Couple Turns Woodlands Resale into an Airy, Japanese-Style Retreat

Not a single detail was left to chance in this well-planned home.

Arresting as it is at first glance – bright, spacious and filled with soft colours – this flat’s renovation becomes even more impressive when you hear what its owners have to say about the amount of thought and detail that went into it.

Homeowner Kenneth chanced upon this repurchased 5-room flat in Woodlands with his wife and found that it checked all their boxes. To make the most of its big and bright space, they worked closely with their interior designer, Chai Hwa, from Urban Home Design, for a result we can’t take our eyes off.

Keep reading to find out what Kenneth shared with us about his home’s renovation!

About the homeowners and their home

Kenneth (K): My wife and I tried to BTO about five or six times over three years, but we just couldn’t get a good number so we started looking at Sale of Balance (SBF) flats. Finally, we shortlisted some repurchased flats because we wanted more space to play with. My parents’ place was a jumbo flat, so I’m quite used to the spaciousness too.

K: We finally picked this flat for a couple of reasons. For one, the common areas are in relatively good condition and the block is situated near a range of amenities. Secondly, the unit is very bright, so it has an inviting atmosphere. We also saw that the living room is one long stretch, which we were excited to work on because of the layout possibilities.

The lights turned out to be one of the biggest challenges in our renovation: to me, lighting makes or breaks the space, so we spent a lot of time thinking about it and the placement of switches. I DIY-ed a few things too for a consistent look around the house.

The search for an interior designer

K: We spent quite a lot of time speaking to different IDs – this helped because each time, we learned something different. For example, we wanted a shower screen in the bathrooms but only one ID pointed out that the location of the drainage could affect the design.

We finally came across Urban Home Design on Qanvast and reached out to them to arrange our first meeting.

K: What set Urban Home Design apart from the other IDs we met is that from the first visit, they came very well-prepared and ready with a sketch. Unlike firms where different individuals are in charge of project management, design and sales, their model is to have one person trained in these aspects.

This is very helpful because they can make changes to the original sketch during discussions and with only one point of contact to keep track of the entire project. At the time, they were the only ID we met who did that.

We also had a few things that we’d already decided on but didn’t know how to execute technically; when we conveyed our ideas to our ID, Chai Hwa, she understood immediately, especially since the look we had in mind was not her usual style.

Overall, they impressed us and we found them very reliable, so I think we signed with them on the day itself. After reading about the Qanvast Guarantee, we also decided to opt in for it.

On making over the living/dining room

K: I wouldn’t say our home has a particular interior style – we took inspiration from a mix and wanted to embrace the wabi-sabi concept too. The colour scheme was our starting point because we knew we wanted neutral colours for a visually ‘light’ and naturally well-lit home. After that, we went out to compare laminates and different paint colours.

I think it’s important to get samples to try out in your own house because they look different than in the showroom. In our case, we painted spots on the wall to see how it looks with our home’s lighting before settling on this off-white paint.

K: In the first draft Chai Hwa did, we were supposed to have fluted panels across the entire living room to conceal the entrance to the bedrooms. We also planned for the living space to be in the centre with a big centrepiece sofa, but we realised the flow of traffic would be a little odd.

Finally, we settled on our current arrangement with a ‘bay window’ comprising storage units that double as a settee for guests and a sofa flushed to the side.

When you have a huge space like this, it’s very tempting to do additional works like glass partitions, but since we have a kid coming along, we decided to keep it open for them to run around in the future.

K: The couch is a custom-made one from Blafink because we didn’t want the typical rectangular or oval one to fit right in the space. That’s why the shape breaks away from the wall to create a natural flow. For my wife and myself, this is our favourite space to hang out.

Since the windows are small, we chose oversized Venetian blinds to give the illusion that the whole area is much bigger.

K: For the TV feature wall, the design centred around how we needed a space for the decor we own.

It’s a simple design, but I think the negative space speaks for itself. There was a recessed wall here, so we evened it out with a false wall and set up the TV, as well as spotlighted niches for the decor.

The flooring we used in the kitchen and the living room is all large-format tiles. We wanted to recreate the microcement look without actually using it, since it’s very expensive.

K: As for these cupboards, they’re all for storage because we hacked the storeroom in the kitchen. Although we gave up on the idea of a fluted panel feature for the whole area since it’s a bit overdone now, Chai Hwa proposed the strip of panelling.

It adds a simple yet nice touch while drawing on our original idea.

K: When we host a lot of guests, we can seat them comfortably at this dining table which we got from Taobao. It’s actually wood, although it looks like a cement top.

