5-Room Resale HDB Flat Renovations: From $60K to $120K

Great looks you can dress your home in, for a whole range of budgets.

Barring XL-sized units like 3Gen flats or maisonettes, 5-room resale flats are often one of the largest HDB properties available in Singapore’s housing market. With floor sizes ranging from 107 sqm to 123 sqm, these units have plenty of room on the inside, making them suitable for larger households of four to five people.

However, due to their size and the amount of work required to restore them to tip-top shape, the cost of renovating a 5-room resale HDB flat is often fairly steep. Based on 2024 renovation cost estimates, you can reasonably expect to fork out between $78,600 to $93,500 to get one of these spacious homes fully revamped.

Still, there are 5-room resale HDB flats that have been overhauled for less – so we’ve put together a list starting with homes that cost about 10 to 15% less than the expected renovation cost… and close off with those that cost much more!

1. 5-room resale HDB flat at Strathmore Avenue | Renovation cost: $60,000

While on a renovation budget of $60,000, the owners of this 5-room resale HDB flat in Queenstown turned it into a simple yet charming space.

Pops of bright colours in the homey space, like green and red, add a lively touch.

Minimising carpentry to key areas like the kitchen cabinets and sprucing up the communal areas with loose furniture helped the homeowners to allocate more budget for pricier works.

These include electrical rewiring, the half-wall shiplap feature in the living area and eye-catching tiling in the bathrooms.

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2. 5-room resale HDB flat at Anchorvale Crescent | Renovation cost: $65,000

A white ‘canvas’ for a mix of wood-toned and blue-grey furniture and fixtures, this home in Sengkang sports a clean and sophisticated look. Having mostly loose furniture in the living room meant the homeowners could use their $65,000 budget for other works like installing a false ceiling and carpentry/masonry in essential spaces.

The dry kitchen has a curved peninsula and charming upper cabinets while the wet kitchen includes a fair bit of masonry for the geometric floor tiles. Both areas feature veined quartz countertops and backsplashes for a more elegant finish.

Even in the bathroom, you’ll find features that add texture and depth to the space, like the fluted wooden design and the accent wall made up of dark and glossy tiles.

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3. 5-room resale HDB flat at Teck Ghee Parkview | Renovation cost: $70,000

With its neutral palette and clean lines, there’s no question that this 5-room flat in Ang Mo Kio is one for modern contemporary lovers.

In the living room, a glass-walled study allows light through and helps to keep the living room feeling airy and spacious while maximising the extra square footage.

Not everything is confined to neutral tones though – one of the bedrooms sports a colourful LED-lit light feature that stretches across the walls and ceiling.

Fluted panels, used sparingly in the bedrooms and bathrooms, add a sophisticated touch while the warm lighting creates an inviting atmosphere.

All these works – from carpentry to electrical rewiring and plumbing – added up to a renovation cost of $70,000.

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4. 5-room resale HDB flat at Compassvale Road | Renovation cost: $80,000

If autumn were a home, it’d probably look like this 5-room resale HDB in Sengkang filled with shades of green, cheery orange and woody tones. From hacking to carpentry and tiling, it underwent an $80,000 makeover for the final look.

The living room balcony – visually separated with geometric floor tiles – is a cosy nook for relaxing and tending to plants (any green thumbs who want to adopt this layout?) with minimal built-ins.

The household shelter, meanwhile, is camouflaged with a set of cabinet doors and a nook for sitting down and putting on/taking off shoes.

Thanks to the combined space of the service yard and the kitchen, there’s ample space for a set of L-shaped cabinets and a compact dining island.

Meanwhile, the bedroom features an aesthetically pleasing recessed wardrobe with a sliding door that doubles as a full-length mirror for the owners to get ready.

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5. 5-room resale HDB flat at Yishun Avenue 4 | Renovation cost: $82,000

Self-professed ‘homebodies’, the owners of this 5-room resale flat in Yishun knew they wanted to give their home a complete transformation. Envisioning a comfortable and practical space to relax and host friends and family over the weekends, they chose soft neutrals and set up an open-concept communal space.

This includes a dry kitchen that extends to the living room, so that they can easily serve guests.

Heading further in, you’ll see the master bedroom is connected to a junior bedroom-turned-wardrobe and vanity space. Placing the his-and-hers sink outside the bathroom also gave the owners space to have a bathtub.

For a consistent look around the home, the homeowners decided to have the same vinyl flooring (including in the kitchen), which also helps to cut costs that you’d incur if you use tiles instead.

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6. 5-room resale HDB flat at Tampines Central | Renovation cost: $83,000

The classic white-and-wood look in this 5-room Tampines flat amplifies the spacious communal area, but with a twist: the long stretch of the wooden ceiling feature leading in visually ‘pulls’ the ceiling down for a tighter, cosy feeling while also demarcating the dining and living areas.

The kitchen is tucked away to the right of the entrance; instead of leaving it completely closed off, the owners opted to replace part of the wall with a glass divider.

This lets more light in and makes the relatively tight kitchen feel more airy. This is a great option if your kitchen gets little natural light and you’re worried about it being too dark.

