House tour: Debbie’s eclectic and quirky HDB flat in Bedok

By Stephanie Yee

/ Cromly |

May 5, 2017 3:30 PM SGT

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Take a look inside Debbie’s home, where almost every piece comes with a backdrop of its own but comes together beautifully.

This unique and colour-enriched 113-square-metre resale flat in Bedok North has been Debbie’s home for the past five years. Growing up in Katong, paved way for her next permanent address to be in proximity of this neighbourhood.

It took her four weeks of hacking and wet works and another two weeks of carpentry works before she saw her dream home come to life. Debbie dabbling in renovation herself was an understatement. She designed the whole house all by herself—"I drew the layout plan, perspectives, and measurements to scale using the floor plan from HDB as a template."

She only sent them to her contractor so they could review and translate it into scaled drawings for execution.

She chose a mature colour palette that entails autumn tones—neutrals like slate grey, warm sand, dark olive green, and aubergine. “All floor surfaces are subdued with floor tiles that are 100% matte finish for a softer, more subtle feel so it gives a sense of a wider space," says Debbie.

The walls became the perfect canvas for her personal collection of artworks from New York, Australia, and France—they provide a unique touch to Debbie’s home and reflect her personality in every way.

Step into Debbie’s eclectic and quirky HDB flat:

1. Living Room

Debbie doesn’t believe in the "matchy-matchy" look and the living room shows just that. A neutral-hued L-shaped sofa, three armchairs, a nest of black acrylic tables, an X-wing coffee table, statement acrylic chandelier, and oriental furniture pieces that also feature mid-century and modern styles all beautifully blend in this space. To balance out the twangy turquoise and azure blue, Debbie used sombre black tones.

2. Kitchen and Dining Room

"The turquoise is continued to the dining space with the choice of placemats set against a black and white colour palette. In the kitchen, simple but chic black floors and dark brown carpentry against the clean white walls provide a strong contrast. The use of linear tiles deliberately positioned toward the vanishing point creates a linear illusion upon entry. I chose a bright lime green as an accent colour in the use of plants, photo frames, and other kitchen tools," says Debbie.

3. Master Bedroom

Debbie's favourite nook in the house, is of course her bedroom —and it's not surprising at all! It's insta-worthy, designer-approved, and super stylish.

"My bedroom is quirky! I have a concrete screed accent wall with a pair of black glass flute lights and a centrepiece of fabric lighting that looks like a jellyfish," says Debbie. The walls are painted in dark olive green and splashes of colours in the accessories (hello, pop-art and shiny silver throw pillows!) further jazz up the bedroom. "Most of the pieces in the rooms were from my previous apartment including a kidney table."

4. Guest Bedroom

Tangy orange tones and clean yellow sheets paired up with contrasting black and white statement furniture makes the room pop in the right places. Do not miss the distinct chandelier that adds the right amount of glamour to this guestroom

5. Dressing Room

"I converted one of the bedrooms into a full dressing room," she smiles. Every woman’s dream is to have a room full of clothes but Debbie made hers come true.

6. Bathroom

Debbie admits her bathroom is dark—and that's the way she likes it. "I used silver-coated tiles on one wall and a complementary dark brown matte titles to contrast it. The black chandelier and a Marilyn Monroe poster up the style of the bathroom."

Things you need to know-

Renovation Details Type of property: HDB resale unit
Total space: About 113 square metres
Budget: $110,000
Time to complete works: 4 weeks for hacking and wet works + 2 weeks for carpentry to complete

Debbie's tips for fellow homeowners

1. Choose your contractor wisely! I had some trouble with the contractor who executed my plan and the work quality is not up to scratch.

2. Prioritise your budget on things that you CANNOT change easily. Invest in some good tiles, hardware for the bathroom, and toilet unit as you cannot easily replace these and they have to last a while. Invest in something you enjoy looking at every day.

3. Set aside a 15% budget buffer. I originally set aside up to $60,000 but the entire renovation went overboard. The reason is partially due to the intense hacking of the entire unit plus new wiring. All these costs cannot be “seen” and took up a lot more cash than I planned.

Cromly would love to feature your dream home. Email them at hello@cromly.com.

Photos by David Loh

This story first appeared on cromly.com

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