My First Home: Queen of my World (Episode 5)

My First Home

Embark on a captivating journey with My First Home, an exclusive series presented by Home & Decor, where dreams of homeownership come to life. Tune in every Friday for a glimpse into the HDB home design evolution and witness dream home transformations.

Home Tours & Personal Tales

My First Home unfolds the diverse and inspiring stories of individuals from various walks of life as they take on the adventure of creating their first homes. From the excitement of newlyweds setting up their brand new BTO nest, to the ambitions of young singles in a 2-room flexi floor plan, and the unity of families in resale HDB units, 'My First Home' is a celebration of resilience, creativity, and Singapore's iconic 'Can-Do' spirit to make the best of every space and situation.

Solutions to HDB Design Challenges

Each episode showcases the renovation and emotional challenges encountered by the owners, from working out room layouts to fit specific needs, to injecting flair and style into a standard-issue HDB flat, and the ingenious solutions found, proving that with determination, the dream of the perfect home is within reach for everyone.

Get inspired by the community spirit and the enriching living environment of the heartland estates, and begin the journey to making your first home a reality. Watch Home & Decor Singapore's My First Home now and let your home-making journey begin.

My First Home is available on www.homeanddecor.com.sg as well as Home & Decor's social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok).

Episode 5: Part 1

Episode 5: Part 2

Episode 5: Jessica, ex banker & financial consultant

Jessica Yeo: Yes, this is a luxury, especially for a single to stay in a 1,600 sq ft (apartment). Initially, it was like living in the design or with the design, whatever you call it. A lot of designer stuff that my brother bought me, so it was a bit stressful because I know… I don’t know how to clean them. As I get used to the design, I’m like living in a real home now.

I’ve actually knocked down many rooms to create this space. I, especially, love my bedroom because it has a really hotel-like feel.

Martin Place Condominium

Jessica Yeo: This is my first HDB flat. Before living in this apartment, I was actually staying at Martin Place, a studio condominium, for about ten years. At that point in time when I was looking for an apartment, I was not qualified for a HDB yet. So the natural choice for me was a small studio unit that suited my lifestyle there and then.

Previously, I worked as a banker, followed by a financial advisor. So naturally, I wanted to find a place that was near (my workplace) (to) avoid the traffice jam. I was driving then as well. It was much more convenient for me.

Semi-Retired Lifestyle

I’m semi-retired now. COVID really crashed my portfolio, it sort of paralyzed me in some form. Made me take a real good stop (at) my life, what I really wanted to do in the future.

'Upgrade' from condo to HDB

Do I still want to feel so paralyzed every few years or not? So I wanted to have more control and have more freedom from debts. Moving from a condo to a HDB, it sounds like a downgrade. But ironically (when) you look at it, my condo was about 600 sq ft and I only paid half the price for this while increasing the living space by almost triple.

Took about three months to think over, so it was not a rushed decision then. Because I’m living on my own, I told myself I have to be independent. It’s a drastic change that I have to make for myself.

Family lives in Sengkang

Jessica Yeo: I chose Sengkang because my parents live here, my brothers as well, and my other siblings. And I have a much bigger space which I can entertain my families and friends as well. The main difference (between) living in a condo and here right now (is), obviously, I have more time to myself so I’m more into sports (like) yoga, cycling, walking.

Obviously, spending more time with my parents. You know, (back then), it was probably once or twice a month. Now, every other day I get to see them. (They’re) just across the road. And I get to spend (some) really quality time with my nephew. My parents, they’re quite old and they do have some regular hospital check-ups, all these. So I can accompany them.

More family gatherings now

See Wee (Brother): She has been a very good sister, taking care of my parents. We feel happy that she (has come) to stay nearer to us. You know, it’s just like a few minutes’ walk then you can, you know… We almost see each other at least three to five times a week (as) compared to the past. Maybe in the past, I only saw her once a month. We also try to hold more family gatherings despite their busy work schedules. I think this is one of the most precious (times) that I’ve seen over the years.

Jessica Yeo: When I (was) hunting for the HDB flat, I actually brought my brother along because I wanted him to approve the layout first. He’s the professional in terms of designing, so I really needed his help. But he was against this layout, initially. But I really like this place. So it has been a very assuring journey that he has turned this house into something so wonderful for me.

HDB Executive Apartment

This is an executive apartment. The original condition was quite dark and with lots of rooms. The main criteria that I told my brother about this place is that I want two spaces: one for private, for my own use, the other is for entertainment.

Hacked 2 bedrooms

See Wee (Brother): So what we did was instead of four bedrooms, we combined two bedrooms into one master room and also to have an open space, we knocked off all the entire wall areas. So from the main door area, you’d have a see-through effect all the way to the window space.

Jessica Yeo: I do like luxury stuff. They give a much more elegant feel.

See Wee (Brother): We wanted to create a modern, contemporary look for the whole place. We needed to have some combination of good designer brands’ furniture in order to elevate the house. We had some talks about how my sister, you know, as a female element we thought that the woman body shape was one of our design intents.

Curve interior design

So you see these curvier shapes on the textured wall area which serves as a TV feature wall and also, you will see these curvier shapes in some of the furniture pieces, the built-in genre works. For the living space, (it’s) mainly for my sister to entertain our family members and friends also. So while designing the house, a lot of concerns was like, you know, we also can’t put ten, twenty people sitting together at one sofa.

