Our homes often say as much about us as the way we dress or what we do, and that couldn’t be more true for content creator Clara Hong and her husband Timothy Suen’s 4-room, 1,001sqft BTO flat.
Clara, a Singapore-based content creator whose work spans fashion, wellness and travel, previously spent some time living in Bali with Timothy. When it came time, the couple returned to Singapore to see their first home through completion.
Purchased for around $550,000, the home underwent a $150,000 renovation that transformed its conventional 4-room layout into a more fluid 3-room home designed around their lifestyle.
While admittedly on the higher side for a BTO, much of the renovation cost went towards investments such as reconfiguring the bedrooms to create a full walk-in wardrobe and carving out a flexible study that can open into the living area.
Here’s everything we like about the home.
An open living space shaped by loose & movable furniture
Tempted by recent trends, Clara and Timothy thought about hacking down all their walls to create an open-concept studio layout.
But they ultimately landed on turning the original 4-room BTO into a 3-room layout that focuses on fluidity to achieve a sense of openness. They did hack a few walls but still kept much of the living area flexible with loose, movable furniture instead of committing to built-ins.
Their TV, for instance, isn’t mounted to the wall, while the low console beneath it is made from two IKEA BESTÅ units lined with laminate on the top that can function as a bench for when guests come over.
Their “feature wall” is also just a tapestry that can be flipped to change the design of the room. Even the wall-mounted lamp in their living room swivels and can be moved around to set the mood.
Even their cat tree has a pretty mid-century modern look and feel, helping the home feel sophisticated while staying functional for their pet.
Image credit: @budstudioco
That same flexibility carries into the study beside the living room. It is a semi-partitioned room with pocket wooden sliding doors that can be tucked away completely when they’re not needed. This allows the study to visually merge with the communal area and give the home a more open-concept look and feel whenever they want.
Practical Taobao purchases
What’s even more impressive are all the Taobao purchases peppered around their home. These unique pieces of furniture stay practical without feeling overly utilitarian.
Their $1,000 modular wooden cubby-hold shelving system in the study is a great example; with its mix of open compartments and concealed storage in varying sizes, it gives everything from books and baskets to everyday clutter a designated place.
The warm wood finish also helps it feel more like a piece of furniture than a purely functional storage unit, keeping the room organised without disrupting the fluidity of their home.
The dining table, another Taobao purchase, can be extended whenever they need extra seats. Most of the time, it stays compact, but when friends or family come over, it can grow with the occasion.
This way, they don’t have to permanently dedicate more floor space to a larger table just for the occasional gathering.
There’s also a clever solution for one of the less glamorous realities of being a cat owner: their cat litter box is disguised as a cabinet, allowing it to sit in the living space without immediately looking like pet equipment.
It’s also completely covered, so their home doesn’t have the typical “cat smell” that many cat owners’ homes tend to have.
Decorating the home with fixtures & memorabilia from their travels
Rather than buying decorative pieces from boutique stores, the couple have filled their home with objects they’ve picked up along the way, bringing back pieces from their travels that hold a little more meaning than something bought off a shelf.
Several of the home’s light fixtures were sourced from Indonesia, including the industrial swivel lamp in the living room and the distinctive pendant hanging above the dining table. A tapestry from Okinawa takes pride of place in the living room, serving as its feature wall without overwhelming the space.
Elsewhere, smaller finds from their travels are tucked into built-in display cabinets and open shelving throughout the home.
Kitchen with stainless steel counters & backsplash
The kitchen takes a more industrial turn with stainless steel counters and a matching backsplash, paired with warm wood cabinetry and terracotta tiles that match those used in the entryway.
Clara also had her heart set on a La Germania oven and cooktop which sits neatly within the stainless steel surfaces.
Stainless steel may not be the most forgiving choice for a home kitchen, with scratches and signs of wear becoming more visible over time. But for the homeowners, that’s part of its appeal. Rather than trying to keep the surface pristine, they see the marks as evidence of a kitchen being lived in, with the material developing character through use.
The cooler tones of the steel also give the kitchen a clear visual identity within the open-plan layout, contrasting with the warmth of the wood used throughout the flat.
And while open shelving wasn’t part of the initial plan, the couple was happy to add it as an afterthought for their extensive collection of trinkets.
Dedicated coffee station with a mug display cabinet
Instead of taking up precious countertop space in the main kitchen, the homeowners turned the peninsula separating the kitchen and dining area into a dedicated coffee station.
The coffee machine sits on top, while the open display cabinet below houses their collection of unique mugs, keeping everything they need for their daily brew within easy reach. Rather than hiding the mugs behind cabinet doors, the open shelving lets the collection double as décor and adds a little personality to the space.
Master bedroom connected to a walk-in wardrobe
The master bedroom keeps things pared back, with warm wood tones doing most of the heavy lifting. A large round rice paper pendant adds a subtle Japanese influence, while roman blinds from Everyday Curtains soften the daylight with an effect reminiscent of shoji screens. The same window treatment appears in the living room, helping tie the spaces together.
Timber continues through the bed frame, headboard and flooring, giving the room a warm, cohesive finish. For their sleep setup, the homeowners chose a Heveya III Mattress with Latex Pillows in #1 and #4, paired with a Ligna Bedframe and Linen Sheet Set.
The more interesting design move, however, is what lies next door. Instead of keeping both bedrooms intact, the homeowners converted the original master bedroom into a full walk-in wardrobe and turned the adjacent bedroom into their sleeping quarters. The two rooms are directly connected, effectively creating one larger master suite.
Inside the walk-in wardrobe, full-height wood-look cabinetry maximises the available wall space. Even the hardware gets a personal touch, with custom-made knobs adding character to an otherwise understated space.
Master bathroom with a gorgeous marble vanity
The flat’s warm colour palette continues in the master bathroom with timber cabinetry and a marble vanity that brings a cooler contrast to the space.
Rather than relying entirely on built-in storage, the homeowners use a mix of compact cabinetry and open shelving to keep everyday toiletries within easy reach without making the bathroom feel too enclosed.
Terracotta tiles, which also appear in the kitchen and entryway, make another appearance here.
Glossy reddish-brown wall tiles and small red accents help the overall design seem sophisticated and deliberate, without feeling too plain.
A peek inside Clara Hong’s 4-room BTO
The most important piece of advice Clara and Timothy have for creating a home that feels intentional is simple: don’t buy or build things just for the sake of filling a space. Instead, shape your home around what genuinely suits your lifestyle and reflects your personality.
In this couple’s case, this meant switching out a bedroom for a walk-in wardrobe and partially opening up the study, carving out a coffee station, and even disguising the cat litter box as furniture.
There’s also no need to force every corner of a BTO into the same aesthetic. What matters more is that the home feels cohesive in the way it is used, not just in the way it looks.
For more home renovations:
- Jessica Tham’s mid-century modern 3-room condo
- Wah!Banana co-founder Lingyi’s coastal boho condo
- Zina Ng’s minimalist 5-room BTO flat
- Nicole Chang Min & James Seah’s hanok-inspired HDB flat
Photography by: Vivien Del Valle
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