Walking into this flat almost feels like you’re being transported to a fashionable American home. Wonderfully bright and filled with plenty of neat design features, Jovin, an interior designer herself, has ensured her HDB resale renovation is dripping in timeless charm and personality.
Beyond the little bits of vintage americana to the mementoes from her years working with Ralph Lauren, this intricately designed home has plenty to look at and reference for your own renovation plans.
@uchify.sg A touch of Americana, a sprinkle of IKEA, and a whole lotta style – This interior designer’s $130K HDB revamp nails timeless style with a modern twist 🔗 Full feature in the link in bio 🔗 Follow us on Telegram via the link in bio for more home features like this! #sghome #timeless #hometour #apartmenttour #hdbresale #ikeafinds #ikea
Brightly-lit living & dining area that’s a blend of old and new
A half wall has been added to the foyer area to create a passageway, serving as a great first impression for many a would-be guest. Some might find the $130K price tag eye-watering, but it is in large part due to the extensiveness of the renovation.
The majority of the budget actually went towards hacking the original terrazzo flooring of the unit and retiling it with herringbone wood-looking tiles, alongside hacking walls and removing all of the fittings in favour of installing what Jovin wanted. The $130K cost excludes $20K for new kitchen appliances and an additional $30K for other furnishings.
This interior designer’s HDB resale renovation has no white lights at all, and instead all the lamps you see here run on warm lighting. It’s because the home has a perfect East-West positioning, meaning the unit catches both the morning and evening suns.
Jovin enjoys using plenty of IKEA furniture as part of her renovation projects, as is already evident here in the living room, with the Besta cabinets forming the TV console. The home is almost entirely done up with Benjamin Moore paints, including the both Swiss Coffee and White Dove shades.
The doors are likewise painted too, so as to ensure visual consistency. The interior designer mentioned that she prefers paints over laminating as in comparison to the latter, paints do not peel off and are odourless.
She describes this home as a blend between old and new, as amidst the modern furniture are actually a few antiques, hiding in plain sight. Of note are the 36 year-old 1-piece coffee table made out of a chamfered marble. There is also a Ralph Lauren lamp serving as a memento from her days working for the luxury brand.
This lovely little bench, with its wrought iron legs, is yet another memento from a Ralph Lauren store.
The dining area, with the tablecloth and a couple plants strategically placed to provide vibrant pops of green give the place a homely look. More vintage items, in the form of a dressage equipment set and a bunch of black & white photos, line the wall.
Other side of the wall is host to a large NYC-style subway sign.
American-style kitchen with 71 IKEA cabinets
With the shaker cabinets, large size and decidedly american layout, you can almost imagine Nigella hosting a cooking show in this kitchen. You’d be surprised to know that despite how it looks, none of the cabinets in this kitchen, even the ones in the kitchen island, are built-ins.
These are entirely made with METOD cabinets from IKEA; in fact, there are a total of 71 cabinets that make up the kitchen cabinetry. The gold handles are added onto the doors as a way of accenting them.
This kitchen is designed in part for Jovin’s mother, who is big into cooking. As a result plenty of cabinets are placed so as to ensure enough storage for all of the accoutrements that come with working a kitchen. There are other considerations too, such as the height of the stove being lowered for easier access by her mother.
Interestingly enough, there are only 2 tiles used for the entirety of the home, 1 being the wood grain floor tiles and the other being the subway tiles that form the kitchen backsplash.
The gold fittings on the left and bottom right are from the Kohler x Studio McGee collection, while the top right faucet is from IKEA in the US. The gold accents add a refined touch to the kitchen space.
Dedicated walk-in pantry & coffee bar
In line with the American-style kitchen, they’ve also made a separate pantry area. They’ve doubled down on the American aesthetic with windowed double doors covering the pantry itself. There’s a dedicated coffee area on the side too, along with more shaker cabinet storage and an oven.
Guest room with a resort-style bathroom
The bedroom is comfortable and minimalist, intended for both Jovin’s mother and her nephew. She places emphasis on the blinds and curtain combo as part of visually layering interiors, and that has certainly been achieved in this room. The translucent blinds also soften the natural light coming in.
The bathroom itself does have a resort-like vibe, with the interior designer’s citing her visit to the Maldives as an inspiration. With the bright wood floor and the hanging mirrors suspended with rope, the bathroom does evoke the look of beachside resorts.
Jovin mentioned that despite not looking like it, the vanity sinks are actually from IKEA’s TÄNNFORSEN line. It is a fact she says usually surprises clients whenever she uses this home as a showroom.
An interior designer’s $130K 5-room HDB resale flat renovation
From the creative use of IKEA furniture to the emphasis of visual consistency and little considerations for enhancing the livability of the home for its inhabitants, this interior designer’s $130K resale HDB renovation would serve as a great reference for your own reno plans.
Perhaps you might just incorporate one or two of the features found in this charmingly timeless abode.
Read our other articles here:
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- Semi-detached home with a suspended ball pit in Telok Kurau
- This ultimate bachelor’s pad is Bali villa meets modern man cave
Photography by: Jaslyn Tan
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