DINK Couple Gives Old Farrer Park Walk-Up a Bright, Quirky Revamp

Vibrant colour schemes, HUGE windows and a cosy loft are just a few features it boasts.

When homeowner Sam and her husband scored a 4-room BTO flat in Whampoa years ago, they thought it would be their forever home.

“That’s why I spent a lot of blood, sweat and tears working on the layout and design,” says Sam. “We had a huge built-in island and converted a whole room into a walk-in wardrobe. I loved the location and our space, so when my husband said he wanted to move and buy a private home after the MOP, I was not thrilled.”

Despite multiple viewings for new places, Sam was not sold – at least, not until her husband convinced her to check out this 40-year-old freehold walk-up apartment in Farrer Park.

Here’s how Sam and her husband Stanley revamped the ‘Stampad’ – ‘Stam’ being a portmanteau of the couple’s names – into a cheery, light-filled home with their ID, Justin, from Mr Designer Studio.

About the homeowner and her home

“My husband showed me photos of this walk-up apartment a couple of times, but I didn’t like it at all because it was so dark. Eventually, he dragged me here to view it,” Sam said.

“I’ve always had a thing for walk-ups and old shophouses. When I saw this apartment for myself, I fell in love with the layout and high ceiling. I knew this was a space I could work with.”

Sam’s experience in events (where she had to plan pop-up events and pore over floor plans) and her work in marketing which involves creative campaigns, influenced her strong design aesthetic and knack for space planning.

“I made most of the design decisions and I wanted to zone areas by colours. The only thing my husband questioned was using pink for the bedroom wardrobes,” Sam laughed. “He suggested white, but I told him that was boring.

Though neutral palettes look nice in homes I’ve visited, some can feel like showrooms – it’s just not my aesthetic. I love eclectic interiors and playing with colours.”

Though the couple didn’t make major layout changes to the home, one of their other must-haves was bright and airy spaces.

Homeowner Sam gives us a complete tour of the home

On opening up the communal area

“There was a family living here previously, so they probably needed a lot of storage. I called it a “house of carpentry” because there was so much carpentry cramping up the spaces and blocking the light,” said Sam.

“Structurally, the ‘bones’ of the house, including the loft, were great. We just had to gut everything to let the light in and free up the space,” shared Sam.

“The original window frames blocked the view, so we replaced them with full-height glass panels,” said Sam, showing us the greenery that stretches beyond. “My husband loves having his morning coffee here.”

Gutting the home involved rewiring everything and redoing the waterproofing because the couple didn’t want to run into wiring and leakage problems down the road.

“One thing we kept was the marble flooring. I was very pleased that it was in good condition – we just had to re-sand and polish it.”

“When it came time to move from our old flat, there was so much we couldn’t bring with us because they were built-ins, like our big island,” Sam said.

“That’s why this time, we decided to minimise the carpentry and invest in quality furniture instead. They’ll last us a long time and we can bring them with us if we ever relocate.”

Some of these investments included the colourful and plush Togo sofas by Ligne Roset (in both the living room and the loft) that perfectly match Sam’s fun vision for the house.

Another addition was the rounded-edge dining table; as Sam shared, it gives the couple much more seating space for hosting, unlike the dining table in their previous home.

“I like to think of my home like a gallery space that allows me to move things around. We have the option to shift our furniture pieces up and change the space a bit so we don’t get bored with it.”

By this point, we’d also noticed several quirky items around the space, from a Daruma doll sitting on the stairs to an iconic Astro Boy figure along the simple TV feature wall.

There was even a seemingly precarious book tower – a memento Sam (a bona fide bookworm) and her husband got sixteen years ago when they visited a friend in New York.

“Travelling is my greatest joy besides my two cats… and maybe my husband,” Sam said with a grin. “We travel at least twice a year, exploring architecture, museums, and enjoying food. These influence us creatively, and we always collect quirky knick-knacks to bring back.”

About the master bedroom makeover

The entrance to the bedroom – which is directly connected to the living room – is an inconspicuous wooden sliding door.

“We wanted to expand the bedroom a little, but we realised then that there were metal support beams behind the carpentry inside the bedroom. That meant we had to shift the beams out a little, and then the wall too to cover them up.

