Home Tour: A Mid-Century Industrial 4-room HDB in Tampines inspired by Netflix’s The Brothers Sun
By Shannon Osztonits -
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What do you get when you meet an interior designer and homeowners who enjoy inserting playfulness and artsy aesthetics into a home? A unique 4-room (3-bedroom) HDB just five minutes walking distance from Tampines MRT. Filled with geometric elements and simple spaces, the first home of a young married Singaporean couple reflects their quirky personality and love for all things creative. Ultimately, it was the strikingly unusual shape of the house that sold them.
Demolishing the original structure, the clients had help on the architectural build-front, yet the furnishings were their artistic vision. This part of the home renovation lay close to their heart, sourcing many secondhand luxury furniture pieces from Carousell or visiting artisans’ workshops. The homeowners love Mid-Century Modern design, which is evident throughout the apartment. This was coupled with fun pops of colour and, of course, cat-friendly spaces throughout.
A Pantone mug here, a bright yellow pendant light there…
The interior designers from No Sense Studio added industrial touches with exposed steel piping, contrasting textures, cool carpark-style lighting, and screed flooring.
This Singaporean homeowner duo placed their full trust in interior designer Ong Jia Jun of No Sense Studio when it came to the structural facelift of their home. The result? A match made in funky architectural-design heaven.
Who Lives Here: A young, married Singaporean couple and their two cats
Home: A 4-room HDB flat
Size: 835 sq ft
Interior Designer: Ong Jia Jun from No Sense Studio
The open plan concepts reflects the living room, dining room and work area.
Open Concept Kitchen
Often working from home and with enough room for their two cats to roam, the couple wanted the configuration of a big common space. They also love to entertain. The original two bedrooms, kitchen and living room were converted into an open-plan kitchen-meets-dining room, with a workspace at one end, seamlessly flowing into the living room. The angular bedroom, like a fork in the middle, is a separate room, as is the bathroom.
Glasswork.
Glass Block Wall
Not only was glass block wall employed as part of the design, but it played a much larger role throughout this renovation. Interior designer Jia Jun cleverly incorporated glasswork into varying spaces, acting as a divider and a way to play with angles and light.
Inspired by a scene from Netflix’s The Brothers Sun, Jia Jun had the idea to create a slanted glass block wall to separate the bedroom and kitchen. Never done before, he wasn’t sure if it would work. But with the trust of the homeowners, they went for it. And the result is fabulous; an eye-catching and unusual piece.
The Master Bedroom.
Master Bedroom Design
The master bedroom is undoubtedly the most distinct room in the home. Cordoned off between the kitchen and open-plan dining and living room, its angular walls create a very geometric feature of the home. One side of the wall acts as a barrier connector between the master and the living room, whilst the other cleverly corner marks out the spaces for the open-style dining room. Seeking a space to rest and rejuvenate, the room design is kept simple with a bedframe, built-in cupboards, and some pendant lighting. A sliding door with a cat flap opens the bedroom.
The slanted glass panel separates the bedroom and kitchen. Glasswork is featured throughout the room.
“What we did was to use the entire facçade of the bedroom as glass blocks,” says interior designer Jia Jun, “one of the key ideas was having light transiting through the bedroom and the living room.”
The bathroom, where tiles were inspired by swimming pools.
The bathroom, where tiles were inspired by swimming pools.
Bathroom Design
Public Singaporean swimming pools and hawker centres popped to mind when Jia Jun originally visualised the master bathroom. Teal-coloured tiles comprise the flooring, contrasted against grouted white tiles (which feel tres old-school Japanese), used for the bathroom and shower walls. A medicine cabinet was suggested as a bathroom cabinet for an extra industrial-cool feel.
The original bathroom was extended into part of the kitchen, and the couple wanted to create a dry bathroom with a deep sink big enough to wash their cats. This section is bright and bold thanks to the orange tiling used.
The kitchen and the slanted glass panel off the side of the kitchen.
The kitchen and the slanted glass panel off the side of the kitchen.
Kitchen Design
A combination of wall and flooring textures showcases the raw materials used throughout the kitchen. Exposed brick, cement, and grouted small squares create distinctive design features. It’s subtle but not understated. Cabinets are reminiscent of Japanese Honoki (Japanese cypress) with their light wood colour. Carpark lighting juxtaposes feelings of warm VS cold.
The “wow” factor of the slanted glass block wall is flaunted from the kitchen.
The Dining Area with touches of Mid-Centruy Modern chairs.
Dining Area Design
Created as an open space, the kitchen opens to the dining area. At the far end of the dining area is a custom-made desk where work gets done. A rounded table allows the dining space to feel larger. Mix-matched chairs are used around the table, including a vintage “Wassily” style one — sparking the attention of plenty of houseguests.
Floating bookshelves sectioning off the living room.
Living Room Design
Floating drop-down bookshelves separate the living room from the dining room.
“My wife is the one who styled the place. I’m just the guy who likes to read books,” the homeowner tells Home & Decor.
A wooden bench beneath the hanging work cabinet-style bookshelves creates an open feel, yet provides a barrier between the dining area and the living room. Lighting plays an important role. The sofa is placed against the living room/bedroom wall glass panel. This is parallel to a window.
Fun fact: All of the furniture that the homeowners chose touches the ground. Zero-gaps mean no cat toys can get lost or stuck underneath.
Master Bedroom.
Master Bedroom.
The design and planning process took two to three months. The renovation process was approximately four to five months. The homeowners moved into their home in November 2024.
Overall, this is one home where the owners’ personality shines, and No Sense Studio was able to encapsulate this via fun and different design spaces throughout.
Humorous, adventurous and as fans of absurdism, the homeowners’ final piece of advice is one that many people aspiring to renovate can follow, too:
“Try to have fun with the pieces you can put inside (your home).”