spicedsteward
93 sqm Mid-century modern inspired x TaoBao 4 room HDB
We walled up our living room?! Planning our 1st-time HDB renovation!
2948
Hello everyone! We are soon-to-be owners of a 93 sqm 4 room BTO flat and currently planning on our renovation design. We are not planning to hire an interior designer and is planning to design our house ourselves! Our first post on Communa we wanted to share and explain some of our more unusual decisions in HDB renovation. Before getting into the mood board and actual design, it’s important to go through the pre-design phase i.e defining the project, creating a budget and envisioning a concept for your home. 
A home is not a show-room or a portfolio for your ID. It’s a place where you will live and will do so for a long time. Only you know what’s best and suitable so definitely pick design choices that make sense to you, not your ID or contractor!! I’m guilty of this as my partner constantly reminds me of designing a home that is comfortable, not what looks nice on paper. Our guiding process is to maximise a space’s assets while working around its limitations. Architecturally, the house is built in a certain way that has its flaws (bomb shelter, awkward corner) but might also have an amazing view or efficient layout. The point of design is to be aware of them and design intentionally to conceal flaws and highlight certain features. 
1. Hacking both bedrooms for a combined living/dining room Our first decision was to actually hack both bedrooms and combine them into a living/dining space. Firstly, this is to accentuate the two windows with incredible views. The original layout meant the only light source comes from the living room and it usually means a dark corridor, dining area and lack of ventilation/wind, especially if we close that only window. We chose not to hack a single bedroom to extend the living as the windows are not aligned due to the layout of the house. This means planning for that space is trickier and the view is disjointed. Making this decision is extremely hard and go against many advice we received. In fact, my partner was very against this idea since we might need rooms for future kids, in-laws staying or renting. I told her that we should not compromise years of living because a kid in foreseeable 5 years is going to need this room. Neither should we keep a guest room because a relative might stay once in a while every year, leaving the room unused. 
2. Replacing our living room to a multi-purpose room Since we have a combined living/dining room now, our original living room can be repurposed! We foresee us having kids in the future but we also understand the kids do not take up a lot of space for years! I actually grew up with siblings and used to share rooms as well. Hence, we do not think we need the rooms for them now and instead we could use the room for other purpose until 5-8 years old then we can consider buying a bigger flat then :) Our in-laws potentially might visit us and want to stay with us for a week or so. Reserving one bedroom just for this specific use case that happens one week every year simply means the room is not utilised fully!! Think about the bed sitting in the room? 
Given this needs in the future, we’ve decided to turn our living room in a multi-purpose room. Reason? It’s large, spacious and well-lit. As of now, we planned to use it as a study, reading, and even a place for our hobbies like sewing or drawing. We can even have a sofa bed so our in-laws can come stay with us if needed. In the future, we can easily convert the room into a play area for toddlers, upgrading the space with bunk bed, wardrobes and study tables. This should buy us enough time to hopefully upgrade to a larger house. The original bedroom in a 4-room apartment is simply too small to fit all of our needs (bookshelf, study table, wardrobe, sofa bed and all our crazy ideas). 
3. Squeezing a kitchen island in a 93 sqm apartment? Yes. Planning for our renovation is like playing tetris. I’m trying to see what fits in this tiny home. As both of us are introverts, we do not think we will host very often, though we do think we have to do the mandatory house warming parties. As such, we think it’s fine to have settle for a smaller dining space to have a bigger kitchen! We love a kitchen island and open concept kitchen! The joy of preparing breakfast on a spacious island countertop space while coffee is brewing behind you is definitely a dream! Given how small 4 room HDBs are, it’s hard to fit in a proper island. We considered various ways of fitting a kitchen island/peninsula and eventually settled on this particular layout. The island is probably about 1.6-1.8m and we are still deliberating the final length. 
A home is not a show-room. It’s a home you live in. “INTERIOR DESIGN IS NOT JUST ABOUT PRETTY; IT’S ABOUT CREATING A LIFE AND A LIFESTYLE THAT’S ENJOYABLE AND FITS THE HOMEOWNER’S BUDGETARY AND FUNCTIONAL PARAMETERS.” My partner keeps reminding that we are not building a show-room. We are building a home that is comfortable yet practical. A home that is lived in. A home that reflects us and our personalities and lifestyles. We made a few controversial decisions for our future home renovation. We believe it’s not for everyone but we also hope that our design layout will challenge existing conventions and inspire new home owners on how to better maximising the space and work around its limitations.
7 July