On redoing the kitchen

K: We invested most of our lighting budget in the common areas, sourcing our lights from Sol Luminaire for both the kitchen and the living room because of the good quality and design.

Instead of a single pendant light, we wanted to have multiple spotlights on the ceiling to play with the shadows in the kitchen. They’re all adjustable too, so we can change the direction of the lights when needed.

There was originally a storeroom here, but we hacked it away – we wanted to have a big kitchen with a lot of unobstructed walking space, particularly since my wife likes to bake. Of course, that meant that we had to build quite a bit of storage space in the house, like here and in the living room.

K: We used Panaplast laminates with a matte finish for the cabinets since we didn’t want anything glossy where you end up seeing fingerprints or scratches.

For the backsplash, we used KompacPlus because it was something Chai Hwa was very excited to try, instead of a glass one. At the time, they had introduced this laser engraving technology, so she asked if we wanted to try it. We agreed and as you can see, it resembles a Japanese wave pattern (seigaiha).

K: We had the island customised with a curved edge; you’ll see we incorporated a lot of curves in the carpentry and the furniture pieces we have to visually soften the edges.

K: One other feature I specifically wanted was this open shelving separating the service yard and the kitchen. It was originally the louvred type of window you can find in old flats, but we replaced it with the shelving and removed the service yard door to connect it to the kitchen.

This was both to have a more open feel and to allow for cross-ventilation.

On renovating the common bathroom

K: The door to the bathroom originally led directly to the kitchen, as you can see in the floorplan, but it would be unpleasant since it’s next to where we cook. So, we changed the entrance to lead to the service yard.

K: This shower screen door is one of the better decisions. It was the first time our ID had used this particular supplier and we got to try at their showroom. It basically slides along the two corner edges of the shower area instead of like a regular swing door.

It solves everything: you get enough clearance for the toilet bowl and a wider space to shower. Although it’s about 1.5 to 2 times more expensive than a normal shower screen, it’s worth it.

About the master bedroom and the ensuite

K: You can’t see it clearly in the photos, but the false ceiling on the right side of the room leading to the ensuite is dropping lower than the rest. This serves no purpose other than for aesthetic reasons – I wanted it to feel like you’re walking into a bigger space when you move towards the bed, which is inspired by some hotels we’ve been to.

For the lights, I adjusted the temperature so that it’ll match the Sol Luminaire ones we have outside in the common areas.

K: In retrospect, the bedroom could have been done in other configurations, like having the bed where the wardrobes are and then partitioning the space in the middle with the wardrobe (like a walk-in wardrobe).

This would have been good to block the road noise, since it can get noisy at night with the bed beside the window.

It’s not exactly a regret though, since the current configuration gives us space to put the baby cot in the middle, next to the bed.

K: The ensuite is like a carbon copy of the common bathroom, except that it’s darker. I like symmetry and things in pairs, which is why it’s got an ‘opposite’ colour scheme.

The top half uses wood-look tiles while the bottom half features stone-look tiles for an organic look. The overall furnishings are also the same for some consistency.

The light bar in the shower area was something I brought up. I wouldn’t say it’s a radical idea, but it is a rather unusual choice instead of having an LED box-up. I like the diffused light effect it creates, like in a hotel, and others have told us that it’s very interesting as well.

On revamping the study

K: Playing the guitar is a serious hobby, so to speak, and I record music. That’s why I invested in acoustic treatment to install acoustic panels in the study. It’s much more silent than other rooms and there’s no echo – when you can talk, the sound is ‘dead’.

Other than that, the room is free of any carpentry so we can change it up later on, or get loose furniture.

To sum up

K: Overall, Chai Hwa has been very responsive and insightful during the whole renovation process since we’re not really design people – my wife and I both feel we were quite fortunate to have her. Although we changed our minds about the design a couple of times along the way, she was very accommodating. When we wanted to use our own suppliers for certain things, she assisted in negotiating rather than insisting that we stick with their partners.

Chai Hwa knew exactly what was going on at different stages of the project and she was quick to render help when we spotted things that required rectifying, which we appreciated both during the renovation and for the after-sales stage. For example, when we wanted to make changes to electrical works, they were on board with that since they have an in-house electrician.

K: We’ve been living here for a year and everything is well-done, so we’re quite happy. We love how spacious and cosy the space is, especially with the amount of wind and the natural light coming in.

My advice to other homeowners is to have a basic list of must-haves, like the neutral colour scheme in our case – this will help to guide your decisions and narrow down the choices. I find that the more inspiration you get from others’ homes online, you’ll end up with too many ideas and an inconsistent theme.

It’s also good to carefully think about how you’ll use each space according to your habits so it’ll all come together in the end.

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