This space for one is elegantly composed, featuring dark shades balanced out with wood elements and the colour white.
HOME
A three-room HDB flat in Towner Road
WHOA
bachelor in his late 30s
RIGHT
Pops of green from potted plants are lively highlights in the living room. The shelf, from Commune, acts as a divider which lets light through
A dark colour palette sets this cosy three-room HDB flat apart from most small spaces, which usually utilise lighter colours to look more spacious.
Homeowner Patrick Lai is the director of interior design firm Meter Square so, naturally, he turned to May Chang, his friend and design director of the company, for design help. Patrick handles the business matters of the firm, while May is mostly responsible for the creative direction of the company’s projects.
Besides his preference for darker hues and wood, transforming the 30-year-old home was easy, as Patrick gave May free creative rein. She says that she usually does a lot of research and planning when designing homes but, because she knows the owner so well, the process this time was more free and easy!
This is what they did to create a sophisticated and spacious den for Patrick.
Taking down walls
One of the biggest changes involved removing the wall separating the guest bedroom and the living room, and replacing it with industrial-chic bi-fold doors. When the room is unoccupied, Patrick leaves the doors open, making the living room appear larger.
Personalised storage spaces
Many customised storage units were built into the home, such as the wall of cabinets behind the honey-tone wood laminate in the foyer. The custommade dining table also has storage units built within the table support. These hidden spaces allow Patrick to stow away his clutter.
There is a storeroom along the short passageway bridging the living room and the kitchen, and to hide it from plain view, May disguised its doorway with wall-to-wall wood-tone laminates in a lighter colour tone.
RIGHT
The blue wall in the guest bedroom is paired with light wood-tone laminate for the cabinet, and a simple rug from Castlery to add texture to the space.
OPPOSITE
The glass bi-fold doors of the guest room are often left open to make the home feel more airy and spacious.
ABOVE
The homeowner showcases his love for travel with accessories such as paper plane wall decor and framed maps, hung above customised shelves.
ABOVE , RIGHT
Warm wooden hues create an inviting ambience in the foyer. Behind the laminate panels is a built-in shoe cabinet.
LEFT
The door to the storeroom between the living room and the kitchen is disguised with wood-tone laminates.
BELOW
The common bathroom features a warmer look with wood-lookalike tiles from Hafary. Toiletries are stored in a custom-made shelf similar to the one in the master bathroom.
( OPPOSITE ) TOP
A green wall gives the master bedroom a fresh vibe. Simple decorations such as the bird wall decor, from Spotlight, add a fun touch.
BOTTOM
The master bathroom maintains a chic appearance with stone-look tiles from Hafary, a custom-made wooden shelf, and a black-framed glass panel separating the wet and dry areas.
Slide and hide
Space-saving sliding doors were used extensively throughout the home. The kitchen toilet’s door, for example, was replaced with such a door. When in an open position (to the left of the toilet doorway), the door conceals an open shelf of cleaning products (which faces the kitchen).
“I prefer sliding doors because traditional swinging doors take up more space when they open and close,” said Patrick. However, May notes that sliding doors might not be suitable for bedrooms if homeowners are particular about noise.
With small spaces, you should utilise more creative ways of storing your things, instead of making use of stand-alone shelves and cabinets, as they take up more space. “For a start, try to integrate storage into existing structures,” May recommends.
WHERE TO GO
Meter Square, TEL: 6256-2586
LEFT
The custommade dining table sports a hardy Caesarstone countertop. Patrick found the unique goldfish wall clock in Taiwan.
SMALL - SPACES TRATEGY
Installing sliding doors to minimise the amount of space used, and building cabinets and shelves against existing walls, using laminates to disguise them.
