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How much should you expect to save for your HDB's renovation? It really varies based on how much renovation work you want to do. Renovation budgets in Singapore can vary widely based on factors such as the size of the property, the scope of work, the quality of materials used, and whether the renovation is for a new property or an existing one.
HDB Renovation Cost
Here are some common renovation budgets for different types of properties in Singapore so you know how to benchmark your renovation cost to prevent overspending!
| HDB Flat Size | Basic Renovation | Extensive Renovation |
|---|---|---|
| 3-Room | $20k - $30k | $40k - $60k |
| 4-Room | $30k - $40k | $50k - $70k |
| 5-Room | $40k - $50k | $60k - $90k |
5 HDB Renovations from $30k to $100k
Let's put the numbers and figures into pictures. Here’s a quick summary of HDB home renovations we love based on renovation budgets from $36,000 to $100,000.
Homeowner Simon asked for open shelves to display his quirky home accessories, so a backless one was customised for the bedroom. “It’s nice because you can still see the wall behind the shelves, which makes it look lighter,” he says.
$36,000 Renovation Cost
Disclaimer: Oops, this first house isn't a HDB flat. But we promise the rest are! We picked this 1-bedroom condominium because much of the renovation ideas used by their interior designer, Profzile, can be used in a 3- or 4-room HDB flat too.
The kitchen’s feature wall is a magnetic sheet that’s been spray-painted to serve as a chalkboard, too.
“I’m definitely not a minimalist,” declares homeowner Simon, who prefers his home to be filled with a personalised hodgepodge of different decor styles.
The homeowner spiced up the space with a white-brick feature wall, making it unique with large, white frames. The grooved panels at the back of the dining room conceal the home’s bomb shelter.
This home jazzes up its wood-and-white palette with colourful accessories, decorations and furniture.
$40,000 Renovation Cost
This home is a 4-room HDB flat in Punggol, inspired by chic Korean cafes, the homeowners brief to the interior designers at Free Space Intent was for a spacious, cheerful home.
The living room’s design is inspired by Seoul’s independent-cafe culture. Tableware from Francfranc.
A feature wall of white craft stone stretches from the entrance to the living room, giving the white-themed home more dimensions with its textured surface. Colour was brought into the home by the pastel-coloured bicycle hanging on a concrete-panelled feature wall in the dining room.
Using the wardrobe as a room divider instantly creates a more private dressing area.
The homeowners also created a mini walk-in wardrobe by using their wardrobe as a divider between the bed and the dressing area. They made the small space larger by installing a large mirror.
The austere palette of black and white is tempered with rough concrete bricks, a velvet sofa and faux fur patchwork rug.
$60,000 Renovation Cost
A 4-room HDB DBSS flat in Toa Payoh, the homeowners worked closely with their designer to create a New York-styled loft. Being on the highest floor gave them a high ceiling but the home required plenty of layout changes for the loft idea to work.
Pictured above, the walls of the study had been replaced by black-framed glass and a feature wall placed at the entrance of the home.
The husband's side of the wardrobe features two large panels of opaque glass mounted on a thin steel frame, while the wife's side has doors inset with wood moulding.
The homeowner had sketched out the internal layout of her custom walk-in wardrobe so that each shelf, drawer and compartment would be designed to her exact specifications.
The installation of fibre optic cables threw a spanner in the works, but interior designer, Kelvin, turned the potential eyesore into a design feature by encasing them in black pipes that snake their way through the room.
Rather than the conventional hidden wiring, the interior designer decided to turn them into a design feature by encasing them in black pipes that snake their way through the home.
To demarcate the dining and living area, Mike extended the entertainment console, creating a border between the two spaces. The small border doubles up as storage space for the dining room as well.
$69,000 Renovation Cost
This 4-room HDB corner unit in Tampines was given an extreme makeover when the homeowners decided to buy part of the corridor in front of their home. The interior designers at Egg3 gave the home a resort-feel, making use of plenty of wood and accented it with black metal frames.
The homeowners requested for marble-look tiles throughout the home, so the designer softened the look with light-wood furniture, giving spaces like the dining area a cafe-feel.
Looking in from the entrance foyer, the black-framed window captures part of the dining room like a picture.
The corridor space that the couple had bought from HDB was converted into a large entryway for the home, great for extending the dining area when guests came over. It was kept bright and made part of the home through a black-framed window that looks into the dining area.
Interior designer, Mike, planned a wide, spacious look for the kitchen, with cabinetry on opposite sides of the space.
Major renovation had been done to the home, especially in the kitchen. What was once a dark space is now an airy, streamlined space. The hob, pantry and wine chiller can be hidden behind a sliding door turning the space into a dry kitchen in an instant.
Walls were done away with between the living area and the kitchen, making it a large, open space.
$100,000 Renovation Cost
This 4-room HDB flat needed a massive face-lift because of it's unique shape. Tucked into the corner of the block of flats, it's shaped like a triangular corner. To work around the shape, the interior designer had turned his mother's once dark and dreary corner flat into a spacious, one-of-a-kind home.
Major reconfiguration had been done, part of a bedroom had been added to the once small living room. The wall between the kitchen and the living room had been removed and the master bedroom and study had been combined to form one large space.
Below, a spare bedroom had been converted into a walk-in wardrobe.
The common bedroom adjoining the master bedroom was converted into a custom-made walk-in wardrobe, where designer, James, created an industrial look with cement screed flooring and metallic finish frames for the cupboards.
A large L-shaped counter runs on the side of the kitchen, incorporating the gas hob and hood for cooking. It also doubles as a dining table.
The wall separating the kitchen from the living room was torn down and the wet area moved to the far end of the kitchen/ utility area. The L-shaped counter runs on the side, incorporating the gas hob and hood for cooking, and doubles up as a dining table, too. A custom-made suspended lamp made of brushed steel contrasts with the sleek appliances.