Home Tour: $77,000 Renovation for a healthcare worker’s 3-room Resale HDB in Ang Mo Kio
By Shannon Osztonits -
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Have you ever felt so inspired by something that you decided to turn it into living art?
Homeowner, Priscilla, leaned into her favourite Singaporean ceramic artist’s work (@ummuramics) like an unofficial muse as she conjured up visions for her first-time home renovation project.
Stepping into Priscilla’s world, your mood is instantly lifted the moment you enter this dopamine-infused abode.
Bright POPS of pastel colours, curvy-wurvy lines and form, and cutesy cartoon-like characters doubling as decor, furniture and finishes. A dollar-bill flower clock hangs on the wall here; a little floral-crowned penguin stool for drinks there. Wardrobe knobs shaped as starfish and hearts, and a fairytale-like, whimsical mushroom house as a salt and pepper pot.
“I like quirky stuff and colourful things…Black is dull,” says Priscilla. “Colour helps put you in a cheerful mood and affects it.”
It’s so true, colour has the power to influence your mindset, and for this Healthcare Industry worker, returning to a happy space is a welcome change when hospital days can be depressing.
The colour blocking extends into every room, even the ceilings.
Who Lives Here: A 44-year-old female Singaporean in the Healthcare Industry, and her tenant
Home: A 3-room HDB
Size: 721 sq ft
Interior designer: Qi Xuan from Interplay
This homeowner’s resale 3-room HDB features two bedrooms, one (the master) of which Priscilla sublets. There are two bathrooms: one off the kitchen and the other an en suite in the primary.
“I do not like the idea of having a toilet in the place where I sleep, so that’s why I rented out the master,” the healthcare industry worker explains.
A complete regutting, the walls and foundational structures were not touched. All furniture is new, sourced by Priscilla and her fiancé.
“I used to live a block away. When I came across this property — which was the fifth one I looked at — it was facing a school field, which I love. I always wanted a Buddha to face a field, and now it does,” recalls the homeowner, pointing to the yellow cabinet as you enter the front door.
“It’s also on the lower floor. The views and quiet environment sold me on the space.”
Delicious colour blocking matches every detail of this home.
“When looking for an Interior Design Studio, I searched for interior designers who work with colour, instead of the more neutral, Japandi or Muji style,” Priscilla explains.
As soon as she met Qi Xuan from Interplay, they instantly clicked, and Qi Xuan understood her vision, as the result clearly points out within this ever-colourful home.
The colour palette decision was an inputted combination from both the homeowner and the interior designer.
“I wanted shades of pastels. So, Qi Xuan blended these to go with the flow.”
Her initial vision was to replicate the feelings of a retro cafe, along with cartoon rainbow colours reminiscent of Polly Pockets, and big-time pastel vibes. Qi Xuan used pastel laminates for the majority of carpentry works purchased from Lamitak, EDL, Catalyste and Jennings.
Vinyl floors in the living room blend in with the light wood TV console and pastel shades.
Living Room Design
Entering Priscilla’s striking space via the bright yellow mustard-hued door, you’re greeted to a colour-blocked living room, varying in tones of butter yellow, baby pinks and light purples.
Next to the entrance is her shoe-meets-sitting storage bench, and glass cabinets housing her treasured collection of ummuramics’ ceramics and other trinkets. (All of the custom-carpentry cupboards are for built-in storage to suit the house’s space availability.)
A caramel butterscotch-coloured sofa was purchased from Nova. A figurine of Patrick from SpongeBob doubles as a side table, gifted to the homeowner as a housewarming present from a friend, purchased from Taobao.
“I love round, cutesy and chubby things,” Priscilla says.
Opposite the couch is a one-of-a-kind TV console unit, custom-built from plywood and a laminate finish, with pastel-shaded shelves (displaying more ceramics) — and matching backlight LEDs.
There’s a keen sense of sentimentality throughout all spaces of this home.
Motivated to renovate her home after years of watching one of her favourite shows, House Hunters, the American-style dining nook is this homeowner’s favourite space.
Dining Design
“I really wanted a kind of cafe feel, where I can eat and watch TV at the same time,” Priscilla says. “You know, parents used to say: ‘don’t watch TV and eat at the same time,’ well, now, I can.”
