Farrer Road bachelor pad a vintage wonderland

SINGAPORE – Home to a self-confessed shopaholic, this four-room HDB flat in Farrer Road was designed to resemble a pop-up store for antiques and exotic collectibles.

Mr Lim Say Wai, who is in 50s and has lived in the flat since 2013, curated the decor from his work trips to China, Vietnam and beyond.

Designer chairs, vinyl records, books, woodwork and animal figurines – especially owls – come together in his home, each with its own place, to paint a vivid picture of his aesthetic sensibilities.

A semi-retired advertising and marketing communications professional, the bachelor was drawn to the 10th-storey, top-floor unit for its sunset views and proximity to the MRT station.

The 900 sq ft flat – designed by the owner himself – originally had three bedrooms, but one was removed to create an enlarged master bedroom with a custom-made wardrobe. The second bedroom serves as a study and music room, doubling as the guest room when needed. Mr Lim did not renovate the place when he first moved in, but reworked bits and pieces himself as the years went on.

“I love furniture, so there are a lot of chairs,” he says. His collection runs the gamut from Arne Jacobsen’s Egg Chair in blue to a 12th-anniversary Carl Hansen wishbone chair to antique stools from China.

A sunny reading nook houses a table topped with a playful bronze monkey and a shelf for figurines, CDs and ceramics. Above this ensemble hangs a burnt-wood mediaeval-style chandelier from Dutch company Moooi, evoking European castles. A solid wood and leather Maxalto Acanto reading chair is paired with Sori Yanagi’s Butterfly Stool.

Mr Lim’s extensive audio set-up dominates the living area, with a collection of speakers, a cube amplifier, a vinyl record player and a CD player.

In the middle is a Ligne Roset marble coffee table adorned with Japanese hinoki wood fragrance bowls. A white Buddha statuette presides over the space.

Behind the living area is the dining space, with a set of Andreu World chairs around the table and artwork by local Singaporean artists lining the walls.

The kitchen is decked out with ceramic cups and teaware – Mr Lim often invites guests to choose their own cups when he serves drinks.

An avid cook, he has stocked the space with Le Creuset pots and pans, and a bright orange Smeg fridge.

In the study, Mr Lim’s impressive 3,000-strong vinyl record collection takes centre stage, alongside eclectic finds like a wooden prawn sculpture and a painting of Venetian canals.

The walls here are lined mostly with primary-colour works from China, though one painting of Singapore’s skyline is Mr Lim’s own creation. When he has guests, he pulls out a sofa bed in the room.

The flat’s single bathroom is split into the shower – a mosaic-lined compartment with exposed copper pipes, closed off with a black tinted glass door – and the water closet next to it. Outside these spaces is a free-standing marble sink.

Mr Lim kept the original parquet floors for his bedroom. Next to his queen-size bed is another set of designer chairs and more pieces by Chinese artists.

Meanwhile, the wardrobe – wood-laminate cupboards on two sides – is in its own zone, sectioned off from the sleeping area.