Having designed the previous Housing Board home of Ms Er Cheep Hong, Mr Kelvin Teo of Space Sense Studio was in touch with her when she was eyeing a new condominium apartment.
Ms Er, 46, consulted Mr Teo before purchasing the one-bedroom condominium apartment in Bukit Batok as she wanted to ensure that the design and structure could accommodate her aesthetic preferences for this new space.
The interiors used to be dark, gloomy and cramped, but the 850 sq ft apartment's high ceiling gave rise to the idea of taking advantage of the vertical space available.
Mr Teo decided to adopt an all-white palette to brighten the look while modifying the layout to maximise the use of the space. This resulted in walls being removed to allow a reconfiguration of the bedrooms and bathrooms.
What was formerly a one-bedroom apartment has now become a home with two bedrooms.
A false ceiling was removed to get more overhead space. This enabled the construction of a mezzanine level where the guest bedroom now sits.
For added tactility, Mr Teo and Ms Er, a senior business manager from a multinational print company, embraced the raw finish of exposed brick walls on this newly constructed level, and incorporated customised steel open shelves for an unpretentious overall look.
As for the main bedroom on the ground floor, he created a loft-like look by adding artificial ceiling beams. To keep the area from feeling claustrophobic, swing doors for the room and bathroom were replaced with glass to ensure a sense of openness and allow natural light to fill these spaces.
As part of the $120,000 renovation which took about four months, the two modern bathrooms in the home were overhauled to make way for luxurious, hotel-like ones complete with marble-look tiles for the walls and floors.
Ms Er, who moved in in February last year, also brought over some furniture from her previous apartment, including Kartell Victoria Ghost chairs for the dining area and a Marc Newson lounge chair, which fit perfectly with the clean, minimalist design of her new home.
•This article first appeared in the August 2019 issue of Home & Decor, which is published by SPH Magazines.
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