My First Home: An interior designer’s 4-room HDB resale in Bedok (lives in same block as his parents!)

For 32-year old Cedrick Law, designing homes is second nature. But designing his own? That’s an entirely different story, especially when the key client also happens to be his wife.

After years of living in a packed 4-room HDB flat with their extended family members (comprising three couples) and eventually, a baby in tow, Cedrick and Tse Lyn decided it was time to find a space of their own. That decision came unexpectedly, sparked by a spontaneous online listing for a unit in the same block.

“It was old and very bare,” Tse Lyn admits, “but to us, that didn’t matter. Cedrick’s in the ID [meaning: interior design] line. We saw potential.” And potential they unlocked. Cedrick, with his trained eye and familiarity with the layout (it mirrored his parents’ unit downstairs), took full ownership of the renovation, tearing down walls, softening edges and creating a calm, cohesive home layered in Japandi, Scandi and Wabi-Sabi inspirations.

The result is a warm, tactile space that flows beautifully between public and private zones, with curves replacing sharp angles, and flexible areas that evolve as the family grows.

Design That Flows With Life

Step through the front door and you’re greeted by a seamless visual expanse, thanks to the removal of a wall that once divided the entrance. The living room is airy yet intimate, designed for everything from family TV nights to playtime with their toddler. “There are no sharp corners,” Tse Lyn points out. “It’s a safe space where our son can roam and we can just be together.”

Those curves aren’t just aesthetic; they set the mood. “Having curves throughout the house softens the energy,” Cedrick says. “It adds to the cosiness, especially in a home.”

Throughout the space, elements are deliberately designed for daily life. A long island table sits in what was once the master bedroom, now transformed into a communal zone where family members eat, work, and one day, study together. Storage and power sockets beneath the island make it as practical as it is multi-functional.

Kitchen with Intention

The kitchen is where design negotiations happened. Tse Lyn had firm opinions: tiles over vinyl for easier cleaning, a built-in dishwasher, a long countertop, and a non-negotiable pot filler to reduce trips to the sink. Cedrick’s challenge? Fitting all of that in without compromising flow. The result: a well-zoned kitchen that’s separated from the laundry area by a sleek sliding door, with thoughtful placement of a side-mounted dish rack for easier access.

A Master Suite That’s Actually Sweet

Repurposing was a key strategy in their master suite. What used to be a common bedroom is now a serene retreat featuring a custom-built headboard, curved false ceiling and a limewash feature wall. An existing storeroom was cleverly reimagined into an L-shaped walk-in wardrobe, complete with a rotating hanger to optimise hard-to-reach corners. “That one was my design,” Tse Lyn says proudly.

Even the bathroom underwent a creative makeover. To enable direct access from the master, Cedrick created a new invisible door and constructed a partition wall to carve out a walk-in bath zone. “It flows,” Tse Lyn says simply. “And it’s full of storage, mostly mine.”

A Room for Growth

The kids’ room is the one space Cedrick let his wife take full design credit for. “It’s clean, mobile, and colourful,” she says. Designed with adaptability in mind, it remains deliberately flexible, ready to accommodate future changes, whether that’s a bunk bed, a study nook, or even another sibling down the road. “We wanted a space that would grow with him.”

Living Close, But Not Too Close

With Cedrick’s parents still living just downstairs, the couple benefits from a built-in support system, especially for childcare and shared dinners. But boundaries remain clear. “They respect our space,” Tse Lyn notes. “Even though they know our door codes, they never drop by unannounced.”

Creating a Life They Designed Together

More than a showcase of good design, this home represents freedom. Freedom from cramped spaces. Freedom to raise a child with room to grow. And freedom to just be themselves, without navigating the politics of shared space.

“It’s important to have a place you can truly call your own,” Tse Lyn says. “This home lets us be who we are, and build the kind of life we want together.”

As Cedrick puts it: “I love my family. They’re what drive me. And I’ll keep finding that balance between work, home, and being present, because this space, this life… it’s all worth it.”