Heading into the bedroom, you’ll find a fluted panel bedhead feature that connects with a simple vanity and a settee by the window – perfect for getting ready in the mornings!

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7. 5-room resale HDB flat at Boon Tiong Road | Renovation cost: $85,000

This 5-room resale HDB in Bukit Merah has a unique blend of features in every room, including in its balcony.

Patterned tiles adorn the balcony floor while its single wall is painted a honey yellow. Coupled with the decor, the space has a retro feel.

Thanks to the glass between the balcony and the adjacent junior bedroom, the owners can enjoy a direct view of the study with its custom full-height bookshelf.

The colourful palette is pared back in the kitchen for lighter, calming tones. On the practical side of things, the full height of the kitchen is utilised to get the maximum storage space.

While there were few built-ins in the living room, you’ll find more in the bedrooms – like this wardrobe which doubles as a partition for a walk-in wardrobe set-up.

This way, you can enjoy privacy (if your windows are close to other buildings/the ground floor), and avoid disturbing your partner while getting ready.

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8. 5-Room Resale HDB Flat at Toh Guan Road (Renovation Cost: $90,000)

It’s not just colours and repetitive patterns that can tie a theme together cohesively – shapes can too, like the curves you’ll find winding around this home. They’re perfect for breaking up lines and making any space more inviting and cosy, and they’re subtle enough that you don’t end up feeling overwhelmed.

In the living room, the false ceiling is a fluid curve that contrasts the half-panel and half-paint design of the TV feature wall.

The entrance to the kitchen is a slight arch, and heading in, you’ll find curved motifs even at the pantry. You can achieve the effect with furniture and fixtures too, like the kitchen light with its slightly rounded edges, and the arched mirror in the bathroom.

(Just don’t forget that custom curves eat into your wallet too, since they require more work.)

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9. 5-room resale HDB flat at Anchorvale Link | Renovation cost: $90,000

You won’t be craving vacations to Japan when you have a ryokan-inspired home like this 5-room resale flat in Sengkang.

Considering that the transformation involved extensive renovation works from hacking and carpentry to tiling and electrical rewiring, it’s no wonder it added up to $90,000.

All around the home, you’ll find a serene palette of earthy tones and materials that mimic natural elements, like the ‘raw’ limewash feature wall and the stone-textured tiles at the entryway.

Even in the study, the settee resembles the traditional tatami flooring found in traditional Japanese inns, and serves as a nook for the homeowners to lounge and relax.

In the bathroom, you’ll find a mix of stone-like elements for both the flooring/walls and the vanity, which has a stone basin.

One more feature we love: the finger mosaic tiles backing the mirror, which add even more character to the space.

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10. 5-room resale HDB flat at Pasir Ris Street 12 | Renovation cost: $97,000

Taking inspiration from modern interior styles, this home emphasises clean lines and practicality while using bold colours and a mix of framed glass in the communal spaces.

For an air of understated luxury, the owners fit in some contemporary design elements. The kitchen peninsula is made of glossy veined marble while gold accents feature in various spaces, from the chairs at the peninsula all the way to the warm pendant lighting and wallpaper in the bedroom.

The bathroom is a simpler affair, with grey terrazzo-look tiles dominating the space for a tighter, cosier feeling and handy niches for storing toiletries.

View Mu Design Studio’s Portfolio

11. 5-room resale HDB flat at Senja Road | Renovation cost: $110,000

Another home full of character, this 5-room resale in Bukit Panjang has an unconventional open-concept layout that connects the kitchen, living/dining rooms and the balcony.

The dining island is angled towards the kitchen, creating a visual distinction from the living area, and done up with breeze blocks for an old-school feeling.

The cooking space is also separated from the service yard with glass blocks, complementing the retro floor tiles used there.

The stone bench and partial brick partition connecting to the balcony amp up the organic feel of the spaces; with the use of the sliding glass windows and doors, it can also be closed off when necessary while letting the light through.

Walk into the master bedroom and you’ll find a clever set-up with a wardrobe that’s a literal walk in from the door.

If you need ideas on making an angular layout work, get tips from this home

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Explore: Awkward Layout/Niches at Home? Here Are Practical Design Solutions

12. 5-room resale HDB flat at Hougang Avenue | Renovation cost: $120,000

The owners of this home gave it a complete overhaul – amounting to $120,000 – for an eclectic look like no other.

In the living room, the light flooring contrasts the dark blue ceiling, which creates the illusion of a higher ceiling while the large-format tiles emphasise the sheer space.

In fact, even before entering the living room proper, you’ll see a settee backed up by two marble slabs where you can put on/take off shoes.

The kitchen space was nearly halved to suit the homeowners’ needs and the glossy counters extend into a built-in peninsula where they can hang out.

While every space in this home deserves a shout-out, we particularly like the layout of this study with checkered flooring.

Besides feeling spacious thanks to the long and airy stretch, the study area was also configured with a circular one-way mirror.

This creates a sense of openness because the owners can look out of it into the living room. A bright idea, to say the least!

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This article was originally published on 22 March 2022 and last updated on 17 April 2024.

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