janielhome_
welcome to our forever home | 1302 SQFT Wabi Sabi x Balinese Glow-Up 🌾
HDB Resale 5 Bedroom Renovation Journey: Dreaming on Paper
72
Virtual House Tour
Before the first wall came down our renovation really started with paper. We spent weeks, maybe months, dreaming about what this home could be - with the help of Pinterest boards, screenshots, It sounds simple, but those quiet evenings scrolling, pinning, and doodling were the start of everything. Janet did most of it - she really had the idea of how she wanted the house to look like. 
We didn’t always know what we were doing. Even the roughest sketches carried meaning, because they were the first step in imagining how our life would unfold in this home. 
What surprised us most was how much attention we gave to the small things: swatches of fabric, tiny squares of tile, paint cards in shades so similar they almost looked the same — but each one felt different when we held it in our hands. A warm oat tone felt cozy and grounding, while a cooler cream felt light and airy. It wasn’t just about design; it was about mood, about how we wanted the space to feel when we walked in after a long day. We took 2-3 trips to Hafary with our ID to make sure we really wanted how our tiles to look like. 
Of course, it wasn’t all easy. We had our fair share of second-guessing. Were we being too focused on how things looked rather than how practical they’d be? Would the colors that looked beautiful on Pinterest still feel right under our own lighting? There were plenty of late-night conversations where we swapped ideas back and forth, laughing at how indecisive we could be. 
But thats the beauty of having our own space, our own home. We could dream freely, change our minds, and let ourselves be indecisive. And through all those small decisions, we learned a lot about what we truly wanted. Like if we wanted a dining space that encouraged big family dinners, or something more intimate for just the two of us? Did we want open areas for entertaining, or cozy corners where we could retreat at the end of the day? 
Looking back, we realize how important this stage was. It wasn’t just about picking a tile or a color; it was about aligning our vision with how we wanted to live. And even though these moodboards and sketches might look rough and unpolished to anyone else, they hold the heart of what this home means to us. 
Now that we’re finally living in this space, we sometimes flip back to those first drafts and smile. Every scribble, every swatch, every late-night debate feels worth it. We don’t regret a single decision because each one, big or small, has led us here. 
And here, in this home we built from paper dreams, we’re exactly where we want to be.
21 September
