Busy Exec’s Punggol Resale HDB is a Soothing Retreat from the Hustle

There’s nothing quite like home – especially if you’re away for days on end.

If your schedule were a whirlwind of business travel, what kind of home would you want to come back to?

Well, the owner of this 5-room resale flat Punggol wanted calm and peace – in the form of a soft colour palette, subtle textures and a spacious open-concept communal area.

Upon a relative’s recommendation, she reached out to Space Atelier and worked with interior designer Yang Hann to design her home as she had pictured.

We spoke with Yang Hann to find out more!

About the homeowner and her home

“The homeowner stays with her pet dog,” Yang Hann shared as we settled in at the firm’s showroom.

“She flies out quite often for her work and stays in hotels a fair bit, so one thing she wanted to avoid was a hotel look because it would feel like she’s working.

Instead, she wanted a clean and cosy sort of space to return to.”

He showed us the owner’s detailed moodboard, which was organised neatly by space and even included the specific furniture pieces and finishings she wanted.

Looking at the colours and materials, we could tell that she favoured earthy neutrals and the wabi-sabi look.

“Before she engaged us, she did a lot of research,” he explained. “She knew exactly what style she wanted, but she needed an ID’s help to put it all together nicely.”

Designer Yang Hann gives us a complete tour of the home

On opening up the communal area

“Though the flat is over 20 years old, it was still in pretty good condition. However, the layout was not ideal for the open concept the owner wanted,” said Yang Hann.

Elaborating, Yang Hann said that they hacked the previously enclosed kitchen to open up the communal area.

This way, they could connect the kitchen/dining with the living area so that the owner – who hosts fairly often – could interact with her friends and family when they came over.

You’ll notice that there are few built-ins, which Yang Hann explained was because the owner didn’t need much storage space.

Speaking about the features in the living room, Yang Hann said: “The owner had some specific requirements. For one, she liked the smooth and sleek look of concrete TV consoles, so we did something similar here. To get the wabi-sabi feel, we used textured limewash paint on the console, and all the walls.”

By now, you might’ve noticed the undulating shape of the TV console, which doubles as extra seating. When we asked about it, Yang Hann shared that the design arose from the owner’s love for curves.

“It was actually one of the more challenging parts of the project, since we had to design the shape from scratch and make adjustments to the curvature while building it to get the best look.”

About the open-concept kitchen and dining area

“The common bathroom entrance originally led out to the kitchen, but to get more countertop space, we shifted the door to the corridor. In terms of the flow, it makes more sense too,” said Yang Hann.

“One thing you’ll find is a little unusual, compared to the usual layout, is that we shifted the sink to the island side instead of positioning it together with the stove. This was because the owner wanted to have as much countertop space on both sides as possible,” said Yang Hann.

He also pointed out that the owner only opted for lower cabinets.

“She told us that these cabinets and drawers are sufficient for her to store her cooking tools and dinnerware. One thing she was fixed on was the slim-profile shaker design, which she really liked.”

The countertops and backsplash are both quartz, since it’s durable and resistant to scratches.

On renovating the study room

“The study is fairly simple since the owner just needed a workspace without any additional storage,” said Yang Hann.

“As you can see, we did up a long table ledge with carpentry, and it curves to connect to the display shelves that we did in the recessed area.”

Elaborating, he said: “This recessed area came with the house and we didn’t want to leave it looking empty, which is why we installed floating shelves. The owner likes to display different items, so it was the perfect solution.”

About the expanded master bedroom and ensuite

For a much more spacious bedroom, the master bedroom was merged with the junior bedroom next to it. A couple of details caught our attention, like the backlit feature wall and the vanity outside the bathroom.

Yang Hann told us that while the owner appreciated minimalist aesthetics, she hadn’t wanted the wall to look plain.

“That’s why I proposed this soft stone panel with ambience lighting behind it for a soft and warm vibe, which she liked. Though it looks like a seamless piece from afar, we actually put together three separate panels to get this look.”

When we asked about the vanity, Yang Hann shared that the owner had wanted both a bathtub and a shower.

“There’s no space to have all that and the vanity in the bathroom, so we shifted it out to the dressing area.”

Another thing Yang Hann highlighted was how seamless and ‘clean’ the home looked, with hardly any trunking or piping in sight.

In this room, we used a false beam to cover up the aircon trunking running along the room entrance – but that also meant we had to shorten the bedroom door. The owner is not that tall, so she was fine with it.

We then moved on to look over the photos of the ensuite bathroom – a calming space with a tiled built-in tub.

Interestingly, there is a wall-hung toilet bowl, which is rather uncommon in HDB flats.

“There were big sewage pipes at the toilet bowl area, so we suggested building a wall to conceal them,” said Yang Hann.

Since the wall was going up, we recommended a wall-mounted toilet bowl, so that we could neatly fit the cistern tank in that space. If we had used a regular floor-mounted toilet bowl, it would have protruded out and blocked the clearance space for the bathroom door.”

On designing the common bathroom

At first glance, it’s evident that the common bathroom sports a different look from the rest of the space – and it’s intentional.

“The owner wanted a different look here, with bolder and colourful tiles. She felt that tiling the walls up all the way to the ceiling would be too much though, so we settled on a half-half sort of look.

She loves Peranakan-style tiles too, so you can see the floor tiles have a geometric pattern,” said Yang Hann. “We got all the tiles from Hafary.”

Another stand-out feature was the integrated sink, which was designed to be wider and deeper than a regular one.

“The owner didn’t need a shower in this bathroom because she mainly uses it to bathe her pet dog in the sink. To make sure there’s enough space, we made the sink wider and deeper than the usual ones.

As for the material, we used sintered stone since it’s durable and waterproof,” said Yang Hann.

To sum up

“We did have a few hiccups along the way. The first round of limewash didn’t turn out so well because it’s a process that requires more time and skill to get the finish right, unlike regular paint. After repainting the walls, it turned out great.

This caused a slight delay in the project, but the homeowner appreciated that we promptly addressed the issue. She had heard some renovation horror stories from friends and was glad that the process was smooth overall.

She was very kind and communicative, and I’m glad that we could create this cosy home for her to unwind amidst her hectic work schedule,” said Yang Hann.

With a grin, he added: “The home is really comfortable and it’s the kind of style I like. I joked that if she ever wants to sell the home in future, she can sell it to me.”

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