New Lease Of Life

This decade-old home looks brand new after a Scandinavian-style makeover.

Full-height cabinets keep clutter neatly tucked away, and allow for a clean decor style. The ceiling fan is from Spin. Tableware from Foundry.

This HDB apartment may look brand new, but Wendy Sim and her husband have actually been living here for about a decade. Seeing that their home was in dire need of a new look, the pair decided it was time for a revamp. However, they didn’t want it to look too avant-garde, as “it’s still a place to live in and not a showflat”, says Wendy, who prefers low-maintenance spaces. Her husband, “the one with the eye for aesthetics”, decided on a Scandinavian-themed design.

The herringbonepatterned vinyl fl ooring infl uenced the design of the feature wall; the wall pattern was manually drawn on wet concrete.

The couple sought help from Fuse Concept to realise this vision. As most of the structural alterations were made during the first renovation, the couple only had to knock down a kitchen wall this time; replacing that with a glass-panelled sliding door.

The new front door and gate are customised designs.

Laminates from three companies – Lamitak, Admira and Lam Chuan – clad the living room cabinetry.

The designer refreshed the five-room flat with wooden accents and a lighter colour scheme. All the cabinetry, as well as the panel concealing the bomb shelter, were clad with wood-look laminates of varying tones and textures from Lamitak, Admira and Lam Chuan. New furniture from Mountain Teak was introduced to match the home’s new look as well. Dominating the living area is the herringbone motif, which is seen in the vinyl wood-look flooring. The pattern on one of the living room walls, handcrafted on concrete, echoes the diagonal lines of the floor.

The entrance to the bomb shelter behind the dining table is hidden by a new door panel clad with woodlook laminate from Lamitak. The dining table and bench are from Mountain Teak.

The kitchen’s white-based colour scheme is jazzed up with geometric wall tiles from Hafary for a playful twist.

To keep the abode clutter-free, floor-to-ceiling storage units were built in various parts of the home, with the one in the living room as the “piece de resistance”, says Wendy. The open shelves also allow the husband to display his colourful knickknacks, which were acquired overseas. At $90,000 (excluding furnishings), this second renovation transformed the once contemporary but dull home into a brighter, more open and trendy-looking visual treat. Wendy explains that the Scandinavian theme was chosen as it is a “classic” style that would “stand the test of time”, so there’s no doubt the couple would relish it for another decade or more!

In the original renovation, the wall of the room on the right was taken down to make space for a sleeping area that also links to the wardrobe.

The wall of the bathroom was extended out to accommodate his-and-her washbasins. The round mirrors are from Gubi.