Home Tour: A China expat couple’s $98,000 French Colonial renovation for their 5-room HDB in Northshore
By Shannon Osztonits -
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Travel has a way of shaping its receivers; inspiring one throughout different life stages, influencing our interests and how we see the world, culture, design, and so forth.
Entering this stylish and welcoming abode on the water, it’s easy to tell that these homeowners have travelled the world. You’re transported to a home somewhere in the French countryside. This was very much intentional, and the French colonial-esqueness of the house is all part of the primary vision.
“The homeowners have always loved the colonial French look; their previous place also had this design theme,” says interior designer Joann from Ovon Design. “This time round, they engaged us for our design vision of their home, our interpretation of French colonial.”
Structurally, the overall theme follows a neutral colour palette — contrasted with the couple’s love for solid wood furniture. Growing up in China and then moving to Singapore, this showcases their background.
“Although they travel a lot, deep down, they are still very Asian Singaporean,” tells the interior designer.
Who Lives Here: A semi-retired couple and their son, studying abroad
Home: A 3-bedroom HDB BTO
Size: 1,249 sq ft
Interior Designer: Joann and KS, from Ovon Design
The open living room and dining area with floor-to-ceiling windows.
French Colonial Interior Design
It’s all tres French colonial-meets-the English countryside with touches of Asian heritage throughout.
Facing the ocean on the northeast side of Singapore, the home exudes a natural warmth, with a constant glow captured across all spaces. Extra inviting, this further enhances that feeling of being nestled away somewhere in the South of France.
Northshore Drive 5-Room HDB BTO
This complete renovation by the interior design team was for a brand new 5-room HDB BTO unit. It comprises three bedrooms (one of which was converted into a study and guest room) and two bathrooms. It features a wet and dry kitchen, as well as an open living room with a dining area corner.
The property’s waterfront location suits these homeowners, with its combination of modern amenities and green spaces. You don’t feel as if you’re in the heave of a city’s buzz. Sort of the same feelings that you get when you’re in the French countryside, like Provence.
Whilst the interior design team was left in charge of recreating a French-style dream, all furniture sourcing came from this jet-setting couple.
“They personally have a good eye for their furniture and home decorative items,” recalls interior designer Joann.
Walking through each room, one glimpses layers of the homeowners’ personality, artwork, and vintage-inspired pieces, showcasing a testament to the homeowners’ classy taste. Warm light bounces off the dark walnut-coloured vinyl flooring used across the entire house, coupled with contrasting textures, tiles, and large windows.
French colonial design elements in the living room.
Living Room Design
The large open-plan living room space is divided by a plush neutral-toned sofa, separating the television area and the dark-wood, round dining table. A floor-to-ceiling window stretches across the entire side-facing wall, allowing endless natural ocean light to filter through.
Vintage art posters.
Vintage posters of China decorate the opposite wainscoting paneled wall, and a large TV is mounted on the back wall, with antique French-looking wall sconces on either side.
Plush furniture pieces in a combination of neutral and solid tones.
Mahogany tones are favored in main furniture pieces, further reinforcing the French colonial feel, along with beige colours in the ottoman, the brass finishings, for example, pot plant holders, and a mixture of textures provided by the throw cushions. Pops of greenery enhance the seaside ambiance.
Above the dining room table is a statement pendant lamp, its shape a cross between Asian and European aesthetics — a reflection of this home’s overall theme.
The hallway corridor leading to the Master Bedroom.
Master Bedroom Design
A hallway leads to the Master Bedroom, where high ceilings and lightly-coloured walls accentuate the French colonial design.
A queen-size sleigh bed sits in the middle of the master bedroom, and the headboard is done in the same hard, mahogany wood as the rest of the home’s furniture. Two raised bed post finials decorate the corners, giving it an instantly refined and rather royal sort of feel. Two lower bed post finials adorn the bottom half of the bed.
The big window allows lots of sunlight to enter the Master.
A lightweight sheer curtain sits beneath the heavier printed bedroom curtains, both adding luxury and warmth. Wall sconces above the bed frame lend an antique feel, as well as the vintage-looking lampshade and ornate bedside mirror. In front of the master bed is a smart television mounted on the wall.
