House Tour: $60,000 Renovation for this modern-vintage style, 5-room HDB in Serangoon
To the owners of this 5-room HDB flat in Serangoon, vintage style is not just an on-trend phase but also something they embrace wholeheartedly. Their collection of antique furniture and memorabilia has been waiting in the background for years before they bought and renovated this home.
Interior designers, The Scientist, who designed their home is familiar with integrating vintage elements into a modern shell, but this couple wanted to go the distance.
The interior designers’ main role was to achieve the modern-vintage style without the home resembling a bric-a-brac shop. The budget of $60,000 enabled them to wipe clean the slate and present the flat as a spare white space with a honey-toned herringbone parquet floor.
A commanding buffet laid out with pretty tea-time accoutrements counters the industrial vibe of the brick wall and exposed wiring.
Daylight streams into the “classroom”, which is large enough for six students. Original architectural drawings from Mobler.
In keeping with the period look, there are no built-ins in the flat apart from the kitchen. Clothing is stored in two antique armoires. Pot and plant is from Galanga Living.
Copper piping cleverly matches the wood wall cabinet and mirror. Stainless steel or PVC would have jarred with the vintage styling of the space. Basin top accessories are from Galanga Living.
The kitchen is true to the period style – from the colour of the wall tiles to the ceramic knobs and, of course, the concrete base.