The kitchen was rendered slightly smaller to free up more floor area for the dining nook, which seats about four to five people.
Qi Xuan custom-designed the diner-style settee booth using laminates, and beneath the bench is more storage space for pillows and other random bits and bobs. The round table is from Shopee, perfectly suiting the setup.
“I prefer the more rounded vibes, not sharp edges and lines,” the Healthcare Industry worker expresses. “I have two elderly folks, one with dementia, so I don’t want them knocking themselves on sharp edges and such.”
From here, Priscilla enjoys catching up on her favourite series, as the TV in the living room rotates.
This section is where Priscilla eats, hangs out, and does any work. The plastic, rattan-mimicked high chair stool from Shopee was specifically selected as it’s easy to maintain.
A long terrazzo-like countertop (Aurastone Quartz 1106 Nuvuo Snow) with light turquoise cupboards beneath flows from the dining nook until the end wall, with a window here allowing for natural light to flit off the soft shades chosen for the kitchen.
Kitchen Design
Working long hours, Priscilla doesn’t cook much, and her kitchen is mainly for “displaying cute appliances,” like a range of pastel Smeg tools, and her favourite ceramic mugs. The only thing you’ll find this foodie cooking, though, is a pot of instant noodles on her three-plate gas stove.
Storage cupboards above the counterspace are colour blocked in an array of pink, yellow and baby blue. These laminates include Catalyste HS2002VT Velvet Blossom and Lamitak SCA5115D Ethan Blue. The yellow door is EDL ESF5810T Sunsilk and the yellow carcass is Lamitak SCA5112D Popcorn. The green door is EDL ESG6300N Spring Green and the green carcass is EDL ESF5020T Fruit Green.
The attention to colour blocking detail is dreamy: a different window frame contrasting against yellow shelf edges (which are also terrazzo-lined). It’s all very matchy-matchy. Even her pots and pans are yellow.
The last instalment to go into the home was the tea/coffee station next to the fridge, done up in Spring Green and Fruit Green laminates from EDL.
For feng shui reasons, the fridge is on the other side of the kitchen, but not directly angled in line with the stove nor sink.
Thanks to the colour palette, Priscilla’s entire room is a dreamy, light and happy space.
Bedroom Design
In case you were wondering, yes, Priscilla’s clothing is as colourful as her home. Teaching yoga part-time, you’ll always find her in yoga attire, though nonetheless bright!
Keeping up with the theme, even her queen-sized bed set from Epitex (part of their Softicool Collection) is a soft green breeze shade, finished with a light lilac throw and pink fluffy scatter cushions. The headboard is from Nova.
Her interior designer custom-built the reading/chill bay window seat opposite the bed in pink, blue and yellow laminates. Around this area is her wardrobe, outlined with more genius colour blocking. The space is lit up in warm lights, and the vinyl flooring adds warmth.
Both bathrooms in Priscilla’s colourful home follow a similar theme/design, just with a different colour palette.
Bathroom Design
Each bathroom comprises a shower, vanity and toilet. One is dubbed the yellow bathroom (in the primary), and the other is the blue.
You cannot remove existing pipes in HBDs. Priscilla initially asked Qi Xuan to paint the mundane, stark-white bathroom pipes in yellow (Nippon Sun light 1190), and her interior designer then suggested doing the other bathroom in a different colour, turquoise (Nippon Nice Mint NP BGG 1589P). It all just works!
Bathroom tiles were purchased from Hafaray and Lian Seng Hin.
Priscilla’s bedroom is filled with attention to detail, like the yellow Lego tissue box.
$90,000 Renovation Cost
It was a two-to-three-month-long design process, and then the construction works took three months. The renovation cost came to $77,000, excluding doors and windows (all of which Priscilla sourced herself and replaced). All-in-all, the total reno cost was $90,000.
Situated on a lower floor, Priscilla was adamant about having insect-blocking mesh installed on all house windows.
“This is like my peace-out sanctuary,” says the Healthcare Industry worker. “I do live with my parents on and off, like a staycation.”
Her only regret throughout the entire process was not installing an extra fan around the dining area to combat Singapore’s extra humid days. Other than that, Priscilla’s colourful refuge is exactly as she always dreamed!