Family Turns Jurong HDB Maisonette into a Modern Wabi-Sabi Sanctuary

A bold and breezy take on a maisonette renovation.

For Joreen and her family, upgrading from a 5-room flat to an HDB executive maisonette wasn’t just about space — it was about character.

Drawn to the top-floor unit in Jurong East for its unique layout and generous floor plate, the couple saw potential in what others might overlook: an older home with quirks, slanted ceilings, and lots of recesses.

With clear must-haves in mind — a bright and airy aesthetic, and an open and spacious layout — they turned to Jayle from Darwin Interior to bring their vision to life.

The result? A refreshing transformation that blends practicality, personal quirks, and thoughtful design touches into a space that’s as welcoming as it is uniquely theirs.

Reimagining the entryway

The entryway to Joreen and her family’s HDB maisonette was once flanked by a utility room and an enclosed kitchen, which created a narrow walkway — not the most welcoming sight for a home that was meant to feel open and airy.

“One of our must-haves was a spacious, open layout,” Joreen explains. “So we decided to open up the utility room and kitchen to free up more space.”

By hacking away the original utility room and enclosed kitchen, the family opened up the entryway — but they had one non-negotiable: the stove couldn’t be visible from the front door.

“It’s a feng shui thing,” Joreen shares. “We didn’t want the stove to be seen from the entrance.” That’s where the curved wall came in — a sculptural yet functional partition that screens off the kitchen from view while anchoring a cosy, built-in nook.

But getting it right took some spatial finessing. “We had to visualise where the carpentry would eventually go and make sure the curve was positioned precisely enough to block the stove,” recalls their ID, Jayle. “It also had to leave enough space behind for the shoe cabinet to be accessible — all while keeping the flow natural and the entry uncluttered.”

An expanded kitchen space

Originally a closed-off space with walls on all sides, the kitchen was a far cry from the open-concept layout Joreen had envisioned. “We wanted an open-concept kitchen,” she explains. “But we ran into one of our biggest challenges.”

Making the kitchen work wasn’t as simple as just tearing down walls. Feng shui played a role in determining the layout — from the position of the hob to the alignment of the fridge.

“Aside from making sure that the stove can’t be seen from the main door, we had to be mindful that the hob and fridge couldn’t cross paths,” explains Jayle. “Plus, they wanted to fit in a big fridge, so that made the configuration even tighter.”

Despite the constraints, they managed to make it work. Soft olive green cabinetry and curved profiles echo the home’s warm, organic style, while a patterned tiled backsplash peeks through a small cutout in the curved partition — a clever design tweak that allows airflow into the kitchen while still keeping it visually tucked away.

It’s a subtle touch that adds personality without disrupting the home’s clean, calming palette.

A seamless flow from living room to balcony

One of the most impactful changes in the home was the seamless integration of the living room and balcony — a transformation that gave the family a spacious, light-filled communal area.

“Originally, the balcony had old-school window grilles that made the space feel quite boxed in,” Joreen shares. “We wanted it to feel more airy, so we decided to remove the grilles entirely and open up the balcony.” Doing so not only created a cleaner visual connection to the outdoors — it also meant they didn’t have to spend extra to replace the windows.

To retain flexibility, sliding glass doors were installed — allowing the family to partition the space when needed. “It’s useful when it’s too windy or when there’s rain coming in,” Joreen explains.

One unexpected challenge during the balcony renovation, though, was dealing with the air-con compressor. Since placing it outside the flat wasn’t permitted, the family had no choice but to install it within the balcony itself. Safety was a concern — especially with young kids in the home. “I had to sit them down and say, you better think twice before going near it,” Joreen laughs.

On retaining the original staircase

“We did consider redoing the stairs entirely,” Joreen shares. “But we’d need BCA approval to make any major changes, and that would’ve taken at least one to two months — time we didn’t have since we needed to move in quickly.” On top of that, the cost of a full overhaul wasn’t small. So instead, they chose to work with what was already there.

The steps were stained a darker tone for contrast, while the balustrades were painted white to better match the home’s lighter, airier palette — a simple yet effective refresh that gave the staircase a brand-new lease of life.

To help tie the look together, Jayle suggested adding a wave-like detail on the adjacent wall — a subtle feature that echoes the home’s soft curves and breaks up the visual monotony of the space.

“It wasn’t a key priority for us to change the stairs completely,” Joreen adds. “By keeping it and just refreshing the look, we got to spend more on other areas like the kitchen and bathrooms, which mattered more to our day-to-day.”

On remodelling the bathrooms

The original bathrooms in the maisonette were showing their age, both in style and functionality. “The toilets were quite small, honestly speaking,” Jayle shares. “So the challenge was not to compromise the space, but at the same time, still keeping the overall design and look.”

With that in mind, Jayle helped remodel the bathrooms to be consistent with the home’s clean, wabi-sabi-meets-contemporary theme — while also finding ways to visually and physically open up the space.

“The shower area also needed to be bigger,” Jayle adds, addressing one of the family’s main concerns.

To tie everything together, all three bathrooms were fitted with coloured subway tiles — a design choice that elevates the aesthetics while maintaining a cohesive material palette throughout the home.

To sum up

Looking back on the renovation journey, Joreen reflects that beyond design decisions and material choices, what truly made the process smooth was the synergy with their interior designer.

“I would say… you have to work very closely with your ID,” she shares. “And the chemistry must be there.” For Joreen, that connection — along with clear communication — played a key role in translating her family’s ideas into a cohesive, functional home.

“It’s a lot about communication also, whether you can click.” And with Jayle from Darwin Interior, they clearly did — culminating in a home that feels worlds apart from the dated maisonette they first walked into.

Special thanks to Joreen and Wayne for letting us tour their home!

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