Beyond the Tour: Is designing and renovating your own home worth the risk?

Thinking of renovating your home, and by renovating your own home, I don’t mean employing an interior designer to do it for you. Instead, we’re talking about you fully taking charge: the lead, the brains and the mood boards behind every aspect. 

Do you think you have what it takes? And is designing and renovating your own home really as easy as it appears?

If this has long-since been a dream of yours, perhaps even a homeowner’s goal, creative and crafty homeowners Jess (a Project Architect) and John (an Industrial Designer) shed some light and advice on what it takes to renovate and design your own home — take it from these experts, who recently led the “biggest creative project” of their lives as they took on the responsibility, fun and freedom of designing their own dream abode! 

Sitting down with the young and vibrant couple, we learned so much about not just what goes into designing and renovating a home, but also the thoughtful aspects and details that make all the difference. 

H&D: Considering the industry you’re in, did you both always know you wanted to design your own home and feel comfortable enough to do so? 

Jess: Yes, even before we got our home, we knew from the start that we wanted to design it ourselves. So we decided to go without an ID and took on all the coordination, from sourcing suppliers, selecting materials and colours, to managing the finer design details on-site, while engaging a main contractor to help us with the construction. 

H&D: Judging by your occupations, would you say you’re both creatives?

Jess and John: Yes, we are! We actually met while studying Architecture at Singapore Polytechnic, and we’ve stayed in the creative field (and together) ever since. It’s a nice bonus that our work overlaps; we often bounce ideas off each other or lend a hand in different parts of our projects. Having different fields of design come together always produces fresh outcomes.

H&D: What design elements inspire you? 

John: I’ve found that I like to focus on the details — the mechanisms, the small tags, logos, switches, etc. They can make or break the whole design. It’s these touchpoints in the home that need to be physically interacted with that I tend to pay attention to. 

Jess: We are drawn to design elements that feel timeless and connected to nature. Things like natural light and rich material textures. What inspires us most is when design balances functionality with a sense of calm and human-centred beauty, where every detail feels intentional yet effortless.

H&D: How did you kickstart the design process for your home renovation project? Any advice on where to begin? 

Jess: We created our own 3D model and detailed construction drawings, right down to the dimensions and user touches, with valuable input from our main contractor based on his on-site experience. 

H&D: Was the home renovation a complete gutting? 

Jess: Our home renovation wasn’t a complete gutting; we stripped out the kitchen, service yard and two bathrooms, where we removed the old finishes, rewired, and redid the plumbing works.

The rest of the resale unit was actually in pretty good condition, so we kept what we could and refreshed the space with all new carpentry, overlay vinyl flooring for the living and bedrooms, and a full repaint. From there, it was all about bringing it to life through furniture, decor, and the little styling details that make it feel like home.

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H&D: Was there a particular interior design theme or style concept you wanted to follow?

Jess: At the start, we had so many ideas and themes in mind that it was impossible to settle on just one. So we told ourselves, let’s not fixate on a specific style. Instead, let’s create a mix of everything we love, and find a sweet spot between his and hers.

So in the end, the design isn’t about a single theme, but a collection of textures, light and details that feel like us. Every piece was chosen with intention, and every corner reflects a bit of both our personalities. Designing a first home isn’t just about finishes; it’s about making space for two lives, side by side.

H&D: Considering there was no one set theme, what was your overall vision for your home renovation project? 

John: One thing we considered was that we are a sucker for cute decor and nice lamps and furniture — we anticipate bringing home new pieces every now and then, which means that the old ones will have to be swapped out, or the layout will have to be tweaked.

So we wanted to keep things a bit more flexible — we avoided built-in carpentry where possible, and we went for a mixture of floor, table, and pendant lamps instead of recessed lighting. Being in the design industry, as our experience grows, our style evolves, and we like the idea that this house is an ongoing project that can grow with us. 

Jess: We wanted it to feel lived-in with cute and thoughtful details that make us smile every time we see them. Each room has its own little moment that feels personal.

H&D: Any particular areas/rooms that were a focal point for you from the start? 

John: Our main focus was definitely the living space. We spent a lot of time sourcing each furniture piece and experimenting with different layouts to make the most of the small space. We love how it’s come together now, especially the little “breakfast nook”, as Jess calls it.

It’s a small, cosy dining corner with an L-shaped sofa bench and long table, creating a casual and comfortable spot for meals. Most importantly, it feels like a natural extension of our sofa, so when our guests come over, everyone can lounge around comfortably and watch TV together.

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H&D: You mentioned earlier that you even installed the vinyl flooring yourselves. A lot of DIYing must have been fun but a little daunting, too. Any advice for homeowners who want to follow suit?

Jess: We wanted to save on costs, and John was very particular about the patterns not repeating too closely. It took a fair bit of trial and error. At one point, our neighbours even thought we ran a vinyl flooring company!

H&D: What was the most time-consuming part of this process?

Jess and John: Our carpentry design took the longest to finalise; we kept ideating again and tweaking the best fit for our needs and on-site measurements. 

H&D: Any learning curves you’d like to share with future, aspiring self-designing homeowners? 

John and Jess: Definitely! A big learning curve was our extensive and laborious DIY efforts; we overlaid all the vinyl flooring and painted the entire house on our own with some help from our family here and there. We thought it would be easy, but it turned out to be incredibly labour-intensive (laughs) without prior experience.

As much as it was a rewarding hands-on experience, we probably wouldn’t do it again (laughs again), unless we have plenty of time. That said, we’d still encourage new homeowners to give it a try; it’s a great way to save costs, learn something new, and feel immense pride when you see the results. It’s the best feeling being able to say, “We did it ourselves!”

H&D: Being in the design industry and knowing what it takes to renovate an entire home, did this give you any sort of advantage? 

Jess and John: Even though it’s within our line of work, it feels completely different when you are both the designer and the homeowner. We finally understood why clients often change their minds or give last-minute instructions, because we became those clients ourselves! Constantly thinking of a better way to design around it. 

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H&D: Any last-minute words of advice?

Jess: One thing we’ve learned and would definitely share with new homeowners is that floor plans and drawings are never 100% accurate to actual site measurements. It’s so important to communicate closely with your builders and make adjustments along the way to ensure everything fits just right. 

Keen on a peek behind the scenes? Check out our exclusive Home Tour of Jess and John’s personality-punching abode, oozing in creativity, playfulness, and a natural warmth — just like its owners. 

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