Providing solutions and ideas to transform boring shoebox houses into an artistic one is the philosophy and origin of the interior designer firm, Aart Boxx Interior.
Ivan Lin, founder of Aart Boxx Interior weighs in the tricky requests he faced for a home renovation project, and speaks about that one important tip you should not neglect when you engage an interior designer.
1. What is your design philosophy?
We believe that a home design has to be both simple and functional that fit your lifestyle needs. What we do is we provide a unique and individualistic design by understanding their requirements and their lifestyle habits, then merged with design trends. Our company philosophy is to create 'Aartistic' ideas for boring shoe 'Boxx' houses.
2. Can you name two tricky challenges on a home renovation project and how you overcame them?
Sure, the two primary concerns that homeowner face would be creating more space in a small apartment and the budget.
#1: How to create space in a small home?
While hacking wall may be the easiest way out to enlarge spaces, I personally prefer to make use of colours to make rooms appear bigger and yet not cluttered.
What I have done: For this home, I used mainly white and light wood color for the whole house to brighten up the area. The living room is really small and we need to create an altar cabinet in the middle of the living room due to fengshui. After much discussion within our team of designers, we proposed a modern Scandinavian concept with white Stucco brick walls for a light woody feel, and the modern false ceiling with cove lighting to enhance the space.
#2. I want to have good design, but my budget is tight.
Most of my clients are in the life stage where they are looking to settle down and start a family, and budget is definitely a concern to them. As such, I started exploring alternatives to create the same look and feel without the need to spend on expensive items, for example, carpentry. There are many materials out there to choose from and each has its advantages and disadvantages. I like to brainstorm and try out new ideas and methods, although this means I’ll need to invest a fair bit of time and effort in experimenting.
What I have done: For this home in Sengkang, we didn't pick the traditional method of using a craftstone to create the brick wall effect. Instead, we explored using red bricks and stucco finish to achieve a similiar effect. We paid attention to the details such as each brick must be of an irregular size, and the grout lines have to be very distorted without any uniformity. We actually helped the owner to saved quite a fair bit with this alternative.
3. What are some tips you can offer to homeowners?
When searching for an interior designer, these are some areas you should look out for apart from the quotation: the experience and design sense of the designer that has been allocated to serve you, and most importantly, the connection between the designer and yourself. Just like being in a relationship, if there is no connection between the two parties, miscommunications are bound to happen and expectations may fall short on the results.
4. Where do you see the interior trend heading in the next one year?
The Scandinavian theme was really popular in 2014 and we will still see this trend lingering around this year, but fused with another concept such as modern, vintage etc. I foresee pastel colors will also be used to match the white and light wood theme.
5. Personally, what is your favourite interior style?
Personally I love the clean-look, comfortable, minimal, spacious feel of the Scandinavian concept as it makes me feel like I’m living in the Nordic regions, hence explaining why most of our company projects are of the Nordic theme. However as a designer, we are not supposed to restrict ourselves to do only our favourite designs.
About Aart Boxx Interior:
The firm was set up in beginning 2014 and has been working hard to make its debut, with their unique design and work dedication. Their efforts were recognised and Aart Boxx Interior clinched the Singapore Entrepreneurship Award 2014/15 in January 2015.
Years of experience: 7 years
Number of projects completed: More than 100
See more of Aart Boxx Interior portfolio on Qanvast!