Curves are one of the most beloved interior design trends of Singaporeans. From entryways to feature walls, there are plenty of opportunities in a home to add a curve or 2. They can also serve as a functional feature, like camouflaging unsightly aircon trunking that runs along the ceiling.
Cheryl Yeo of Roomable was the artistic eye behind the renovation of this 4-room HDB flat in Pasir Ris, and here she shares the thought process behind the design of the home, including how they went about concealing the aircon trunking.
Covering up their aircon trunking for $200
Image credit: Roomable/Mesa Haus Studio
To the average Joe entering the dining room and kitchen, the curved beam they walk under looks like a superficial aesthetic feature of the home. But underneath the plaster are the pipes and wires used by the air conditioning in the rooms.
Image credit: Roomable
Most homeowners would just box the pipes up without giving how it looks a second thought. However the homeowner wanted curves, and after discussing with the aircon installer, they felt that the beam was a perfect place to incorporate a curved feature since they had to cover up the pipes anyway.
“The curved beam created a beautiful focal point in the living and dining area,” Cheryl said about the design. While there were initial worries that the space would look shorter visually, they still managed to keep the height clearance at 1.9m.
Creating this curved feature only cost around $200-$400 according to Cheryl, and it took the builders only a few hours to put up.
“I think having curved features in a home is a clever way to incorporate softness and create visual interest into a space,” Cheryl said. “From a practical and functional point of view, it helps to soften hard edges and corners thus making it more child and elderly-friendly. Aesthetically, it helps to add a sense of softness and flow in a space.”
Adding subtle curves to the bathroom walls
Image credit: Roomable/Mesa Haus Studio
The living and dining areas were not the only places to sport a unique implementation of curves. Step into the bathroom and you’ll be greeted with a dramatic shower with a wall that’s not only curved at the top and bottom but painted with limewash paint to give it a nice textured finish too.
“When designing the shower wall, I thought of incorporating a curved element to it to make it look less boring,” Cheryl said. And boring it was not. Look closer and you’ll also notice that the shower walls have no grout, which was a request from the homeowners. The wall was coated with limewash paint that can withstand the high humidity, is naturally anti-bacterial and mould-resistant.
Opening up the kitchen to create a bright & airy look
Image credit: Roomable/Mesa Haus Studio
We’d be remiss to hint at the kitchen in the pictures above without actually talking about it. Since the homeowners love to cook and bake, they wanted an open-concept kitchen for a continuous flow of movement and space between the kitchen and rest of the home, and especially the dining room.
The dining room before the renovation.
Image credit: Roomable
Opening up the kitchen also allows for natural light to stream in, brightening up the space and the corners beyond like the dining room.
Image credit: Roomable/Mesa Haus Studio
Prioritising interior styling & loose furniture for the kids’ bedrooms
Image credit: Roomable/Mesa Haus Studio
While we’re all fawning over the chic curves, Cheryl’s favourite part of the house to design was the kids’ bedroom, mostly because of how it requires plenty of interior styling and it was something they focused on for every home. “Styling the kids’ bedroom was fun because we could go louder with the choice of colours, style, and patterns,” she said.
Cheryl also pointed out that prioritising loose furniture pieces over built-ins allows for flexibility for these sorts of spaces, as their occupants will grow and change their preferences in time.
An $83.k reno with subtle curves
Image credit: Roomable/Mesa Haus Studio
Just when we thought that curves were becoming passe, a house that implements this aesthetic comes along in a unique and functional way. For the curious, this renovation cost the homeowners a total of $83.5K. You can check out more of Cheryl and Roomable’s designs over at their website and their Instagram page.
Take a look at other cool homes:
- These homeowners spent $16K creating a rattan ceiling
- An elegant Victorian-themed condo renovation straight out of Pride & Prejudice
- A peek inside a retro HDB inspired by Wong Kar Wai’s movies
Cover image credit: Roomable/Mesa Haus Studio
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