The door leading from the Master to the En Suite.
Master Ensuite Design
An arched-panel white door leads from the primary to the master bathroom. Here, there is a shower, a vanity, and a toilet. French interior design is echoed throughout.
The walls are a gorgeous combination of French Blue-print tiles (the upper half) and a white marble tile (the lower half of the wall).
The master ensuite features contrasting textures.
The gold brass finishes (used for the showerhead, bathroom sink taps, tile racks, and bidet shower) lend character, beautifully balancing the two-toned/textured en suite walls. Materials used for the vanity are a mixture of rattan, solid wood, and brass.
The second bedroom.
Son’s Bedroom Design
The second bedroom in the house belongs to this semi-retired couple’s son, who studies abroad. Whenever he is home in Singapore, the bedroom belongs to him.
Room accents follow a navy, dark French blue colour scheme; a tone reminiscent of the uniform colours that French soldiers wore centuries ago.
This room is kept simple yet elegant, exuding a masculine feel. It has built-in cupboards, a working desk and a chair. Navy-coloured wainscoting is implemented for the bottom half of the back wall, doubling as a headboard.
The white-shutter windows allow for natural lighting and also highlight French colonial interior design. These are masked by heavier blue and white plant-printed curtains.
The sleeper couch in the study.
Study Room Design
The study room shows off the family’s appreciation for timeless vintage items. Within this room is an old-school, classic record player, books, and vintage travel trunks. It converts from a study to a personal entertainment space. Above the vinyl player is a TV on the wall, and on either side are standing surround-sound speakers.
Doubling as a guest room, the black leather couch transforms into a sleeper bed.
“We converted the common bedroom that’s facing the kitchen space to become a study room/ entertainment/ relaxing /reading corner space,” says interior designer Joann.
Vintage record player.
A professional work desk sits parallel to the floor-to-ceiling window, allowing natural light to create balance against the dark, solid furniture, which transports one to France circa the mid-18th century. Back then, this furniture style was a symbol of wealth, especially in cities like Paris.
Every last bit of attention to detail is thought of, from the luxurious earth-tone curtains to the abstract-shaped vases to the vintage standing lamp.
The bright dry kitchen.
The coffee and tea corner.
Dry Kitchen Design
From within the dry kitchen, you’d expect to look out the window and see the lavender fields of Aix-en-Provence outside. The interior designer struck the perfect equilibrium between a French Colonial-style kitchen with modern finishes.
Light colours were employed for most finishings, such as cupboards, doors, and kitchen appliances, like the professional barista coffee machine. This is married with darker accents, for example, storage cabinets and rattan and wood barstools. At the tea and coffee station, the wife’s cup collection is on full display. Vintage elements, further enhancing French design, carry through the kitchen, for example, the old-school Marshall speaker.
A broad view of the entrance and the big, open kitchen.
The kitchen is one of the interior designer’s favourite spaces in the home, and for good reason. Sectioned well, there is a wet and dry kitchen, with glass partitioning dividing the wet and dry areas. A kitchen island was built to connect to the wall, and a sintered stone backsplash is used for the walls.
The Wet Kitchen, partitioned off by glass.
“The kitchen door adds more to the colonial aesthetic feel, yet it’s still able to connect the kitchen space to the living room,” explains the Ovon Design team, “so the overall space still looks spacious.”
The desk in the study faces the window.
3 Months’ Renovation
The interior design and construction process took three months to complete, without any delays.
“We had ample time as the homeowners engaged us early, and they loved our original design proposal with minimal changes,” tells interior designer Joann.
These homeowners moved into their home in December 2024.
The second/guest bathroom.
“As an ID, I listen to homeowners and help translate their vision, and cater to their dream aesthetic. I don’t have a specific design theme as a forte, but rather a “Jack of all trades,” says Joann, “and I am always learning to be adaptable, like a Transformer.”
The Ovon Design team beautifully translated these homeowners’ vision, and one certainly feels transported to the shores of France.