Curves. Neutrals. Child-friendly. Lots of storage.
The brief to interior design firm Avery & Arche sounds simple, but was not all that. We’ve seen some 180° transformations around here, but this sandy neutral makeover of a 4-room Yishun resale HDB with curves, costing a whole $100K, might be one of the glowiest glow-ups yet.
@uchify.sg A calming monotone beige surrounds the space, blending with smooth, curved carpentry and built-in cove lighting to create a comforting ambience in this 4-room resale flat. 🤍 🔗link in bio for the full feature🔗 #sghome #hometour #resaleflat #hdbreno #interiordesign #sghomeinteriordesign
40-year-old Yishun resale HDB with a triangular layout
Bedroom 3 was knocked down to become a living hall.
Besides being all of 40 years old, this HDB block in Yishun is long and geometric in its orientation, which results in some rather awkward angles━for certain units, that is. This resale flat that we chanced upon is one of them, with a decidedly triangular layout which was absolutely at odds with the brief.
Hacking one bedroom to create an enlarged living area with a curved TV wall
Image credit: Avery & Arche, @mesahausstudio
To begin, one of the bedrooms was knocked down, with the exception of the unhackable structural wall. On one hand, this was in keeping with advice from the new homeowners’ Feng Shui master; on the other, it created extra living space for the growing family.
In working around the structural wall, they created 2 large doorways to the new living room, which functions as a TV den of sorts. This allowed for a cosy hideaway, yet enabled the flow of qi in the home and the construction of a feature wall-slash-storage solution behind the sofa.
Image credit: Avery & Arche, @mesahausstudio
Peer closer, and you’ll notice that in keeping with the sinuous curves that headline the entire house, the wall behind the TV is also curved, hiding away one of the corners that was originally there.
The ceilings in the main, communal hall are kept clean, allowing the Cassina Dudet-style boucle armchairs around the dining table to stand out. But it’s in the living hall where the curves come out to play━from the curved lines of the cupboards to the undulating edge of the false ceiling brought out by cove lights.
Then there’s the Taobao dupe of Studio Panter&Tourron’s Tense cloud lamp, hanging above a plush boucle sofa with its retractable leg rests. For a room full of angles, the end result was markedly soft and welcoming.
Curves, not arches
Image credit: Avery & Arche, @mesahausstudio
The homeowners did, after all, request for curves. “Not arches,” was the specific instruction━and so Avery & Arche looked into more organic curves. The 2 entryways into the living hall are not symmetrical, by the way. The cut-out nook, specially designed for a 3-foot-tall Ironman figurine, was a hand-drawn shape.
Image credit: Avery & Arche, @mesahausstudio
The bedroom feature wall received similar treatment in how the curve was hand-drawn and edited to the homeowners’ liking, then given life to stunning effect. Cove lighting, again, brings out the wave-like form, dramatically revealing its shape, yet with a gentle, moody touch.
Lots of built-in storage space
Image credit: Avery & Arche, @mesahausstudio
Open the front door to its fullest, and you’ll find a pleasing little detail in how it aligns with the console, sporting yet another cut-out nook for daily necessities. A small break in the cabinetry makes way for a future bench, display area, or whatever the homeowners decide should go there.
It may not look like it, but this row of cabinets hides a whole lot of storage space. In fact, one of the doors opens up into a mini bar, while another fits an entire mahjong table inside. Because the storeroom was redesignated to expanding the master en-suite, it became necessary to create more storage space in the house.
A single colour for the illusion of space
The kitchen is also done in the same-coloured laminates as the rest of the house.
Image credit: Avery & Arche, @mesahausstudio
Standing at just over 1,000 sqft with a ceiling height of just 2.4m, this resale flat is not that big. However, it’s given the illusion of space with the use of a uniform sandy colour throughout━from the large-format tiles to the laminates, tabletop, and even the colour of the walls.
Rather than being boring, it’s almost like you’ve stepped into the softly, gently shifting sands of a desert dream.
Bubble study with $5,000 glass window
Image credit: Avery & Arche, @mesahausstudio
With the prevalence of WFH situations these days, it’s unsurprising that the homeowners wanted to carve out an office/study area that was seamlessly integrated into the overall design of the home. However, with 2 young children, they also wanted to be able to conserve lines of sight into the common areas from this study.
The result: an 80cm-long, curved-glass window that added $5,000 to their reno budget, but checked all their boxes. Also nestled in this study is a sofa bed, so this study can be transformed into a guest bedroom in a snap. And yes, there are curtains on the window.
This Yishun 4-room resale HDB has lots of curves
Other than the extensive work that went into creating all the curves in this resale HDB with curves, it must be considered that a good deal of the $100K renovation budget also went to ripping out and replacing all the old wiring, plumbing and the like. Limewashing the walls was also not an option, since it doesn’t do well with little hands around the house. If there’s one thing that this reno tells you though, it’s not to let anyone tell you single-coloured homes are boring.
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Cover image adapted from Avery & Arche, @mesahausstudio
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