When Mr Wee Ng first moved into his one-bedroom condominium apartment near Somerset, his main consideration was to make the most of the 38 sq m space.
"As the space is small, I need lots of compartments for storage," says the 37-year-old bachelor. "A lot of my furniture is multi-purpose."
For instance, in the living room stands a plywood bar table, where Mr Ng, an internal auditor, has his breakfast. It comes with a matching bench fitted with a sliding door, which opens to reveal a roomy storage compartment.
The table and bench were designed by interior design firm Create. Mr Ng's renovation - which cost $30,000, inclusive of furnishings, and took a month to complete - was helmed by Mr Rick Tay from the company.
The pieces are made of plywood - light enough for Mr Ng to move them to the bedroom when he has guests. "The bench also provides extra seating," he says.
He also has a white table, purchased from Singapore furniture company Spaceman, that is height- adjustable and can serve as a coffee table or for dining.
To make the home look bigger, he opted for marble flooring and walls in white. Pops of colour come in the form of furnishings, such as an orange sofa and a lime-green Smeg fridge.
The kitchen cabinets are laminated with colours such as blue, orange and yellow to complementthe bright colour of the fridge.
Mr Tay, who helped Mr Ng shop for furniture, says: "We didn't know what colours we wanted for the kitchen cabinets until we bought the fridge. It was a last-minute decision that worked out well."
In the living room, a custom- made shelf designed by Create houses Mr Ng's books and magazines, as well as his toys and miniature snowglobe collection.
"I used to travel about 70 per cent of the time for work," said Mr Ng. "Snowglobes are one of the things I collect from cities I've travelled to."
Next to the shelf is a panel of false ferns and grass, where he mounts his computer. Mr Tay explains that as Mr Ng lives in the city, he wanted to introduce a botanical element to freshen up the home.
Greenery can also be found in the balcony, tucked away in a corner of the bedroom and partitioned from the sleeping area by a glass door. Here, the floor is carpeted with fake lawn grass and the space decorated with potted plants. The washing machine and dryer are placed there. "I get good views of the sunrise from the balcony," says Mr Ng. "I would like to have a cup of coffee here more often."
In the bedroom, a made-to-measure headboard featuring yellow, brown, blue and pink cushioned panels occupies an entire wall. Compared with the brighter hues in the living room, the pastel shades here offer a more soothing ambience.
A darker colour scheme is found in the master bathroom, where the walls and floor are lined with three types of mosaic tiles. To mimic the hues of the ocean, Mr Tay sourced tiles in black and shades of blue.
Mr Ng likes to hang out in the living room, where he watches TV and assembles jigsaw puzzles.
"It's a place for 'me' time, where I stop thinking about work and just relax."
