10 Wallet-Friendly 4-Room BTO Renovations Under $50,000

In this economy, we’d take these as a win!

With 4-room BTO renovations averaging between $51,000 and $61,800, realistically speaking, you can’t expect anything too fancy if your renovation budget is capped at $50,000.

But if you focus on the essentials and keep renovation works in spare rooms to a minimum, you can still get a home that’s chic and cosy. Here are some of our favourite examples of 4-room BTO renovations under $50,000:

1. A 4-room BTO in Tampines that could belong in any time period | Renovation cost: $40,000

In this first example, mid-century modern pieces are paired with contemporary appliances against the backdrop of timeless wood-look vinyl flooring and cabinet laminates. The result: a space that looks right at home (pun intended) in the 1960s and 2020s alike.

Notably, one of the junior bedrooms was merged with the living room to form a larger communal area, which now has space for a dry kitchen and breakfast counter.

Further in, dark-themed bathrooms give the interior an uber-contemporary feel while adding contrast to the light-coloured communal areas.

That said, only essential works like flooring and electrical wiring were carried out in the living room and bedrooms, thereby helping to keep renovation costs at $40,000.

Contact Loft.nine Design Studio

2. This bright and airy 4-room BTO at Woodleigh | Renovation cost: $38,000

Adopting a similar approach of merging the living room with an adjacent junior bedroom, this 4-room BTO in Woodleigh presents the perfect setup for hosting large groups. Here, a dining bench seats more guests and affords them the choice of facing either way – to converse with those on the other side of the dining table, or those in the living area as they wish.

Meanwhile, the space that’s typically used for a dining area is used to house a breakfast counter that doubles as additional food prep space and extension of the wet kitchen.

With the exception of the kitchen and walk-in wardrobe, this flat is furnished mainly with loose furniture, thereby keeping renovation costs relatively low.

Contact Hello House

3. A minimalist 4-room BTO in Woodlands with patterned tiles as accents | Renovation cost: $45,000

Contrary to popular belief, minimalist interiors don’t come cheap. That’s because you’d need more built-ins to keep the clutter out of sight.

But despite all the carpentry works done in this 4-room BTO, the owners were able to cut down on unnecessary spending by retaining many of the fittings (like doors, windows and sanitary fittings) provided by HDB.

And to prevent the space from looking too flat (a potential ‘pitfall’ for minimalist interiors), a mix of wood tones and patterned tiles were used to create visual interest, while round lighting fixtures and curves help to subtly soften the look.

Contact Dezign Origin

4. This avant garde, all-black 4-room BTO at Rivervale with a ‘moongate’ | Renovation cost: $47,500

In the hands of a good interior designer, wallet-friendly renovations can still look expensive, like this all-black 4-room BTO in Sengkang that plays with different textures and geometrical shapes:

Apart from a ‘moongate’ cut-out that serves as the study room’s entrance, one thing that will definitely catch your eye is the limewash paint that continues from the walls all the way up to the ceiling.

Granted, such features don’t come cheap. But you’ll also notice that there aren’t many built-ins around the house besides the kitchen, resulting in a very reasonable renovation price tag of $47,500 despite how avant garde it looks.

Contact MSR Interior Design

5. A Japandi-style 4-room BTO in Tengah with space-saving features | Renovation cost: $39,000

In this Japandi-style BTO, the kitchen is undoubtedly the highlight, with a swing table tucked under the peninsula so that the communal area looks spacious when it’s just the owners around…

…or pulled out when they’re hosting.

At first glance, we were surprised to find out that the renovation totaled to a prudent amount of $39,000. Upon further digging, it seems that both the junior bedrooms were left untouched for future use, allowing the owners to have a mega-chic communal area without breaking the bank.

Contact Starry Homestead

6. This simple but timeless 4-room BTO at Fernvale | Renovation cost: $48,000

Sporting a clean, simple look with neutral tones and cement screed-look tiles for a little edge (and ‘visual texture’), this next BTO at Fernvale won’t go out of style even decades down the road.

Its recessed shelves, curved walls and custom doors would have undoubtedly cost more than their ‘regular’ counterparts, but the total renovation cost was kept under $50,000 likewise by filling the bulk of the interior with loose furnishings.

Contact Key Concept

7. This 4-room BTO at Tengah that stands out with visually striking pieces | Renovation cost: $30,000

Speaking of loose furnishings, this 4-room BTO at Tengah is a textbook example of using carefully curated pieces to inject personality into a space.

Find a mix of ‘safe’ pieces alongside bold, colourful ones like a lime green bench, a bright orange lounge chair and a donut lamp that make the space pop while keeping the makeover under $30,000.

Contact T&T Design Artisan

8. An open-concept 4-room BTO in Tampines with a library feature wall | Renovation cost: $37,000

Similar to some examples we saw earlier, this 4-room BTO in Tampines had one of its junior bedroom walls hacked for a larger communal area. Except this time, the extra space was used to build an open-concept study, framed by a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that serves as both a library and visual centrepiece.

Over at the master bedroom, a walk-in wardrobe was created without hacking, saving not only renovation dollars but also the need to sacrifice an entire junior bedroom just to have such a feature.

Contact Dan Avenue

9. This BTO in Tengah where a spare room was turned into flexible mixed use space | Renovation cost: $28,000

Like the idea of merging a junior bedroom with the living area, but also want the option of closing it up when needed?

By enclosing the former with foldable glass doors and keeping furnishings to a minimum, the owners of this 4-room BTO in Tengah now have a mixed used space for exercise, meditating, housing overnight guests – or anything, really!

Other than the kitchen cabinetry and wardrobe in the master bedroom, this flat is once again filled primarily with loose furniture and has its second junior bedroom untouched, allowing the owners to achieve the cosy vibe at half the average cost of a 4-room BTO renovation.

Contact Ovon Design

10. A functional and cosy home at Northshore with only the essentials | Renovation cost: $28,000

To end off where we started, but now you’d have probably realised that one way to keep your 4-room BTO renovation under $50,000 is to focus only on the essentials you need in the present.

Examples include having built-ins only in the kitchen and for bedroom wardrobes, as well as keeping spare bedrooms untouched (apart from electrical, flooring and paint works, of course) – as with this BTO in Punggol.

In fact, interior designers we spoke to say that it’s especially common for younger homeowners on a tight renovation budget to do so. In such cases, interior designers suggest splitting their renovation into two phases, with the second phase taking place a few years later, comprising extensive carpentry and good-to-have features when the owners have saved up a little more.

Contact Massing Design

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