All done on an equally modest budget!
For many first-time homeowners, one of the hardest parts of a home renovation is keeping to a budget while having features that you want – without compromising on functionality and quality.
That’s a challenge Wen Song and Wan Yin are all too familiar with, after securing their keys to their 4-room BTO flat in Tengah back in 2023.
So, how did they do so while still managing to create a cosy, characterful home that suits their lifestyles to a T? We sat down with the couple to find out more.
About the homeowners and their home
Wen Song (S): I’m a software engineer, and Wan Yin is a civil servant. We’ve both lived in the West our whole lives, so when we got married and were searching for a home, we wanted to remain in the area.
Wan Yin (Y): Back then, we heard about Tengah and how it was going to be the first eco town with new smart and green features, which we thought was pretty cool. So, all these reasons prompted us to apply for a BTO flat here; in fact, I think this was the only area we applied for.
One of the new features that piqued our interest was the Centralised Cooling System (CCS), and how it was marketed as being more energy efficient and lower maintenance. It sounded pretty exciting, and the opportunity to be one of the first people to experience this feature was quite interesting, so we decided to opt in for it.
About their renovation requirements
S: While we wanted a nice home, we weren’t interested in major layout changes or overhauls like you see online. All we wanted were simple works that would make this house cosy yet functional, which was our ultimate goal.
So, we limited our renovation budget to $45,000 – which we felt was sufficient without compromising on what we wanted.
Y: I admit, it was pretty challenging to work around this budget, since there were a few things we wanted. We host friends and family regularly, and spend time cooking and baking – so because of this, we decided that most of our renovation budget would go into the kitchen, while the rest of the house gets simple touch-ups.
S: Design-wise, we weren’t aiming for anything flashy or extravagant. We favour neutral, earthy colours and opted for materials that were both affordable and durable, like KompacPlus.
But on top of that, I also like industrial elements like brick walls and exposed metal. The former was something easily achieved through laminates with special effects, while the latter wasn’t expensive, so we were able to work them into our budget pretty easily.
About their home
Y: We wanted an open-concept space that not only makes the house feel bigger, but also allows us (and our guests) to move around freely. So, we hacked the wall of one of our junior bedrooms to open up the space.
We had some friends ask us previously if the CCS trunking affected our renovation plans. For us, I don’t think it did – the installation process was smooth, the space still looks open, and covering it up entirely would have been very costly.
The only thing we did was to cover up some corners that were jutting out, so that the trunking looks more seamless.
S: As mentioned before, most of our renovation budget and planning efforts went into the kitchen. In fact, when I created the 3D render for our ID’s reference, I only focused on the kitchen since we knew that’s where we, as well as our guests, will spend most of our time in.
The island was something we wanted from the start; we saw it in several of our friends’ places, and we loved how people naturally congregate around it.
Also, we chose not to have top-hung cabinets as they would have made the space feel very boxed-in. Plus, they would have added on to our carpentry costs. With the exposed metal bars, the space feels more breathable, in a way.
Y: For the rest of the house, the renovation was kept simple. We mainly relied on loose furniture to fill the space – not only to save on costs, but also to give us the flexibility to reconfigure the space if need be.
At most, we added splashes of colour here and there. For the living room, we opted for a dark green feature wall, which matched the overall earthy colour palette, while the bedroom has dark walls to create a more relaxing atmosphere.
In the bathrooms, the only thing we did was to add lighting as well as a tiled feature wall in our ensuite for another pop of colour. It’s our way of introducing nice visual contrasts without spending on something costly.
To sum up
S: I admit, even though we had a strict budget, it was tough to keep to it. There were times where our imaginations got us carried away (laughs). For example, we saw a home with a platform bed and bay window storage, and thought that we should do it in our home as well.
But thankfully, our ID was very upfront about the costs, and let us know immediately if something we wanted would blow our budget. Wan Yin and I also kept each other in check whenever either of us got carried away.
Y: Overall, we love how the house turned out. It’s cosy and requires little upkeep despite all the open shelvings. Unexpectedly, the CCS has been one of the features contributing to the latter – it generates lower utility bills, and we don’t have to get someone to maintain the individual compressors.
We’ve really loved living here, and I don’t think we’ll be moving anytime soon!
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