Nanyang Opal homeowners, this one’s for you!
If you’re part of the 221 households who secured a unit in Nanyang Opal, congrats – your key collection date is almost upon you!
With less than 6 months to the day, you should already know what you want in your new home. But if you need a little help to kickstart the brainstorming process, we’ve got you! Here are some ideas you can consider, categorised by each flat layout:
3-room BTO design ideas and layout tips (the standard version)
Notable features of this particular 3-room BTO flat layout include:
- A household shelter next to the living room, at the side of the house: allows homeowners to create an open kitchen if they want to
- A small kitchen, with the option to extend it using the proposed ‘dry kitchen’ space
While this layout is fairly standard and seen in other BTO estates, the kitchen layout presents opportunities for various built-in options, as you’ll see:
a) Maximise the kitchen length with a built-in dining table…
If you want to create a dining area without hacking one of the bedrooms, you can do so by positioning your dining table along the length of the kitchen – as the homeowner of this particular 3-room BTO flat did.
This way, you can fully utilise the existing kitchen layout while keeping things visually cohesive, since it’ll run parallel to the ceiling beam (which most 3-room BTO flats with this layout have).
It can also double as a handy place to set down your bags when you get home – no more dumping them on the ground!
b) …or a shoe cabinet that doubles up as a room divider for your entryway
Instead of a dining table, another viable option is a shoe cabinet, which gives you a convenient spot to sit down and put on/take off your shoes whenever you need.
In doing so, you essentially carve out a small entryway in front of your door, creating a hard zone for footwear usage. This structure also acts as a natural lead-in to the kitchen, guiding movement through the home while subtly separating the space.
c) Turn a spare bedroom into a mixed-use space
One highlight of this particular 3-room BTO flat layout is that there are no structural walls within the ones enclosing the junior bedroom. As such, you can seamlessly merge it with the living room to enlarge your communal area, while also turning the newly-opened area into a mixed-use space.
In this home, the homeowners left it open, with just a sofa and a small study table furnishing the space. And if you’re wondering what to do with the structural beam after hacking the space, you can take a cue from them by painting the outline and turning it into a feature point!
3-room BTO design ideas and layout tips (the new version)
Unlike the first layout, this particular 3-room BTO flat layout is pretty peculiar – which makes ideas hard to come by since there aren’t many past references.
But we’ve got you covered, starting with these notable features:
- A household shelter located in the middle of the unit, next to the common toilet – easier to create a clear distinction between the communal and private areas
- An angular living room, connected to an extended bedroom corridor
a) Mask the awkward corner of the corridor with a lowered ‘entryway’
When you’ve got several awkward corners here and there, your best bet to properly utilise the space is with built-ins.
To make the odd corner less conspicuous, consider installing a custom-built structure that creates a lowered entryway into the room. Not only does this help visually streamline the layout, but it also adds a sense of transition and separation between the communal area and your private space.
b) Create a TV wall that doubles as an entryway partition
With a layout as angular as this, you’ll probably have some trouble positioning your furniture in a way that maximises space while ensuring ample walking room.
So, here’s an idea that checks both boxes. Instead of positioning your living room furniture as suggested in the floorplan, consider shifting them to face the entrance and erecting a TV wall for you to mount your devices.
Not only does this demarcate your living room; the TV wall can also double as an entryway partition that ensures privacy – perfect for keeping prying eyes from peeking in.
4-room BTO design ideas and layout tips
Like the first 3-room BTO flat layout, this 4-room BTO flat also features a household shelter tucked beside the living room.
But with the extra square footage, you’ll get a more spacious kitchen located opposite the bedrooms — and here’s how you can make the most of it.
a) Create an extended island-dining table combination
With that extra space in the kitchen, you can create an extended feature consisting of your kitchen island and a full-sized dining table – just like you see here.
By anchoring the kitchen and dining areas together, you won’t just get a cohesive, all-in-one dining zone that optimises space; the proximity to the kitchen also allows you to easily serve meals and host guests.
b) Convert a spare room into your dining area
If you prefer a dedicated space for your dining table (or if you tend to host bigger groups), you can take a leaf out of this homeowner’s book and convert a spare bedroom into your dining room – complete with platform seating to easily accommodate more people.
To keep the space airy while ensuring distinct zones, opt for a partition wall with cut-outs. Here, the homeowner chose a curved variant, which subtly separates the living room from the rest of the communal area without fully enclosing it.
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