Home Tour: $150,000 Renovation for a healthcare couple’s 4-room HDB resale at Compassvale Road
This couple loves their matrimonial home so much that there is nowhere else on earth that they would rather be.
By Lynn Tan -
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Training executive, Foo Jia Wei and Felicia Emily, a pharmacy technician, met in the healthcare company that they both work for. They purchased this four-room resale flat as their matrimonial home and chose it because it is near the MRT station and for its boxy layout.
While some homeowners may request for a larger living room or an additional guest bedroom so that they can host family and friends, homeowners Jia Wei and Felicia wanted their home to be a cosy and intimate space that revolves around their wants and needs, no matter how extravagant or “wasteful”.
Who Lives Here: A young couple who works in healthcare
Home: A 4-room HDB resale flat at Compassvale Road
Size: 1,000 sq ft
Interior Designer: Design manager, Simon Chin from Ovon Design
Ovon Design Reviews
Thinking back, the couple admits to not being as prepared as they should have been when they first met up with design manager, Simon Chin from Ovon Design.
“We based 85 percent of our mood board on one of their past projects that we really liked and that was about it,” 30-year-old Jia Wei confesses. That said, the couple did have an overall idea of what they wanted and what to avoid.
Dark Interior Design
“In general, we wanted something more monochromatic and darker, while staying away from typical brightly coloured Scandinavian and woody styles,” says homeowner Felicia, who is 27 years old. They were also very clear about two important items on their must-have list- a pink walk-in wardrobe for her, and a man cave with a large display cabinet for him.
The resale HDB flat was in poor condition and the finishes and windows were all looking rather dated. Interior designer Simon had all these replaced and hacked some walls to reconfigure the spaces according to the couple’s needs.
He introduced a partition beside the main door that defines a proper entrance foyer by serving as a divider between the entrance area and the dining and living spaces. It also incorporates a settee for wearing and removing shoes, as well as carpentry that provides storage for shoes and conceals the DB box.
Dining Room Design
On the other side of the foyer cabinet is a series of open shelving facing the dining room where Felicia displays her Disney collectibles. The couple unwinds after work by watching television programmes in the evening and the living room was designed with this in mind. Its dark and moody palette is inviting and cosy and the television wall features textured cement.
Man Cave
Jia Wei’s man cave lies behind a hidden door along this wall. His prized collection of toys, games and cards, including his favourite Pokémon Gengar range, takes up an entire wall in this room. Apart from the built-in display cabinet, Simon also added a long, custom-made, black study table with LED lighting where Jia Wei can indulge in his gaming.
“I spend my time here playing on the computer for about two to three hours per day. When I am in the mood, I will play some music on my piano or guitar,” he shares.
Master Bedroom Design
Part of the existing master bedroom wall was hacked to accommodate a queen-sized bed and a massage chair.
“I kept the design simple and cosy to make it conducive for winding down,” Simon points out. A recessed rectangular niche in the wall behind the bed negates the need for bedside tables, which further frees up space within the room.
Walk-In Wardrobe
A door within the master bedroom connects to an existing bedroom next door, which has been transformed into Felicia’s walk-in wardrobe. She says: “A princessy walk-in wardrobe is every girl’s dream.”
It is a very feminine space decked out in her favourite colour, pink, with a few white wardrobe doors demarcating Jia Wei’s “territory”. The shaker style wardrobe doors have arched designs and incorporate some open display cabinets for her handbags.
The arch profile is echoed in the back-lit, wall-mounted mirror above the dressing table against a backdrop of floral motif wallpaper. This is where Felicia spends one to two hours doing her skincare and make-up before heading out. Her collection of Winnie The Pooh soft toys can be found nicely arranged on a special sofa at one end of the room.
All-White Kitchen Design
Interior designer Simon combined the kitchen and yard into one large and spacious area. Although the couple seldom cook, they do prepare breakfast in the kitchen every morning. They opted for a clean look with white cabinets that contrast with the dark grey flooring.
The arch makes another appearance over the dish rack above the sink. “We spent a lot of time sourcing for pretty appliances that fit the white-and-chrome aesthetic and we think it turned out amazing,” Felicia comments.
$150,000 Renovation Cost
The renovation cost about $100,000 plus an additional $50,000 for furniture and fittings. It took around three months to complete and the couple moved into their new home in July 2024, four days after their wedding.
The new home symbolises the start of their journey together as husband and wife and they consider it to be “their favourite place on earth”.
Jia Wei says: “Our home reflects who we are. After living here for six months, we still watch a lot of renovation videos on YouTube to compare and we can confidently say that there is not a single major thing that we would change about the home, both function and design-wise.”