We got engineers to check if it was okay, which thankfully went fine. It would’ve been a rather costly fix otherwise,” said Sam.

“There was so much bulky carpentry along this stretch of wall that we had to crabwalk to get to the other side,” Sam said. “We tore it all out and kept things simple with just enough wardrobe space for the two of us.”

Sam shared she has “a thing for mixing pink with green”, which is exactly what she did with the palette for the bedroom.

Much like other spaces in the couple's home, the colour and material/design choices were partly inspired by their visit to Casa Bonay, a hotel in Barcelona that they visited for their friend’s wedding.

On renovating the master bathroom

The galley-style wardrobe arrangement almost acts like a walkway leading to the ensuite bathroom, which instantly wowed us.

On top of the fun tile choices – the abstract L-shaped floor tiles and rounded-edge wall tiles that go from floor to ceiling – there’s also a huge integrated sink.

“One of my pet peeves is water splashing everywhere when we wash our faces, so I wanted a huge sink. I couldn’t find one though, so Justin suggested customising one because it would be about the same price," said Sam.

"I didn’t know that was an option, so it’s great she had all these helpful suggestions.”

About the blue-themed kitchen

Heading over to the kitchen, the colour scheme was apparent even before we stepped in.

“From the start, I knew it was going to be some sort of blue with terracotta tiles,” said Sam. “It was inspired by the Mediterranean vibe Casa Bonay had. The terracotta tiles don’t just create contrast, but they also visually separate the laundry area from the kitchen.”

About the countertops, Sam said: “I was colour-focused first, so I knew I wanted a white countertop to match the blue cabinets. I didn’t want a natural material like marble though, since it’s porous.

I asked Justin for suggestions and she recommended sintered stone because it’s durable, scratch-resistant and easy to clean.”

Since the couple only cook light meals like soups and stews, and only about twice a week or so, Sam shared that the upkeep has been fairly easy.

“Plus, we learned from our previous house that one downside to a fully open kitchen is the smells spreading. That’s why we installed a sliding door here so we can close it off.

This is also safer since I can keep my cats out when I open the kitchen windows to ventilate the space.”

“It might come off a little crazy, but I was really specific with what I wanted. In fact, I drew everything out with all the placements for the kinds of cabinets and appliances I wanted,” said Sam.

“To make sure it was accurate, I measured items we were bringing over from our Whampoa flat like the pots and pans and electrical appliances like the rice cooker.”

Justin then helped the couple to tie it all together in the 3D renders and advised them throughout the process.

On redesigning the staircase

“One of the best things Justin did for us was helping to bring our vision for the staircase to life,” said Sam. “The original stairs had these big gaps between the steps and all I could think about was my cats falling through. They had to go.”

In place of it, Sam wanted a perforated metal wall design that would let light through to brighten up the area. That alone wasn’t enough for the creative in her: she ideated an aesthetic line descending the outer side of the perforated wall, like a mini flight of stairs (circled in green).

Over the two years the couple have been living in the space, they began keeping both functional and decorative items there and it took on a life of its own as a charming little display.

About the loft

“When we bought this place, the loft was already built, so all we did was remove the carpentry for a more airy feel. We added some soft furnishings to create a cosy entertainment space, keeping the existing projector,” said Sam.

“When our friends come over, we’ll sit up here and enjoy some drinks.

My husband has his vinyl set up here too. On Sundays, you’ll find me reading a book downstairs while he’s here enjoying his records.”

To sum up

“Since this is our second home, my husband and I both already had strong preferences and knew what to avoid. I’m also used to project management, so that helped me with the planning and discussions with Justin.

The renovation wasn’t totally smooth – like when we accidentally caused a mini ‘waterfall’ in our downstairs neighbour’s bathroom. This is an old apartment, so we have to expect the unexpected,” said Sam.

“We really appreciate Justin for promptly getting that issue fixed and for giving us great advice throughout. Though I had all these big ideas and was very prescriptive about what I wanted, I didn’t know how practical certain things were.

Thanks to her expertise, we could discuss workarounds to make them happen.

Two years in, we love our neighbourhood and how peaceful everything is. Knowing us, we’ll definitely change things up in time to come – we already have some plans. That’s what makes it all so exciting!”

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