Home Tour: Fashion director Jeremy Tan's chic and artistic 3-room HDB bachelor pad
By Natasha Ann Zachariah -
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Guests at fashion director Jeremy Tan’s home will notice that he has a thing for mirrors and lights.
He has three unusual mirror frames: One, in bronze hues, takes centre stage in his living room; another is placed next to the door of his bedroom; then, there is a stunning gold piece with intricate detailing on the frame in his room which he picked up from an old junk shop in Race Course Road for about $200.
Who Lives Here: Jeremy Tan, fashion stylist to Zoe Tay, Kit Chan, Sheila Sim etc.
Size: 1,100 sq ft
Where: 14th storey 3-room HDB flat in Telok Blangah
Renovation Budget: $40,000
Modern HDB design
He gave the piece outside his bedroom a makeover by daubing it with gold paint bought from fabric and craft store Spotlight. Using his fingers, he smeared the paint on various parts of the frame to give it a “vintage feel”.
The white theme proves to be a good canvas for the interesting objects in the home of fashion director Jeremy Tan.
Tan, 60, says of the frame, which he bought in Kuala Lumpur: “Without the paint, it would have looked like a regular mirror. I like mirrors to be either rustic or Baroque-looking.
“Although the rest of my house is modern looking, these pieces offer a break from the theme. And because they are statement pieces, I kept the rest of the furniture basic.”
He uses light fixtures to the same effect. In his kitchen, a classic-looking chandelier dangles above his dining table, while floor and pendant lamps adorn the 1,100 sq ft Telok Blangah flat.
Tan attributes his eye for stylish elements to his work in fashion. A three-decade veteran of the industry, he regularly styles home-grown stars such as actress Zoe Tay, singer Kit Chan and model Sheila Sim for public appearances and magazine shoots. He also does campaign shoots for fashion labels and malls, such as Charles & Keith and Tangs.
But dressing up an apartment can be more challenging, he says. “Fashion trains you to look at one dimension because you’re working only on the body. But a house has so many rooms and so many dimensions to think of.”
Lived in Queen's Road
The bachelor, who used to live with his parents in a flat in Queen’s Road, moved into his whitewashed three-room flat in May 2013. He found his own pad after an on-off, four-year hunt and decided on this one because it is on a high floor – the 14th storey – and has unblocked views of his neighbourhood.
$40,000 Renovation Budget
Before moving in, he had renovations done such as installing new kitchen cabinets, enlarging the master bedroom and making the single toilet accessible from the kitchen and the master bedroom.
These trunks doubling as storage for fashion director Jeremy Tan.
He set aside a $40,000 budget but ended up busting it, although he does not know by how much. “I knew this apartment is a once-in-a-lifetime investment. I didn’t want to stint and regret later.”
What he left untouched was the original marble flooring of the 1970s flat, as he likes its maroon “spider web” pattern.
He chose a white interior design theme because he says colours complicate the look of a home. “Even though white can get dirty easily, it’s a good base to add more colourful furniture pieces.”
Displayed behind the sofa in the living room, this skull is one of three collected by fashion director Jeremy Tan.
Furniture collection from travels
And Tan has plenty of furniture. Over the years, he had picked up pieces here or on his travels. For example, he brought back a side coffee table from Spain and an antique lamp from India. He had so many pieces, he had to store them in his work studio in Pasir Panjang and in his parents’ flat until he moved to his new home.
He is still on the lookout for new pieces. “I don’t have a wishlist. If I come across something and am sure it will fit the look of my house, I will buy it.”
This article was first published in The Straits Times in 2013.