Home Tour: $200,000 Modern Peranakan renovation for a lawyer & financial advisor couple’s Executive Condo (EC) in Bedok
Mobile kitchen island, personal brewery, contemporary Peranakan details and clever spatial reconfiguration are some of the highlights of this executive apartment in Bedok designed in 2022 to cater to a large family.
By Asih Jenie -
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Alvin Neo and Danielle Tan want at least four children, so they planned accordingly by hunting for older HDB flats with space to cater to larger families.
Most of the suitably-sized flats were maisonette, but they managed to find a rare one-storey executive apartment in Bedok. After that, they hired an interior designer to turn their vision into a reality.
Who lives here: A couple in their 30s, their newborn daughter and a helper
Home: A resale HDB executive apartment in Bedok
Size: 1,500 sq ft
Interior Designer: AMP Design Co
They shortlisted six firms and gave them all the same design brief. AMP Design Co's Amanda Pang came up with a great solution that saw the home's layout completely reconfigured to carve out new rooms and maximise the old ones.
Danielle explains, "We're all about functionality, not aesthetics." She is a lawyer and Alvin is a financial advisor. They also run an e-commerce business on the side from home.
"We didn't have a style in mind, but Amanda was wonderful at distilling what we like into a look that fit all the functions we needed," adds Alvin.
During renovations, the old balcony was converted integrated into the living room, and the area near the entrance became a foyer and storage area.
Arches and subtle curves lend softness to the space.
Old school breeze blocks marks the boundary between the semi-public and private spaces.
The couple commissioned a wooden plaque with Chinese characters ‘at ease’, which is Alvin's family motto, to set the mood of the home.
Interior designer Amanda created ample storage spaces throughout the house to keep things neat, particularly with future children in mind. “It was all about allowing children to our space without them taking over,” says homeowner Danielle.
This ornate mirror is actually a door to the shoe rack.
This cosy reading corner was formerly the balcony area.
Homeowners Danielle and Alvin love to cook and entertain, so the former study was converted into a dining and kitchen zone that meets their needs and flows seamlessly into the living room.
The dining and kitchen areas feature a 2.2m-long live-edge timber table and a kitchen island – its top made of EDL Kompact while its base is finished in Lamitak laminate – in the dry kitchen.
The moveable kitchen island can separate or open up the semi-private and private areas.
A handsome bar stands against the far wall. Its drawers have different heights catered to the shapes and sizes of the glasses. Alvin’s WilliamsWarn personal brewery, where he crafts his beer, is the main attraction.
To the left of the bar is the dry and wet kitchens, which are separated by a sliding door finished with frosted patterned glass and Peranakan tiles.
The wet kitchen is where the couple does heavy cooking and stores household appliances.
Bathrooms are one of the main concerns of a large family. In the original layout, there were only two – one was the master bathroom and the other a common one.
This made it difficult to accommodate at least seven household members plus occasional overnight guests.
Interior designer Amanda beautifully translated homeowner Alvin’s idea to split the roles of each bathroom so multiple users could use the wet areas simultaneously.
The common bathroom was split into three separate rooms: the toilet, the shower and an open washing area with an oversized sink deep enough to soak clothes.
Also, by merging the former kitchen with the service yard, interior designer Amanda created a comfortable bedroom with platform storage for the helper.
In addition, the master bathroom, located between the master bedroom and the common room, was divided into a dry area with his and hers sinks, and a wet area with a toilet and bathtub with shower.
Each space may be small, but it is characterised by various tiles and finishes, ranging from glossy, contemporary subway tiles to ornate, traditional Peranakan tiles with matching door decals.
As one enters the home, one's eye is immediately drawn to the arched window with timber slats above the sofa.
The room beyond the window serves as a home office, a gym, and a guest room.
Behind it, three bedrooms share a corridor.
View to the nursery from the corridor.
Textured glass arches convey the Peranakan look.
The nursery’s existing nook below the window behind homeowner Danielle is used as bookshelves and storage compartments.
Located at the deepest corner of the floorplan, the master bedroom features a wardrobe area separated by a wall constructed with old-school ventilation blocks.
The smart lighting system is designed like a luxury hotel suite.
The compartment above the bed hides a projector while the wall in front of the bed is painted with a special shade of grey that enhance the quality of the projection.
This master bedroom has no direct access to the corridor and is only accessible from the nursery on one side and the future kids’ bedroom on the other.
The master bedroom’s wardrobe and vanity area behind the bed features whimsical details like dragonfly knobs and decorative ceramic stool.
For practical reasons, Danielle and Alvin invested in technology that allows them to control the lighting and mood of the house via Google voice command.
Danielle has also created several lighting moods, including one for entertaining and another for winding down.
The home even has an off mode, which switches everything off when the family is away.
After six months of extensive renovations at a cost of $200,000, the home displays subtle yet delightful Peranakan details.
The quintessential patterned tiles are present, but they are used sparingly as accents in strips and with subdued colours.
Glass with textured patterns is combined with dark metal frames, and matte laminates with geometric patterns, wood, and arches.
Switches, knobs and handles in whimsical shapes add a playful touch here and there. This door handle detail, for example, expresses the Peranakan look without veering into kitsch.
Homeowner Danielle describes the home as visually rich, but not in your face.
“Each detail has its purpose,” she explains. “Amanda started with something complicated and then continued to simplify and edit until we found a balance.”
Indeed. Everywhere you turn, you will find a design detail to admire, but nothing feels superfluous.