Old-world Parisian charm in Tengah Drive HDB flat

SINGAPORE – While these millennial home owners deliberately eschewed popular contemporary styles for their five-room Build-To-Order (BTO) unit in Tengah, it was with the help of Chinese app Little Red Book that they discovered their dream French retro theme.

The couple in their 30s, who work in the finance industry and have a baby, told RENOSTUD.IO founder Jeremy Tan they wanted the 1,200 sq ft space to be aesthetically pleasing but not overly complicated.

Mr Tan drew inspiration from the wall and ceiling details of Parisian homes, as well as their ornate cornices, archways and floor skirting.

Stepping across the threshold, one may feel transported to Paris. Floor-to-ceiling French boiserie (wood panelling) is used for the living area’s walls. The television unit, flanked by chandelier-style wall sconces, is also made of wood. A fluted-glass arched window separates the living room and foyer.

“The kitchen used to be an open kitchen. Jeremy’s team then suggested building a row of cabinets opposite the stove instead, which is a great idea as we now have a kitchen island with extra storage and a place to prepare food,” says the husband.

A large-format marble-like tile was selected for the backsplash, with sintered stone for the countertops. A corner pendant light adds a point of interest to the space. The shelves were built lower to accommodate the wife’s petite stature.

In the dining area, a custom-made round marble table is illuminated by a Neoclassical-style pendant light. Nearby is a custom-made shelving unit – one of very few built-in fixtures in the living and dining areas, as the couple wanted to maximise space rather than install excessive storage and built-in carpentry.

One design element that is hard to miss is the recurring use of archways in the home. There are two arched window spaces: one at the entrance and the other behind the dining table.

There are no electronics in the master bedroom, where the blue-and-white palette is inspired by Chouchou Hotel in Paris. Here, a bay window doubles as a seating area, custom-built by the design team.

One of the remaining bedrooms serves as a space just for wardrobes, a vanity and other storage. The lack of cabinetry elsewhere in the home is deliberate, as the couple opted to have most of their storage in a single room.

The bathrooms’ design features subway tiles with European-style flooring and lighting – such as wall sconces and pendants, and brass-like finishes – and the same blue-green palette found elsewhere in the home.

The renovation took approximately four months and cost $75,000.