The bright and airy Japandi style is one of the most popular interior design trends today, but this couple decided to buck the trend with their cyberpunk themed home.
The dark, glowy cybernetic design of Nicole and her partner’s BTO transports us from the present day to a mind boggling futuristic landscape. It’s even more impressive that they’ve managed to achieve this home interior with Shopee and Taobao finds.
Vision of a cyberpunk themed home
Images are for illustration purposes only.
Image credit: @luxurydesignstyle, Shopee, @emi_cm_mcu
While they initially didn’t have a specific interior design theme in mind, Nicole and her partner knew from the onset that a white and woody Scandi-style home wasn’t something that suited their aesthetic. Instead of forcing themselves to quickly settle on a theme, the couple made use of their 4-year BTO and reno wait time to curate ideas for their dream home.
Eventually, when their flat finally neared completion, Nicole and her partner decided on a futuristic theme. They created a cyberpunk moodboard to concretise their ideas, and sought out an interior designer who understood their vision and who could bring their dream home to life.
While it was a challenge to find an interior designer who was willing to explore and experiment with their unconventional home decor ideas while keeping to their budget, the couple managed to pull it off in the end. With careful budgeting and some intense shopping on Shopee and Taobao, Nicole and her partner finally brought their cyberpunk themed HDB to life in February 2022.
Putting together a futuristic living space
Image credit: Nicole M
The highlight of the couple’s living room is undoubtedly their TV feature wall. Using a dynamic LED flame light wall projector from Shopee, Nicole and her partner were able to create the illusion of their TV being engulfed by glowing flames. The holographic blue flames rise from behind the dark console below the wall-mounted TV, extending upwards to the ceiling in mesmerising waves.
In order to ensure that the bright illumination from their LED projector would be the focal point of the room, the couple opted for dark furniture. Their coffee table, sofa, TV console, and ceiling fan all blend into the background when the projector is turned on – the entire set up looks particularly stunning in a dark room with all the other lights turned off.
The glowing blue cyberpunk decor doesn’t stop there. No part of the house is left plain – even the hallways are designed according to theme. Nicole and her partner obtained blue laser lights from Taobao, which they attached to the ceiling of their hallways as a unique cybernetic detail.
Cyberpunk themed dining space
Image credit: Nicole M
The dining space adjacent to the living room is likewise decorated with cyberpunk elements. Nicole and her partner used the Agon.8 Scallop Opal pendant lamp ($370) from Like Lights as their main lighting fixture. With its sleek laser cut panels, the lamp contributes to the futuristic feel of the home while serving as practical and functional lighting.
Beside the dining table, a full-length Backlit Arch Mirror from Taobao contributes to the glowy aesthetic. The clean-cut edges of the mirror are accentuated by the backlight, which outlines the shape of the arch and adds to the futuristic living room vibe.
The mirror backlight and other glowy lighting features are also made more prominent by the couple’s decision to go for a dark accent wall in their living space. By changing the wall behind their sofa from plain white to dark grey, more attention is drawn to the lighting features in the room.
Images are for illustration purposes only.
Image credit: Shopify, Amazon
The couple pasted Govee LED Light Strips ($50) from Shopee along the edges of their open alcohol shelf. The smart LED light strips are compatible with both Alexa and Google Home, and can switch between a myriad of colours, but Nicole and her partner use blue by default to match the rest of their home.
HDB bathroom transformation
Image credit: Nicole M
Nicole and her partner went all out in transforming their standard HDB bathrooms to fit their cyberpunk home interior. Key features of their guest bathroom include a dark aluminium frame door, acrylic ceiling panels paired with more Govee LED light strips, and dark-coloured tile overlays from Hafary, which they used to create an accent wall.
In order not to break their banks, the couple decided to keep the original toilet bowl that came with their HDB guest bathroom and also opted for a simple metal rain shower from a local shop – nothing overly extravagant.
Image credit: Nicole M
For their master bathroom, Nicole and her partner chose to do custom carpentry for a cabinet above the toilet and the cupboard underneath the sink. The dark-coloured overhead cabinet stores essentials such as toilet rolls for easy access, and matches the dark interior of the cyberpunk bathroom.
They also installed a tornado flush toilet bowl and bought a backlit round LED smart mirror from Taobao, with the latter being a continuation of the sleek backlit mirror look from their living room.
While Nicole and her partner acknowledge that darker-themed bathrooms may seem impractical to others, cleaning their bathrooms regularly has prevented them from encountering any problems thus far.
Nicole jokes that going to the loo in her cyberpunk themed bathrooms is akin to “pretending to pee in a club” – but she stresses on the importance of proper functional lighting in dark-themed bathrooms. While aesthetic lighting has a huge role in elevating the design of their bathrooms, it should always come hand in hand with practical lighting features, for safety and utility.
Cyberpunk HDB BTO design
Nicole and her partner revealed that the hardest part about achieving a cyberpunk theme for their home wasn’t actually the unconventional nature of their design choice. Instead, they found that the most difficult thing about the HDB transformation was controlling their spending habits during the renovation and furniture shopping process.
Although the couple ended up exceeding their initial budget, the 4-year-long wait prior to actually moving into their home gave them sufficient time to save up and cover the costs. All things considered, both Nicole and her partner agree that the process of putting their cyberpunk themed HDB together was definitely worth it in the end.
Take a look at these other Singapore home transformations:
- Raffles Hotel inspired colonial style HDB
- Space-themed kids room with a star ceiling and capsule loft
- Tiong Bahru mid-century modern apartment
Cover image adapted from: Shopee, Nicole M, Nicole M
Drop us your email so you won't miss the latest news.
