One might expect an artist’s home to be bursting with colour and patterns, but the home of full-time paper artist Ching Kai is strikingly calm and minimalist. Cool grey tones, warm wood accents, and a sprawling plant collection create a serene backdrop for his work and for the creations of The Paper Empress.
Purchased in 2017 for $270,000, this 1975 3-room corner HDB unit has been transformed into a tranquil home that doubles as a versatile creative studio for his intricate paper art.
Full-time artist behind The Paper Empress
Ching Kai was initially drawn to paper as an artistic medium, as it’s an everyday material that’s common and accessible to everyone. Through The Paper Empress, he creates delicate and intricate works that aren’t immediately apparent as paper.
Inspired by Tang Dynasty arts and culture, he launched his pet project in 2018, born out of creative boredom. What started as a side project has since grown into a full-time pursuit, shaping his career as a paper artist.
$50k self-designed 3-room HDB renovation
When he first bought the 36-year-old flat, Ching Kai was already working as a creative. As the sole occupant, it made perfect sense for his living space to double as a studio, rather than incurring extra costs renting elsewhere.
He took a hands-on approach to the renovation, designing the space himself and working directly with the main contractor and their subcontractors. This gave him full control over every detail and helped to keep his total renovation cost under $50,000, including appliances and furniture.
The home’s palette is built around clean grey tones, softened by warm wood flooring and a sprawling plant collection. The minimal colour palette creates a smooth flow between the rooms, making the flat look airy and more spacious than its 750sqft footprint suggests.
Unlike your typical HDB home, there’s no bulky furniture or built-ins in sight, just a mattress in the bedroom, 3 chairs and a long bench in the living room.
Growing up in a home with hoarded items, Ching Kai intentionally designed his flat to be clean and “to leave me little room for expansion”. The walls were hacked to create a wide open living area, with grey curtains subtly dividing the bedroom from the living space.
Minimalist home studio
While hybrid space-saving furniture is all the hype right now, Ching Kai prefers direct functionality, described as a “WSYIWYG” (what you see is what you get) design philosophy. Every piece of furniture in his home is displayed in plain sight, reflecting elegance through simplicity and intention.
Most of the furniture is intentionally kept low to elongate the low ceiling typical of older HDBs, creating a home that feels more open and breathable. This approach has the underrated perk of easy maintenance, since there are no hidden corners or awkward recesses to clean.
Much like the subtle kintsugi-inspired gold detailing on the floor, which only reveals itself upon closer inspection, Ching Kai’s favourite feature of his home is its quiet versatility beyond its “characteristically basic” appearance, a quality some have called a “non-design”.
As he explains, “That is just the book cover, and few would’ve seen how it transforms into many other manners depending on what I do here. That versatility, privy only to a few, is fun.” The home’s simple furnishings remain functional and flexible, providing a calm backdrop for his vibrant, intricate paper art to take centre stage.
A custom-built 3m-long table for work
At the heart of the home is a custom-built, 3-metre-long table that doubles as his workbench. Fabricated as part of the home’s carpentry work, the table even has legs crafted by an ironsmith, adding an industrial touch to its minimalist design. It’s the centrepiece of the flat, supporting his daily routines from his meticulous paper art-making to unwinding after a long day.
By turning his home into a studio, Ching Kai enjoys far more flexibility than a rented space would provide. The wide layout and open floor plan provide plenty of room to move and spread out materials, such as large sheets of paper and paint, occasionally extending to the kitchen counter.
To keep his work organised, Ching Kai also installed storage cabinets in the living area and kitchen, which were among the biggest ticket items for the renovation. The cabinet doors also function as moodboards, enabling him to freely pin up draft sketches and ideas.
Finished in a steely grey that matches the home’s cool and minimalist aesthetic, these cabinets anchor the home with clean lines and ample storage to keep the space clutter-free.
Even with careful planning, using a home as a work studio comes with its challenges. During intense production periods, art materials can spill over large areas of the flat, blurring the line between work and home life, unlike a commercial studio where the mess is kept at bay.
The space has evolved organically over the 8 years Ching Kai has lived here, most notably with the growth of his plant collection. The overgrown greenery now adds natural warmth and softness to the cool space, offering a glimpse into how the space nurtures his work and personal interests.
Paper artist’s minimalist home
Ching Kai’s 3-room flat showcases how a minimalist home doesn’t have to feel cold or rigid, with thoughtful design to create a space that adapts to both his art and everyday life, even becoming a comforting enclave during the pandemic.
For homeowners planning a similar renovation, he advises giving yourself space to settle in and grow with your new lifestyle. Invest in high-quality materials for fixtures, and don’t hesitate to speak up or insist on changes with your contractors: “Remember that your designer and contractors will eventually disappear after the job is done, but you are the one living and breathing it 24/7, so don’t compromise easily.”
For more featured homes:
- This Sentosa Cove home has an underwater entertainment “fish bowl” room that cost more than $2M to build
- 4 things we love about this quirky eclectic 4-room resale flat after a $70K reno
- Inside a $120K 5-room Northshore BTO with an unconventional layout
Photos taken by: Aina Izzati Bohari
Drop us your email so you won't miss the latest news.
