On 8th October 2026, Reno Scout posted a video walking us through the 4-room kitchen layout in Tengah’s Garden Waterfront. His verdict: the “most pathetic BTO 4-room kitchen ever seen”. In the video, Reno Scout points out the unit’s measurements and design flaws. Most notably, it doesn’t have a service yard, meaning any utilities would have to fit in the wet kitchen.
Image credit: Reno Scout via YouTube
In response, HDB has stated that at 10sqm, Tengah’s Garden Waterfront kitchen is “roughly the size of a standard kitchen in newer HDB flats that come with a service yard”. As a kitchen-utility hybrid though, that comparison can only go so far.
We pulled up 6 other Tengah BTO projects, from before and after Garden Waterfront’s lunch, to compare their kitchens side-by-side
Garden Waterfront’s 4-room kitchen: 10 sqm, but no service yard
Image credit: btomyhome.com
Launched in November 2022, Garden Waterfront I & II @ Tengah feature 2,077 units across 18 blocks along Tengah Garden Avenue. Their 4-room flats measure roughly 94 sqm and were priced from $307,000 to $397,000 at the time of launch.
Image credit: Housing & Development Board via Facebook
The unit floor plans show the 10sqm kitchen split into 2 zones: the dry kitchen and the kitchen/utility. There is no service yard to be seen, meaning the space essentially does double duty functioning as both the kitchen and service yard combined.
In their walkthrough, Reno Scout found that certain appliances would have to go in fixed spaces due to induction point placements and structural walls that cannot be hacked, reducing the configuration flexibility the unit was designed for.
Image credit: Reno Scout via Youtube
When assessing, they found the space tight and inflexible. The wall for the fridge and washing machine measured in at 1,900mm, and the sink and stove at just 1,700mm. With the fridge in place, there would only be 700mm remaining for a washing machine that usually measures at 600mm, not leaving much room for error. It’s no wonder they dubbed it a “one-man kitchen”.
In response, HDB said that there is additional space in the dry kitchen for appliances, with the potential for any culinarily-inclined homeowners to push the kitchen out further into their living space.
How Garden Waterfront’s kitchen compares to 6 other Tengah BTOs
We looked at 7 different BTO projects in Tengah, all of which are 4-room flats of roughly the same size, to see how their kitchens compare.
| Project | Launched | 4-room unit size | 4-room kitchen layout | Est. kitchen size |
| Garden Waterfront I & II @ Tengah | Nov 2022 | 94 sqm | Wet kitchen/utility + dry kitchen | ≈10.3 sqm: 5.8 sqm wet kitchen/utility, 4.5 sqm dry kitchen |
| Plantation Grove | Nov 2018 | 93 sqm | Wet kitchen + dry kitchen + service yard | ≈11 sqm: 8 sqm kitchen + 3 sqm service yard |
| Parc Woods @ Tengah | Feb 2021 | 94 sqm | Wet kitchen + dry kitchen + service yard | ≈11.1 sqm: 7.7 sqm kitchen + 3.4 sqm service yard |
| Brickland Weave | Feb 2023 | 93 sqm | Wet kitchen + dry kitchen + service yard | ≈11.4 sqm: 8.2 sqm kitchen + 3.2 sqm service yard |
| Plantation Verge | May 2023 | 93 sqm | Wet kitchen + dry kitchen + service yard | ≈11 sqm: 7.5 sqm kitchen + 3.5 sqm service yard |
| Parc Meadow @ Tengah | May 2023 | 93 sqm | Wet kitchen + dry kitchen + service yard | ≈9.7 sqm: 6.8 sqm kitchen + 2.9 sqm service yard |
| Plantation Edge I & II | Oct 2023 | 93 sqm | Wet kitchen + dry kitchen + service yard | ≈10.7 sqm: 7.6 sqm kitchen + 3.1 sqm service yard |
Image adapted from HDB sales brochures
Same size, different layout: why the missing service yard matters
HDB’s statement does hold up on paper: the combined kitchen and service yard space across newer flats does land at around 10 to 11 sqm. The real question is how that space can actually be used.
Garden Waterfront homeowners would have only 5.8 sqm of wet kitchen space, which would essentially have to double as both the primary cooking area and service yard. Not to mention any protruding pipes which may interfere with appliance space, further complicating the configuration process.
Meanwhile, other BTO projects we’ve looked at have a clear division between kitchen and utility spaces, allowing them to keep their kitchen as an area purely for cooking. All these 4-room projects both before and after Garden Waterfront’s launch have service yards, making it the true outlier.
The kitchen/utility combo isn’t new. In fact, It’s used in many 3-room units, including those at Plantation Edge and Parc Meadow. The issue is that a 3-room concept has been applied to a 4-room space, without accounting for the difference in how many people are actually living there.
Tengah Garden Waterfront 5-room kitchen: larger, but with no service yard.
Image credit: Uchify
Is HDB’s new beamless design to blame for this?
Standard (left) vs beam-free (right) units.
Image credit: HDB
Garden Waterfront is HDB’s first Construction Transformation Project, which aims to increase construction productivity while reducing the need for on-site workers. Led by building firm Obayashi Singapore, most parts were cast off-site. The result is rooms with no internal beams or columns for more flexible home configurations, as touted in Garden Waterfront’s brochure.
But this beamless design does not explain the missing service yard. Other projects listed as beam-free by HDB such as Bayshore Palms, Bayshore Vista, and Crawford Heights have service yards in their 4-room units instead of this kitchen/utility configuration. There has yet to be a statement from HDB on why Garden Waterfront is missing this staple feature.
How to tell if your BTO comes with a service yard?
Image adapted from HDB sales brochures
Nobody wants to see their newly-purchased BTO go viral for the wrong reasons. Here are a few ways to make sure your kitchen has the space you actually need.
Most important is to carefully read the project brochure, looking for “service yard” on the floor plan. It’s the easiest way to avoid the combined kitchen/utility issue, and you’ll be far less likely to end up Tetris-ing your appliances just to fit.
Measure your appliances and check them against the floor plan’s scale bar. It’s helpful to ask where the sanitary stacks sit too, so that your configuration isn’t thrown off by any rogue protruding pipes.
Garden Waterfront’s kitchen: how to make the most of those 10sqm
HDB’s statement wasn’t wrong: these 10 sqm are the equivalent to most standard HDB kitchens. But without a service yard, Garden Waterfront homeowners will have to get creative with how they use their space. It’s also good to remember that a lot of homeowners live just fine with their washing machines in the kitchen, so if that’s not a dealbreaker, stacking your washer and dryer is the way to go.
Image credit: One Interior Sg
Another option is to try to “hide” your larger appliances in the dry kitchen behind some carpentry, or even expand the kitchen space into the living room. The key thing to note is that, as Reno Scout pointed out, the kitchen flooring is tiled while the living room is vinyl, so this would need to be taken into consideration during any possible renovations.
It’s a tighter brief than most 4-room buyers would expect, but with the right appliances and a clear-eyed layout plan, those 10 sqm can still work hard.
For more HDB inspiration:
Cover image adapted from: hdb.gov.sg, Housing & Development Board via Facebook, Reno Scout via YouTube
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