SINGAPORE – This two-storey executive maisonette is home to semi-retired F&B owner Jason Ong, 53, and his family. When his wife Claudia Lim, 50, retired, the couple cashed out on their private property and the family moved to a Housing Board executive maisonette in Clementi.
The 1,550 sq ft maisonette, over three decades old and in its original condition, has enough room for everyone – including the couple’s three sons aged 25, 22 and 20 – to have his or her own work area.
While their previous home had a modern Oriental style, Mr Ong wanted something more minimal and subtle for the Clementi maisonette, with a black, white and grey palette for understated elegance.
All this was conveyed to interior design firm Dyel for the $250,000 renovation project, which took about five months due to pandemic delays. The family moved into the home in June 2021.
The entire flat was overhauled. Shifting the main entrance outwards, and removing the storeroom and kitchen walls, created a welcoming arrival area that leads directly into the open kitchen.
Although Mr Ong is in the food and beverage business, the couple seldom cook. However, he still wanted an island. “We installed a hob and retractable hood on the island, and kept the design clean and sleek,” he says.
While the family usually has breakfast at the island, dinners are held at the custom-made, 2.3m-long marble table in the adjacent dining room.
Like all maisonettes, the balcony on the first storey used to be a double-volume, semi-outdoor space. It is now part of an enlarged living room, with the void above enclosed in glass. Its elongated layout is the perfect fit for a 3.8m-long, U-shaped sofa from Castlery. Mr Ong himself designed the living room’s feature wall, which serves as a television console, and stretches from the nook beneath the staircase to the window where the balcony used to be.
On the second level are three bedrooms and two bathrooms. What was once the smallest room is now the master bedroom. By moving existing walls, the master bedroom now has a walk-in wardrobe and an en-suite bathroom. An existing column that could not be moved was converted into a part of a television wall.
The three sons share two bedrooms on either side of the stairwell. Both rooms have fixed glass panels facing the stairs, which open up the rooms and allow natural light from the bedroom windows to filter into the stairwell.
• This article first appeared in the July 2022 issue of Home & Decor, which is published by SPH Magazines.
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