualise, and he knows that the house he’s designing for has different lifestyle needs,” says the wife. “He also didn’t charge some sort of exuberant consultation fees for the first few rounds of discussion, unlike many other interior designers in the market.”
Open-Plan Dining Area
One of this industrial-cool-home’s most striking spaces is the open-plan dining area, nestled between the kitchen and an angular divider (acting as the wall for the office and the living room).
With the same light-wood coloured floors carried out across every room, there’s a gorgeous sense of continuity, yet the dining room feels like it stands its own ground.
A Son & Bear dining room table, with its stone top and dark wooden bottom, and dark faux leather dining room chairs from Urban Mood match the home’s moody palette. The ceiling is a light cloud grey, and above the table area is a metal track lighting fixture, adding to the urban-esque design. (This is used in many other rooms, including the living room, study and master bedroom.)
Custom-Built Collectables Display Wall
Opposite the table is a custom-built memorabilia collectables wall. The one-half is for storage (which the wife simply loves), and the other comprises glass shelves with backlights to highlight the collections. These include Star Wars collector’s items, an Iron Man figurine, Rome’s Colosseum, and a LEGO Simba from The Lion King.
“I love travelling, my favourite country is Italy,” says the wife. “And I love Rome. I’ve been there twice, and I am returning there again this year.”
Kitchen Design
The kitchen’s matte finishes are the ideal choice for an industrial setting, avoiding any shiny features.
Custom top and bottom kitchen cabinets mirror one another in a matte dark grey laminate finish. The overall result looks super sleek. The backsplash is black stone, selected piece by piece from Hafary, with kitchen counters that match.
Directly opposite the long kitchen counter is a space for the homeowners to keep their cooking appliances, like an air fryer, toaster, etc.
Living Room Design
Playing around with partitionings and block-like display units, geometry shines in this home. Without feeling jarringly stagnant, it allows for a sort of free-form feeling to stand centre stage.
In the living room, the TV wall, with its charcoal grey slatted appearance, shares the same structural build as the office behind it. Below the TV is a floating shelf, and above it is another display glass cabinet with a pirate ship and an iconic manor house from a well-known movie.
Below the windows, a cafe counter was added with bar stools, so the homeowners can drink in the constant Kallang River vistas.
“This is my favourite spot,” tells the homeowner. “It’s for me to have my morning coffee overlooking the river.”
Opposite the television is a scratch-free, super-light grey leather sofa (also from Son & Bear).
Next to this is a customised zig-zag block wall unit with more toys and memorabilia. Between here and the sofa is a model of the Eiffel Tower, safeguarded by an acrylic cover. In the centre of the room is a glass-top coffee table, and housed in the middle of this are Star Wars spaceship models.
“My husband builds these, and he builds them very fast,” the wife explains. “When he starts, he doesn’t stop…He doesn’t sleep until it’s done.”
WFH Home Office
Instead of forgoing negative or leftover space, this WFH-office has half of the room dedicated to more of the homeowners’ precious collections.
Opting for a sliding glass door as the room’s entrance, you can still see the display shelves from the room’s exterior. It’s a smart way of showing off what’s inside the room without blockages, so that the collections are on constant display.
Walking inside, one side of the wall is made up of two separate display units. For the first, a wall indent was added along with three shelves, featuring the entire One Piece collection. The top shelf, though, is for the legendary Titanic piece – built by the husband in just two to three weeks! Below the bottom shelf is the Harry Potter castle.
Next to this is a standalone glass cabinet solely dedicated to Star Wars.
If this half is for play time, the opposite side of the room is for work. The entire setup has a very futuristic feel, thanks to the chosen office furniture. The standing desk is from Omnidesk, which accommodates a laptop and monitor screens. One office chair is the latest design from Hinomi, and the other chair is from Secret Lab.
A Cosy Master Bedroom
Clean aesthetics and a lighter colour palette favouring whites over grey tones are used in the master bedroom for a distinctly cosier vibe.
The primary definitely has a softer touch, but still stays true to that urban feeling using small details, like the metal track ceiling lights and gold wall sconces selected by the interior designer.
In the middle of the room is a custom TV partitioning with a glass top, and, in fact, has two televisions – one on either side. This structure divides the room into two, with the large custom-built closet area on the other side. In this way, things don’t feel blocked off, creating an open-plan style in the master bedroom, too. Cupboards are finished in a taupe-coloured laminate.
Primary En Suite Design
The primary en suite reflects the master bedroom’s cosy appearance, utilising wooden textures which add warmth to the space.
Featuring a toilet, vanity and shower in here, the black marble vanity counter and wall tiles echo the home’s industrial design and colour palette.
All in all, the home renovation process took six months, with three months dedicated to design and the other three to construction works.
Luckily for these homeowners, their first home renovation was completely seamless and stress-free, which they praise and thank their interior designer for.
“I am just really grateful to have this interior designer, as I had no stress at all. In fact, it was such a breeze, I just left everything in his care. Kelvin even fixed my toilet, went shopping for me…He took a whole lot of stress away from me,” recalls the homeowner. “I didn’t need to visit the place often during the renovation. It was just total trust. I would say you need to get a reliable designer or contractor.”