So we tried to plan the space as such that everyone has their own comfort zone. One of the key things was to make sure that there was a double volume space. So what I mean by double volume space here as in, you know, the co-living, the co-dining together where everyone can see each other, talk to each other.

Odd kitchen layout

Jessica Yeo: As you can see, the TV is not right in front of the sofa. It’s diagonal, but it’s large enough to keep everybody entertained around the sofa area and also at the island table as well. The floorplan for this kitchen is extremely odd, actually. It was quite challenging for my brother to design it.

See Wee (Brother): It used to be like in a triangular manner. It’s actually not a very comfortable layout. So what we did was we slightly adjusted the perimeter of the kitchen. We tried to maximise all these storage spaces. These are all actually storage spaces internally. The other thing is also we actually did a bit of modification by enlarging to integrate the bathroom door together with the kitchen.

The other key element was also because of the open-out space, we also wanted the kitchen to be an open-out space. But of course thinking that, you know, in the long run she needs to also do some cooking, all that. So we actually did up with a giant, glass door.

Jessica Yeo: He has actually relocated the basin area. I have a basin that’s facing the window.

Mini kitchen garden

See Wee (Brother): Because she wants to do a mini garden at the back.

Jessica Yeo: I call it my 'Gardens by the Window'. After having to look after my nephew, I started to cook a bit more than usual. I use the stove a little bit more, gives me a sense of motherhood as well, a part-time mum. Taking care of my nephew is a real joy.

Dining Room

See Wee (Brother): We are a huge family. We need to cater at least eight to ten pax for the dining zone. She’s a wine lover, so we wanted to create a place that she can actually store her (wine in a) mini wine fridge and do her own wine preparations, food preparations over here without (having) to keep going in and out of the kitchen. And also, I think it’s nice when the table is just for food. It’s a nice flow.

Jessica Yeo: This is my study room and also a multi-function room. After my morning wash up, this place (is) where I sit down, update my portfolio, read the news, all this. After that, I’d go and play some games, then after that, I’d do some warm-up exercises here.

See Wee (Brother): We created a very large mirror over here so that she can actually use it for her yoga sessions. But let’s say she’s doing some Zoom meetings, all that. So we thought that it wasn’t so nice to see her own reflection. So we actually did like a sliding door for her to cover up if she doesn’t need to use the mirror. We tried to make sure that spaces, all that, come with a bit of dual usage in terms of holding guests, resting, especially the study area was one of the areas that we tried to give a multi-purpose type of intent.

Hotel bedroom design

Jessica Yeo: This is my hotel-like bedroom! I used to travel a lot and stay in many different types of hotels. Now, I don’t travel that much but I don’t think I (want to) lose that hotel feel. So when I’m by myself, I usually watch a lot of K-dramas. Daytime, I usually watch a lot of Bloomberg News. Whereas for here, it’d be mainly in the weekend afternoons when I have time to spare. Then I’d just sit here, close the door, blast the aircon and watch.

See Wee (Brother): She doesn’t want to see reflections in the night, so what we did was we created like a two-way door. When she sleeps in the night, she can just close this door. She won’t see reflections from her TV.

Jessica Yeo: Previously, this was a master bedroom with the toilet. And the other one was a common room. So we knocked down this wall to make it one room. The toilet itself…

See Wee (Brother): We removed the walls from the front of the bathroom. We tried to create (that) that is a sleeping bay area. Then, here is her own preparation area. So one of the key features was we actually moved the island vanity outside. So that she can actually do her brushing of teeth here while (being able to) see outside also. Which is why there is a dividing screen here. Then of course, we try to enlarge the space over here, mainly more for her storage (use), which is why we created an L-shaped cabinet space over here.

10 Months renovation

See Wee (Brother): For the whole renovation, by right it was targeted for about six months. But because we were also rushing some other jobs on hand, it took about ten months, including getting everything fitted out.

Jessica Yeo: Although this place is very luxurious for a single, I think it’s very comfortable now, living here. Just being myself, enjoying that freedom.

Too young to retire?

A lot of my friends told me, “Don’t you find it too young to retire?” If I were to slot myself for another ten years, would I really seriously be happy with myself, you know? I may not be in a position to acquire bigger things now, but I think I’m more at peace with myself. COVID has drastically changed my perspective on life. I was looking around my apartment, I have so many bags, I have so many clothes.
There’re so many things I have really not touched yet, I have not used them yet.

So I said, “Do I really need so much things in my life?” So I just wanted to be more conscious, be more mindful in terms of my life. After moving here, I definitely try to learn to embrace myself. There’s one famous designer, I quote it from her, she said that the most important relationship in your life is a relationship with yourself. You have to learn to accept yourself, be it something good or something bad. So moving back here, I have also learnt to embrace myself.

As long as you find peace with yourself, you’ll be happy. And I truly believe in that.

Back to top

Credits

Interior Design: Wee Studio

Supervising Director: Raymond Goh/ SPH Media

Producer: Young Lim/ Home & Decor

Research Consultant: Nonie Chen/ Home & Decor

Research & Storyboard: Justin Foo/ FTTG Media

Video Editing: Wong Zhi Qi/ FTTG Media

Videographer: Lionel Yu/ FTTG Media

Website Editing: Tan Guan Lin/ Home & Decor

Coordinator: Carmen Wong/ SPH Media

Web Optimisation: Prashanti Mohanan & John Tan/ SPH Media