It’s always surprising to see how a little creativity can go a long way.
While they do come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, HDB flats (especially modern-day ones) tend to be seen as rigid or cookie-cutter due to their standardised layouts, but the fact of the matter is, it’s possible to differentiate your home with the right space reconfigurations and room ideas.
Since this can be hard to do (especially if you haven’t thought about floor plan tweaks to make), we’ve shortlisted 6 HDB flats with unique post-renovation layouts – and hopefully, they’ll inspire you to think out of the box too!
1. Holland Drive 4-room HDB flat with a reconfigured dining and living area
View this project by Happe Design Atelier
As this 4-room flat in Holland Drive shows, modifying the layout of your HDB apartment can reward you with a home that looks and feels spacious.
The flat's revamped layout
After shifting the dining area towards the entrance of the house, the homeowners then opted to merge the two junior bedrooms to create a huge living room in the middle of the house.
If you look closely, you’ll realise that the TV feature wall was also brought forward to carve out a private walkway into the bedroom. Talk about unique!
2. Hougang HDB executive apartment that features a dining room-turned-bedroom and a reshaped corridor
View this project by MAD About Design
Featuring neutrals and light wood panelling throughout its entire interior, this executive apartment in Hougang is as sophisticated as any HDB flat can get.
The flat's original floorplan
The flat's reconfigured floorplan
However, its true beauty lies in its massively-revamped layout, which includes a dining room-turned-master bedroom, with a reshaped corridor to incorporate the master ensuite.
Also, by hacking the junior bedroom adjacent to the living room, MAD About Design's Jimmy was able to enlarge the entire area. The result: a huge communal area that is immediately evident to anyone that enters the house, with bedrooms situated inside to give the family an additional layer of privacy.
Explore: ID's Own Hougang EA is a Gorgeous Blend of Different Interior Styles
3. 3-room HDB flat at Bedok Reservoir Road that has an spacious living room/children’s room
View this project by Des & Co Interior
Some old HDB apartments (like this particular Bedok Reservoir Road 3-room flat) have layouts that are longer than they’re wide – and often times, this translates into elongated, but tighter rooms.
To solve this issue, what the team at Des & Co Interior did was swap out the partition walls of a bedroom for glass sliding doors, creating a degree of physical (but not visual) separation between the living area and what is now an airy kids room/nursery.
The flat’s original floor plan
As part of the plan to create open-concept spaces, the Des & Co team also demolished a storeroom located in front of the kitchen, creating a clear line of sight from one end of the flat to the other.
4. Queen’s Road 4-room HDB flat featuring a bedroom-turned-dining-area and reconfigured kitchen/bathroom entrances
View this project by Archive Design
If you have a bedroom with a view to spare, consider transforming it into a combined kitchen-dining area like in the case of this 4-room HDB flat at Queen’s Road. Put simply, this was accomplished by opening up one of the flat’s three bedrooms and repositioning the kitchen entrance right in front of it.
The flat’s original floor plan
The flat’s floor plan, post-renovation
Further into the house, there’s the common toilet which similarly benefited from a layout tweak. By merging the shower and WC areas, a larger bathroom was created, making it possible to install a fluted glass folding door as a shared entrance.
5. Petir Road 4-room HDB flat upgraded into a ‘5-room’ apartment
View this project by Luova Project Services
At first glance, this Petir Road 4-room HDB flat looks fairly ordinary with its squarish layout as well as fuss-free décor. But dig deeper into its pre- and post-renovation floor plans and you’ll discover that it’s now a ‘5-room’ flat after a new bedroom was built behind the TV wall.
The flat’s original floor plan
The flat’s floor plan, post-renovation
Meanwhile, the common bathroom (located in the kitchen) saw its entrance reorientated to face the yard in order to make way for a conveniently located storage nook, which houses the refrigerator as well as a pantry – a practical change, if not a privacy-enhancing one.
Contact Luova Project Services
6. A Yung Ho Road HDB maisonette with an expanded kitchen downstairs and an onsen bathroom upstairs
View this project by Dyel Design
Ah, maisonettes, the bungalows of HDB housing. If there’s a unique layout to be found in a Singapore flat, it’s in one of these two-storey homes – and this example at Yung Ho Road doesn’t disappoint.
On the ground floor, you’ll find an open-concept kitchen that was expanded by merging it with an adjacent study, along with a gorgeous, light-filled balcony that doubles as a welcoming dining area.
The maisonette’s original floor plan
The maisonette’s floor plan, post-renovation
Heading upstairs, there’s an XL-sized en suite, complete with a Japanese-style onsen soaking tub and a his-and-her vanity. And if that isn’t luxurious enough, there’s also a home cinema in the master bedroom – perfect for unwinding after a relaxing soak!
