The Chic Home: Expats’ River Valley condo a space to work from home

SINGAPORE – The owners of this apartment are a couple from Hong Kong who purchased the condominium unit some years ago. They had been renting it out and moved in only in January 2023 after a three-month renovation.

As the River Valley property was almost two decades old, the unit was showing signs of wear. The couple in their early 40s – the husband works in finance and the wife, a stay-at-home mother to their toddler daughter, has a background in fashion – engaged Singapore interior designer KNQ Associates to spruce up the 1,313 sq ft unit.

The $150,000 remodelling project – excluding furniture, fittings and furnishings – included a revamp of the kitchen and both bathrooms, overlaying the existing flooring with timber-look vinyl, installing a false ceiling and replacing all the internal doors.

The apartment was originally a three-bedroom unit, but the previous owner had the walls of one room demolished to expand the living and dining areas.

As the husband required a work-from-home space, there were several rounds of discussion with design consultant Stanley Tham to explore options for the office. Eventually, they decided to retain the existing open-plan layout and carve out a space beside the dining room.

Mr Tham says: “We introduced sliding doors to conceal the home office when it is not in use and integrated hidden storage on the sides as part of the clients’ requirement.”

The kitchen underwent a major transformation. The separate wet and dry kitchens were laid out according to the owners’ usage patterns and every pocket of space was maximised to accommodate storage, appliances and other household implements.

The irregularly shaped floor plan and curved walls were challenging to work with, but inspired the interior’s organic look. Soft lines and rounded details were incorporated into the design, complemented by limewash finishes.

Mr Tham had to take the precise measurements of individual components – such as the television console, sofa, ceiling light fittings and fans – and adjust carefully to achieve a look that balanced form and function.

While he did not set out to create any particular style, he took cues from the wife’s strong fashion sense and preference for a neutral palette, natural materials and light timber tones.

“The owner’s love for simple patterns and (American utilitarian design) Shaker-style detailing motivated me to integrate some of these elements into the mix, and this added another dimension to an otherwise ‘template’ look,” he says.