Home Tour: $170,000 Modern Peranakan renovation for a 30s couple’s 5-room HDB at Bedok Reservoir Road
This interior designer’s home is an expression of her bold and adventurous streak.
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Who Lives Here: A couple in their 30s
Home: A 5-room HDB flat at Bedok Reservoir Road
Size: 1,367 sq ft
Interior Designer: Verena Lim, Resistance
When it comes to designing her own home, interior designer, Verena Lim from homegrown studio, Resistance, believes in the mantra, “Go big or go home”. Some of these daring colours and ideas may not be so easily accepted by her clients, but this being her own home gave her the opportunity to try them out.
“As a Peranakan, colours are very important to me. I like vibrant colours and loud, exciting spaces. However, they can be overwhelming, so I incorporated relaxing hues such as lime washed walls and ceiling, neutral light grey floor tiles and wood-and-rattan wardrobes,” says the 33-year-old.
Lime washed walls and ceiling, neutral light grey floor tiles dominate the living areas of this 1,367 sq ft 5-room HDB at Bedok Reservoir Road.
HDB HIP
The 35-year-old flat was in its original condition, save for a Home Improvement Programme (HIP) that was carried out by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) for the bathrooms a few years ago. The entrance foyer creates an impact from the get-go with its floral Peranakan tiles underfoot and a pop of Tiffany-blue on the walls.
Indoor skylight
Glass blocks screen off the interior of the home, which homeowner and interior designer Verena shares with her 34-year-old husband, Renda Teen, a digital marketing specialist. The glass block wall offers privacy without blocking off the light entirely and gives off vintage vibes. A circular, porthole-like opening offers a glimpse into the kitchen on the other side of the foyer wall.
“I did not want a run-of-the-mill entrance foyer with a regular shoe cabinet, so I designed an Origami cabinet with different angles and used raw, solid ply for the doors to achieve that organic look with ‘Kueh Lapis’ lines,” Verena explains.
Inserting an air well in the heart of the home surrounded by the rest of the spaces was a bold move that did wonders in brightening up the interior and gives the flat a tranquil and soothing quality.
Open-concept living, study, and dining room in this 1,367 sq ft 5-room HDB at Bedok Reservoir Road.
Living room
The living room feels airy and spacious despite it being slightly smaller than before as a result of enlarging the adjacent balcony. This was for good reason as it allows homeowners Verena and Renda to utilise the balcony for multiple purposes.
AIBI Home gym
This is where they like to chill out, host friends and family over drinks and barbeque, and it even houses a gym with equipment from AIBI in a wood casing that complements the cane furniture in the balcony.
Spacious, sun-lit balcony area with rattan chairs and planters in a 1,367 sq ft 5-room HDB at Bedok Reservoir Road.
Sliding folding doors
When fully opened, the mullion-free, slide-and-fold balcony window offers an unobstructed view of the matured trees outside. The feeling of bringing nature into the home is further heightened using full-height telescopic glass doors that blur the boundaries between the balcony, the living room and the rest of the 5-room Bedok Reservoir HDB.
Island Living dining table in this 1,367 sq ft 5-room HDB at Bedok Reservoir Road.
Dining area
A large dining table from Island Living made from solid natural wood painted over in black takes centre stage in the dining room. “We enjoy using natural things and appreciate their crevices and indents and imperfections over something that is deliberately made to appear flawless,” shares homeowner and interior designer Verena.
A customised dark green sideboard cabinet from ipse ipsa ipsum reflects this ethos with its vegetable-dyed bamboo that produces an irregular green tone. The dining room backdrop is an eclectic mix of wall art that the couple love for their retro style and vibrant colours. Outdoor bamboo blinds lend a finishing touch that injects an outdoor Balinese ambience into the indoor dining area.
Bright yellow kitchen cabinets paired with grey mosaic walls, kitchen countertops, and Peranakan floor tiles in this 1,367 sq ft 5-room HDB at Bedok Reservoir Road.
Yellow kitchen cabinets
If there is still any trace of ambiguity about Verena’s love for loud and bold colours, the kitchen will put that to rest. She chose a bright yellow laminate that captures the energy and movement of the space. “We were inspired by old European kitchens that can have pretty crazy colours,” she says.
Rounded kitchen cabinet door edges help to soften the overall look and feel. Juxtaposed against the yellow hue are Peranakan floor tiles and Japanese earthquake-proof wall tiles that are used to clad the exterior of buildings in Japan. They give off a captivating iridescence and part of their appeal also lies in the fact that they will no longer be brought into Singapore anymore.
All natural master bedroom design in this 1,367 sq ft 5-room HDB at Bedok Reservoir Road.
Master bedroom design
Unlike the rest of the home, the master bedroom was intended to be a more restful space with a toned-down colour palette and a prevalent use of wood. Rattan on the top half of the wardrobe doors reinforce the Balinese look while allowing the clothes to ventilate. But even with more sedate colours, trust homeowner and interior designer Verena to still express her adventurous streak somehow.
“I wanted to be more daring with the wardrobe design details, so I played with various depths and protrusions and slanted the laminate directions to achieve a more distinctive and sophisticated outcome,” she points out.
Bamboo tiles and white iridescent Japanese tiles in the bathroom of this 1,367 sq ft 5-room HDB at Bedok Reservoir Road.
Bathroom design
Even the bathrooms are not spared Verena’s experimental touch. Dark green, concave wall tiles that resemble bamboo are teamed with white, iridescent, Japanese tiles that help to balance the composition. The apparent brushstrokes of the hand-painted washbasin imported from overseas add a rustic contrast to the smooth and shiny tiled surfaces.
The couple moved into their new home in May 2023 after a four-month renovation that cost about $170,000, excluding furniture and appliances. Designing her own home gave interior designer Verena the chance to do things differently from the norm, especially when it comes to going to town with colours.
“With a client’s home, the objective is clearer because you generate ideas based on their preferences and concepts. With my own home, as a designer myself, I am bursting with ideas and there are so many things that I want to try out and play with that I can confuse myself at times,” she confesses. “There is no one to tell me whether he or she prefers this or that. I become my own voice,” she adds.