Home Tour: A HR manager’s modern luxe 5-room HDB resale flat in Redhill

Sometimes, the road to finding the right interior designer gets bumpy. It might even require a detour or two. “We went to two designers, one of them was M Atelier. Based on the budget, we went with the other designer. However, when we had the first render from the other, it fell way below our expectations,” Liam Hui Hua, a senior human resource manager, recalls. The couple returned to Megan Zhang, the interior design director of M Atelier, who came up with a design concept.

The couple had a modern luxe feel in mind, and seeing it was an old resale HDB flat, they knew they wanted to strip everything away. Interior designer Megan’s design concept consisted of stylistic elements and a reimagination of the space through thoughtful space planning. “Megan immediately nailed it. She could really understand the theme we’d like to achieve exactly to the point,” homeowner Hui Hua says, adding that she and her husband, Casey Arthur, were impressed when they saw it.

Who Lives Here: A couple with their toddler and helper
Home: A 5-room HDB flat
Size: 1,358 sq ft
Interior Design: Megan Zhang, design director of M Atelier

Dark & Old HDB Resale Flat

Before the renovations, several spaces lacked natural light due to the layout. That said, it brimmed with potential due to its unblocked views and ample floor area of 1,358 sqft. The solution was to overhaul the layout, which was the client’s aim. Interior designer Megan says, “When a client wishes to hack everything, it’s great because of the flexibility. However, there are hundreds of possibilities. So, how do we ultimately come to the best solution for the client?”

The team identified four main design goals. The first was to create an open and spacious home. This was done with the couple’s brief in mind, too. Hui Hua and Casey, a finance controller, also wanted a helper’s room, a walk-in wardrobe, an open-concept kitchen, and a room for their daughter. So, one bedroom was hacked away to make a spacious dining area and a study area possible. These spaces merge with the spacious living area to become one large shared space where the family could hang out or entertain family and friends.

Modern Luxe Kitchen Design

Interior designer Megan and her team also opened up the enclosed kitchen. That way, they could extend the kitchen area and have an island. The original study in this part of the home was then converted into the helper’s room. It is now tucked away behind a hidden door on one side of the kitchen.

Bright Dining Room Design

With this open plan, they achieved the second goal, which was to maximise the views and natural lighting. Light flows through the windows in the dining area towards the living area and kitchen. As a corridor unit, it also gains natural light from the other side of the home. The interior design team also implemented a series of lighting solutions to accentuate design features and provide additional illumination in some areas.

As for the aesthetics, the material and colour palette was chosen with consideration of the overall home. With a mix of woodgrain finishes and neutral colours to contrast against one another, the home is at once soothing and dynamic. The finishes, such as the smooth tiles on the backsplash, were selected for easy maintenance. “The most wow design feature was the pillar in the living area with one side for dining and the other for work. She created a mirror to make it more spacious, something we didn’t think about and didn’t see in the other designer’s concept,” Hui Hua shares.

For interior designer Megan, interior design goes beyond aesthetics, and she looked at the practicality of space as another goal. “We also wanted the family to enjoy the space. It can be frustrating to see things lying around and situations where, for example, the vacuum cleaner does not have a place to park and charge. So, we made sure the family has the storage space they need,” she explains. The design stage addressed these storage needs with customised solutions and dedicated places for appliances and other household items.

The project was completed over four months, and the family moved into the home in May 2023. Homeowner Hui Hua muses, “Although we don’t cook, we really like the kitchen area. We like how we can see the whole living room, dining room, and kitchen when we come home and open the door. It’s a very comfortable space to live in, everything we envisioned a home to be. With such a nice space, it’s a reminder for us to keep it neat and tidy too.”

Modern Luxe Living Room

An awkward beam is clad with tinted mirror panels, an unexpected touch that elevates the luxurious feel of this home. The interior design feature on the ceiling and wall with woodgrain finishes wraps around the kitchen, giving it a cosy feel. Lighting on the shelves and ceiling feature creates depth to the kitchen design.

Storage solutions at the windows facing the external corridor address the family’s need for storage to house shoes and household items.

The wood slab table wraps around the pillar clad with tinted mirror panels. The design team paired the wood slab with clear acrylic table legs so that it would look like a floating table. M Atelier selected lighting and artworks for the home, aiming for minimalist and timeless pieces.

Modern Luxe Master Bedroom

The suspended bedside tables blend into the fluted panels on the walls. Cove lighting is also used throughout the master bedroom.

Modern Luxe Wardrobe

The wardrobe is tucked away from the bed area, giving the feel of a walk-in wardrobe. This also minimises light and sound if one is getting ready for the day while the other is sleeping. Mirror panels facing the wardrobe give a sense of spaciousness to this corner and soften the angular lines.

Moving the vanity area out of the master bedroom creates a more spacious and comfortable bathroom. When space is lacking, placing the vanity area outside is an alternative to having double washbasins.

Daughter’s Bedroom

For the daughter’s room, the team customised a wardrobe in a style that could take her through the years. The walls, now painted in peach, can be repainted. There is ample room for a larger bed when she grows up.