The Chic Home: Black-and-white life in Hougang HDB flat

SINGAPORE – The black-and-white colonial style has always held a certain appeal for film producer and life coach Daniel Yun.

To him, everything begins in black and white, and it captures the essence of something before adding anything else.

The bachelor, who declined to reveal his age, associates his preferred palette with film-making: “We start with a white canvas and, at the end, it fades to black.”

He enlisted the help of his friend Adrian Heng, design director of Spaceone ID Consultancy, and renovation contractor Stack Studio to transform his Housing Board flat in Hougang.

The four-room, 1,160 sq ft unit was completely overhauled. A black metal gate with open latticework is the first feature that greets visitors. It frames the entrance foyer and sets the tone for the rest of the interior design.

The dining and living areas are directly across the threshold. The two zones are each part of one large space, with the living area demarcated by an oversized outdoor rug with black-and-white stripes.

The design team dispensed with a conventional feature wall and television console, and opted for a freestanding, movable television unit instead.

This freed up the living area’s wall for a series of black-and-white photographs taken by Mr Yun. These depict the block of flats where he used to live, landmarks such as the dragon playground in Toa Payoh and other interesting HDB elements like the sloping profile of flats in Bukit Panjang.

The walls of the former kitchen and the adjacent bedroom were removed to create an open-concept kitchen, fronted by two peninsula islands flanking an existing column.

“One functions more like an island with built-in storage, while the other serves as more of a breakfast counter,” Mr Heng says.

Three black pendant lamps, identical to the one in the foyer, hang above the islands. Their skeletal forms – Mr Yun has nicknamed them “Dracula lamps” – bring a mediaeval accent to the space.

A sliding glass door separates the islands from the kitchen proper. To the left is the cooking zone and to the right is the helper’s room, along with built-in storage that integrates space for the refrigerator, oven and washing machine.

The former master bedroom and attached bathroom, together with the adjacent bedroom and the storeroom, have been combined to form the master suite. A double-leaf door the width of the former corridor separates this private zone from the rest of the home.

To one side is Mr Yun’s sleeping area, while his private lounge and en-suite bathroom are on the other side.

The master bathroom was extended outwards to create more space for the vanity and wash basin. Black and white tiles laid in a checkerboard style give the bathroom a slightly whimsical touch that makes it look less austere.

Mr Yun – who moved into his flat in May 2024 after a two- to three-month renovation that cost about $150,000 – says his take on the black-and-white colonial style was rudimentary, but that his friend brought the look to new heights.