When you have a tight renovation timeline to work with, it is essential to find an interior designer who is not only good at design but who is also a capable project manager.
Knowing that he only had about one month to complete the renovation, homeowner Desmond sought the help of Ascenders Design Studio to design a space which suits his family’s lifestyle, and outfitting a smart home.
About finding an interior designer:
Desmond (D): We started our search for an interior designer after we purchased this unit in March 2017. During that time, we dropped by the Hangout event by Qanvast and it was there we met Min Li from Ascenders Design Studio.
After connecting with Min Li at that event, we continued shopping around for a designer since we still had quite some time to settle on one. I think we met about eight to ten designers in total. Throughout that period, Min Li would ring us up every month or so to see if we were still interested in working with her. This was one of the main reasons why we decided to work with her in the end. We really appreciated how proactive she was.
About the layout:
D: We picked this unit as we like the adjoining room from the entrance to Bedroom 3 (see floorplan below), as we wanted a room where my mum and our helper could be close to each other while still having their own privacy. Since this room is slightly bigger, I asked Min Li to do up a partition in the middle of the room so that the room can be effectively split into two separate living spaces. She was also able to design the partition in such a way that there are built-in cabinets on both sides of it so that my mum and helper can store their respective items.
Bedroom 3
Bedroom 3 - with the wardrobe and a sliding door for privacy.
On the reason behind their smart home:
D: I wanted a smart home system so that the lighting and fans in my home can all be controlled through an app on my phone. To achieve this, I had my electrician lay neutral wires around my entire home to function as the base foundation for my smart home system. We also installed additional neutral wires to preserve our gadgets for a longer time. My electrician was also able to incorporate everything such that one remote controls the whole living area while another remote controls the master bedroom.
On the perks of their smart home system:
D: The smart home system allows me to switch my smart home compatible devices on and off easily even when I am not in. For example, if I’m outside and I happen to know it’s raining at my place, I can use the app to bring down the blinds so that the balcony doesn’t get wet.
We can also programme the lights in our home to switch on at specific timings. For example, our down lights are automated to switch on in the evening because we do not want our fur kid to be left in the dark when we’re outside.
On renovating the balcony:
D: We did decking for our balcony so that it can act as an extension of the space in our living room. We also installed the motorised Ziptrak blinds which can block out the sun and the rain so that when we have guests over, they can also hang out at the balcony area.
Our biggest challenge:
D: We had a very tight timeline to work with because we sold our previous home and had to move out within a specific period of time. Thus, we could only give Min Li a maximum of one month to finish the renovation.
The tight timeline also meant that I didn’t have the luxury of time to decide on certain matters. Whenever Min Li called me up to ask me to decide on something, I would have to make a decision and get back to her almost immediately so that the renovation could proceed smoothly without any delays.
Bedroom 2 is currently a spare room.
On a design in their home that they like:
D: I told Min Li that I love to watch movies and asked her to design a feature wall that can accommodate the size of my TV. With that in mind, she came up with this curved feature wall design which has black vertical panels on top of a mirrored wall. We like it very much because we feel that the mirror effect makes our house look more spacious.
To sum up:
D: I wanted a cosy look for my home and a design that I can live with for long because I plan to stay in this home for a long time to come. Thanks to Min Li and Ascenders Design Studio, I now have my dream home and it is a place that I want to come back home to everyday.
Master Bedroom
