Ever curious about the dwelling of a creative soul in Singapore? It might perhaps look like this. A home defined by a mix of austerity and a fascination with yesterday’s nostalgia that’s mildly tempered by modern sensibilities. This home, an ideal showcase for a $55k reno project, celebrates the art of blending timeless retro aesthetics with modern flair, making it a must-see for film photographers, vinyl lovers, and hipsters in search of their dream home aesthetic within an HDB setting.
Playfully retro dining area with tiled foyer
Image credit: Three Haus Works
The home is brilliant in its simplicity, with its largely monochromatic palette laying the perfect canvas for subtle splashes of color and patterns to truly pop. The exposed copper plumbing and raw cement screed on the walls lend the space a raw, minimalist vibe, infused with a touch of retro charm, as though the interior were a natural extension of the outside world.
Some strategic hacking was undertaken to reduce the original size of the kitchen to expand the dining and living room area. Aside from that, the overall layout of this home is largely retained.
Image credit: Three Haus Works
By patterning, we of course mean the intricate floor tiling that lines the edge close to the entrance. These tiles seem to draw inspiration from the retro tiles found at older buildings in Singapore, such as along the 5-foot ways of shophouses or early housing estates like Tiong Bahru.
The designer, Three Haus Works, explained that they were strategically placed near the entrance of the home to demarcate a foyer of sorts, but in a way that doesn’t necessitate a space dedicated entirely to it. It’s a really neat solution, one that is reminiscent of a similar feature made in another nostalgia-oriented home we’ve covered here at Uchify.
Image credit: Three Haus Works
The homeowners are self-professed homebodies, and naturally indulge in a variety of homebound hobbies, like film, music and literature. It certainly shows, having capitalised on the neutral background of the home to showcase plenty of tasteful, art-related decor.
The auteur fans would recognise a poster for Wong Kar Wai’s 2000 film In the Mood For Love right above the homeowner’s vinyl collection set. The indie art scene chasers will instead be charmed by a framed print of The Lovers by independent surrealist artist Ella Baudinet.
Image credit: Three Haus Works
A spacious, cosy living room that blends past & present
Image credit: Three Haus Works
A home for homebodies will need plenty of space for lounging, and is very much designed with that in mind. Most of the space is dedicated to sofa seating, with enough free estate for additional floor chairs or simply lying down. You’d see a bit more art-related decor on display here, including a Florence & The Machine vinyl cover of her 2009 debut album, Lungs.
The darker shades, along with the venetian blinds, help to create a comfortably soft lighting that’s great for the homeowners looking to decompress after their work.
Image credit: Three Haus Works
Sleek & functional mid-century modern kitchen
Image credit: Three Haus Works
The homeowners here actually also really love hosting friends and family over for meals, so a lot of effort also went into the kitchen design. As a nice retro touch, the kitchen can be closed off with the use of these stylishly old-fashioned fluted glass sliding doors.
Image credit: Three Haus Works
Carpentry took up the majority of the renovation costs here, totalling up to $20K. And looking at the kitchen, you can sort of see why. Using different shades of green, they created a rather sleek, contemporary kitchen with a decidedly mid-century modern colouration.
This was accomplished through the creative choice of using subway tiles for the backsplash as well as a matcha green laminate for the cabinets.
Image credit: Three Haus Works
A delightfully simple, minimalist HDB reno with a retro twist
Sometimes home renovations do not have to involve elaborate reimaginings of the layout. Without much else beyond shifting a bit of space for a larger living room, this home by Three Haus Works actually manages to give off a low-key HDB vibe, but in an artsy minimalist
way. Perhaps with your next home reno plans, less truly is more.
Tour other unique homes in Singapore with impeccable styling:
- These Homeowners Turned Their Old 3-Rm HDB Flat Toilet Into A Wabi-Sabi Sanctuary
- An EC Bedroom With A Tatami Platform Bed, Shoji Doors & Hidden Storage
- Spending $6.7K To Transform Our Master Toilet Into An Atas Luxury Hotel Bathroom
Image adapted from: Three Haus Works
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