A look into one of the most unique HDB flats in Singapore.
Landed HDB terrace houses are among the rarest HDB property types in Singapore – so, when we were given the chance to visit Tony’s HDB terrace home in Jalan Bahagia, we seized the opportunity.
Nestled in a quiet area of Whampoa far from busy roads and malls, the area felt like a nostalgic throwback to yesteryear. People from all walks of life strolled unhurriedly around the area while cars drove past at leisurely speeds – a far cry from the hustle and bustle you’d expect from a busy, fast-paced city like Singapore.
It’s precisely why Tony has enjoyed living here over the past year, stating that the area gave off “quiet kampung vibes”.
“It does sometimes feel like a museum in the day, with onlookers occasionally walking past and staring into the house,” he says amusedly. “But at night, it’s a different story. There’s hardly any noise, so it’s very peaceful.”
About the homeowners and their home
“My wife and I were previously staying in a HDB flat in Farrer Park – near our current house, actually,” says Tony. “We initially wanted to live somewhere in the East Coast area because it’s near the sea and feels pretty relaxed. But we couldn’t really find anything we liked.”
“Then, our property agent told us that there was a rare type of HDB flat for sale near our previous home: a landed HDB terrace. Of course, we were quite intrigued since this was a pretty unique property, so we went to take a look.”
The floorplan of Tony’s landed HDB terrace house, pre-renovation
“We weren’t too impressed with the first HDB terrace we saw as it looked quite run down, which meant that we’d have to spend more during the renovation to fix everything. But our agent told us about another one up for sale nearby – and after seeing how well-kept it was, we knew it was the one.”
“In fact, it was during our walk back to our old house that we decided to call up our agent and tell him we wanted it. Luckily we got it!”
About finding an interior designer to renovate their home
“We knew of Free Space Intent (FSI) through close friends of ours,” says Tony. “They helped renovate their home twice, and each time they did a fantastic job – so because we were already familiar with their quality of work, we asked for a referral and eventually met up with Leon, our interior designer.
“We were actually speaking to another ID firm concurrently, but I think the existing connection to FSI through our friends, as well as their hands-on attitude and detail-oriented natures, sealed the deal for us.”
About the patio
“I think the patio is one of my favourite areas of the house,” says Tony. “I like to sit here at night while playing my guitar or reading a book – it’s really that peaceful.”
“One of the unique things about living in a landed HDB terrace is that we aren’t allowed to change the exterior facade. Everything from the walls to the gate is under HDB’s purview and can’t be touched, unless you get a permit, which might cost more and take a long time.”
“It’s fine [to keep things as is], because we like how they look. I believe the only thing we added was the mesh netting, to prevent our cats from climbing out.”
“On top of that, most of the features that were installed by the previous owner (and the ones before him) were retained. These include things like the outdoor flooring, Turkish pendant lights, and blinds – they just add so much life and personality to the space, which we really like.”
“The only things we added to the space were the furniture. I’m a big Carousell-er, and I love going through the listings to find hidden gems. For example, one of my dining table chairs – not pictured in the images, as we got it after the photoshoot took place – is a restored 180-year-old chair from an old restaurant from Czechoslovakia.”
At our amazement, he chuckles. “Yeah, I know right? It’s not something you can find in your regular furniture store – even the country isn’t around anymore!
About the living room
When they were discussing the overall design concept with Leon, Tony and his wife found themselves gravitating towards shades of bright orange and yellow, which are commonly used in Spanish interior design.
“I think we just really love how vibrant and lively these homes look,” he says. “And it creates a nice visual contrast – when you look into the house from outside, the colourful interior really stands out against the black-white-brown exterior.”
“Plus, we knew that Leon – and FSI in general – are comfortable experimenting with different colours. If you take a look at the firm’s portfolio, you can see that a lot of the houses they’ve worked on have bright, colourful schemes.”
“The curved kitchen door was Leon’s suggestion, as this was a common feature in Spanish homes,” says Tony. | View this project by Free Space Intent
When asked about the other renovation works done for the living room, Tony states that they didn’t do much else, preferring to keep the look as close to the original as possible.
“One of the things we initially wanted to do was to conceal the wire casings on the wall,” he says. “But as we thought about it, we realised that the casings make the overall old-school vibe even more authentic.”
“Besides, it also makes access easier if we ever need to repair them. Better safe than sorry!”
About the kitchen
The first floor of Tony’s home, post-renovation
While Tony’s current kitchen is already much larger than your average HDB kitchen, it actually used to be bigger. Wanting some room to house guests, they used some of the kitchen and living room space to carve out a spare bedroom, complete with a wardrobe and super single-sized bed.
As someone who loves cooking, Tony was willing to go through the effort of making the kitchen feel as homely as possible.
“I spend quite a lot of time cooking each week, so I wanted this space to make me feel happy whenever I’m in it,” he said. “Similar to the living room, we went with a Spanish feel, with Mediterranean-style tiles on the backsplash for a livelier look.”
Gesturing toward the back wall of the kitchen, Tony tells us that he initially wanted to replace the entire back wall with glass panes. “The kitchen can get a bit dark, so I wanted something that will bring in a lot of natural light into the area,” he says.
“But again, because of HDB regulations, we can’t do that. To my understanding, any changes to the structure of the house will require engineers to come down to take a look, which will take months.”
“So, at Leon’s suggestion, we left it as is. Our compromise was to replace the back door with a glass pane, which does a good enough job of brightening the space.”
About renovating the second floor
The second floor, post-renovation
“I think the main thing that happened here is the space reconfiguration,” Tony says. “Previously, there was only one tiny toilet here – it was so small that it could only fit a toilet bowl and a sink!”
The toilet on the second floor, pre-renovation
“Obviously, that wasn’t ideal. We wanted a space that we can properly relax in, and we can’t do that when the space is so small.
So, we made one of the bedrooms smaller to create more room for a bigger toilet. The extra room gave us space to fit in a bathtub and a separate shower area, which was something we wanted to have from the start.”
“The smaller room now functions as my wife’s study while the other untouched bedroom is our master bedroom.”
“Honestly, we didn’t really do much to the bedroom. I believe the only thing we did was to paint the walls white, as we wanted the bedroom to feel calmer than the level below, which is more colourful.”
“We also wanted the focal point of the area to be the high sloped ceiling as it’s a unique feature that only landed HDB terrace homes have. It’s nice to be able to look up and see the high ceiling, which you can’t enjoy in a regular HDB flat.”
To sum up
“Personally, I found the whole renovation to be pretty fun,” Tony says. “I’m the kind of person that likes shopping for furniture and tiles while my wife finds it tiring (laughs), so I told her that I’ll take care of everything. But in the end, she still found joy finding things on Taobao like the lights and fittings.”
“I think it helps that Leon was a great guy to work with. We could freely discuss ideas with him, and he also gave us great advice and suggestions, and it’s really thanks to him that the house turned out as nice as it is.”
“In fact, after we moved in, my wife told me that we’re not moving out anymore – so I think it’s safe to say that we found our forever home!”
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