It’s a nature-inspired home on a whole other level!
Despite being a ‘green’ city, Singapore is undoubtedly one big concrete jungle – so it’s no surprise that Singaporeans take every opportunity to include natural elements within their home. But for Cindy, this simply wasn’t enough for her 5-room flat at Skyville @ Dawson.
“Natural things just somehow feel very relaxing,” explains Cindy. “Whenever my husband and I go out, we find ourselves drawn to places with lots of natural elements such as plants and wood.”
View this project by Inspire 90s
“So, when we decided to renovate this house, we already knew we wanted it to be as natural as possible, with a lot of organic elements, wood furniture, and plants. I don’t think we considered any other themes or styles at any point [of the renovation].”
With a medley of potted plants, wooden oak floors, and a spacious open-concept feel, Cindy’s home is perhaps as close as a HDB can get to being au naturale. Keep reading to see how this nature-inspired home eventually came together with the help of the folks from Inspire 90s!
About the homeowners and the home
Cindy (C): Actually, a lot of people have asked me if my home has a Japanese style, but I really didn’t think of that. I’m originally from China, so I was thinking more about doing a Chinese-style Zen look when I was searching for inspiration.
The original floorplan of Cindy’s home
Previously, this house had four bedrooms as the previous owner created another one using the living room space – but when we bought the house, my husband and I didn’t really find a need for all of them since there’s only two of us.
Besides, I feel that the bedroom walls visually cramp up the home, so we decided to tear a few of them down to make it feel more spacious.
On renovating the living room
C: I think most homeowners tend to use tiles for the floor as it’s more affordable and waterproof. But for us, we wanted to feel as close to nature as possible, so we opted for natural oak planks instead.
Compared to tiles, they feel way more real – like you’re actually walking amidst nature instead of a man-made environment.
If you realise, there’s no TV in the living room. This was actually my husband’s idea – I initially didn’t like it as I still watch TV quite regularly, but to him, a big black rectangle doesn’t blend well with the nature-inspired design we wanted (laughs).
That’s why we decided to use a projector, with a screen concealed within the ceiling, to keep everything seamless. We installed some shelving in the empty wall space and use it to display a few plants and cute decorations I’ve collected over the years.
I would say that this area is the focal point of the living room, because when guests come over, they naturally gravitate towards it to view the items we have on display.
About creating the study area
C: The study comprises two junior bedrooms – in fact, I think it’s bigger than the master bedroom. We initially wanted to replace all the inner walls with glass panes to make the space look even bigger, but as our ID advised us against doing this, we compromised with a half wall instead.
This room was created mainly for my husband; as he’s the main money-maker between the two of us, and since he works from home regularly, he wanted a space that is conducive for him to work in.
He also regularly meditates and drinks tea to relax, so we thought of creating a ‘zen’ area for him to relax in.
In the end, we divided the space into two separate areas. The side with the bookshelf is the ‘business’ side, while the area with the low table is where he can take a break and recharge whenever he needs to.
About the kitchen’s makeover
C: I cook quite regularly, and as Chinese cooking involves a lot of prep work, one of my requirements was to have a wider countertop that can fit all the ingredients.
The fridge used to be placed right by the entrance, which made the space look quite cramped soI shifted it inside the service yard to visually open up the space.
If I could change one thing, it’s the countertop colour. We initially chose white quartz to match the house aesthetic, but it’s so hard to remove dirt and stains – cleaning it is really a headache! If I had known that this would happen, I would have chosen a darker colour.
On renovating the master bedroom and ensuite
C: The original master bedroom was pretty small, so we used some of the space from the middle junior bedroom to make it bigger. I actually wanted it even bigger, but since my husband really wanted his big study area, I let him win (laughs).
So, that’s why the master bedroom was mostly designed for me. I have quite a number of skirts, dresses, and bags, so my designer tailored the shelves and wardrobe in a way that will help me maximise the storage space.
The study table is where I do my work, but if I’m being honest, it’s a bit too narrow for my laptop. If I could redo it, I would make it wider, even though I would have to lean forward a bit more to open or close the window.
We didn’t change much in the master ensuite because my ID warned us that it was going to be very expensive if we changed everything.
What you see is almost like how it was originally – all we did was change the lighting and sanitary fittings, and lengthened the vanity.
To sum up
C: I’ve had friends tell me that the process was quite troublesome and tiring. Some of them would even go down to the renovation site everyday – so before I started my own [renovation], I was quite anxious about it.
But surprisingly, it was very smooth-sailing for me! I don’t think I encountered any big difficulty because my designer was quite responsible, and would regularly update me on the renovation progress. It also helped that my husband and I had a very clear idea of what we wanted, so she left almost every decision up to us.
Overall, I think my house is very pretty! I actually posted the renovation pictures on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform) and it got around 1.8K likes – so I think others really love how my house looks as well!
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