Some people honour their heritage through art, others yet do so with their words━in this 5-room HDB BTO in Sengkang, their families and ancestry are paid tribute to through the design of the home.
Costing the couple a modest $57.8k, the design of their home was anchored around several pieces of antique furniture that had been passed down through their families. Here’s a look at how their interior designer Audrey from Fifth Avenue Interior blended old and new to create their modern Peranakan BTO home.
Designed around hand-me-down furniture with an Indochine flair
Glass blocks in a cement screed wall allow the passage of light into the entryway.
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
Described as “vintage Oriental”, the pieces of furniture that have passed to the couple through their families include their dining table, sewing machine, coffee table, chest of drawers, and a sideboard that you’ll spy next to the dining table.
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
Stepping into the home is akin to walking through a time capsule, with the matching pieces of furniture that the couple sourced to match the ones they inherited, as well as the various patterned tiles that can be spotted throughout the flat.
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
The dining chairs and TV console, for instance, are custom-made pieces from Boo Furniture━the former features rattan backrests and leather seats in a dark green that you’ll see is a running theme in the home.
Then, there’s the vintage floral applique of the fabric on the TV console━a subtle detail that makes this piece of furniture stand out against the dark green half-wall behind. A banker’s lamp, with a dark green marbled base and brass finishing completes the Indochine-influenced feel in the apartment.
An island table where old meets new
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
The dining corner is a little more rustic, especially with the old-school glass blocks in cement wall, vintage emerald fluted glass pendant lamp, and bronze industrial standing fan. In contrast, the island table that stands between the entryway and living room is a classic blend of old and new.
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
The designer made use of the generous ceiling height to have a ceiling-mounted bar in black hardware and wood, giving it a touch of classic colonial, while the wood ties in with the rest of the decor. Faux hanging greenery softens the overall look; the green adding to the running colour theme.
Where the inherited dining table stars a solid marble top, this island mimics the look with an engineered countertop with a grey-veined white marble finish. More cohesiveness to the dining area comes in the form of the concrete base, here embedded with jade-hued, Peranakan-style ventilation blocks.
Breaking up the monotony of the concrete base is a fluted column which lends the island a modern, elegant edge.
Peranakan-meets-colonial bathrooms
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
You might think the Peranakan influence is a little understated in the home, but step into the bathroom and you’ll find the style is clearly visible here.
The toilet door was one of the couple’s non-negotiables: they knew that they wanted one with Peranakan tiles incorporated into its design. Majolica tiles, representative of the heavy European influence in Southeast Asia back in the early 20th century, have been embedded into a wooden door; a traditional embossed glass panel completes the look.
A total of 3 different patterned tiles feature in the small bathroom━each one personally sourced for by the couple and matched by their ID━to visually stunning ends thanks to the way they harmonise with one another. Case in point: a similar four-petalled motif in varying forms.
A black towel ladder with brushed bronze details gives the space a colonial feel.
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
A standalone bathtub against black, green and white patterned tiles and the same towel ladder give the master ensuite Raffles Hotel vibes.
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
Sleek modern kitchen with Peranakan influences
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
Look beyond the island table, and you’ll see a set of custom glass doors that open up into the kitchen. The couple initially wanted a glass door which incorporated tiles, which they didn’t manage to find. Their ID found them the perfect compromise, in the form of black metal frames for the glass doors, with detailing inspired by the prints on traditional Peranakan tiles.
Instead of distinctively patterned tiles, the green ones that make up the kitchen backsplash are subtly embossed for a classy look.
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
The black, white and green of the larger home are also the primary colours in the kitchen, giving it the stately elegance that typifies Indochine and colonial black-and-white homes.
Patterned floor tiles and a cement screed backsplash on one wall are running elements that you’ll find in other parts of the flat.
Image credit: Fifth Avenue Interior
$58K modern Peranakan HDB BTO renovation
This is an invitation to reconsider letting go of those antiques that have been sitting in your grandparents’ homes. By designing your new place around them, you’re paying homage to your heritage and the past. There are many ways of incorporating them into a modern design, and this modern Peranakan BTO is just one of them.
For more reno inspo:
- Jungalow-themed 4-room HDB flat
- This $40k resale reno transformed the home into a Peranakan shophouse
- Minimalist pink walk-up apartment
Cover image adapted from: Fifth Avenue Interior
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