Staying in an HDB in Singapore might not feel as fashionable as The Big Apple, but you can always try to get your own home renovated to look like a cool industrial NYC loft. From red brickwork to bold, brutalist designs, where are 7 HDB units that might give you the inspiration to live out that Empire State of Mind.
Origins of industrial interior design
The Industrial Revolution played an important role in shaping the industrial interior design concept. Open-concept factories which first appeared in the late 18th century, were characterised by large grid windows and brick walls. The aesthetic gained traction during the second industrial revolution in the 19th century, when there was a surge in concrete and steel factories.
It wasn’t until the 20th century that the industrial style truly flourished, driven by a housing shortage in New York. It was during this time that many old factories and warehouses were converted into open-floor industrial loft apartments, with features like exposed materials and large windows that contributed to the style’s popularity.
Key characteristics of industrial interior design
Before we dive into our list of industrial interior design ideas for your HDB, there are a few factors that will help you to nail this aesthetic:
Dark, earthy neutrals: When we think of homes in neutral colours, we often picture brightly lit spaces with varying shades of white, cream and beige. In contrast, the industrial style often features shades of grey, black, and brown with hints of white or beige.
Mixture of wood and metal: Most industrial-inspired homes typically include a combination of wood and metal accents through flooring or repurposed home decor and accessories.
Exposed brick or concrete walls: Since brickwork and concrete are some of the core materials that typify the industrial trend, the easiest way to instantly add these elements to your home is through a statement brick or concrete wall.
Natural lighting: As with most open-floor concepts, you’ll want to utilise large window panes to allow natural light to come in to create the illusion of a bigger space.
1. Sleek with accents of masculine luxe
Image credit: The Interior Lab
Glam up your industrial-style apartment with black built-ins and furniture as in this 4-room BTO at Ang Mo Kio. The black theme adds that suave masculine quality to the spacious apartment, whilst the large windows help ensure the home remains bathed in natural light.
Dark earthy neutrals in the bedroom, and black track lighting give this home a laid-back, masculine feel.
Image credit: The Interior Lab
The browns of the wooden kitchen backsplash and the parquet flooring in the bedroom complement the colours on the red brick feature wall, giving the this industrial HDB a sense of consistency.
2. A cosy home defined by warm browns
Image credit: The Interior Lab
If you’re looking for a different take on the industrial HDB vibe though, consider using more stone in your renovation. Instead of brick and cement screed, this 3-room unit instead used distressed stone tiles and granite facades to recreate the palette of an NYC loft. They do of course still retain the iconic red bricks, in the form of a statement wall in the bedroom.
Using warm lighting also helps to add some warmth so the flat doesn’t feel so cold and harsh.
Image credit: The Interior Lab
3. An airy, brightly lit apartment with a huge brick wall
Image credit: Free Space Intent
You can alternatively make your home feel inviting by keeping it brightly lit, as with this 5-room HDB in Tampines. Here, large windows on both ends of the L-shaped layout maximise the amount of natural light coming in.
Image credit: Free Space Intent
With little in the way of walls or partitions, the open-concept layout helps the home feel incredibly spacious, and also adds enough real estate for features like a small gym to be installed in the home.
Image credit: Free Space Intent
4. A home library for the erudite homebody
Image credit: Black N White Haus
This one’s for the bookworms and those who want to embody the academia vibe but in a NYC-style apartment. The homeowners have built a private library, complete with a sliding door that isolates it from the rest of the home for a bit of peace and quiet. The home in Dover Road is bright, as is typical of NYC loft designs, but it otherwise eschews the use of common industrial features like cement screed flooring.
Instead, the industrial aesthetic manifests in details like track lighting, leather furniture and wood laminate walls.
Image credit: Black N White Haus
5. Adding a rustic farmhouse vibe through with choice furniture
The industrial NYC loft style might have its hallmarks like exposed cable tracks and concrete screeding. But it does not mean you can’t give it a dose of that homely quality associated with the farmhouse aesthetic, as influencer and sportsman Scott KJ has done in his home.
This is accomplished through the use of a metal shelf that comes with its own ladder, as well as the crossbuck designs of the shoerack at the foyer.
Close to the foyer, they have constructed a brick rounded archway with the red bricks that perfectly fits this industrial HDB as well, beautifully framing the rest of the home and providing a visually impressive sight for guests.
6. Dramatic brutalism in an industrial design home
Image credit: Three-D Conceptwerke
Rounding out the list is this bold take on the industrial NYC loft style, featuring a heavy use of concrete for a cold, unapologetically raw look. Instead of red clay, they went for concrete brick columns flanking the dining table that gives the area an authoritative quality.
The columns also serve as a means to physically demarcate the dining area from the living room in this open-concept space.
Image credit: Three-D Conceptwerke
The warm lighting used here helps soften the coldness of the design theme, and seems to lend the place an air of sophistication.
Bonus: A HDB reno that’s straight from the Friends show
Image credit: Dots N Tots
From the extensive use of brickwork coupled with bright furniture, to the black frames on the windows, this HDB renovation is jam-packed with references to the Friends series. The pastel colours are a refreshing take on the NYC apartment theme, moving away from the earthier palette that typifies an industrial design home.
The iconic lavender and yellow of the Friends set take over this HDB kitchen.
Image credit: Dots N Tots
Industrial HDBs that could pass off as NYC lofts
From bright and spacious designs that maximise comfort to unique themes that pushes the envelope as far as the industrial NYC loft style is concerned, these homes would hopefully serve to give you a couple ideas for your own renovation plans.
- $120K HDB reno in the West Coast with cosy Airbnb vibes
- Inside a black and white corner terrace with tattoo parlour in Singapore
- Wabi-sabi x Scandi HDB maisonette in Lorong Ah Soo
Cover image adapted from: Black N White Haus, Free Space Intent
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