Not too long ago, we toured a man cave with a 200sqft all-black en-suite and Balinese-inspired living room. Similar, but not quite, is yet another bachelor pad that screams Brutalist masculinity, yet has an elegant tranquility that belies the fact that it is contained within a 3-room HDB flat.
An open concept layout with spaces defined by different floorings
Contrasting cement screed and engineered oak delineate the different spaces in this open concept home.
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
Step into this 700sqft apartment, and you’d not be remiss to think you’ve checked into the posh, ultra-luxe Hoshinoya Tokyo. Both bedrooms in the house were knocked down in the $125k transformation, with the kitchen torn open to expand the common areas, and create the illusion of space.
Wood and stone underline the aesthetic of common areas at Hoshinoya Tokyo.
Image credit: Hoshinoya Tokyo
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
Rather than enclose his bedroom within walls, this homeowner decided to segregate his sleeping area from the small lounge with the use of a latticed kōshi screen━rather than a shoji with paper panels that would block the passage of light through the home.
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
Also reminiscent of a hotel suite is the open shower that’s situated behind the bed. The rough, unpolished nature of Brutalist design is represented here through the cracked tiles that have been pieced together to form the walls and floor of the shower.
Again, this demarcates the split between the common passage and the shower room. It also serves as a point of visual interest that stands out against the clean, solid concrete in the larger home━without moving away from its Brutalist core.
Image adapted from: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
Homogenous microcement-clad walls and ceilings lend themselves to creating the illusion of spaciousness within the home. Curves, such as the curved wall concealing the bomb shelter, also add to this feeling━corners and sharp edges break the visual flow.
The wooden shelf behind the bed cuts through the clinical concrete, and creates a half-height corridor for the toilet and shower, while also creating storage solutions.
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
Concrete Brutalist home accented with designer furniture
A Louis Poulsen table lamp and Carl Hansen & Søn’s iconic Wishbone chairs take centrestage in the dining area.
Image adapted from: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
The spartan canvas of this Brutalist home makes a great canvas for the sensibilities of Nordic design. First up, the dining set and pendant lamp from Danish furniture company Carl Hansen & Søn. Fun fact: the third-gen family business is a Purveyor to The Royal Danish Court.
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
If you’re of a mind that designer furniture needs to be properly appreciated, let this house be your inspiration━there’s no way you’d miss the PK25 Lounge Chair by Fritz Hansen in the small lounge area, where the homeowner can enjoy solitary movie nights.
Also from Fritz Hansen, another Danish furniture studio, is their PK61 coffee table.
Image adapted from: @studioperiphery
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
The homeowner has opted not to install ceiling lights in the lounge and bedroom areas, opting for designer fixtures such as a Flos Mod 265 wall lamp, with its 2m-long adjustable arm and 360-degree swivel lamp head. Of further note is the Louis Poulsen floor lamp in between the coffee table and bed, matching the table lamp in the dining room.
Harsh grey cement softened with touches of warmth
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
You also get whispers of understated luxury in this HDB flat through the pair of Fritz Hansen High Dot bar stools, topped in walnut leather, and with chromed steel legs that match the stainless steel kitchen countertops. The juxtaposition of cold steel and warm browns is consistently seen throughout this flat, be it through the use of wood or in this case, coloured leather.
That’s not all: a minimalist Davide Groppi Miss in brushed brass, suspended over one end of the kitchen island, becomes a focal point of the open space, while warm-toned recessed lighting on the bar counter behind accentuates the light brown wood used.
Yet another Louis Poulsen creation, the Flindt Wall Lamp, adds a warm glow to the Tadao Ando-style walls outside the shower, detracting from the hard grey concrete.
A Vipp524 Wall Spot adds subtle illumination against the brown subway tiles in the kitchen.
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
Service yard converted into an open-air extension of kitchen
A hidden sliding glass door gives the option to close off the main part of the home when required; when tucked away, more light can enter the kitchen.
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
In the same way that the flat at large was opened up, the division between kitchen and service yard was knocked down so that the latter became an extension of the former. How this was achieved was through the full wall of warm brown subway tiles that extended from the kitchen all the way to the end of the home. The cement screed flooring also continues into the yard, so there’s no visible distinction between the two spaces.
Image credit: MONOCOT & Studio Periphery
Where the rest of the bachelor pad reads restrained elegance, it’s in the open air service yard where nature flourishes, with an abundance of potted greenery. A Magis Puppy adds a swanky, playful touch to this semi-outdoor space as well.
700sqft Brutalist bachelor pad of concrete & wood
Brutalist interior design doesn’t necessarily mean an unforgiving, cold home. As this bachelor pad proves, there’s a clean elegance to the style that can be leveraged to also include Japandi aesthetics, adding a touch of hominess to your living space.
For more HDB reno inspo:
- Industrial HDB flats in Singapore that could pass off as NYC lofts
- Turning an odd-shaped HDB resale flat into an Airbnb-worthy home
- Muji-themed HUDC with a panoramic view
Cover image adapted from: MONOCOT, Studio Periphery
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